Galaxy clusters are the most massive gravitationally bound structures in the Universe. They grow by accreting smaller structures in a merging process that produces shocks and turbulence in the ...intracluster gas. We observed a ridge of radio emission connecting the merging galaxy clusters Abell 0399 and Abell 0401 with the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) telescope network at 140 megahertz. This emission requires a population of relativistic electrons and a magnetic field located in a filament between the two galaxy clusters. We performed simulations to show that a volume-filling distribution of weak shocks may reaccelerate a preexisting population of relativistic particles, producing emission at radio wavelengths that illuminates the magnetic ridge.
Radio relics trace shock fronts generated in the intracluster medium (ICM) during cluster mergers. The particle acceleration mechanism at the shock fronts is not yet completely understood. We ...observed the Toothbrush relic with the Effelsberg and Sardinia Radio Telescope at 14.25 GHz and 18.6 GHz, respectively. Unlike previously claimed, the integrated spectrum of the relic closely follows a power law over almost three orders of magnitude in frequency, with a spectral index of
α
58 MHz
18.6 GHz
= −1.16 ± 0.03. Our finding is consistent with a power-law injection spectrum, as predicted by diffusive shock acceleration theory. The result suggests that there is only little magnetic field strength evolution downstream of the shock. From the lack of spectral steepening, we find that either the Sunyaev–Zeldovich decrement produced by the pressure jump is less extended than ∼600 kpc along the line of sight or, conversely, that the relic is located far behind in the cluster. For the first time, we detect linearly polarized emission from the “brush” at 18.6 GHz. Compared to 8.3 GHz, the degree of polarization across the brush increases at 18.6 GHz, suggesting a strong Faraday depolarization toward lower frequencies. The observed depolarization is consistent with an intervening magnetized screen that arises from the dense ICM containing turbulent magnetic fields. The depolarization, corresponding to a standard deviation of the rotation measures as high as
σ
RM
= 212 ± 23 rad m
−2
, suggests that the brush is located in or behind the ICM. Our findings indicate that the Toothbrush relic can be consistently explained by the standard scenario for relic formation.
ABSTRACT
Radio mini-haloes are poorly understood, moderately extended diffuse radio sources that trace the presence of magnetic fields and relativistic electrons on scales of hundreds of kiloparsecs, ...predominantly in relaxed clusters. With relatively few confirmed detections to-date, many questions remain unanswered. This paper presents new radio observations of the galaxy cluster MS 1455.0+2232 performed with MeerKAT (covering the frequency range 872−1712 MHz) and LOFAR (covering 120−168 MHz), the first results from a homogeneously selected mini-halo census. We find that this mini-halo extends for ∼590 kpc at 1283 MHz, significantly larger than previously believed, and has a flatter spectral index (α = −0.97 ± 0.05) than typically expected. Our X-ray analysis clearly reveals a large-scale (254 kpc) sloshing spiral in the intracluster medium. We perform a point-to-point analysis, finding a tight single correlation between radio and X-ray surface brightness with a super-linear slope of $b_{\rm 1283\, MHz} = 1.16^{+0.06}_{-0.07}$ and $b_{\rm 145\, MHz} = 1.15^{+0.09}_{-0.08}$; this indicates a strong link between the thermal and non-thermal components of the intracluster medium. Conversely, in the spectral index/X-ray surface brightness plane, we find that regions inside and outside the sloshing spiral follow different correlations. We find compelling evidence for multiple sub-components in this mini-halo for the first time. While both the turbulent (re-)acceleration and hadronic scenarios are able to explain some observed properties of the mini-halo in MS 1455.0+2232, neither scenario is able to account for all the evidence presented by our analysis.
Radio galaxies are a subclass of active galactic nuclei (AGN) in which accretion onto the supermassive black hole releases energy into the environment via relativistic jets. The jets are not ...constantly active throughout the life of the host galaxy and alternate between active and quiescent phases. Remnant radio galaxies are detected during a quiescent phase and define a class of unique sources that can be used to constrain the AGN duty cycle. We present, for the first time, a spatially resolved radio analysis of the radio galaxy associated with the galaxy NGC 6086 down to 144 MHz and constraints on the spectral age of the diffuse emission to investigate the duty cycle and evolution of the source. We used three new low-frequency, high-sensitivity observations; the first was performed with the Low Frequency Array at 144 MHz and the other two with the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope at 400 MHz and 675 MHz, respectively. To these, we add two Very Large Array archival observations at higher frequencies (1400 and 4700 MHz). In the new observations in the frequency range 144–675 MHz, we detect a second pair of larger lobes and three regions within the remnant emission with a filamentary morphology. We analysed the spectral index trend in the inner remnant lobes and see systematically steeper values (
α
low
∼1.1–1.3) at the lower frequencies compared to the gigahertz frequencies (
α
high
∼0.8–0.9). Steeper spectral indices are found in the newly detected outer lobes (up to
α
outer
∼2.1), as expected if they trace a previous phase of activity of the AGN. However, the differences between the spectra of the two outer lobes suggest different dynamical evolutions within the intra-group medium during their expansion and/or different magnetic field values. Using a single-injection radiative model and assuming equipartition conditions, we place constraints on the age of the inner and outer lobes and derive the duty cycle of the source. We estimate that the duration of the two active phases was 45 Myr and 18 Myr and the duration of the two inactive phases was 66 Myr and 33 Myr. This results in a total active time of
t
on
∼ 39%. The filamentary structures have a steep spectral index (∼1) without any spectral index trend, and only one of them shows a steepening in the spectrum. Their origin is not yet clear, but they may have formed due to the compression of the plasma or due to magnetic field substructures.
