Western Kentucky University
Department of Physics and Astronomy

Colloquium

Dr. Blakesley Burkhart

Department of Physics and Astronomy
Rutgers University

"From Local Clouds to Cosmic Dawn: New FUV Probes of Molecular Gas Physics"

February 16, 2026 @ 4:00 pm in KTH 2038 (Zoom ID: 93595838321)

About the Speaker

https://www.bburkhart.com/

Abstract

Far-ultraviolet (FUV) fluorescent emission from molecular hydrogen (H₂) provides a uniquely sensitive probe of the physical interfaces where cold, dense gas begins its transformation into stars. In this talk, I will show how this technique reveals the life cycle of molecular gas across an enormous range of environments—from nearby interstellar clouds to the first galaxies in the Universe. Close to home, we have uncovered Eos, the nearest large molecular cloud at just 94 pc, and the first detected directly through H₂ FUV fluorescence. Eos offers an unprecedented laboratory for studying fundamental hot–cold interface physics, energy dissipation, and the impact of stellar feedback. I will then extend these ideas to the early Universe, presenting a theoretical framework for interpreting possible H₂ signals in stacked JWST/NIRSpec spectra of galaxies at z ≥ 7. Together, these results demonstrate how FUV fluorescence provides a new, physics-based window into how molecular matter forms, evolves, and ignites star formation—from the edge of our Local Bubble to cosmic dawn.