Analysis of a sample of new Giant Radio Galaxy from MeerKAT.

Project Description:

Radio galaxies show a wide variety of morphologies. However, in some sources, the evolution of the jets into the intergalactic medium (IGM) can extend to large linear sizes. One class of such large linear size objects is the Giant Radio Galaxy (GRG). GRGs are the largest single structures in the Universe with project linear size > 700 kpc. To-date the largest linear size GRG is around 5 Mpc and only around 600 GRGs are known. Various hypotheses have been proposed to explain the huge size of GRG. One of them is an environmental factor. Dabhade et al. (2020a) found that ∼10% of LOFAR GRGs reside in clusters, which are dense environments. However, the question of whether the environment around GRGs favours their exceptional growth is a question that is starting to be systematically explored, although no clear and definitive answer exists at the moment. The goal of this project is to carry out multi-wavelength analysis of samples of GRGs detected by MeerKAT to investigate whether the statistics for being in a cluster environment is consistent with the LOFAR result. This project will involve: Understanding MeerKAT data pipeline reduction Searching for new GRGs Carry out multi-wavelength analysis (Optical/IR and X-ray)

Research Area:

Astrophysics

Project Level:

Masters

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

(UCT)(UKZN)(NWU)

Special Requirements:

Familiarity with Linux and Python scripting is strongly recommended. Data reduction will be done using the imaging servers at the SARAO offices.