Richard Henry
| Title: | David Ross Boyd Professor |
| Education: | B.A. 1977 Kansas |
| Ph.D. 1983 Michigan | |
| Office: | 225 Nielsen Hall |
| Phone: | 405-325-3961, ext. 36225 |
| Email: | henry@nhn.ou.edu |
| Research Home Page |
My research interests focus on the origin and evolution of numerous chemical elements over a broad redshift range.
Low redshift: Using planetary nebulae (PNe) as abundance probes, our group has recorded spectra of a large sample of these objects located in the disk and halo of the Milky Way Galaxy and M31 using the facilities of NOAO, IUE, HST, APO, and Spitzer. Our projects are aimed at studying: (1) the carbon and nitrogen production rates of low and intermediate mass stars, i.e. the progenitors of PNe; (2) the temporal buildup of sulfur and other alpha elements in the Milky Way and M31; and (3) the chemical evolution of the halo of M31.
High redshift: Abundances derived from quasar absorption lines in the form of damped Lyman alpha systems (DLAs) are being modeled using my own chemical evolution modeling code OPEN in order to study the evolution of N, Si, S, and Fe in the early universe. Specific problems being addressed include: (1) identifying the stellar mass range which is responsible for universal N production; and (2) discovering the implications of the ubiquitously observed supersolar Si/Fe ratio in DLAs.
Current collaborators include Bruce Balick (U. of Washington), Reggie Dufour (Rice University), Karen Kwitter (Williams College), Jason Prochaska (UCSC/Lick), and Letizia Stanghellini (NOAO).
