6,356 research outputs found
A giant radio halo in the low luminosity X-ray cluster Abell 523
Radio halos are extended and diffuse non-thermal radio sources present at the
cluster center, not obviously associated with any individual galaxy. A strong
correlation has been found between the cluster X-ray luminosity and the halo
radio power. We observe and analyze the diffuse radio emission present in the
complex merging structure Abell 523, classified as a low luminosity X-ray
cluster, to discuss its properties in the context of the halo total radio power
versus X-ray luminosity correlation. We reduced VLA archive observations at 1.4
GHz to derive a deep radio image of the diffuse emission, and compared radio,
optical, and X-ray data. Low-resolution VLA images detect a giant radio halo
associated with a complex merging region. The properties of this new halo agree
with those of radio halos in general discussed in the literature, but its radio
power is about a factor of ten higher than expected on the basis of the cluster
X-ray luminosity. Our study of this giant radio source demonstrates that radio
halos can also be present in clusters with a low X-ray luminosity. Only a few
similar cases have so far been found . This result suggests that this source
represent a new class of objects, that cannot be explained by classical radio
halo models. We suggest that the particle reacceleration related to merging
processes is very efficient and/or the X-ray luminosity is not a good indicator
of the past merging activity of a cluster.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, Astronomy and Astrophysics Letter in pres
The nature of the giant diffuse non-thermal source in the A3411-A3412 complex
VLA deep radio images at 1.4 GHz in total intensity and polarization reveal a
diffuse non-thermal source in the interacting clusters A3411 - A3412. Moreover
a small-size low power radio halo at the center of the merging cluster A3411 is
found. We present here new optical and X-ray data and discuss the nature and
properties of the diffuse non-thermal source. We suggest that the giant diffuse
radio source is related to the presence of a large scale filamentary structure
and to multiple mergers in the A3411-A3412 complex.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
The intercalibration of the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter at the test beam
During summer 2006, 9 supermodules of the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL) have been exposed to an electron beam at the CERN SPS north area facility. Each supermodule contains 1700 crystals. The intercalibration coefficients of the different channels have been measured for each supermodule. The reproducibility of the intercalibration has been tested by measuring a supermodule twice. The intercalibration coefficients obtained in the electron beam have also been compared with those obtained with cosmic ray muons
The intracluster magnetic field power spectrum in Abell 665
The goal of this work is to investigate the power spectrum of the magnetic
field associated with the giant radio halo in the galaxy cluster A665. For
this, we present new deep Very Large Array total intensity and polarization
observations at 1.4 GHz. We simulated Gaussian random three-dimensional
turbulent magnetic field models to reproduce the observed radio halo emission.
By comparing observed and synthetic radio halo images we constrained the
strength and structure of the intracluster magnetic field. We assumed that the
magnetic field power spectrum is a power law with a Kolmogorov index and we
imposed a local equipartition of energy density between relativistic particles
and field. Under these assumptions, we find that the radio halo emission in
A665 is consistent with a central magnetic field strength of about 1.3 micro-G.
To explain the azimuthally averaged radio brightness profile, the magnetic
field energy density should decrease following the thermal gas density, leading
to an averaged magnetic field strength over the central 1 Mpc^3 of about 0.75
micro-G. From the observed brightness fluctuations of the radio halo, we infer
that the outer scale of the magnetic field power spectrum is ~450 kpc, and the
corresponding magnetic field auto-correlation length is ~100 kpc.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication on A&A, language
editing. For a high quality version see
http://erg.ca.astro.it/preprints/a665_halo
Detection of diffuse radio emission in the galaxy clusters A800, A910, A1550, and CL1446+26
Radio halos are elusive sources located at the center of merging galaxy
clusters. To date, only about 40 radio halos are known, thus the discovery of
new halos provide important insights on this class of sources. To improve the
statistics of radio halos, we investigated the radio continuum emission in a
sample of galaxy clusters. We analyzed archival Very Large Array observations
at 1.4 GHz, with a resolution of about 1 arcmin. These observations
complemented by X-ray, optical, and higher resolution radio data allowed to
detect a new radio halo in the central region of A800 and A1550. We discovered
a radio relic in the periphery of A910, and finally we revealed both a halo and
a relic in CL1446+26.Clusters hosting these new halos show an offset between
the radio and the X-ray peak. By analyzing this offset statistically we found
that radio halos can be quite asymmetric with respect to the X-ray gas
distribution, with an average radio - X-ray displacement of about 180 kpc. When
the offsets are normalized by the halo size, there is a tendency for smaller
halos to show larger displacements.Comment: Accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics, 13 pages, 8 figure
The spectral index image of the radio halo in the cluster Abell 520 hosting a famous bow shock
