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Finding fossil galaxy system progenitors using strong gravitational lensing

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dc.contributorKeel, W. C.
dc.contributorBailin, Jeremy
dc.contributorWhite, Raymond E.
dc.contributorSun, Ming
dc.contributorSantander, Marcos
dc.contributor.advisorIrwin, Jimmy A.
dc.contributor.authorJohnson, Lucas Edward
dc.contributor.otherUniversity of Alabama Tuscaloosa
dc.date.accessioned2018-12-14T18:11:37Z
dc.date.available2018-12-14T18:11:37Z
dc.date.issued2018
dc.descriptionElectronic Thesis or Dissertationen_US
dc.description.abstractFossil galaxy systems have been described as some of the oldest systems in the universe, where the central galaxy has cannibalized most nearby member galaxies over cosmic time. While the progenitors to fossil systems have been predicted to exist in numerical simulations, little effort has gone into locating them until now. The discovery of fossil progenitors in the CASSOWARY catalog of strong gravitational lensing demonstrates that not all fossils are old, and their formation histories are more complex than originally thought. These progenitors have optical characteristics consistent with them being the transition phase between non-fossils and fossils, as we are observing the central galaxies in mid-assembly. We also identify a bias where systems acting as strong gravitational lenses are ~5 times more likely to be seen as fossils than non-lensing systems. Chandra X-ray images of eight CASSOWARY fossil progenitors show them being significantly over-luminous and hotter than comparable non-fossils which could be due to the strong lensing bias in our data, or fossils have characteristically deeper potential wells than non-fossils. Two progenitors were luminous enough to see a rise in gas temperature toward their cores which suggests these may be undergoing group mergers akin to the previously studied progenitor CSWA 2 verifying this as a viable fossil formation mechanism. Refinements to our original CASSOWARY data using the Hubble Space Telescope allowed us to disentangle complex merging environments at the centers of these eight progenitors, which further solidified the notion that progenitors are indeed transitioning toward fossil systems.en_US
dc.format.extent73 p.
dc.format.mediumelectronic
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.otheru0015_0000001_0003044
dc.identifier.otherJohnson_alatus_0004D_13569
dc.identifier.urihttp://ir.ua.edu/handle/123456789/5176
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Alabama Libraries
dc.relation.hasversionborn digital
dc.relation.ispartofThe University of Alabama Electronic Theses and Dissertations
dc.relation.ispartofThe University of Alabama Libraries Digital Collections
dc.rightsAll rights reserved by the author unless otherwise indicated.en_US
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.subjectAstronomy
dc.subjectPhysics
dc.titleFinding fossil galaxy system progenitors using strong gravitational lensingen_US
dc.typethesis
dc.typetext
etdms.degree.departmentUniversity of Alabama. Department of Physics and Astronomy
etdms.degree.disciplinePhysics
etdms.degree.grantorThe University of Alabama
etdms.degree.leveldoctoral
etdms.degree.namePh.D.

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