Elizabeth Blanton

Research Interests: High-energy astrophysics, Optical and NIR observational astronomy; Clusters of galaxies, Radio galaxies.

Website: http://people.bu.edu/eblanton

Professor Blanton’s primary field of research is clusters of galaxies. In particular, using the Chandra X-ray Observatory, she studies the X-ray emission from the hot, intracluster medium (ICM), and the mutual effect that the ICM and central galaxy radio sources have on one another. These central radio sources are powered by supermassive black holes and inject large quantities of energy into the ICM, along with magnetic fields, and are an important piece of the puzzle of “cooling flow” systems. Professor Blanton takes a multi-wavelength approach to studying clusters, and uses data at optical and near-infrared wavelengths, as well as in the X-ray and radio regimes. She is also interested in using radio sources as tracers of clusters of galaxies at high redshifts which can be used for cosmological studies.