Fractal study on Saraswati supercluster

Abstract

The study of galaxies and superclusters is a major field of interest of astrophysicists. With the development of modern advanced telescopes and data acquisition systems, scientists could gather more information about the universe. Investigations using Sloan 2.5-m telescope, the multi-fiber spectrograph and the galaxy redshift data recorded enabled the discovery of Saraswati—an extremely massive and giant supercluster. Fractal analysis is an established powerful mathematical technique for the analysis and study of complex systems extending from microcosm to macrocosm. Fractal dimension is related to the complexity of the system. In the present work, an attempt has been made to analyze the recently reported supercluster Saraswati by box-counting method. It is found that fractal dimension is very high for the supercluster and low for the voids. The fractal dimension of 1.75–2 in the Saraswati region suggests a sheet-like morphology to it. Complexity mapping is carried out by plotting contour plot of fractal dimension and percentage occupancy plot, which enable greater understanding of the distribution of galaxies in the universe.

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