Research Projects

The origin and evolution of magnetic fields in the Universe remain a mystery, with magnetic fields in galaxies and clusters of galaxies measured but not on scales beyond a megaparsec scale. Superclusters are ideal systems to study magnetization on largest scales due to their relatively dense environment. This project aims to measure radio band properties of the newly discovered supercluster "Saraswati" using unprecedented sensitivities with the Upgraded GMRT (uGMRT) and the MeerKAT telescopes. The measured properties will allow characterizing the radio galaxy population, star formation, and occurrence of diffuse radio emission on cluster and inter-cluster scales. The comparison of the properties of galaxies in the two superclusters will quantify the evolution across redshifts of 0.28 of Saraswati to 0.046 of Shapley. The researchers will use multi-wavelength data in optical and X-ray bands to identify and characterize the galaxies. They will develop data analysis techniques to obtain the most sensitive and "science ready" images with the uGMRT building upon their pipeline called CAPTURE. These measurements will lead to the first clues to the evolution of galaxies in superclusters at different redshifts. Radio observations will attempt a first direct detection of synchrotron emission on supercluster scales, which can be used to find magnetic fields using theoretical models and obtain constraints on particle acceleration mechanisms.