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ETD Abstract Container

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IDENTIFYING PROTOCLUSTERS IN THE HIGH REDSHIFT UNIVERSE AND MAPPING THEIR EVOLUTION

Franck, Jay
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0716-4724
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1501165130716782

Abstract Details

2018, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Astronomy.
To investigate the growth and evolution of the earliest structures in the Universe, we identify more than 200 galaxy overdensities in the Candidate Cluster and Protocluster Cat- alog (CCPC). This compilation is produced by mining open astronomy data sets for over- densities of high redshift galaxies that are spectroscopically confirmed. At these redshifts, the Universe is only a few billion years old. This data mining approach yields a nearly ten fold increase in the number of known protoclusters in the literature. The CCPC also includes the highest redshift, spectroscopically confirmed protocluster at z = 6.56. For nearly 1500 galaxies contained in the CCPC between redshifts of 2.0 < z < 6.6, we find archival Spitzer images at 3.6 and 4.5 µm bandpasses. These Spitzer wavelengths serve as a proxy measurement for the stellar mass of the galaxies. The galaxies in protoclusters appear to be consistent with a passively evolving, older stellar population. We find no sta- tistically significant difference between protocluster and field galaxy populations. Galaxy formation models suggest that galaxies in dense environments should be more massive. Comparing the brightness distribution of the data at different epochs provides an evolution- ary track for how protocluster galaxies evolve. We compare the data to the predictions of a large-scale simulation, the Millennium Run. We analyze the simulated data with the same suite of algorithms and metrics as in the CCPC. The results of this exercise yield a number of significant discrepancies between the theoretical predictions and what is seen. The universe contains a much larger density of bright galaxies than what the model predicts. At z > 2, the brightest galaxies are older and more massive than anticipated by the model.
Stacy McGaugh (Advisor)
245 p.
Astronomy; Astrophysics
galaxy clusters, protoclusters, high redshift, astronomy, galaxy formation, galaxy evolution

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Franck, J. (2018). IDENTIFYING PROTOCLUSTERS IN THE HIGH REDSHIFT UNIVERSE AND MAPPING THEIR EVOLUTION [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1501165130716782

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Franck, Jay. IDENTIFYING PROTOCLUSTERS IN THE HIGH REDSHIFT UNIVERSE AND MAPPING THEIR EVOLUTION . 2018. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1501165130716782.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Franck, Jay. "IDENTIFYING PROTOCLUSTERS IN THE HIGH REDSHIFT UNIVERSE AND MAPPING THEIR EVOLUTION ." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1501165130716782

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

case1501165130716782
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© 2017, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.