The radio luminosity function and galaxy evolution of Abell 2256

Abstract

This thesis presents a study of the radio luminosity function and the evolution of galaxies in the Abell 2256 cluster (z=0.058, richness class 2). Using the NED database and VLA deep data with an rms sensitivity of 18$\mu$ Jy.$beam^{-1}$, we identified 257 optical galaxies as members of A2256, of which 83 are radio galaxies. Since A2256 is undergoing a cluster-cluster merger, it is a good candidate to study the radio activity of galaxies in the cluster. We calculated the Univariate and Bivariate radio luminosity functions for A2256, and compared the results to studies on other clusters. We also used the SDSS parameter fracDev to roughly classify galaxies as spirals and ellipticals, and investigated the distribution and structure of galaxies in the cluster.We found that most of the radio galaxies in A2256 are faint, and are distributed towards the outskirts of the cluster. On the other hand, almost all very bright radio galaxies are ellipticals which are located at the center of the cluster. We also found there is an excess in the number of radio spiral galaxies in A2256 compared to the number of radio ellipticals, counting down to a radio luminosity of $log(luminosity)=20.135$ $W/Hz$.