Krzysztof Lisiecki, a PhD student at the Astrophysics Division of the National Centre for Nuclear Research, has been awarded a NAWA Bekker grant for his project entitled "Cosmic giants in miniature? The truth about the sizes of the most massive galaxies in the Universe". The grant provides an opportunity to conduct research on a special population of galaxies, known as red nuggets, using state-of-the-art research methods and advanced telescopes, such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

The project will focus on studying the most massive and compact galaxies in the Universe. Red nuggets are an almost perfect example of single star populations. This makes them ideal for studying the evolution from extremely active objects to passive galaxies. - Until now, galaxies have been characterised based on effective radiation, but this is more a measurement of light concentration than size. Using a modern truncation method on images of nuggets observed by the JWST telescope, my goal will be to understand the nature of compactness and the factors shaping their structure - explains Krzysztof Lisiecki. As part of his research, the scientist will also compare actual observed galaxies with their counterparts generated using computer simulations. This will allow for a better understanding of the relationship between observations and simulations.

The grant will enable the young scientist to participate in a 19 month-long stay at the University of Valladolid in Spain, where, together with Dr Fernando Buitrago, they will attempt to dispel doubts about the compactness of red nuggets, expand current models of galaxy evolution, and support the development of machine learning to estimate sizes for upcoming large sky surveys.

Congratulations on the grant and we wish you every success in your research!