4,143 research outputs found
A giant radio halo in the massive and merging cluster Abell 1351
We report on the detection of diffuse radio emission in the X-ray luminous
and massive galaxy cluster A1351 (z=0.322) using archival Very Large Array data
at 1.4 GHz. Given its central location, morphology, and Mpc-scale extent, we
classify the diffuse source as a giant radio halo. X-ray and weak lensing
studies show A1351 to be a system undergoing a major merger. The halo is
associated with the most massive substructure. The presence of this source is
explained assuming that merger-driven turbulence may re-accelerate high-energy
particles in the intracluster medium and generate diffuse radio emission on the
cluster scale. The position of A1351 in the logP - logL plane
is consistent with that of all other radio-halo clusters known to date,
supporting a causal connection between the unrelaxed dynamical state of massive
() clusters and the presence of giant radio halos.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, proof corrections include
Radio Lobes of Pictor A: an X-ray spatially resolved Study
A new XMM observation has made possible a detailed study of both lobes of the
radio galaxy Pictor A. Their X-ray emission is of non thermal origin and due to
Inverse Compton scattering of the microwave background photons by relativistic
electrons in the lobes, as previously found. In both lobes, the equipartition
magnetic field (Beq) is bigger than the Inverse Compton value (Bic), calculated
from the radio and X-ray flux ratio. The Beq/Bic ratio never gets below 2, in
spite of the large number of reasonable assumptions tested to calculate Beq,
suggesting a lobe energetic dominated by particles. The X-ray data quality is
good enough to allow a spatially resolved analysis. Our study shows that Bic
varies through the lobes. It appears to increase behind the hot spots. On the
contrary, a rather uniform distribution of the particles is observed. As a
consequence, the radio flux density variation along the lobes appears to be
mainly driven by magnetic field changes.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, ApJ accepte
Inverse Compton X-rays from the radio galaxy 3C 219
We report the results from a Chandra observation of the powerful nearby
(z=0.1744) radio galaxy 3C 219. We find evidence for non-thermal X-ray emission
from the radio lobes which fits fairly well with a combination of inverse
Compton scattering of Cosmic Microwave Background radiation and of nuclear
photons with the relativistic electrons in the lobes. The comparison between
radio synchrotron and IC emission yields a magnetic field strength
significantly lower (about a factor 3) than that calculated under minimum
energy conditions; the source energetics is then dominated by the relativistic
particles.Comment: 5 pages, 2 color figures, Accepted for publication in MNRAS pink
page
GMRT Radio Halo Survey in galaxy clusters at z = 0.2 -- 0.4. II.The eBCS clusters and analysis of the complete sample
We present the results of the GMRT cluster radio halo survey. The main
purposes of our observational project are to measure which fraction of massive
galaxy clusters in the redshift range z=0.2--0.4 hosts a radio halo, and to
constrain the expectations of the particle re--acceleration model for the
origin of the non--thermal radio emission. We selected a complete sample of 50
clusters in the X-ray band from the REFLEX (27) and the eBCS (23) catalogues.
In this paper we present Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) observations at
610 MHz for all clusters still lacking high sensitivity radio information, i.e.
16 eBCS and 7 REFLEX clusters, thus completing the radio information for the
whole sample. The typical sensitivity in our images is in the range 1Jy b. We found a radio halo in A697, a diffuse
peripheral source of unclear nature in A781, a core--halo source in Z7160, a
candidate radio halo in A1682 and ``suspect'' central emission in Z2661.
Including the literature information, a total of 10 clusters in the sample host
a radio halo. A very important result of our work is that 25 out of the 34
clusters observed with the GMRT do not host extended central emission at the
sensitivity level of our observations, and for 20 of them firm upper limits to
the radio power of a giant radio halo were derived. The GMRT Radio Halo Survey
shows that radio halos are not common, and our findings on the fraction of
giant radio halos in massive clusters are consistent with the statistical
expectations based on the re--acceleration model. Our results favour primary to
secondary electron models.Comment: A&A in press, 17 pages, 12 figures, 4 tables Version with high
quality figures available on web at
http://www.ira.inaf.it/~tventuri/pap/Venturi_web.pd
An elusive radio halo in the merging cluster Abell 781?
Deep radio observations of the galaxy cluster Abell 781 have been carried out
using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope at 325 MHz and have been compared to
previous 610 MHz observations and to archival VLA 1.4 GHz data. The radio
emission from the cluster is dominated by a diffuse source located at the
outskirts of the X-ray emission, which we tentatively classify as a radio
relic. We detected residual diffuse emission at the cluster centre at the level
of S(325 MHz)~15-20 mJy. Our analysis disagrees with Govoni et al. (2011), and
on the basis of simple spectral considerations we do not support their claim of
a radio halo with flux density of 20-30 mJy at 1.4 GHz. Abell 781, a massive
and merging cluster, is an intriguing case. Assuming that the residual emission
is indicative of the presence of a radio halo barely detectable at our
sensitivity level, it could be a very steep spectrum source.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, 1 table - Accepted for publication on Monthly
Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Letter
Deep 1.4 GHZ Follow Up of the Steep Spectrum Radio Halo in Abell 521
In a recent paper we reported on the discovery of a radio halo with very
steep spectrum in the merging galaxy cluster Abell 521 through observations
with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). We showed that the steep
spectrum of the halo is inconsistent with a secondary origin of the
relativistic electrons and supports a turbulent acceleration scenario. At that
time, due to the steep spectrum, the available observations at 1.4 GHz
(archival NRAO - Very Large Array - VLA CnB-configuration data) were not
adequate to accurately determine the flux density associated with the radio
halo. In this paper we report the detection at 1.4 GHz of the radio halo in
Abell 521 using deep VLA observations in the D-configuration. We use these new
data to confirm the steep-spectrum of the object. We consider Abell 521 the
prototype of a population of very-steep spectrum halos. This population is
predicted assuming that turbulence plays an important role in the acceleration
of relativistic particles in galaxy clusters, and we expect it will be unveiled
by future surveys at low frequencies with the LOFAR and LWA radio telescopes.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures (figure 1 available in gif format only). Requires
aastex.cls - Accepted by Ap.
