Astronomy

Clusters of Galaxies are the most massive gravitationally bound systems known and their population and evolution are very closely related to Cosmological parameters. Recent panoramic surveys in the optical, near-infrared, radio and X-ray allow us to select the rarest, most massive clusters of galaxies out to high redshift (z>1.5). At the heart of these massive clusters is usually a single massive galaxy that dominates over all the other member galaxies of the cluster. These galaxies frequently host the most power AGN and this enhanced activity has a profound effect on the properties of the central galaxy and the cluster that surrounds it. This project will use multi-frequency data from the radio to the gamma-ray regime to understand the life-cycle of the AGN in these galaxies and link it to the properties of the cluster as a whole. The project will use Jansky VLA, eMERLIN, ATCA and LOFAR radio data combined with VLT MUSE, Chandra, XMM-Newton, eROSITA and Fermi data. These data will allow us to link the AGN activity on short (i.e. decade) timescales to that on much longer ones (many millions of years).