Optical Follow-Up Observations for the High-z COBRA (Clusters Occupied by Bent Radio AGN) Survey
Abstract
Galaxy clusters are unique laboratories for exploring galaxy formation and evolution. Relatively few galaxy clusters have been spectroscopically confirmed beyond a redshift of 1. Different methods of searching for galaxy clusters are adding to these numbers, including detecting regions with a high-density of galaxies in the optical and IR regimes, detecting the hot intracluster medium in the X-ray, and measuring the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect. Another promising method for discovering high-redshift galaxy clusters uses radio observations of AGN. In particular, we use bent-double lobed radio sources, known often to reside in nearby clusters, as markers for distant galaxy clusters. We present initial results from the high-redshift COBRA (Clusters Occupied by Bent Radio AGN) survey. We have Spitzer IRAC observations of 653 bent-double radio sources with hosts too faint to be detected in the SDSS. Since the host galaxies for these radio sources are usually giant ellipticals, lack of detection in the SDSS means they are likely at z > 0.7. We have begun deep follow-up optical observations using the 4.3 m Discovery Channel Telescope and have determined from these initial optical observations that ~50% of the observed fields are overdense and thus good cluster candidates. Additionally, we have created optical-IR color magnitude diagrams to estimate the redshifts of our cluster candidates by identifying the red sequence. The distribution of galaxies on the red sequence can be used to limit galaxy formation models.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #225
- Pub Date:
- January 2015
- Bibcode:
- 2015AAS...22525221G