This has been a great week so far! Five days ago I found out that our Keck proposal was accepted and that I would be headed to Hawaii in January. Then today I found out that our Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) proposal was accepted.
The primary objective of our Keck proposal is to determine the effects of a major cluster merger on the evolution of cluster's galaxies. We will accomplish this by observing the galaxies' spectra with the DEIMOS instrument. The figure to the left shows some of the raw (not cleaned and processed) galaxy spectra that we previously observed using Keck DEIMOS. The features of these spectra will enable us to determine if stars are forming in the galaxies and if there was a boom or bust in star formation associated with the merger that occurred roughly a billion years ago from the observed state.
The primary objective of the WSRT proposal is to search for radio relics associated with the Musket Ball Cluster. Radio relics are still a bit of a mystery but one promising theory is that they are the product of relativistic electrons associated with the large scale shock waves of merging galaxy clusters. If this theory is correct we should find a radio relic associated with the Musket Ball Cluster. Another interesting theory involving radio relics is that they may be the source of extremely energetic cosmic rays, which are another outstanding mystery.
The primary objective of the WSRT proposal is to search for radio relics associated with the Musket Ball Cluster. Radio relics are still a bit of a mystery but one promising theory is that they are the product of relativistic electrons associated with the large scale shock waves of merging galaxy clusters. If this theory is correct we should find a radio relic associated with the Musket Ball Cluster. Another interesting theory involving radio relics is that they may be the source of extremely energetic cosmic rays, which are another outstanding mystery.
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