Coffee talks
Friday 13/03/2026 @ 11:30, Sala riunioni quarto piano e on line (meet.google.com/sue-bwvk-axf)
Konstantinos Kolokythas (Rhodes University / SARAO (RSA)), "MeerKAT's View of the Merging Universe: New Insights from the MeerKAT Galaxy Clusters Legacy Survey II Diffuse Radio Emission Catalogue"
Radio observations of galaxy clusters are powerful tools for detecting diffuse cluster-scale synchrotron emission, which carries information about the cluster formation history. Observations with the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) precursor and Pathfinder instruments are opening a new window on diffuse cluster radio sources, making an update to our current knowledge clear. Towards this direction, the unique combination of the MeerKAT radio telescope’s unprecedented high sensitivity to low surface brightness emission, dense uv-coverage, and high resolution is key to the rediscovery of galaxy clusters and in-depth comprehension of the formation mechanism of diffuse structures. In this talk, I will summarise the results of the MeerKAT Galaxy Cluster Legacy Survey diffuse radio emission catalogue (MGCLS II), focusing on the properties of the various diffuse radio emission structures detected in MGCLS galaxy clusters. In addition, new results on the archetypal ultra-steep-spectrum radio halo and relics in the A521 system will be highlighted to reveal new insights that help clarify the details of the merging processes that formed this system's structures.