The Bullet cluster (1E 0657-55.8) is a massive merging system at redshift
z=0.296, known to host a powerful radio halo and a relic. Here we present
high fidelity MeerKAT L-band (0.9-1.7 GHz) observations of the Bullet cluster,
in which we trace a larger extent of both the radio halo and relic in
comparison to previous studies. The size of the recovered radio halo is 1.6 Mpc
× 1.3 Mpc and the largest linear size of the relic is ~988 kpc. We
detect a new decrement feature on the southern outskirts of the halo emission,
where a region appears to have a lower surface brightness in comparison to its
surroundings. The fainter extension on the outskirts of the radio halo suggests
a new wave of merger activity. An in-band spectral index map of the radio halo
reveals a hint of radial steepening towards the edges of the diffuse source,
likely due to synchrotron electron ageing. The integrated spectral index of the
radio halo is 1.1±0.2. We perform a radio-X-ray surface brightness
point-to-point analysis, which reveals a linear correlation for the radio halo.
This indicates that the radio halo emission is produced by primary
re-acceleration mechanisms. Finally, we derive a radio Mach number of M_R=
4.6±0.9 for the relic shock region, which is higher than the Mach number
inferred by earlier analyses based on X-ray data. Discrepancies between radio
and X-ray Mach numbers have been observed for multiple systems, with studies
suggesting that this is due to various factors, including relic orientation.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures. Submitted to MNRAS; corrected typo in the Mach
numbe