Abstract
Faraday rotation and synchrotron emission from extragalactic radio sources give evidence for the presence of magnetic fields extending over ∼ Mpc scales. However, the origin of these fields ...remains elusive. With new high-resolution grid simulations, we studied the growth of magnetic fields in a massive galaxy cluster that in several aspects is similar to the Coma cluster. We investigated models in which magnetic fields originate from primordial seed fields with comoving strengths of 0.1 nG at redshift z = 30. The simulations show evidence of significant magnetic field amplification. At the best spatial resolution (3.95 kpc), we are able to resolve the scale where magnetic tension balances the bending of magnetic lines by turbulence. This allows us to observe the final growth stage of the small-scale dynamo. To our knowledge, this is the first time that this is seen in cosmological simulations of the intracluster medium. Our mock observations of Faraday rotation provide a good match to observations of the Coma cluster. However, the distribution of magnetic fields shows strong departures from a simple Maxwellian distribution, suggesting that the three-dimensional structure of magnetic fields in real clusters may be significantly different than what is usually assumed when inferring magnetic field values from rotation measure observations.
Magnetic fields and their dynamical interplay with matter in galaxy clusters contribute to the physical properties and evolution of the intracluster medium. However, the current understanding of the ...origin and properties of cluster magnetic fields is still limited by observational challenges. In this article, we map the magnetic fields at hundreds-kpc scales of five clusters RXC J1314.4-2515, Abell 2345, Abell 3376, MCXC J0352.4-7401, and El Gordo using the synchrotron intensity gradient technique in conjunction with high-resolution radio observations from the Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA) and the Karoo Array Telescope (MeerKAT). We demonstrate that the magnetic field orientation of radio relics derived from synchrotron intensity gradient is in agreement with that obtained with synchrotron polarization. Most importantly, the synchrotron intensity gradient is not limited by Faraday depolarization in the cluster central regions and allows us to map magnetic fields in the radio halos of RXC J1314.4-2515 and El Gordo. We find that magnetic fields in radio halos exhibit a preferential direction along the major merger axis and show turbulent structures at higher angular resolution. The results are consistent with expectations from numerical simulations, which predict turbulent magnetic fields in cluster mergers that are stirred and amplified by matter motions.
Radio relics are diffuse synchrotron sources in galaxy clusters that are believed to trace large-scale shock waves. We have discovered a new double radio relic system in PSZ1 G096.89+24.17 (z = 0.3) ...and have carried out a full-polarization radio observation using the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope at 1.4 GHz. The observation revealed the presence of two relics located on the two diametrically opposite sides of the cluster and hints of a central radio halo. The linear sizes of the relics are ∼0.9 and ∼1.4 Mpc. We carried out an analysis of all known double radio relics by using radio, X-ray and Sunyaev–Zel'dovich data. We find that the radio luminosity of double relics is a steep function of the cluster mass, with L
R∝M
2.83 ± 0.39. If we include single radio relics, this relation is maintained. This dependence has implications for the origin of magnetic fields at the relic's locations.
Radio relics are diffuse radio sources observed in galaxy clusters, probably produced by shock acceleration during cluster-cluster mergers. Their large size, of the order of 1 Mpc, indicates that the ...emitting electrons need to be (re)accelerated locally. The usually invoked diffusive shock acceleration models have been challenged by recent observations and theory. We report the discovery of complex radio emission in the Galaxy cluster PLCKG287.0+32.9, which hosts two relics, a radio halo, and several radio filamentary emission. Optical observations suggest that the cluster is elongated, likely along an intergalactic filament, and displays a significant amount of substructure. The peculiar features of this radio relic are that (1) it appears to be connected to the lobes of a radio galaxy and (2) the radio spectrum steepens on either side of the radio relic. We discuss the origins of these features in the context of particle re-acceleration.
Aims. The aim of the present work is to constrain the Coma cluster magnetic field strength, its radial profile and power spectrum by comparing Faraday rotation measure (RM) images with numerical ...simulations of the magnetic field. Methods. We have analyzed polarization data for seven radio sources in the Coma cluster field observed with the Very Large Array at 3.6, 6 and 20 cm, and derived Faraday rotation measures with kiloparsec scale resolution. Random three dimensional magnetic field models have been simulated for various values of the central intensity B0 and radial power-law slope η, where η indicates how the field scales with respect to the gas density profile. Results. We derive the central magnetic field strength, and radial profile values that best reproduce the RM observations. We find that the magnetic field power spectrum is well represented by a Kolmogorov power spectrum with minimum scale ~2 kpc and maximum scale ~34 kpc. The central magnetic field strength and radial slope are constrained to be in the range (B0 = 3.9 μG; η = 0.4) and (B0 = 5.4 μG; η = 0.7) within 1σ. The best agreement between observations and simulations is achieved for B0 = 4.7 μG; η = 0.5. Values of B0 > 7 μG and <3 μG as well as η < 0.2 and η > 1.0 are incompatible with RM data at 99% confidence level.
