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Kathy Romer joined the faculty of the Carnegie Mellon University CMU
physics department in 2000, where she has worked since
1997. Previously she was a postdoc at Northwestern University NWU and
a graduate student at Edinburgh University. Her research has focussed
primarily on the area of X-ray cluster surveys and their cosmological
applications. Previous work includes the SHARC cluster survey, which
was based on data from ROSAT X-ray
satellite. The SHARC survey has recently
been used to
place constraints on the matter density of
the Universe and several SHARC clusters
are currently being re-observed in greater
detail
using the XMM-Newton. Inspired by the
success, and weaknesses, of the SHARC
Survey, Dr Romer has initiated a new X-ray
cluster
survey called XCS. This survey is based on
XMM-Newton data, it will cover a wider
area and a probe to higher redshifts than
SHARC.
The ultimate goal of the XCS is to provide
measurement of the so-called Cosmological
Constant. Importantly, this measurement
will be
independent of Cosmic Microwave Background
and Supernovae results. XCS faces some
difficult, but fascinating,
challenges. Working
with collaborators at CMU and overseas, Dr
Romer is attacking these challenges head
on using the latest advances in
Cosmological
simulations, Astro-Statistics and
algorithmic development. Romer is also
working with Prof Peterson, and
collaborators in
California, to study clusters with the
Viper telescope at the South Pole.
Selected Publications
MNRAS = Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
ApJ= Astrophysical Journal
ApJL = Astrophysical Journal Letters
AJ = Astronomical Journal
Liddle, A.R., Viana, P.T.P, Romer, A.K. & Mann, R.G., " Apparent and actual galaxy cluster temperatures ", 2001, MNRAS, 325, 875. (astro-ph/0011384)
Romer, A.K., Viana, P.T.P., Liddle, A.R.,
Mann, R.G.,
(astro-ph/9911499), "A Serendipitous Galaxy Cluster Survey with
XMM: Expected Catalogue Properties and Scientific
Applications",2001, ApJ, 547, 594-608;
Adami, C., Ulmer, M.P., Romer, A.K., Nichol, R.C., Holden, B.P., Pildis, R.A., " The Bright SHARC Survey: Selection Function and X-ray Luminosity Function", 2000, ApJS, 131, 391
(astro-ph/0007289).
Romer, A.K., Nichol R.C., Holden, B., Ulmer, M.P., Pildis, R.A., Merrelli, A.J., Adami, C.A., Burke, D.J., Collins, C.A., A.J., Metevier, A.M., Kron, R. & Commons, K., " The Bright
SHARC Survey: The Cluster Catalog " , 2000, ApJS, 126, 209. (astro-ph/9907401)
Nichol, R.C., Romer, A.K., Holden, B., Ulmer, M.P., Pildis, R.A., Adami, C.A., Merrelli, A.J., Burke, D.J. & Collins, C.A., " The Bright SHARC Survey: The X-ray Cluster Luminosity
Function ", 1999, ApJL, 521, L21. (astro-ph/9906163)
Romer, A.K., Collins, C.A., Bohringer, H., Cruddace, R.G., Ebeling, H., MacGillivray, H.G. & Voges, W., " The Large Scale Distribution of X-ray Clusters of Galaxies ", 1994,
Nature, 372, 75.
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