Lijo T. George
Visiting Fellow
National Centre for Radio Astrophysics
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Savitribai Phule Pune University Campus,
Pune 411 007
Maharashtra, INDIA
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Savitribai Phule Pune University Campus,
Pune 411 007
Maharashtra, INDIA
Status: Left
Main Research Areas: Radio halos and relics; Galaxy Cluster Formation; Machine/Deep Learning in Astronomy
Biography:
Lijo obtained a B.Sc. in Physics from Delhi University in 2008 followed by an M.Sc. in Physics from the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, Chennai, in 2010. He then moved to the Raman Research Institute, Bangalore, for his doctoral research, on the topic of radio halo and radio relic emission in merging galaxy clusters. He completed his Ph.D. in 2017, and then joined NCRA-TIFR as a Visiting Fellow.Research description:
For the past few years, my research was focused on studying the formation of extended diffuse objects like radio halos and radio relics using interferometric telescopes like the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) and the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). Based on current models, such halos and relics are best studied at low radio frequencies. These objects are formed as a consequence of violent interactions between galaxy clusters and the radiation emanating from them is not associated with any single object but instead, with the intra-cluster gas itself. They are quite rare in the universe and as such not fully understood. Detailed multi-frequency observations of more of these systems using sensitive telescopes can help in understanding their origin.Recently, however, my interests have shifted towards the application of machine learning and deep learning techniques in astronomy. The development of new and improved telescopes in the coming few years will result in a deluge of high quality data that will be nigh impossible to be manually inspected. In such a scenario, automated techniques of data analysis will be extremely useful to sift through the data and make sense of it or perhaps even find new science.
Selected publications:
1. Twin radio relics in a near-by low-mass galaxy cluster Abell 168 (K. S. Dwarakanath, V. Parekh, R. Kale & L. T. George 2018, MNRAS, 477, 957) 2. A study of halo and relic radio emission in merging clusters using the Murchison Widefield Array (L. T. George et al. 2017, MNRAS, 467, 936) 3. An analysis of the halo and relic radio emission from Abell 3376 from Murchison Widefield Array observations (L. T. George et al. 2015, MNRAS, 451, 4207)
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