Abstract
We have performed 323 MHz observations with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope of the most promising candidates selected from the MACS catalogue. The aim of the work is to extend our ...knowledge of the radio halo and relic populations to z > 0.3, the epoch in which massive clusters are formed. In MACSJ1149.5+2223 and MACSJ1752.1+4440, we discovered two double-relic systems with a radio halo, and in MACSJ0553.4−3342 we found a radio halo. Archival Very Large Array observations and Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope observations have been used to study the polarization and spectral-index properties. The radio halo in MACSJ1149.5+2223 has the steepest spectrum ever found so far in these objects (α ≥ 2). The double relics in MACSJ1149.5+2223 are peculiar in their position that is misaligned with the main merger axis. The relics are polarized up to 30 and 40 per cent in MACSJ1149.5+2223 and MACSJ1752.040+44, respectively. In both cases, the magnetic field is roughly aligned with the relics' main axes. The spectra in the relics in MACSJ1752.040+44 steepen towards the cluster centre, in agreement with model expectations. X-ray data on MACSJ0553.4−3342 suggest that this cluster is undergoing a major merger, with the merger axis close to the plane of the sky. The cores of the disrupted clusters have just passed each other, but no radio relic is detected in this system. If turbulence is responsible for the radio emission, we argue that it must develop before the core passage. A comparison of double-relic plus halo system with cosmological simulations allows a simultaneous estimate of the acceleration efficiencies at shocks (to produce relics) and of turbulence (to produce the halo).
Strong accretion shocks are expected to illuminate the warm–hot intergalactic medium encompassed by the filaments of the cosmic web, through synchrotron radio emission. Given their high sensitivity, ...large low-frequency radio facilities may already be able to detect signatures of this extended radio emission from the region between two close and massive galaxy clusters. In this work we exploit the non-detection of such diffuse emission by deep observations of two pairs of relatively close (≃10 Mpc) and massive (
M
500
≥ 10
14
M
⊙
) galaxy clusters using the LOw-Frequency ARray. By combining the results from the two putative inter-cluster filaments, we derive new independent constraints on the median strength of intergalactic magnetic fields:
B
10 Mpc
< 2.5 × 10
2
nG (95% confidence level). Based on cosmological simulations and assuming a primordial origin of the
B
-fields, these estimates can be used to limit the amplitude of primordial seed magnetic fields:
B
0
≤ 10 nG. We recommend the observation of similar cluster pairs as a powerful tool to set tight constraints on the amplitude of extragalactic magnetic fields.
Centrally located diffuse radio emission has been observed in both merging and non-merging galaxy clusters. Depending on their morphology and size, we distinguish between giant radio haloes, which ...occur predominantly in merging clusters, and mini haloes, which are found in non-merging, cool-core clusters. In recent years, cluster-scale radio emission has also been observed in clusters with no sign of major mergers, showing that our knowledge of the mechanisms that lead to particle acceleration in the intra-cluster medium (ICM) is still incomplete. Low-frequency sensitive observations are required to assess whether the emission discovered in these few cases is common in galaxy clusters or not. With this aim, we carried out a campaign of observations with the LOw Frequency ARay (LOFAR) in the frequency range 120–168 MHz of nine massive clusters selected from the Planck SZ catalogue, which had no sign of major mergers. In this paper, we discuss the results of the observations that have led to the largest cluster sample studied within the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey, and we present Chandra X-ray data used to investigate the dynamical state of the clusters, verifying that the clusters are currently not undergoing major mergers, and to search for traces of minor or off-axis mergers. We discover large-scale steep-spectrum emission around mini haloes in the cool-core clusters PSZ1G139.61+24 and RXJ1720.1+2638, which is not observed around the mini halo in the non-cool-core cluster A1413. We also discover a new 570 kpc-halo in the non-cool-core cluster RXCJ0142.0+2131. We derived new upper limits to the radio power for clusters in which no diffuse radio emission was found, and we discuss the implication of our results to constrain the cosmic-ray energy budget in the ICM. We conclude that radio emission in non-merging massive clusters is not common at the sensitivity level reached by our observations and that no clear connection with the cluster dynamical state is observed. Our results might indicate that the sloshing of a dense cool core could trigger particle acceleration on larger scales and generate steep-spectrum radio emission.
The cosmic web contains a large part of the total gas mass in the Universe, but it is difficult to detect at most wavelengths. Synchrotron emission from shock-accelerated electrons may offer the ...chance of imaging the cosmic web at radio wavelengths. In this work we use 3D cosmological ENZO-magnetohydrodynamic simulations (combined with a post-processing renormalisation of the magnetic field to bracket for missing physical ingredients and resolution effects) to produce models of the radio emission from the cosmic web. In post-processing we study the capabilities of 13 large radio surveys to detect this emission. We find that surveys by LOFAR, SKA1-LOW, and MWA have a chance of detecting the cosmic web, provided that the magnetisation level of the tenuous medium in filaments is of the order of ~1% of the thermal gas energy.
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