Multi-wavelength Investigation of the MeerKAT Giant Radio Galaxies.

Project Description:

Giant radio galaxies (GRGs) are some of the most energetic and spectacular phenomena in the universe. They are extreme cases of extended radio emission, with projected linear sizes > 0.7 Mpc. The largest GRG ever discovered has a projected linear size of 7 Mpc, which exceeds the suggested growth limit of about 5 Mpc for these sources. The reason why these objects can grow to be this large remains a mystery. One of the hypotheses that has been proposed to explain their exceptionally large sizes is that GRGs could be very old radio galaxies (RGs) which have had sufficient time to expand over large distances. To test this hypothesis, studies to investigate the age of the emitting electrons, which are not numerous, have to be conducted. The student who takes up this project will carry out a multi-wavelength investigation to reveal the spectral properties and age of the GRGs, using the MeerKAT, Giant Metre Radio Telescope (GMRT) and archival data. Some of the specific tasks the student will be expected to perform include: ➢ synthesis imaging: production of high quality radio images at 325 MHz, 610 MHz and 1280 MHz. ➢ producing a spectrum to characterize the radio source ➢ and doing spectral ageing analysis and investigation.

Research Area:

Astronomy

Project Level:

Masters

This Project Is Offered At The Following Node(s):

(NWU)

Special Requirements:

Basic Python programming skills. Some computing experience in the Unix/Linux environment.