SIR Physics Investigation Abstract
DARK MATTER HALOS AND THEIR STELLAR LUMINOSITIES
Presenter:
Nathaniel Steinsultz, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Advisor:
Dr. James Annis, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
Abstract:
We aim to study the relationship between a cluster's dark matter halo mass and stellar luminosity, using data on galaxy clusters collected from the SDSS. We will study the relationship between the central galaxy luminosity and dark halo mass, as well as between satellite luminosity and dark matter halo mass. We will use clusters of galaxies as our sample of dark matter halos and we will measure the central galaxy luminosity and satellite galaxy luminosity using the galaxies that live in the cluster. The cluster catalog we use contains 150,000 galaxy clusters at redshifts between z=0.1 and z=0.3. The size of this data set allows us to do a detailed analysis, as it contains information on galaxies with a wide range of masses. We will use this data to test the theoretical predictions of luminosity/halo mass relations. This will help in further studies as well as give us insight into the nature of dark matter and galaxy evolution.