The very steep spectrum radio halo in Abell 697
In this paper we present a detailed study of the giant radio halo in the
galaxy cluster Abell 697, with the aim to constrain its origin and connection
with the cluster dynamics. We performed high sensitivity GMRT observations at
325 MHz, which showed that the radio halo is much brighter and larger at this
frequency, compared to previous 610 MHz observations. In order to derive the
integrated spectrum in the frequency range 325 MHz--1.4 GHz, we re--analysed
archival VLA data at 1.4 GHz and made use of proprietary GMRT data at 610 MHz.
{Our multifrequency analysis shows that the total radio spectrum of the giant
radio halo in A\,697 is very steep, with . %\pm0.1$. Due to energy arguments, a hadronic origin of the
halo is disfavoured by such steep spectrum. Very steep spectrum halos in
merging clusters are predicted in the case that the emitting electrons are
accelerated by turbulence, observations with the upcoming low frequency arrays
will be able to test these expectations.}Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, A&A in pres
The cluster relic source in A521
We present high sensitivity radio observations of the merging cluster A521,
at a mean redsfhit z=0.247. The observations were carried out with the GMRT at
610 MHz and cover a region of 1 square degree, with a sensitivity limit
of = 35 Jy b. The most relevant result of these
observations is the presence of a radio relic at the cluster periphery, at the
edge of a region where group infalling into the main cluster is taking place.
Thanks to the wealth of information available in the literature in the optical
and X-ray bands, a multi--band study of the relic and its surroundings was
performed. Our analysis is suggestive of a connection between this source and
the complex ongoing merger in the A521 region. The relic might be ``revived'
fossil radio plasma through adiabatic compression of the magnetic field or
shock re--acceleration due to the merger events. We also briefly discussed the
possibility that this source is the result of induced ram pressure stripping of
radio lobes associated with the nearby cluster radio galaxy J0454--1016a.
Allowing for the large uncertainties due to the small statistics, the number of
radio emitting early--type galaxies found in A521 is consistent with the
expectations from the standard radio luminosity function for local (z0.09)
cluster ellipticals.Comment: 30 pages 8 figures, 5 tables, accepted by New Astronom
An unlikely radio halo in the low X-ray luminosity galaxy cluster RXC J1514.9-1523
We report the discovery of a giant radio halo in the galaxy cluster RXC
J1514.9-1523 at z=0.22 with a relatively low X-ray luminosity, erg s. This faint, diffuse
radio source is detected with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope at 327 MHz.
The source is barely detected at 1.4 GHz in a NVSS pointing that we have
reanalyzed. The integrated radio spectrum of the halo is quite steep, with a
slope \alpha = 1.6 between 327 MHz and 1.4 GHz. While giant radio halos are
common in more X-ray luminous cluster mergers, there is a less than 10%
probability to detect a halo in systems with L_X \ltsim 8 \times 10^{44} erg
s. The detection of a new giant halo in this borderline luminosity
regime can be particularly useful for discriminating between the competing
theories for the origin of ultrarelativistic electrons in clusters.
Furthermore, if our steep radio spectral index is confirmed by future deeper
radio observations, this cluster would provide another example of the recently
discovered population of ultra-steep spectrum radio halos, predicted by the
model in which the cluster cosmic ray electrons are produced by turbulent
reacceleration.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures - Accepted for publication on A&A Research Note
The Extended GMRT Radio Halo Survey I: New upper limits on radio halos and mini-halos
A fraction of galaxy clusters host diffuse radio sources called radio halos,
radio relics and mini-halos. We present the sample and first results from the
Extended GMRT Radio Halo Survey (EGRHS)- an extension of the GMRT Radio Halo
Survey (GRHS, Venturi et al. 2007, 2008). It is a systematic radio survey of
galaxy clusters selected from the REFLEX and eBCS X-ray catalogs . Analysis of
GMRT data at 610/ 235/ 325 MHz on 12 galaxy clusters are presented. We report
the detection of a newly discovered mini-halo in the cluster RXJ1532.9+3021 at
610 MHz. A small scale relic (~200 kpc) is suspected in the cluster Z348. We do
not detect cluster-scale diffuse emission in 11 clusters. Robust upper limits
on the detection of radio halo of size of 1 Mpc are determined. We also present
upper limits on the detections of mini-halos in a sub-sample of cool-core
clusters. The upper limits for radio halos and mini-halos are plotted in the
radio power- X-ray luminosity plane and the correlations are discussed. Diffuse
extended emission, not related to the target clusters, but detected as
by-products in the sensitive images of two of the cluster fields (A689 and
RXJ0439.0+0715) are reported. Based on the information about the presence of
radio halos (or upper limits), available on 48 clusters out of the total sample
of 67 clusters (EGRHS+GRHS), we find that ~23% of the clusters host radio
halos. The radio halo fraction rises to ~31%, when only the clusters with X-ray
luminosities >8x10^44 erg/s are considered. Mini-halos are found in ~50 % of
cool-core clusters. A qualitative examination of the X-ray images of the
clusters with no diffuse radio emission indicates that a majority of these
clusters do not show extreme dynamical disturbances and supports the idea that
mergers play an important role in the generation of radio halos/relics.Comment: 21 pages, 18 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in A&
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