First evidence of diffuse ultra-steep-spectrum radio emission surrounding the cool core of a cluster

Diffuse synchrotron radio emission from cosmic ray electrons is observed at the centre of a number of galaxy clusters. These sources can be classified either as giant radio haloes, which occur in merging clusters, or as mini haloes, which are found only in cool-core clusters. In this paper, we prese...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Savini, F., Bonafede, A., Brüggen, M., van Weeren, R., Brunetti, G., Intema, Hubertus, Botteon, A., Shimwell, T., Wilber, A., Rafferty, D., Giacintucci, S., Cassano, R., Cuciti, V., de Gasperin, F., Röttgering, H., Hoeft, M., White, G.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Oxford University Press 2018
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/74037
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Summary:Diffuse synchrotron radio emission from cosmic ray electrons is observed at the centre of a number of galaxy clusters. These sources can be classified either as giant radio haloes, which occur in merging clusters, or as mini haloes, which are found only in cool-core clusters. In this paper, we present the first discovery of a cool-core cluster with an associated mini halo that also shows ultra-steep-spectrum emission extending well beyond the core that resembles radio halo emission. The large-scale component is discovered thanks to LOFAR observations at 144 MHz. We also analyse GMRT observations at 610 MHz to characterize the spectrum of the radio emission. An X-ray analysis reveals that the cluster is slightly disturbed, and we suggest that the steep-spectrum radio emission outside the core could be produced by a minor merger that powers electron re-acceleration without disrupting the cool core. This discovery suggests that, under particular circumstances, both a mini halo and giant halo could co-exist in a single cluster, opening new perspectives for particle acceleration mechanisms in galaxy clusters.