After completing the painstaking task of classifying compact sources within the central region of our Milky Way (with the aim to identify radio pulsar candidate), our very own Isabella Rammala (soon to be Dr) has finalised her PhD thesis at Rhodes University. During her time as a SARAO research student, Isabella spent a great deal of her research time studying the MeerKAT Galactic Centre sources alongside her supervisors, Prof Aris Karastergiou (Oxford/Rhodes) and Dr Ian Heywood (Rhodes/Oxford). The mosaicked image (below) of the central region of our Galaxy was captured in the MeerKAT L-band at the observing frequency of 1.28 GHz. The image reveals the complexity of the centre of the galaxy, a dozens of fascinating features including magnetised radio filaments, supernova remnants and regions of dense molecular gas. The in-depth details on the new MeerKAT observations of the Galactic Centre were published earlier this year in the Astrophysical Journal.
With her PhD thesis out of the way, Isabella has already begun preparing for her postdoctoral journey at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) in Bonn, Germany where she is currently situated. Isabella will continue her research working towards identifying pulsar candidates in the Galactic Centre using the newly commissioned MeerKAT S-band receiver at the “Radioastronomische Fundamentalphysik” (Radio Astronomy and Fundamental Physics) working group led by Prof. Dr. Michael Kramer, who is also the Director of MPIfR.
Pulsars, pulsars, pulsars!
We wish Isabella much success in her research outputs and growth as a professional Astronomer in this new phase of career!