I am a JWST Fellow at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
I received my PhD from the OSU Department of
Astronomy
in 2014, where I worked with Professors
Krzysztof Stanek
and
Christopher Kochanek.
In 2008, I graduated from the
Columbia University
majoring in
Astrophysics, where
I worked with Professor
Szabolcs Marka.
My primary research focus is massive star geriatrics: the study of the affects of old age on the most massive stars. I am particularly interested in understanding how episodic mass-loss in the last stages of stellar evolution influences the fate of the stars, circumstellar dust formation and chemical enrichment of galaxies. Previously, I published the first-ever mid-IR stellar catalogs for galaxies at >1Mpc, explored the potential relation between certain SN Ia progenitor mechanism and their host galaxies, and investigated ways to enhance gravitational-wave burst searches using data-clustering techniques. I specialize in crowded-field photometry and multi-wavelength astrometry of Hubble / Spitzer / and Herschel space-telescope data.
Please see my CV for a full list of publications.
Selected Publications:
My primary research focus is massive star geriatrics: the study of the affects of old age on the most massive stars. I am particularly interested in understanding how episodic mass-loss in the last stages of stellar evolution influences the fate of the stars, circumstellar dust formation and chemical enrichment of galaxies. Previously, I published the first-ever mid-IR stellar catalogs for galaxies at >1Mpc, explored the potential relation between certain SN Ia progenitor mechanism and their host galaxies, and investigated ways to enhance gravitational-wave burst searches using data-clustering techniques. I specialize in crowded-field photometry and multi-wavelength astrometry of Hubble / Spitzer / and Herschel space-telescope data.
Please see my CV for a full list of publications.
Selected Publications:
- Khan, Rubab; Adams, Scott M.; Stanek, K. Z.; Kochanek, C. S.; Sonneborn, G. 2015, “Discovery of Five Candidate Analogs for η Carinae in Nearby Galaxies”, ApJ Letters, 815, L18 (arXiv / ADS / ApJ)
- Khan, Rubab; Stanek, K. Z.; Kochanek, C. S.; Sonneborn, G. 2015, “Spitzer Point Source Catalogs of ~300,000 Stars in Seven Nearby Galaxies”, ApJ Supplement, 219, 42 (web / arXiv / ADS / ApJ)
- Khan, Rubab; Kochanek, C. S.; Stanek, K. Z.; Gerke, J. 2015, “Finding η Car Analogs in Nearby Galaxies Using Spitzer: II. Identification of An Emerging Class of Extragalactic Self-Obscured Stars”, ApJ, 799, 187 (web / arXiv / ADS / ApJ)
- Khan, Rubab; Stanek, K. Z.; Kochanek, C. S. 2013, “Finding η Car Analogs in Nearby Galaxies Using Spitzer: I. Candidate Selection”, ApJ, 767, 52 (web / arXiv / ADS / ApJ)
- Kochanek, C. S.; Khan, Rubab; Dai, X. 2012, “On Absorption by Circumstellar Dust, With the Progenitor of SN2012aw as a Case Study”, ApJ, 759, 20 (arXiv / ADS / ApJ)
- Khan, Rubab; Stanek, K. Z.; Stoll, R.; Prieto, J. L. 2011, “Super-Chandrasekhar SNe Ia Strongly Prefer Metal-Poor Environments”, ApJ Letters, 737, L24 (web / arXiv / ADS / ApJ)
- Khan, Rubab; Stanek, K. Z.; Kochanek, C. S.; Bonanos, A. Z. 2011, “Object-X: The Brightest Mid-IR Point Source in M33”, ApJ, 732, 43 (web / arXiv / ADS / ApJ)
- Khan, Rubab et al. 2011, “Pre-discovery and Follow-up Observations of the Nearby SN 2009nr: Implications for Prompt Type Ia SNe”, ApJ, 726(2), 106 (web / arXiv / ADS / ApJ)
- Khan, Rubab et al. 2010, “Census of Self-Obscured Massive Stars in Nearby Galaxies with Spitzer: Implications for Understanding the Progenitors of SN 2008S-Like Transients”, ApJ, 715, 1094 (web / arXiv / ADS / ApJ)
- Khan, Rubab and Chatterji, S. 2009, “Enhancing the Capabilities of LIGO Time-Frequency Plane Searches Through Clustering”, Classical and Quantum Gravity, 26, 155009 (arXiv / ADS / CQG)
- Kalmus, P; Khan, Rubab; Matone, L.; Marka, S. 2007, “Search method for unmodeled transient gravitational waves associated with SGR flares”. Classical and Quantum Gravity, 24, 659 (web / ADS / CQG)
