259 research outputs found
Discovery of inverse-Compton X-ray emission and estimate of the volume-averaged magnetic field in a galaxy group
Observed in a significant fraction of clusters and groups of galaxies,
diffuse radio synchrotron emission reveals the presence of relativistic
electrons and magnetic fields permeating large-scale systems of galaxies.
Although these non-thermal electrons are expected to upscatter cosmic microwave
background photons up to hard X-ray energies, such inverse-Compton (IC) X-ray
emission has so far not been unambiguously detected on cluster/group scales.
Using deep, new proprietary XMM-Newton observations (200 ks of clean
exposure), we report a 4.6 detection of extended IC X-ray emission in
MRC 0116+111, an extraordinary group of galaxies at . Assuming a
spectral slope derived from low-frequency radio data, the detection remains
robust to systematic uncertainties. Together with low-frequency radio data from
GMRT, this detection provides an estimate for the volume-averaged magnetic
field of G within the central part of the group. This
value can serve as an anchor for studies of magnetic fields in the largest
gravitationally bound systems in the Universe.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Is there a giant Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in the sloshing cold front of the Perseus cluster?
Deep observations of nearby galaxy clusters with Chandra have revealed concave ‘bay’ structures in a number of systems (Perseus, Centaurus and Abell 1795), which have similar X-ray and radio properties. These bays have all the properties of cold fronts, where the temperature rises and density falls sharply, but are concave rather than convex. By comparing to simulations of gas sloshing, we find that the bay in the Perseus cluster bears a striking resemblance in its size, location and thermal structure, to a giant (≈50 kpc) roll resulting from Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities. If true, the morphology of this structure can be compared to simulations to put constraints on the initial average ratio of the thermal and magnetic pressure, β = pth/pB, throughout the overall cluster before the sloshing occurs, for which we find β = 200 to best match the observations. Simulations with a stronger magnetic field (β = 100) are disfavoured, as in these the large Kelvin–Helmholtz rolls do not form, while in simulations with a lower magnetic field (β = 500), the level of instabilities is much larger than is observed. We find that the bay structures in Centaurus and Abell 1795 may also be explained by such features of gas sloshing
Chandra X-ray observations of the hyper-luminous infrared galaxy IRAS F15307+3252
Hyper-luminous infrared galaxies (HyLIRGs) lie at the extreme luminosity end of the IR galaxy population with LIR > 1013 L.. They are thought to be closer counterparts of the more distant sub-millimeter galaxies, and should therefore be optimal targets to study the most massive systems in formation.We present deep Chandra observations of IRAS F15307+3252 (100 ks), a classical HyLIRG located at z=0.93 and hosting a radio-loudAGN(L1.4 GHz ∼3.5×1025WHz−1). The Chandra images reveal the presence of extended (r=160 kpc), asymmetric X-ray emission in the soft 0.3-2.0 keV band that has no radio counterpart.We therefore argue that the emission is of thermal origin originating from a hot intragroup or intracluster medium virializing in the potential. We find that the temperature (∼2 keV) and bolometric X-ray luminosity (∼3 × 1043 erg s−1) of the gas follow the expected LX-ray-T correlation for groups and clusters, and that the gas has a remarkably short cooling time of 1.2 Gyr. In addition, VLA radio observations reveal that the galaxy hosts an unresolved compact steep-spectrum (CSS)source, most likely indicating the presence of a young radio source similar to 3C186. We also confirm that the nucleus is dominated by a redshifted 6.4 keV Fe Kα line, strongly suggesting that the AGN is Compton-thick. Finally, Hubble images reveal an overdensity of galaxies and sub-structure in the galaxy that correlates with soft X-ray emission. This could be a snapshot view of on-going groupings expected in a growing cluster environment. IRAS F15307+3252 might therefore be a rare example of a group in the process of transforming into a cluster
LoTSS jellyfish galaxies. III. The first identification of jellyfish galaxies in the Perseus cluster
Galaxie
Uplift, Feedback, and Buoyancy: Radio Lobe Dynamics in NGC 4472
