CAREER: Using Globular Clusters to Unravel the Mysteries of Galaxy Formation, Galaxy Structure, and Black Holes

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Dr. Katherine Rhode (Indiana University) will carry out a multi-year, wide-field imaging survey of the globular cluster (GC) systems of giant galaxies. The primary objective is to determine the total number, specific frequency, spatial distribution, and color distribution of each galaxy's GC system. The data will be used to establish how these properties vary with galaxy morphology and environment, to test models of how galaxies form and evolve, and to constrain fundamental quantities like the redshift at which the first GCs formed in the Universe. The survey data will also be used for two other science applications: (1) follow-up spectroscopy to measure the radial velocities of the GCs and use them to trace the structure of the galaxies and their dark matter halos; and (2) combining the optical images from the survey with X-ray data to study the X-ray sources - including X-ray emitting black holes - in giant galaxies. This project includes significant components of service to the community, public outreach, and education. In preparation for the survey, Dr. Rhode is leading an effort to produce a well-integrated system for transfer, analysis, visualization and storage of "One Degree Imager" (ODI) camera data. The goal is to make it possible for anyone in the astronomical community to analyze ODI data without having to purchase and maintain expensive hardware or write specialized software to work with these large images. The solutions created for the ODI will pave the way for other Gigapixel camera projects and will benefit other disciplines that use large images to do research. Dr. Rhode's team will create high-quality color images of each galaxy with accompanying text and use these to inform educators and the public about galaxies in general and the specific research that is enabled by these types of images. Finally, the survey will allow graduate and under-graduate students to engage in research aimed at exploring some of the most fundamental questions in astrophysics and cosmology, using data from a new instrument. The students will be encouraged to participate in both the research and outreach activities of the project.