Matthias Kluge receives Ludwig Biermann Award

Dr. Matthias Kluge from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) has received the 2024 Ludwig Biermann Award from the German Astronomical Society. This award recognizes his significant contributions to astrophysics, especially his pioneering research on galaxy clusters. Kluge's efforts with the eROSITA telescope on the SRG mission have been crucial in identifying and analyzing 12,000 galaxy clusters, deepening our knowledge of the cosmic web.

The German Astronomical Society has awarded Dr. Matthias Kluge, postdoctoral researcher in the highenergy-group of MPE, the 2024 Ludwig Biermann Award. This prestigious award honors Dr. Kluge's remarkable contributions to astrophysics, with a particular focus on his pioneering research on galaxy clusters.

Kluge's contributions have been vital to the success of the eROSITA telescope aboard the SRG mission. His work has led to identifying and characterizing 12,000 galaxy clusters and groups, playing a crucial role in assembling a clean, well-understood sample. The cluster catalogs produced by Kluge's efforts have paved the way for numerous follow-up studies, deepening our understanding of the astrophysics of galaxy clusters and their connection to the cosmic web. “The sample confirmed by Matthias has been fundamental to the core science of the SRG/eROSITA mission, deriving high-precision cosmological model parameters. I am happy to see that Matthias’s work has been recognized by the German Astronomical Society, and I am incredibly proud of his achievement,” said Dr. Esra Bulbul (MPE), the team lead for eROSITA’s clusters and cosmology team.

In his focused research on individual galaxy clusters, Kluge investigates the properties of intracluster light (ICL) using the Wendelstein telescopes, the Hobby Eberly telescope, and, more recently, the Euclid Space Telescope. This faint, diffuse ICL holds vital information about the assembly history of galaxy clusters and traces the elusive dark matter. Through meticulous analysis of deep observational data, Kluge has set the tightest constraints on the structure of ICL to date.

Looking forward, Kluge remains enthusiastic: "The combination of space telescopes like eROSITA and Euclid is pushing galaxy cluster science and cosmology into the high-redshift domain. This will allow us to detail the processes that form the largest structures in the Universe."

Kluge adds, "I've always been fascinated by capturing light that our eyes cannot see. As we expand our vision in wavelength and sensitivity, what we discover is both mesmerizing and explicable. I am deeply honored to receive the Ludwig Biermann Award from the German Astronomical Society. I extend my heartfelt thanks to my supervisors and colleagues for their unwavering support and encouragement."