Protoclusters: cradles of galaxy formation
Lead Research Organisation:
UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM
Department Name: School of Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
The greatest mass extinction event in history occurred approximately 3 billion years after the Big Bang. Up to this point the majority of galaxies across the Universe were forming young stars at prodigious rates. These galaxies were drawn together by their mutual gravity, and in the densest regions hundreds to thousands of galaxies grouped together to form galaxy clusters. Around 10 billion years ago the galaxies in these young clusters stopped forming new stars, and now clusters are the graveyards of our Universe, containing thousands of "dead" galaxies.
From observations of the present-day Universe we know these things must have occurred, but we know very little about this period in our Universe's history. When and where did the first galaxies form? How quickly did these galaxies congregate together in clusters? And what triggered the end of star formation? Did the galaxies simply run out of new material from which to make stars, or did the supermassive black holes at the centres of these galaxies expel whatever material remained? Perhaps the most interesting question is: why did large numbers of galaxies, millions of light-years apart, undergo the same fate at approximately the same time?
The answers to these questions are essential to understanding the Universe in which we live, and they form the main strands of my proposed research. I will tackle these questions by observing young clusters of galaxies at different ages using the world's most powerful space and ground-based telescopes. By studying galaxies that are at different stages of development, I will map out their evolution from when they formed their stars to the mass extinction event and beyond, determining exactly when and why star formation ceased.
The first major technical challenge lies in simply identifying the galaxies that belong to the young clusters, as our view is dominated by the more numerous fore- and background galaxies. I have developed a new technique to identify cluster galaxies that has several advantages over existing methods. My new method is more efficient than existing tools, it identifies all types of cluster galaxies, and it successfully removes a larger fraction of fore- and background galaxies. Applying my technique will allow me to tackle problems that have puzzled astronomers for decades.
From observations of the present-day Universe we know these things must have occurred, but we know very little about this period in our Universe's history. When and where did the first galaxies form? How quickly did these galaxies congregate together in clusters? And what triggered the end of star formation? Did the galaxies simply run out of new material from which to make stars, or did the supermassive black holes at the centres of these galaxies expel whatever material remained? Perhaps the most interesting question is: why did large numbers of galaxies, millions of light-years apart, undergo the same fate at approximately the same time?
The answers to these questions are essential to understanding the Universe in which we live, and they form the main strands of my proposed research. I will tackle these questions by observing young clusters of galaxies at different ages using the world's most powerful space and ground-based telescopes. By studying galaxies that are at different stages of development, I will map out their evolution from when they formed their stars to the mass extinction event and beyond, determining exactly when and why star formation ceased.
The first major technical challenge lies in simply identifying the galaxies that belong to the young clusters, as our view is dominated by the more numerous fore- and background galaxies. I have developed a new technique to identify cluster galaxies that has several advantages over existing methods. My new method is more efficient than existing tools, it identifies all types of cluster galaxies, and it successfully removes a larger fraction of fore- and background galaxies. Applying my technique will allow me to tackle problems that have puzzled astronomers for decades.
Organisations
Publications
Almaini O
(2017)
Massive post-starburst galaxies at z > 1 are compact proto-spheroids
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cano Z
(2014)
A trio of gamma-ray burst supernovae: GRB 120729A, GRB 130215A/SN 2013ez, and GRB 130831A/SN 2013fu?
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Cano Z.
(2014)
A trio of gamma-ray burst supernovae:. GRB 120729A, GRB 130215A/SN 2013ez, and GRB 130831A/SN 2013fu
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Contini E
(2015)
Semi-analytic model predictions of the galaxy population in protoclusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cooke E
(2015)
The formation history of massive cluster galaxies as revealed by CARLA
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cooke E
(2016)
A MATURE GALAXY CLUSTER AT z = 1.58 AROUND THE RADIO GALAXY 7C 1753+6311
in The Astrophysical Journal
Cooke E
(2014)
A z = 2.5 protocluster associated with the radio galaxy MRC 2104-242: star formation and differing mass functions in dense environments
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Dannerbauer H
(2014)
An excess of dusty starbursts related to the Spiderweb galaxy
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Dannerbauer H
(2017)
The implications of the surprising existence of a large, massive CO disk in a distant protocluster
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Dannerbauer H.
(2017)
The implications of the surprising existence of a large, massive CO disk in a distant protocluster
in ArXiv e-prints
Drouart G
(2014)
Rapidly growing black holes and host galaxies in the distant Universe from the Herschel Radio Galaxy Evolution Project
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Drouart G.
(2014)
Rapidly growing black holes and host galaxies in the distant Universe from the Herschel Radio Galaxy Evolution Project
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Fabian A
(2016)
HST imaging of the dusty filaments and nucleus swirl in NGC4696 at the centre of the Centaurus Cluster
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Galametz A
(2013)
A large-scale galaxy structure at z = 2.02 associated with the radio galaxy MRC 0156-252
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Gullberg B
(2016)
ALMA finds dew drops in the dusty spider's web
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Gullberg B.
(2016)
ALMA Finds Dew Drops in the Dusty Spider's Web
in ArXiv e-prints
Hatch N
(2017)
The impact of protocluster environments at z = 1.6
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hatch N
(2017)
Protocluster Assembly: Observations And Theory
Hatch N
(2016)
Galaxy formation through cosmic recycling.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Hatch N
(2016)
The structure and evolution of a forming galaxy cluster at z = 1.62
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hatch N
(2013)
The host galaxy of the z = 2.4 radio-loud AGN MRC 0406-244 as seen by HST
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hatch N
(2014)
Why z > 1 radio-loud galaxies are commonly located in protoclusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hatch NA
(2020)
Galaxy cluster illuminates the cosmic dark ages.
in Nature
Jin S
(2021)
COALAS I. ATCA CO(1-0) survey and luminosity function in the Spiderweb protocluster at z = 2.16
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Krishnan C
(2017)
Enhancement of AGN in a protocluster at z = 1.6
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
| Description | Distant galaxy clusters are powerful laboratories for observing the hierarchical growth of large-scale structure, constraining cosmological parameters, and for studying the formation of galaxies. However, distant clusters are extremely rare and faint, so locating and studying them poses a significant observational challenge. Through this research award I have detected 200 distant galaxy clusters that are being used to understand how galaxies evolved in the early Universe. |
| Exploitation Route | I am currently in the process of taking my findings forward by applying for observations of my recently discovered clusters with the NASA James Webb Space Telescope. |
| Sectors | Other |
| Description | Additional reserch funding: Reseach and Knowledge Transfer Board |
| Amount | £25,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Nottingham |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2013 |
| End | 03/2018 |
| Description | Inflativerse |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | Workshop Facilitator |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | I designed and continue to manage a 5 year programme of outreach activities using an inflatable planetarium. My team consists of undergraduates, postgraduates and postdoctoral researchers. We visit schools and regional events e.g. bbc stargazing, Nottingham Light Night. -- |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012,2013,2014 |
| Description | IntoUniversity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | We held workshops for children in our department and visiting children in specialist IntoUniversity centres. We gave the children a presentation, an inflatable planetarium show and a solar system activity. We received excellent feedback from these events. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | IntoUniversity 2015 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 25 pupils from widening participation schools attended a visit to the University. Discussed career path to become an astronomer and University study. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Managing the Inflativerse: the University of Nottingham's inflatible planetarium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | I trained and managed a team of postdocs, postgraduates and undergraduates to visit local primary schools and give planetarium shows. We received positive feedback about the planetarium shows. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013,2014 |