Part of this research relates to the acceleration of the Universe, and will extend the comparison of empirically determined and predicted parameters for type Ia supernovae to include the first and second derivatives of the coordinate distance, which will lead to constraints on cosmological and model parameters, and to large-scale tests of general relativity. Another part involves a detailed study of the physical properties of powerful classical double radio galaxies; tests of assumptions behind the use of those systems for cosmology; the determination of thirteen new coordinate distances for some examples; and the comparison of coordinate distances obtained using compact radio sources, double lobe radio galaxies, and type Ia supernovae.
This project will impact undergraduate students at Berks-Lehigh Valley College (BLVC), an undergraduate institution, as well as amateur astronomers and the interested public in eastern Pennsylvania, and middle and high school students and educators. It will also help to retain and sustain female BLVC students interested in science.