ABSTRACT
Numerical simulations offer the unique possibility to forecast the results of surveys and targeted observations that will be performed with next-generation instruments like the Square ...Kilometre Array. In this paper, we investigate for the first time how future radio surveys in polarization will be affected by confusion noise. To do this, we produce 1.4 GHz simulated full-Stokes images of the extragalactic sky by modelling various discrete radio sources populations. The results of our modelling are compared to data in the literature to check the reliability of our procedure. We also estimate the number of polarized sources detectable by future surveys. Finally, from the simulated images we evaluate the confusion limits in I, Q, and U Stokes parameters, giving analytical formulas of their behaviour as a function of the angular resolution.
ABSTRACT
Future observations with next-generation radio telescopes will help us to understand the presence and evolution of magnetic fields in galaxy clusters through determination of the so-called ...rotation measure (RM). In this work, we applied the RM synthesis technique to synthetic first phase Square Kilometre Array mid frequency element (i.e. the SKA1-MID) radio images of a pair of merging galaxy clusters, measured between 950 and 1750 MHz with a resolution of 10 arcsec and thermal noise of 0.1μJy beam−1. The results of our RM synthesis analysis are compared with the simulation input parameters. We study two cases: one with radio haloes at the cluster centres and another without. We found that the information obtained with RM synthesis is in general agreement with the input information; however, some discrepancies are present. We characterize them in this work, with the final goal of determining the potential impact of SKA1-MID on the study of cluster magnetic fields.
Context. Radio loud active galactic nuclei (AGN) are episodic in nature, cycling through periods of activity and quiescence. The study of this duty cycle has recently gained new relevance because of ...the importance of AGN feedback for galaxy evolution. Aims. In this work we investigate the duty cycle of the radio galaxy B2 0258+35, which was previously suggested to be a restarted radio galaxy based on its morphology. The radio source consists of a pair of kpc-scale jets embedded in two large-scale lobes (∼240 kpc) with relaxed shape and very low surface brightness, which resemble remnants of a past AGN activity. Methods. We have combined new LOFAR data at 145 MHz and new Sardinia Radio Telescope data at 6600 MHz with available WSRT data at 1400 MHz to investigate the spectral properties of the outer lobes and derive their age. Results. Interestingly, the spectrum of both the outer northern and southern lobes is not ultra-steep as expected for an old ageing plasma with spectral index values equal to α1451400 = 0.48 ± 0.11 α 1400 145 = 0.48 ± 0.11 ${\rm {\alpha}}_{1400}^{145} = 0.48 \pm 0.11$ and α14006600 = 0.69 ± 0.20 α 6600 1400 = 0.69 ± 0.20 ${\rm {\alpha}}_{6600}^{1400} {=} 0.69\pm0.20$ in the outer northern lobe, and α1451400 = 0.73 ± 0.07 α 1400 145 = 0.73 ± 0.07 ${\rm {\alpha}}_{1400}^{145} {=} 0.73\pm0.07$ in the outer southern lobe. Moreover, despite the wide frequency coverage available for the outer northern lobe (145–6600 MHz), we do not identify a significant spectral curvature (SPC ≃ 0.2 ± 0.2). Conclusions. While mechanisms such as in-situ particle reacceleration, mixing or compression can temporarily play a role in preventing the spectrum from steepening, in no case seem the outer lobes to be compatible with being very old remnants of past activity as previously suggested (with age ≳ 80 Myr). We conclude that either the large-scale lobes are still fuelled by the nuclear engine or the jets have switched off no more than a few tens of Myr ago, allowing us to observe both the inner and outer structure simultaneously. Our study shows the importance of combining morphological and spectral properties to reliably classify the evolutionary stage of low surface brightness, diffuse emission that low frequency observations are revealing around a growing number of radio sources.
We report the detection of diffuse radio emission which might be connected to a large-scale filament of the cosmic web covering a 8° × 8° area in the sky, likely associated with a z ≈ 0.1 overdensity ...traced by nine massive galaxy clusters. In this work, we present radio observations of this region taken with the Sardinia Radio Telescope. Two of the clusters in the field host a powerful radio halo sustained by violent ongoing mergers and provide direct proof of intracluster magnetic fields. In order to investigate the presence of large-scale diffuse radio synchrotron emission in and beyond the galaxy clusters in this complex system, we combined the data taken at 1.4 GHz with the Sardinia Radio Telescope with higher resolution data taken with the NRAO VLA Sky Survey. We found 28 candidate new sources with a size larger and X-ray emission fainter than known diffuse large-scale synchrotron cluster sources for a given radio power. This new population is potentially the tip of the iceberg of a class of diffuse large-scale synchrotron sources associated with the filaments of the cosmic web. In addition, we found in the field a candidate new giant radio galaxy.
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