From CASS
Alex Markowitz
- Assistant Project Scientist
- Email: almarkowitz@ucsd.edu
- Office: SERF 412
- Phone: (858) 534-8016
Related Websites
Biography
Dr. Markowitz received his A.B. in Astrophysics at the University of California, Berkeley in 1996, then spent two years as a Data Analyst with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Socorro, New Mexico. He earned his PhD in Astronomy from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2003, studying long-term X-ray variability properties of Active Galactic Nuclei. He worked as a National Research Council/NASA Postdoc Fellowship at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center from 2004 to 2007 before joining the staff at CASS.
Research Interests
X-ray spectroscopy and variability analysis of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN)
Projects
Dr. Markowitz’s research includes X-ray spectroscopy and spectral variability of selected Seyfert AGN with Suzaku and XMM-Newton. This includes Fe K bandpass spectroscopy to trace the accretion flow in the accretion disk and circumnuclear gas, and study of narrow absorption features to track ionized, outflowing winds. He also undertakes X-ray variability analysis of AGN with RXTE and XMM-Newton to explore the relations between X-ray variability characteristics, black hole mass, and luminosity in Seyferts, as well as observational links between Seyferts and X-ray Binaries. This is accomplished via power spectral measurement and energy-dependent timing properties.