Alex Markowitz

Astrophysics Science Division
NASA/GSFC
Code 662
X-ray Astrophysics Laboratory
Greenbelt, MD 20771

e-mail: agm(at)milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov

Present Position

National Research Council/NASA Post-doc Fellowship, Jan. 2004 to present
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, X-ray Astrophysics Laboratory
Adviser: Dr. Peter Serlemitsos

Brief Bio

Previous Positions

Data Analyst, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro, NM, Jul. 1996 to Aug. 1998: VLA and VLBA Array Operations
Teaching Assistant, UCLA Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, 1998 to 2003

Other Professional Activities

Member, American Astronomical Society, High-Energy Astrophysics Division, 2000 to present

Educational Background

Ph.D. in Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Sep. 1998 to Nov. 2003
Thesis adviser: Dr. Rick Edelson
Thesis topic: "Long-Term Hard X-ray Variability in Seyfert 1 Galaxies"

A.B. in Astrophysics, University of California, Berkeley, Sep. 1992 to May 1996

Current Projects and Scientific Investigations

Suzaku Science Working Group, XRT Team: High-resolution spectroscopy of AGN using Suzaku (Astro-E2): Fe K bandpass emission features; relations between emission components; characterization of the geometry and the ionization properties of AGN accretion flows. Team leader for Guaranteed Time observation of Cen A.
Spectral analysis of Seyfert AGN using XMM-Newton: Fe K bandpass studies (broad and narrow lines); time-resolved spectroscopy
Variability Analysis of Seyfert 1 AGN using RXTE and XMM-Newton: Relations between X-ray variability characteristics, black hole mass, and luminosity; energy-dependent timing properties; observational links between Seyferts and X-ray Binaries

Selected Publications

Selected Refereed Publication

The Energy-dependent X-ray Timing Characteristics of the Narrow Line Seyfert 1 Mkn 766, Alex Markowitz, Iossef Papadakis, Patricia Arevalo, Jane Turner, Lance Miller, & James Reeves, ApJ, submitted

Revealing the High-Energy Emission from the Obscured Seyfert Galaxy MCG-5-23-16 with Suzaku, James Reeves et al. (22 authors), PASJ, in press

An XMM-Newton observation of the atypical radio-quiet quasar PG1416-129, Delphine Porquet, James Reeves, Alex Markowitz, Jane Turner & Lance Miller, 2006, A&A, submitted

Precision Fe Kalpha and Fe Kbeta Line Spectroscopy of the Seyfert 1.9 Galaxy NGC 2992 with Suzaku, Tahir Yaqoob et al. (16 authors), PASJ, in press (astro-ph/0609581)

Suzaku observations of the hard X-ray variability of MCG-6-30-15: the effects of strong gravity around a Kerr black hole, Giovanni Miniutti et al. (24 authors), PASJ, in press (astro-ph/0609521)

Fe K Emission and Absorption in the XMM-EPIC Spectrum of the Seyfert Galaxy IC 4329a, Alex Markowitz, James Reeves & Valentina Braito, 2006, ApJ, 646, 783 (astro-ph/0604353)

X-ray Variability Characteristics of the Seyfert 1 Galaxy NGC 3783, Alex Markowitz, 2005, ApJ, 635, 180 (astro-ph/0508521)

Low-Luminosity AGN as analogues of Galactic Black Holes in the low/hard state: Evidence from X-ray timing of NGC 4258, Alex Markowitz & Phil Uttley, 2005, ApJ, 625, L39 (astro-ph/0504152)

Chandra High-Resolution X-ray Spectroscopy of the Fe K line in the Seyfert 1 Galaxy NGC 3783, Tahir Yaqoob, James Reeves, Alex Markowitz, Peter Serlemitsos, & Urmila Padmanabhan, 2005, ApJ, 627, 156 (astro-ph/0503570)

An Expanded RXTE Survey of Long-Term X-ray Variability in Seyfert 1 Galaxies, Alex Markowitz & Rick Edelson, 2004, ApJ, 617, 939 (astro-ph/0409045)

Long-Term X-ray Spectral Variability in Seyfert 1 Galaxies, Alex Markowitz, Rick Edelson & Simon Vaughan, 2003, ApJ, 598, 535. (astro-ph/0308312)

Correlated long-term optical and X-ray variations in NGC 5548, Phil Uttley, Rick Edelson, Ian McHardy, Brad Peterson and Alex Markowitz, 2003, ApJ, 584, L53. (astro-ph/0301216)

X-ray Fluctuation Power Spectral Densities of Seyfert~1 Galaxies, Alex Markowitz, Rick Edelson, Simon Vaughan, Phil Uttley, Ian George, Richard Griffiths, Shai Kaspi, Andy Lawrence, Ian McHardy, Kirpal Nandra, Ken Pounds, James Reeves, Nick Schurch and Robert Warwick, 2003, ApJ, 593, 96. (astro-ph/0303273)

X-ray vs. Optical Variations in the Seyfert 1 Nucleus NGC 3516: A Puzzling Disconnectedness, Dani Maoz, Alex Markowitz, Rick Edelson and Kirpal Nandra, AJ, 124, 1988. (astro-ph/0207446)

X-ray Spectral Variability and Rapid Variability of the Soft X-ray Spectrum Seyfert 1 Galaxies Ark 564 and Ton S180, Rick Edelson, T. Jane Turner, Ken Pounds, Simon Vaughan, Alex Markowitz, Herman Marshall, Paul Dobbie, Robert Warwick, 2002, ApJ, 568, 610. (astro-ph/0108387)

High Temporal Resolution XMM-Newton Monitoring of PKS 2155-304, Rick Edelson, Gareth Griffiths, Alex Markowitz, Steve Sembay, Martin Turner, Robert Warwick, 2001, ApJ, 554, 274. (astro-ph/0102458)

An RXTE Survey of Long-Term X-ray Variability in Seyfert 1 Galaxies, Alex Markowitz & Rick Edelson, 2001, ApJ, 547, 684. (astro-ph/0009422)

Selected Conference Contributions

Caveats and Pitfalls in AGN Timing Analysis, Alex Markowitz, 2005, in "Blazar Variability Workshop II: Entering the GLAST Era", ASP Conference Series, Vol. 350, eds. H. R. Miller et al., p. 51

X-ray Fluctuation Power Spectral Densities of Seyfert~1 Galaxies, Alex Markowitz et al., 2002, BAAS, 200, 17.03

High Temporal Resolution XMM/Newton Monitoring of PKS 2155-304, Rick Edelson, Gareth Griffiths, Steve Sembay, Martin J. L. Turner, Alex Markowitz, Robert Warwick & XMM-Newton EPIC Instrument Team, 2000, BAAS, 197, 125.07

Ton S180, Jane Turner et. al., 2000, in "Probing the Physics of Active Galactic Nuclei by Multiwavelength Monitoring," ASP Conference Series, Vol. 224, eds. B. M. Peterson, R. S. Polidan, & R. W. Pogge, p. 303

Curator: Karen Smale
NASA Official: Phil Newman
Last Updated: Tuesday, 16-Jan-2007 14:20:15 EST