Paul F. Goldsmith
Professor Emeritus of Astronomy
Ph.D. 1975 (U.C. Berkeley)
Campus Address:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
California Institute of Technology
MS 183-335
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA 91109-8099
Email: Paul.F.Goldsmith at jpl.nasa.gov
Phone: 818-393-0518
Specialty Areas: Radio and Radar Astronomy
Research Projects: Measurements of the Magnetic Field in Dense Molecular Clouds., Atomic Hydrogen as a Probe of Dense Molecular Cores, Sub-Millimeter Wavelength Astronomy Satellite Project.
Biography: Paul Goldsmith's areas of interest in astronomy include the structure of dense molecular clouds and understanding how star formation occurs within them. This has led to developing techniques for probing the densities, temperatures, and other physical conditions in these regions. In addition to carrying out ground-based and airborne observations, he has also been involved as a co-investigator with the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS), which has been observing the key species 13CO, 02, H20, and atomic carbon from interstellar clouds since its launch in 1998. His recent work has focused on determining time scales of processes associated with the formation of molecular clouds and young stars. This has included use of atomic hydrogen in molecular clouds as a tracer of their evolution and history. Goldsmith has also worked on determining the conditions for formation of massive stars by using molecular line and dust continuum emission. He has also been using specific tracers of chemistry in the interstellar medium to assess impact of star formation on remaining molecular cloud material via shocks and other processes. Goldsmith has also had an ongoing interest in astronomical instrumentation, especially high-sensitivity systems at centimeter to submillimeter wavelengths. This has most recently involved graduate students at Cornell building new receivers for specific astronomical projects at the Arecibo Observatory. He has also been actively involved in development of focal plane array receivers for radio telescopes at all wavelengths.
Goldsmith serves as chair of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee for the Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT), a binational project of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst (USA) and the National Institute for Astronomy, Optics and Electronics, Puebla (Mexico).
Selected Publications: "Molecular Depletion and Thermal Balance in Dark Cloud Cores," Goldsmith, P.F., ApJ, 557, 736, 2001.
"Tracing the Infall and the Accretion Shock in the Protostellar Disk L1157," Velusamy, T., Langer, W.D., and Goldsmith, P.F., ApJ, 565, L43, 2002.
"Tentative Detection of Molecular Oxygen in the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud," Goldsmith, P.F., Li, D., Bergin, E.A., Melnick, G.J., Tolls, FV., Howe, J.E., Snell, R.L., and Neufeld, D.A. 2002, ApJ, 576, 814.
"SUBMILLIMETER WAVE ASTRONOMY SATELLITE and Arecibo Observations of H2O and OH in a Diffuse Cloud Along the Line of Sight to W51," Neufeld, D.A., Kaufman, M.J., Goldsmith, P.F., Hollenbach, D.J., and Plume, R. 2002, ApJ, 580, 278.
"Radio Telescopes and Measurements at Radio Wavelengths,'' Goldsmith, P.F., ASP Conf. Series Vol. 278, Proc. Conf. Single--Dish Radio Astronomy Techniques and Applications, S. Stanimirovic, D.R. Altschuler, P.F. Goldsmith, and C.J. Salter eds. San Francisco ASP, 45, 2002.
"HI Narrow Self-Absorption in Dark Clouds," Li, D. and Goldsmith, P.F., 2003, ApJ, 585, 823.
"Massive Quiescent Cores in Orion. I. Temperature Structure," Li, D., Goldsmith, P.F., and Menten, K. 2003, ApJ, 587, 262.
