A new fitting methodology applied to UV absorption data recovers radial trends in galactic wind velocities and mass-loading factors by constraining initial hot and cool phase parameters in a multiphase model.
hub
Title resolution pending
26 Pith papers cite this work, alongside 639 external citations. Polarity classification is still indexing.
abstract
Inference of the physical properties of stellar populations from observed photometry and spectroscopy is a key goal in the study of galaxy evolution. In recent years the quality and quantity of the available data has increased, and there have been corresponding efforts to increase the realism of the stellar population models used to interpret these observations. Describing the observed galaxy spectral energy distributions in detail now requires physical models with a large number of highly correlated parameters. These models do not fit easily on grids and necessitate a full exploration of the available parameter space. We present prospector, a flexible code for inferring stellar population parameters from photometry and spectroscopy spanning UV through IR wavelengths. This code is based on forward modeling the data and Monte Carlo sampling the posterior parameter distribution, enabling complex models and exploration of moderate dimensional parameter spaces. We describe the key ingredients of the code and discuss the general philosophy driving the design of these ingredients. We demonstrate some capabilities of the code on several datasets, including mock and real data.
hub tools
citation-role summary
citation-polarity summary
roles
background 1polarities
background 1representative citing papers
Resolved gas and dust maps in a z=2 quiescent galaxy reveal accreted material from tidal interactions and a past star-formation rejuvenation, indicating that gas content variations are not solely due to consumption timescales.
A JWST census detects neutral ISM absorption in 76 of 309 galaxies at 0.6<z<4 and outflows in 26, indicating AGN-driven neutral outflows dominate in quiescent systems at cosmic noon.
A score-based diffusion generative model on deep infrared galaxy photometry yields a star formation rate density peaking at z=1.3 and shows distinct non-parametric star formation histories plus AGN activity peaking during the quenching transition of massive galaxies.
A simulation-based inference framework that jointly models type Ia supernovae brightness dependences, host galaxy evolution, and cosmology from photometric observations.
Clumps in high-redshift spiral galaxies are smaller than commonly reported, spatially concentrated toward spiral arms, smaller but brighter inside arms than between them, with similar colors, suggesting arms stimulate clump formation but do not alter their star formation properties.
Accreting X-ray sources cannot supply enough EUV photons to account for He III regions in metal-poor star-forming dwarf galaxies.
Milky Way abundance trends act as effective empirical proxies for nucleosynthetic yields, recovering alpha and Fe-peak abundances in quiescent galaxies with 0.05 dex median offset versus 0.23 dex for theory, indicating largely universal yields.
A massive galaxy at z=9.3 shows bursty star formation with a recent downturn and sits in a small ionized bubble in a neutral IGM.
JWST data show massive quiescent galaxies in high-redshift proto-clusters formed and quenched simultaneously, with AGN signatures, indicating environmental triggering of quenching.
SAGUI introduces a two-stage segmentation framework for multi-band galaxy images that combines starlet decomposition, spectral similarity analysis, and copula statistics to identify structures and recover low-surface-brightness components.
GRB 210704A at z=2.34 shows a luminous fast blue transient excess peaking at ~7 days, modeled as refreshed shock emission and linked to LFBOTs alongside a high-Lorentz-factor jet.
Discovery of a gravitationally lensed Type II supernova at z=1.37 with magnification ≳100×, confirmed via multi-telescope spectra and imaging.
JADES DR5 delivers a public catalog of Bayesian-inferred stellar masses, SFRs, SFHs, dust, metallicities, and AGN contributions for ~500k galaxies via Prospector with an evolving SFMS prior.
No kilonova detected from sub-solar GW candidate S251112cm, but coincident IIb supernova SN 2025adtq yields suggestive evidence for the superkilonova channel, though inconclusive after accounting for chance coincidence.
Massive quiescent galaxies at high redshifts show elevated fractions in small-scale overdensities, indicating environmental quenching via galaxy interactions plays a major role.
JADES DR5 delivers 2081 z_phot > 8 galaxy candidates with UV slope trends, morphological evidence of clumpy growth, and improved photo-z methods tested on a spectroscopic subsample.
Ca-rich gap transients and 91bg-like SNe occupy similar massive quiescent host parameter space with peak delay times around 10^4 Myr, unlike normal Type Ia (~10^3 Myr) and Type II (~10 Myr) SNe.
