Josephine Chishala | Searcharxiv

arXiv2025

Picture an Astronomer: Best Practices for Retaining Talent in Astrophysics

Women are consistently underrepresented in astrophysics yet are simultaneously subject to disproportionate attrition at every career stage. This disparity between demonstrated efficacy in job performance and ultimate career outcome was the primary motivation for the Picture an Astronomer series, which included both targeted public outreach to increase representation of women in astrophysics and high-level, solution-oriented discussions among professional astronomers. In March 2025, more than 200 astronomers came together in a hybrid-format symposium focused on the state of the field for female scientists, combining scientific exchange with discussions of policies and practices to strengthen retention of talent in the field. This white paper is the result of those discussions, offering a wide range of recommendations developed in the context of gendered attrition in astrophysics but which ultimately support a healthier climate for all scientists alike.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2025

Dynamically close galaxy pairs from the unWISE survey: Testing the merger-AGN-star formation connection

Galaxy mergers are expected to have a profound influence on the star formation histories of galaxies. It is generally expected that mergers are the main drivers of galaxy mass growth through the accretion of mass and the triggering of new star formation episodes, while the shocks and torques induced by the merger may drive gas and dust to central supermassive black holes and fuel active galactic nuclei (AGN) activity and producing both positive and negative feedback. We test whether a merger-AGN-star formation connection exists by selecting samples of galaxy pairs of stellar masses log(M/Msun) approximately 10.2 and 11.4 within the redshift of 0.25 at various projected separation and velocity differences in an increasing order, and therefore having a decreasing probability of being truly bound and interacting. We identify galaxies in close pairs and then measure their star formation rates (SFRs) (via their NUV - r colours) and the degree of AGN activity (from X-rays, radio emission at 20cm, WISE infrared colours, and emission line ratios) as a function of their projected separation and velocity difference. We find only weak evidence that galaxies in pairs have higher SFRs as galaxies become closer in projected and velocity separation, except possibly for pairs at closest separation of less than 20 kpc and velocity difference less than 500 km/s. Similarly, we see no strong evidence that AGN are more common for galaxies in closer pairs, irrespective of the method used to detect AGN. For this sample, we do not find any clear evidence that mergers and interactions may play a significant role in triggering star formation and AGN activity, opposite to expectations from theoretical models invoking feedback episodes. Secular processes may be more important, although this may depend on the selection of galaxies and indicators for star formation and AGN activity.

astro-ph.GA↗