© 2017. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. We present results from deep (380 ks) Chandra observations of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) outburst in the massive early-type galaxy NGC 4472. We detect cavities in the gas coincident with the radio lobes and estimate the eastern and western lobe enthalpy to be (1.1 ± 0.5) × 10 56 erg and (3 ± 1) × 10 56 erg and the average power required to inflate the lobes to be (1.8 ± 0.9) × 10 41 erg s -1 and (6 ± 3) × 10 41 erg s -1 , respectively. We also detect enhanced X-ray rims around the radio lobes with sharp surface brightness discontinuities between the shells and the ambient gas. The temperature of the gas in the shells is less than that of the ambient medium, suggesting that they are not AGN-driven shocks but rather gas uplifted from the core by the buoyant rise of the radio bubbles. We estimate the energy required to lift the gas to be up to (1.1 ± 0.3) × 10 56 erg and (3 ± 1) × 10 56 erg for the eastern and western rims, respectively, constituting a significant fraction of the total outburst energy. A more conservative estimate suggests that the gas in the rim was uplifted at a smaller distance, requiring only 20%-25% of this energy. In either case, if a significant fraction of this uplift energy is thermalized via hydrodynamic instabilities or thermal conduction, our results suggest that it could be an important source of heating in cool core clusters and groups. We also find evidence for a central abundance drop in NGC 4472. The iron abundance profile shows that the region along the cavity system has a lower metallicity than the surrounding undisturbed gas, similar to the central region. This also shows that bubbles have lifted low-metallicity gas from the center
Extended radio emission in the galaxy cluster MS 0735.6+7421 detected with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array
MS 0735.6+7421 () is a massive cool core galaxy cluster hosting
one of the most powerful active galactic nuclei (AGN) outbursts known. The
radio jets of the AGN have carved out an unusually large pair of X-ray
cavities, each reaching a diameter of kpc. This makes MS 0735.6+7421 a
unique case to investigate active galactic nuclei feedback processes, as well
as other cluster astrophysics at radio wavelengths. We present new
low-radio-frequency observations of MS 0735.6+7421 taken with the Karl G.
Jansky Very Large Array (VLA): 5 hours of P-band ( MHz) and 5 hours of
L-band ( GHz) observations, both in C configuration. Our VLA P-band
( MHz) observations reveal the presence of a new diffuse radio
component reaching a scale of kpc in the direction of the jets and
of kpc in the direction perpendicular to the jets. This component
is centered on the cluster core and has a radio power scaled at GHz of
WHz. Its properties are
consistent with those expected from a radio mini-halo as seen in other massive
cool core clusters, although it may also be associated with radio plasma that
has diffused out of the X-ray cavities. Observations at higher spatial
resolution are needed to fully characterize the properties and nature of this
component. We also suggest that if radio mini-halos originate from jetted
activity, we may be witnessing the early stages of this process.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, submitted to MNRA
The cavity of 3CR 196.1: H emission spatially associated with an X-ray cavity
We present a multifrequency analysis of the radio galaxy 3CR 196.1 (), associated with the brightest galaxy of the cool core cluster
CIZAJ0815.4-0303. This nearby radio galaxy shows a hybrid radio morphology and
an X-ray cavity, all signatures of a turbulent past activity, potentially due
to merger events and AGN outbursts. We present results of the comparison
between and VLT/MUSE data for the inner region of the galaxy cluster,
on a scale of tens of kpc. We discovered H + [N II]
emission spatially associated with the X-ray cavity (at 10 kpc from the
galaxy nucleus) instead of with its rim. This result differs from previous
discoveries of ionized gas surrounding X-ray cavities in other radio galaxies
harbored in galaxy clusters and could represent the first reported case of
ionized gas filling an X-ray cavity, either due to different AGN outbursts or
to the cooling of warm ( K) AGN outflows. We also found that
the H, [N II] and [S
II] emission lines show an additional redward
component, at 1000 kms from rest frame, with no detection in
H or [O III]. We believe the most likely
explanation for this redward component is the presence of a background gas
cloud since there appears to be a discrete difference in velocities between
this component and the rest frame.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, ApJ accepted, pre-proof versio
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