Aayush Saxena

About

I am a Postdoctoral Researcher in Astrophysics at University of Oxford. The main focus of my research is to study the evolution of the onset of star and supermassive black hole formation in the very early Universe using James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and other ground and space-based telescopes.

I am a member of the JWST NIRSpec Instrument Science team with Guaranteed Time Observations as well as the JADES survey, which is a collaboration between the NIRCam and NIRSpec galaxy assembly teams. By the way, check out my research.

In my spare time I enjoy playing football and tennis, watching all kinds of sports, gaming, listening to alternative/independent bands, cycling and bike maintenance, experimenting with coffee brewing techniques and travelling.

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Research

I am interested in studying the nature of high-redshift (distant) galaxies that are in the very early stages of their evolution. As part of the James Webb Space Telescope science team, I am now looking forward to using its revolutionary capabilities to study the physical nature and chemical compositions of galaxies in the early Universe in unparalleled detail, with two additional accepted proposals in Cycle 1 observations (one as Co-PI, one as Co-I)!

I am also interested in studying distant active galaxies powered by active supermassive black holes in their centres. In addition to spectroscopy, I am using multi-wavelength data ranging from X-rays to radio waves to study the impact that active black holes and exotic stellar systems such as X-ray binaries have on their host galaxies and the surrounding inter-galactic medium.

A key goal of my research is to understand the main drivers of cosmic reionisation, a major phase transition of the intergalactic medium in the Universe that occured within the first million years after the Big Bang. I am also researching the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence in identifying unbiased samples of distant galaxies and quasars from deep imaging datasets.

Below are some of the latest research papers that I have published. I also actively communicate my science to the general audience via popular science articles, media interviews, press releases and public lectures. Some of my public engagement and outreach work can be found on the Outreach page.

To know more about my research, projects and other requests regarding media interviews or public talks, please do not hesitate to get in touch using my Contact details.

Featured publications:

• First Insights into the ISM at z>8 with JWST: Possible Physical Implications of a High [O III] λ4363/[O III] λ5007, submitted to Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS).
• No strong dependence of Lyman continuum leakage on physical properties of star-forming galaxies at 3.1 < z < 3.5 (2022), published in MNRAS.
• Revealing new high-redshift quasar populations through Gaussian mixture model selection (2022), published in Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A).
• The VANDELS Survey: new constraints on the high-mass X-ray binary populations in normal star-forming galaxies at 3 < z < 5.5 (2021), published in MNRAS.
• The properties of He IIλ1640 emitters at z ∼ 2.5-5 from the VANDELS survey (2020), published in A&A.
• The nature of faint radio galaxies at high redshifts (2019), published in MNRAS
• Discovery of a radio galaxy at z = 5.72 (2018), published in MNRAS.
• Modelling the luminosities and sizes of radio sources: radio luminosity function at z = 6 (2017), published in MNRAS

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Outreach

I regularly give talks at amateur astronomy societies, schools and diploma clubs across the UK. I often engage with science journalists about some of the latest discoveries in the field. I have organised several public outreach events, and am particularly interested in bringing artists and scientists together and using innovative media to disseminate scientific knowledge and stimulate discussions.

Listed below are some of the public engagement activities and media coverage about my work. If you would like to know more about my availability for public engagement talks or discuss outreach events, please get in touch.

• Astronomy on Tap Leiden, The Netherlands, August 2018
  
• Astronomy on Tap London, UK, April 2020
  
• 7 Easter eggs in the images from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope are totally new to astronomy,
  Business Insider, 2022
• A message from the past: UK astronomers comment on the first JWST image,
  RAS, 2022
• Why I am excited about first images from James Webb Space Telescope,
  India Today, 2022
• $10bn James Webb telescope launched into space — watch video,
  The Telegraph, 2021
• James Webb Telescope: We have built a time machine and it will launch on Christmas eve,
  India Today, 2021
• Most distant radio galaxy, host to a voracious black hole, is found,
  Astronomy Now, 2018

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Contact

Office address

Denys Wilkinson building,
University of Oxford,
Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH

Email

aayush [dot] saxena [at] physics [dot] ox [dot] ac [dot] uk

Socials

• Twitter
• Linkedin
• GitHub
• ORCID

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