Dr. Randall Smith
MS 70
High Energy Astrophysics Division
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Cambridge, MA 02138

rsmith@cfa.harvard.edu

617-496-7722 / 617-495-7356(Fax)

Table of Contents

Biography

 I was born in Stow, Ohio, U.S.A., a small town near Kent (where the students were killed many years ago) and Cuyahoga Falls, the river that caught on fire. Fortunately, nothing of note has happened in Stow to date.

Education: In 1991, I received my B.S. in Mathematics and Physics from Carnegie Mellon University. I then went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where I worked with the Space Physics group and my advisor, Dr. Don Cox. I received my Ph.D in 1997 after writing a thesis titled "Modeling the Soft X-Ray Background with Multiple Supernovae".

Present Position: Astrophysicist, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

Research Overview

 I began working on the X-rays from the interstellar medium, and much of my work remains related to one or both of those. I have also spent substantial time developing, a collisional plasma code. My general interests are as follows:
  • Interstellar Medium: morphology, phases, X-ray emission
  • X-ray Spectra: collisional plasma processes, diffuse emission, supernova remnants, X-ray scattering in dust grains
  • Interstellar Dust: evolution, destruction, cooling

    Papers

     An X-Ray Study of the Supernova Remnant G290.1-0.8, Slane, P. Smith, R. K., Hughes, J. P., Petre, R. 2001, Astrophysical Journal, in press
    The CHANDRA X-ray Grating Spectrum of Eta Carinae, Corcoran, M. F., Swank, J. H., Petre, R., Ishibashi, K.,Davidson, K. Townsley, L., Smith, R. K., White, S., Viotti, R., Damineli, A. 2001, Astrophysical Journal, in press
    Collisional Plasma Models with APEC/APED: Emission-Line Diagnostics of Hydrogen-like and Helium-like Ions, Smith, R. K., Brickhouse, N. S., Liedahl, D. A., Raymond, J. C. 2001, Astrophysical Journal, 556, L91 ADS
    Multiple Supernova Remnant Models of the Local Bubble and the Soft X-Ray Background, Smith, R. K. & Cox, D. P. 2001, Astrophysical Journal Supplement, 134, 283 ADS
    A New ASCA and ROSAT Study of the Supernova Remnant G272.2-3.2, Harrus, I. M., Slane, P. O., Smith, R. K., & Hughes, J. P. 2001, Astrophysical Journal, 552, 614 ADS
    X-Ray Halos and Large Grains in the Diffuse Interstellar Medium, Witt, A. N., Smith, R. K., & Dwek, E. 2001, Astrophysical Journal, 550, L201 ADS
    Enhanced Noble Gases in the Coronae of Active Stars, Drake, J. J., Brickhouse, N. S., Kashyap, V., Laming, J. M., Huenemoerder, D. P., Smith, R., & Wargelin, B. J. 2001, Astrophysical JournalADS
    Satellite dielectronic spectra created from autoionizing 2lnl' and 1s2lnl' states with n = 4-5, Safronova, U. I., Vasilyev, A. A., Smith, R. K. 2000, Canadian Journal of Physics} 78, 1055 Local
    Chandra X-Ray Observatory Arcsecond Imaging of the Young, Oxygen-rich Supernova Remnant 1E 0102.2-7219, Gaetz, T. J., Butt, Y. M., Edgar, R. J., Eriksen, K. A., Plucinsky, P. P., Schlegel, E. M., & Smith, R. K. 2000, Astrophysical Journal, 534, L47 ADS
    Modeling W44 as a Supernova Remnant in a Density Gradient with a Partially Formed Dense Shell and Thermal Conduction in the Hot Interior I: The Analytical Model, Cox, D. P., Shelton, R. L., Maciejewski, W., Smith, R. K., Plewa, T., Pawl, A., & Rozyczka, M. 1999, Astrophysical Journal, 524, 179 ADS
    Modeling W44 as a Supernova Remnant in a Density Gradient with a Partially Formed Dense Shell and Thermal Conduction in the Hot Interior II: The Hydrodynamic Models, Shelton, R. L., Cox, D. P., Maciejewski, W., Smith, R. K., Plewa, T., Pawl, A., & Rozyczka, M. 1999, Astrophysical Journal, 524, 192 ADS
    Soft X-ray Scattering and Halos from Dust, Smith, R. K. & Dwek, E. 1998, Astrophysical Journal, 503, 831 ADS
    A Simplified Model of Time-Dependent Cooling and Grain Destruction in Hot Dusty Plasmas, Smith, R. K., Krzewina, L. G., Cox, D. P., Edgar, R. J., & Miller, W. W. 1996, Astrophysical Journal, 473, 864 ADS
    Energy Deposition and Photoelectric Emission from the Interaction of 10 eV to 1 MeV Photons with Interstellar Dust Particles, Dwek, E. & Smith, R. K. 1995, Astrophysical Journal, 459, 686 ADS
    Dust and Gas Contributions to the Energy Output of SN 1987A on Day 1153, Dwek, E., Moseley, S. H., Glaccum, W., Graham, J. R., Loewenstein, R. F., Silverberg, R. F. & Smith, R. K. 1992 Astrophysical Journal, 389, L21 ADS

    X-ray Astronomy School Presentations

     Here is a collection of PowerPoint presentations I have given at various X-ray Astronomy schools.
    An overview of atomic processes relevant to X-rays download

    An overview of the physics of X-ray emitting collisional plasmas download

    X-rays and the Interstellar Medium download

    High-resolution X-ray Spectroscopy: A Review download

    Talk Overheads

     Here is a small collection of overheads from talks I have given, in gzipped Postscript format. Warning: some of these are quite large, due to embedded high resolution color images.

    CfA HEAD Lunch talk, Sept 26, 2001: A general overview of atomic processes that lead to line emission, primarily in X-rays. download

    X-ray Astronomy School, Sept 11, 2001: A talk on atomic processes in collisional plasmas, given at the 1st X-ray Astronomy School at NASA/Goddard. download

    CIAO Workshop, April, 2001: An introduction to X-ray astrophysical analysis, given at the beginning of the 2nd CIAO workshop. download

    CfA HEAD Lunch talk, February, 2001: A talk given on the results from analyzing the X-ray halo around the low-mass X-ray binary GX13+1. download

    CfA HEAD Lunch talk, 1999: A talk given on the results of modelling the soft X-ray background/Local Bubble with multiple supernova remnants. download

    SNORE talk, April, 2000: A talk to the CfA/MIT Supernova Group on spectral modelling and analysis of non-equilibrium plasmas. download

    The APEC Plasma Code

     Along with Nancy Brickhouse, Priyamvada Desai, John Raymond, and Duane Liehdal I have been developing the Astrophysical Plasma Emission Code (APEC) and Database (APED). More information about these projects can be found here.

    Hobbies & Personal Links
  • Married to the lovely and multi-talented Lauren Boice!
  • Check out her word of the day discussion at The Common Parlance
  • Juggling!
  • Movies (Check out the Internet Movie Database)
  • Playing Go