Multicolor analysis of galaxy clusters with radio halos and/or relics
Includes bibliographical references. === Galaxy clusters can be sites of considerable dynamic activity due to intra-cluster and inter-cluster interactions. These interactions include cluster-cluster mergers which are accompanied by large release of energy observed via thermal X-ray emission. The wor...
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| Format: | Dissertation |
| Language: | English |
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University of Cape Town
2015
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13357 |
| Summary: | Includes bibliographical references. === Galaxy clusters can be sites of considerable dynamic activity due to intra-cluster and inter-cluster interactions. These interactions include cluster-cluster mergers which are accompanied by large release of energy observed via thermal X-ray emission. The work presented here focuses on clusters that exhibit extended radio sources called radio relics and radio halos. The relics tend to be found in the peripheral regions of galaxy clusters while halos tend to be located at the central regions. These two types of sources share many of their characteristics but some of their key difference is radio polarization: relics tend to have polarised emission while halos do not. The observed polarisations and the non-thermal nature of the emission of these sources suggests the existence of large scale magnetic fields which permeate galaxy cluster volumes. Investigations into relic and halo sources may shed light into the formation of galaxy clusters and how they evolve. A way of analysing the evolution of clusters is to investigate the evolutionary state of their galaxy populations. This work aims to both characterise galaxy membership and probe galaxy evolution in these clusters through a spatial, kinematic and photometric analysis. |
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