Synchrotron radio emission is being detected from an increasing number of
galaxy clusters. Spectral index images are a powerful tool to investigate the
origin, nature, and connection of these sources with the dynamical state of the
cluster. The aim of this work is to investigate the spectral index distribution
of the radio halo in the galaxy cluster A520, a complex system from an optical,
radio, and X-ray point of view. We present deep Very Large Array observations
in total intensity at 325 and 1400 MHz. We produced and analyzed spectral index
images of the radio halo in this frequency range at a resolution of 39" and 60"
and looked for possible correlations with the thermal properties of the
cluster. We find an integrated radio halo spectral index alpha(325-1400) ~
1.12. No strong radial steepening is present and the spectral index
distribution is intrinsically complex with fluctuations only partially due to
measurement errors. The radio halo integrated spectral index and the cluster
temperature follow the global trend observed in other galaxy clusters although
a strong point-to-point correlation between the spectral index and the thermal
gas temperature has not been observed. The complex morphology in the spectral
index image of the radio halo in A520 is in agreement with the primary models
for radio halo formation. The flatness of the radial profile suggests that the
merger is still ongoing and is uniformly and continuously (re-) accelerating
the population of relativistic electrons responsible of the radio emission even
at large (~ 1 Mpc) distances from the cluster center.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, A&A accepte
Discovery of diffuse emission in the galaxy cluster A1689
The aim of this work is to investigate the possible presence of extended
diffuse synchrotron radio emission associated with the intracluster medium of
the complex galaxy cluster A1689. The radio continuum emission of A1689 has
been investigated by analyzing archival observations at 1.2 and 1.4 GHz
obtained with the Very Large Array in different configurations. We report the
detection of an extended, diffuse, low-surface brightness radio emission
located in the central region of A1689. The surface brightness profile of the
diffuse emission at 1.2 GHz indicates a central radio brightness of ~1.7 \mu
Jy/arcsec^2 and the 3\sigma radio isophothes reveal the largest linear size to
be 730 kpc. Given its central location, the low-level surface brightness, and
the comparatively large extension, we classify the diffuse cluster-wide
emission in A1689 as a small radio halo.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, A&A accepte
Unravelling the origin of large-scale magnetic fields in galaxy clusters and beyond through Faraday Rotation Measures with the SKA
We investigate the possibility for the SKA to detect and study the magnetic
fields in galaxy clusters and in the less dense environments surrounding them
using Faraday Rotation Measures. To this end, we produce 3-dimensional magnetic
field models for galaxy clusters of different masses and in different stages of
their evolution, and derive mock rotation measure observations of background
radiogalaxies. According to our results, already in phase I, we will be able to
infer the magnetic field properties in galaxy clusters as a function of the
cluster mass, down to solar-masses. Moreover, using cosmological
simulations to model the gas density, we have computed the expected rotation
measure through shock-fronts that occur in the intra-cluster medium during
cluster mergers. The enhancement in the rotation measure due to the density
jump will permit to constraint the magnetic field strength and structure after
the shock passage. SKA observations of polarised sources located behind galaxy
clusters will answer several questions about the magnetic field strength and
structure in galaxy clusters, and its evolution with cosmic time.Comment: 9 pages, 4 Figures, to appear as part of 'Cosmic Magnetism' in
Proceedings 'Advancing Astrophysics with the SKA (AASKA14)', PoS(AASKA14
Lactate Upregulates the Expression of DNA Repair Genes, Causing Intrinsic Resistance of Cancer Cells to Cisplatin
Intrinsic or acquired drug resistance is one of the major problems compromising the success of antineoplastic treatments. Several evidences correlated some therapeutic failures with changes in cell metabolic asset and in line with these findings, hindering the glycolytic metabolism of cancer cells via lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) inhibition was found to overcome the resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. Lactate, the product of LDH reaction, was shown to be involved in epigenetic regulation of gene expression. The experiments described in this paper were aimed at highlighting a possible direct effect of lactate in modifying the response of cancer cells to a chemotherapeutic treatment. To discriminate between the effects potentially caused by glycolytic metabolism from those directly referable to lactate, we selected cancer cell lines able to grow in glucose deprived conditions and evaluated the impact of lactate on the cellular response to cisplatin-induced DNA damage. In lactate-exposed cells we observed a reduced efficacy of cisplatin, which was associated with reduced signatures of DNA damage, enhanced DNA recombination competence and increased expression of a panel of genes involved in DNA repair. The identified genes take part in mismatch and nucleotide excision repair pathways, which were found to contribute in restoring the cisplatin-induced DNA damage. The obtained results suggest that this metabolite could play a role in reducing the efficacy of antineoplastic treatments
- …