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PI: Andra Stroe (she/her, astroe@stsci.edu, STScI research profile, webpage under construction)
Group: You will be part of the a founding team member for a new STScI research group (named TBD), focused on understanding galaxy cluster physics through multiwavelength astronomy.
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In Cairns et al. (2019), we completed the first survey for molecular gas in galaxies located in Antlia, nearest merging galaxy cluster. Given its proximity, Antlia has rich multi-wavelength data which give us an unprecedented view on the interaction between the large-scale disturbed environment and the cluster galaxies. We found that galaxies in the Antlia cluster have surprisingly large molecular gas reservoirs, which could fuel and sustain high star formation and black hole activities. In the Antlia cluster, we might be seeing the intermediate step in the evolution of galaxies between fields and dense clusters, where the effects of the intracluster medium are just beginning to operate.
Project description
Are galaxies in merging clusters just beginning to experience ram pressure? Or are they interacting with a cluster-wide process triggering star-formation and black hole activity, such as a large-scale shock or turbulence caused by the disturbed cluster environment? Are galaxies interacting more with each other because of the dense environments? You will explore already awarded ALMA and SMA observations to spatially resolve the molecular gas reservoirs in Antlia galaxies and test whether typical environmental effects, such as ram pressure stripping, operate at intermediate cluster evolution stages. You will look for signs of gas removal and/or galaxy-galaxy interactions and unveil the physical mechanism at play in disturbed galaxy clusters and compare to the more evolved Fornax cluster and field star-forming galaxies.
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