SN 2025ngs is a short-plateau supernova resembling SN 1998S but fainter, with spectral evidence for interaction with a proximate ring-like circumstellar medium around a supergiant progenitor.
Panchromatic SED modeling yields SFRs with smaller offset and scatter than optical-only fits for starburst to post-starburst galaxies, while Prospector AGN torus models distinguish AGN but underpredict luminosities by an order of magnitude.
Revised distance and SED fitting demonstrate PEARLSDG is a typical quenched dwarf galaxy on the mass-metallicity relation rather than an exotic outlier.
Rest-frame 6-8um MIRI luminosity provides broken power-law SFR calibrations with 0.2-0.3 dex scatter and UV+IR composites at 0.15 dex, supporting robust use above log M* ~9 up to z~3.
EP250827b/SN 2025wkm is an X-ray flash supernova at z=0.1194 powered by a long-lived magnetar and disk winds interacting with extended circumstellar medium, without an on-axis relativistic jet.
Presents strong lensing models and mass measurements for 14 clusters (z=0.25-1.06) based on JWST data, with new lensed systems and public data release.
citing papers explorer
-
Resolving the Unresolved Galactic Winds in Multi-phase Models. I. Methodology and Application
A new fitting methodology applied to UV absorption data recovers radial trends in galactic wind velocities and mass-loading factors by constraining initial hot and cool phase parameters in a multiphase model.
-
Resolved Maps of Gas and Dust in a Massive Quiescent Galaxy at z=2 from INQUEST-JWST: Evidence of Accretion and Rejuvenation
Resolved gas and dust maps in a z=2 quiescent galaxy reveal accreted material from tidal interactions and a past star-formation rejuvenation, indicating that gas content variations are not solely due to consumption timescales.
-
A Census of Na D-traced neutral ISM and outflows at $0.6<z<4$
A JWST census detects neutral ISM absorption in 76 of 309 galaxies at 0.6<z<4 and outflows in 26, indicating AGN-driven neutral outflows dominate in quiescent systems at cosmic noon.
-
pop-cosmos: Star formation over 12 Gyr from generative modelling of a deep infrared-selected galaxy catalogue
A score-based diffusion generative model on deep infrared galaxy photometry yields a star formation rate density peaking at z=1.3 and shows distinct non-parametric star formation histories plus AGN activity peaking during the quenching transition of massive galaxies.
-
CIGaRS I: Combined simulation-based inference from type Ia supernovae and host photometry
A simulation-based inference framework that jointly models type Ia supernovae brightness dependences, host galaxy evolution, and cosmology from photometric observations.
-
Clumps in spiral galaxies at $z \lesssim 3$: Disentangling two spatial modes of star formation
Clumps in high-redshift spiral galaxies are smaller than commonly reported, spatially concentrated toward spiral arms, smaller but brighter inside arms than between them, with similar colors, suggesting arms stimulate clump formation but do not alter their star formation properties.
-
A Multiwavelength Assessment Disfavoring the X-ray Binary Origin of He III Regions in Metal-Poor Star-Forming Dwarf Galaxies
Accreting X-ray sources cannot supply enough EUV photons to account for He III regions in metal-poor star-forming dwarf galaxies.
-
Are Nucleosynthetic Yields Universal? Interpreting the Multi-Elemental Abundances of Quiescent Galaxies over Cosmic Time Using Milky Way Stars
Milky Way abundance trends act as effective empirical proxies for nucleosynthetic yields, recovering alpha and Fe-peak abundances in quiescent galaxies with 0.05 dex median offset versus 0.23 dex for theory, indicating largely universal yields.
-
SPURS: Bursty Star Formation in an Extremely Luminous Weak Emission Line Galaxy at $z=9.3$
A massive galaxy at z=9.3 shows bursty star formation with a recent downturn and sits in a small ionized bubble in a neutral IGM.
-
DeepDive: Simultaneous Formation of Massive Quiescent Galaxies in High-Redshift Galaxy Proto-clusters
JWST data show massive quiescent galaxies in high-redshift proto-clusters formed and quenched simultaneously, with AGN signatures, indicating environmental triggering of quenching.
-
SAGUI: SED-based Segmentation of Multi-band Galaxy Images -- Application to JADES in GOODS-South
SAGUI introduces a two-stage segmentation framework for multi-band galaxy images that combines starlet decomposition, spectral similarity analysis, and copula statistics to identify structures and recover low-surface-brightness components.
