Menu
MapConnectionsTopicsBulgariaThe Night (K-TRIO)Marie Skłodowska-CurieFor studentsFor teachersMethodologySurprise me
H2020Individual fellowship2020–2022

MARACHAS · MAss RAtio evolution in Clusters between HAlos and Sub-halos

Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2020-11-01 → 2022-10-31
EU contribution
€212,934
Participants
1
Scheme
MSCA-IF

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Results in brief

MAss RAtio evolution in Clusters between HAlos and Sub-halos

Clusters of galaxies are the largest structure observable in our Universe and can contain more than hundreds of galaxies. Nonetheless, the stars in the galaxies contribute to only a little of their mass. Indeed, the main matter component is the mysterious dark matter. My research project is looking to better understand dark matter and how it shapes clusters of galaxies, focusing on two specific objectives. First, "Deepening our understanding of dark matter in clusters of galaxies". A key measurement of the dark matter nature is the distribution of clusters' sub-structures. I have published the first-ever candidate for the detection of supermassive black holes wandering in clusters and narrowed down the mass distribution of dark sub-substructures. Second, "Understanding the growth of galaxy clusters". One of the key publications using the first images of the James Webb Space Telescope resulted in the discovery of large tidal waves, the very relic of the stripping of galaxies in clusters. My project built the largest library of models where this ratio can be measured with the Hubble Space Telescope and resulted in a large international collaboration joining behind me in an ambitious James Webb Space Telescope time proposal, asking to observe more than a hundred new clusters

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Structure in our universe grow hierarchically, where small structures (stars and galaxies) assemble first and later on galaxies group together in large potential wells to form clusters. Clusters of galaxies are the largest structure observable in our Universe, and can contain more than hundreds of galaxies. Nonetheless, the stars in the galaxies contribute to only a little of its mass. Indeed, the main matter component is dark matter. Little is known about dark matter besides that it interacts through gravity with ordinary matter. For instance, we believe that every galaxy carry their own small halo of dark matter, and when they fall in a cluster part of that halo is stripped and diffused in the larger halo of the cluster. In this study, I will be using the gravitational lensing effect to answer questions on the evolution of dark matter components that make the majority of clusters. In my case, gravitational lensing refers to the bending of the light emitted by a galaxy located far behind the cluster, due to the mass of the cluster itself. I will study the galaxies and their dark matter falling in the cluster and losing their dark matter to the profit of the cluster, also called the sub-halos mass loss. This will bring new insights to the overall structure evolution in our Universe, and answer fundamental questions about dark matter properties.Based on my experience gained during my PhD and postdoc at the University of Michigan, returning to the EU to conduct this study will allow me to increase my ability to design, program and develop large analyses of observational data. The experienced contributors will greatly promote such challenging observational analysis and have the expertise to link this work to the latest theoretical predictions thanks to Durham’s state-of-the-art cosmological simulations. This will broaden my skills, giving me an (important) opportunity to work with theorists.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union