Speaker
Description
I present the results of my Master's project to comprehensively search for high-redshift radio galaxies (HzRGs) within 37 fields of the MeerKAT Galaxy Cluster Legacy Survey's first data release. These fields are distinguished by their good dynamic range and comprehensive optical and infrared coverage through the Dark Energy Camera Legacy Survey and the All-sky Wide Infrared Survey Explorer. HzRGs, potentially the precursors of local elliptical galaxies we see today, offer a unique lens for exploring diverse astrophysical phenomena, including large-scale structures, galaxy evolution, and the epoch of reionization. We apply the likelihood multiwavelength cross-matching method, to refine the candidate pool, then determine the in-band spectral indices from MeerKAT data, focusing on ultra-steep spectrum sources. MeerKAT's extreme sensitivity has allowed us to detect a large number of new HzRG candidates, at radio luminosities an order of magnitude lower than other studies, effectively positioning them for follow-up spectroscopic analysis to confirm their redshifts.