-
GRB 210704A: A Luminous Fast Blue Transient in a GRB Afterglow at $z = 2.34$
GRB 210704A at z=2.34 shows a luminous fast blue transient excess peaking at ~7 days, modeled as refreshed shock emission and linked to LFBOTs alongside a high-Lorentz-factor jet.
-
A Natural $\gtrsim 100\times$ Telescope: Discovery of the Strongly Lensed Type II SN 2025mkn at $z=1.37$
Discovery of a gravitationally lensed Type II supernova at z=1.37 with magnification ≳100×, confirmed via multi-telescope spectra and imaging.
-
JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) Data Release 5: stellar population catalogue for galaxies in GOODS-N and GOODS-S
JADES DR5 delivers a public catalog of Bayesian-inferred stellar masses, SFRs, SFHs, dust, metallicities, and AGN contributions for ~500k galaxies via Prospector with an evolving SFMS prior.
-
Electromagnetic Follow-up of the Sub-Solar Mass Gravitational Wave Candidate S251112cm: Kilonova Constraints and a Coincident IIb Supernova
No kilonova detected from sub-solar GW candidate S251112cm, but coincident IIb supernova SN 2025adtq yields suggestive evidence for the superkilonova channel, though inconclusive after accounting for chance coincidence.
-
The role of small-scale environments in the quenching of massive galaxies at $1<z<5$
Massive quiescent galaxies at high redshifts show elevated fractions in small-scale overdensities, indicating environmental quenching via galaxy interactions plays a major role.
-
JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) Data Release 5: Photometrically Selected Galaxy Candidates at z > 8
JADES DR5 delivers 2081 z_phot > 8 galaxy candidates with UV slope trends, morphological evidence of clumpy growth, and improved photo-z methods tested on a spectroscopic subsample.
-
Characterizing the host galaxies and delay times of Ca-rich gap transients vs 91bg-like SNe and normal Type Ia SNe
Ca-rich gap transients and 91bg-like SNe occupy similar massive quiescent host parameter space with peak delay times around 10^4 Myr, unlike normal Type Ia (~10^3 Myr) and Type II (~10 Myr) SNe.
-
The Eye of Sauron in SN 2025ngs: a Short-plateau Cousin of SN 1998S with Evidence for a Ring-like Circumstellar Medium
SN 2025ngs is a short-plateau supernova resembling SN 1998S but fainter, with spectral evidence for interaction with a proximate ring-like circumstellar medium around a supergiant progenitor.
-
Sparks II: Panchromatic SED modeling and galaxy physical properties across the starburst to post-starburst sequence
Panchromatic SED modeling yields SFRs with smaller offset and scatter than optical-only fits for starburst to post-starburst galaxies, while Prospector AGN torus models distinguish AGN but underpredict luminosities by an order of magnitude.
-
Comparative Bayesian SED Fitting of PEARLSDG
Revised distance and SED fitting demonstrate PEARLSDG is a typical quenched dwarf galaxy on the mass-metallicity relation rather than an exotic outlier.
-
Calibrating Photometric Mid-Infrared Star Formation Rates for JWST
Rest-frame 6-8um MIRI luminosity provides broken power-law SFR calibrations with 0.2-0.3 dex scatter and UV+IR composites at 0.15 dex, supporting robust use above log M* ~9 up to z~3.
-
EP250827b/SN 2025wkm: An X-ray Flash-Supernova Powered by a Central Engine and Circumstellar Interaction
EP250827b/SN 2025wkm is an X-ray flash supernova at z=0.1194 powered by a long-lived magnetar and disk winds interacting with extended circumstellar medium, without an on-axis relativistic jet.
-
Strong LensIng and Cluster Evolution (SLICE) with JWST: Early Results, Lens Models, and High-Redshift Detections
Presents strong lensing models and mass measurements for 14 clusters (z=0.25-1.06) based on JWST data, with new lensed systems and public data release.
-
On the relative CNO underabundance in quasar absorption systems at $z \sim 3$ arising from Population III enrichment and attenuation by intermediate-mass black holes and primordial baryon accretion
Intermediate-mass black holes acting as permanent matter sinks, combined with updated cosmic star formation rates and primordial baryon accretion, reduce the overpredicted CNO abundances from Population III stars to match observations in z~3-6 quasar absorption systems.
-
Interpreting Galaxy Physical Properties Using Stellar Population Synthesis
The thesis assesses the reliability of stellar population synthesis modeling for galaxy physical properties using limited multi-band photometry rather than full spectra.