Heisenberg Research Group
"X-Ray Astronomy, Galaxy Clusters, Cosmology"
Argelander Institute for Astronomy, Bonn University
Master's thesis topic available:
Mapping dark matter in galaxy clusters to constrain dark energy
In the last years, observations have shown that the expansion of the Universe is
accelerating, despite all the massive galaxies in it attracting each other
gravitationally. The reason for this acceleration is unknown; it may be related
to a missing link in fundamental physics (the ``problem'' of Einstein's
cosmological constant). Currently, the best way to study the nature of this
``dark energy'' component is through astronomical observations. Large efforts
are being undertaken presently across many countries for this study. One method
uses the evolution with time of the most massive clearly defined structures in
the Universe: galaxy clusters.
With the ultimate goal of helping constrain this evolution, the master's
thesis work would concentrate on reduction and analysis of X-ray or optical data of
nearby or distant galaxy clusters. Data available to the research group include
about 60 (100) XMM-Newton (Chandra) X-ray satellite observations as
well as about 20 weak lensing observations taken at the 6.5m MMT telescope with the new 36-CCD Megacam
camera and the
Magellan telescope (travel to Mount Hopkins in Arizona or Cerro Manqui in
Chile may also be required for obtaining
observations for additional clusters) and other optical ground and space based
telescopes.
See also this
page for more.
Contact Thomas Reiprich to discuss possible
thesis projects in more detail.
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Last modified: Fri Aug 27 16:11:37 CEST 2010