rschisholm@wisc.edu
Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison
I am a PhD student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison studying astrophysics under Prof. Elena D'Onghia.
My research interests broadly span dwarf galaxy structure and dynamics, with an emphasis on the role of
the circumgalactic medium, utilizing cosmological simulations.
I am a member of the CLUES
collaboration, and the SDSS collaboration.
Currently, most of my work revolves around studying these topics using cosmological
zoom-in simulations; in particular, the HESTIA simulations provide an unparalleled laboratory
to study these large-scale phenomena at the necessary resolution.
Magellanic Cloud-analogs formed naturally within cosmological environments.
I am using "Magellanic-system analogs", that is systems of dwarfs resembling the Large and Small Magellanic
Clouds (LMC, SMC) in mass and other properties, that form naturally with a virialized halo and embedded in
the correct cosmographic envornnement. By understanding how these manifest systems came to be, we can gain
insights into the turbulent histories of the Magellanic Clouds, as they interact with themselves and the
Milky Way over billions of years. A non-exhaustive list of open inquiries regard the exact properties of
the primordial coronae formed from the virialization of LMC-mass halos, and the surviability of HI
structures (such as tidally stripped streams) within the warm-hot corona.
Leveraging simulations of LMC-mass dwarfs to understand central black hole sloshing.
Using a sample of LMC-mass dwarfs of varying histories (with/sans satellites and differing masses), I am
resolving the pertubrations of the central massive blackhole within these dwarfs due to external interactions,
and its subsequent "sloshing" around the central region of the dwarf. In particular, the ultimate aim of
this project is to provide estimates and insghts as to where within the central region of the LMC its
proposed central massive blackhole might be located; subsequent observation can be made by the Large Volume
Mapper, Sloan Digital Sky Survey.
non-science
Outside of science, I spend most of my time in cafés, doing some combination of the following:
enjoying music --listening to and playing--, biking to the countryside, cooking new dishes, discovering new
places while travelling, and reading-- some of my favorite authors are Clarke, Le Guin, Camus,
and Tolstoy.
