Felipe Andrade-Santos

LOFAR Facet Calibration

LOFAR, the Low-Frequency Array, is a powerful new radio telescope operating between 10 and 240 MHz. LOFAR allows detailed sensitive high-resolution studies of the low-frequency radio sky. At the same time LOFAR also provides excellent short baseline coverage to map diffuse extended emission. However, producing highquality deep images is challenging due to the presence of direction-dependent calibration errors, caused by imperfect knowledge of the station beam shapes and the ionosphere. Furthermore, the large data volume and presence of station clock errors present additional difficulties. In this paper we present a new calibration scheme, which we name facet calibration, to obtain deep high-resolution LOFAR High Band Antenna images using the Dutch part of the array. This scheme solves and corrects the direction-dependent errors in a number of facets that cover the observed field of view. Facet calibration provides close to thermal noise limited images for a typical 8 hr observing run at similar to 5. resolution, meeting the specifications of the LOFAR Tier-1 northern survey.

The case for electron re-acceleration at galaxy cluster shocks

On the largest scales, the Universe consists of voids and filaments making up the cosmic web. Galaxy clusters are located at the knots in this web, at the intersection of filaments. Clusters grow through accretion from these large-scale filaments and by mergers with other clusters and groups. In a growing number of galaxy clusters, elongated Mpc-size radio sources have been found [1, 2]. Also known as radio relics, these regions of diffuse radio emission are thought to trace relativistic electrons in the intracluster plasma accelerated by low-Mach number shocks generated by cluster-cluster merger events [3]. A long-standing problem is how low-Mach number shocks can accelerate electrons so efficiently to explain the observed radio relics. Here we report the discovery of a direct connection between a radio relic and a radio galaxy in the merging galaxy cluster Abell 3411-3412 by combining radio, X-ray, and optical observations. This discovery indicates that fossil relativistic electrons from active galactic nuclei are re-accelerated at cluster shocks. It also implies that radio galaxies play an important role in governing the non-thermal component of the intracluster medium in merging clusters.

FRONTIER FIELDS CLUSTERS: CHANDRA AND JVLA VIEW OF THE PRE-MERGING CLUSTER MACS J0416.1-2403

Merging galaxy clusters leave long-lasting signatures on the baryonic and non-baryonic cluster constituents, including shock fronts, cold fronts, X-ray substructure, radio halos, and offsets between the dark matter (DM) and the gas components. Using observations from Chandra, the Jansky Very Large Array, the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope, and the Hubble Space Telescope, we present a multiwavelength analysis of the merging Frontier Fields cluster MACS J0416.1-2403 (z = 0.396), which consists of NE and SW subclusters whose cores are separated on the sky by ~250 kpc. We find that the NE subcluster has a compact core and hosts an X-ray cavity, yet it is not a cool core. Approximately 450 kpc south–southwest of the SW subcluster, we detect a density discontinuity that corresponds to a compression factor of ~1.5. The discontinuity was most likely caused by the interaction of the SW subcluster with a less massive structure detected in the lensing maps SW of the subclusters center. For both the NE and the SW subclusters, the DM and the gas components are well-aligned, suggesting that MACS J0416.1-2403 is a pre-merging system. The cluster also hosts a radio halo, which is unusual for a pre-merging system. The halo has a 1.4 GHz power of (1.3 ± 0.3) × 10^(24) W Hz^(−1), which is somewhat lower than expected based on the X-ray luminosity of the cluster if the spectrum of the halo is not ultra-steep. We suggest that we are either witnessing the birth of a radio halo, or have discovered a rare ultra-steep spectrum halo.

DARK MATTER SUBHALOS AND THE X-RAY MORPHOLOGY OF THE COMA CLUSTER

Structure formation models predict that clusters of galaxies contain numerous massive subhalos. The gravity of a subhalo in a cluster compresses the surrounding intracluster gas and enhances its X-ray emission. We present a simple model, which treats subhalos as slow moving and gasless, for computing this effect. Recent weak lensing measurements by Okabe et al. have determined masses of ∼ 10 13 M⊙ for three mass concentrations projected within 300 kpc of the center of the Coma Cluster, two of which are centered on the giant elliptical galaxies NGC 4889 and NGC 4874. Adopting a smooth spheroidal β-model for the gas distribution in the unperturbed cluster, we model the effect of these subhalos on the X-ray morphology of the Coma Cluster, comparing our results to Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray data. The agreement between the models and the X-ray morphology of the central Coma Cluster is striking. With subhalo parameters from the lensing measurements, the distances of the three subhalos from the Coma Cluster midplane along our line of sight are all tightly constrained. Using the model to fit the subhalo masses for NGC 4889 and NGC 4874 gives 9.1 × 10 12 M⊙ and 7.6 × 10 12 M⊙, respectively, in good agreement with the lensing masses. These results lend strong support to the argument that NGC 4889 and NGC 4874 are each associated with a subhalo that resides near the center of the Coma Cluster. In addition to constraining the masses and 3-d location of subhalos, the X-ray data show promise as a means of probing the structure of central subhalos. Subject headings: dark matter – galaxies: clusters: individual (A1656) – galaxies: clusters: intracluster medium – large-scale structure of the universe – X-rays: galaxies: clusters

Chandra and JVLA Observations of HST Frontier Fields Cluster MACS J0717.5+3745

To investigate the relationship between thermal and non-thermal components in merger galaxy clusters, we present deep JVLA and Chandra observations of the HST Frontier Fields cluster MACS J0717.5+3745. The Chandra image shows a complex merger event, with at least four components belonging to different merging subclusters. Northwest of the cluster, ~0.7 Mpc from the center, there is a ram-pressure-stripped core that appears to have traversed the densest parts of the cluster after entering the intracluster medium (ICM) from the direction of a galaxy filament to the southeast. We detect a density discontinuity north-northeast of this core, which we speculate is associated with a cold front. Our radio images reveal new details for the complex radio relic and radio halo in this cluster. In addition, we discover several new filamentary radio sources with sizes of 100–300 kpc. A few of these seem to be connected to the main radio relic, while others are either embedded within the radio halo or projected onto it. A narrow-angled-tailed (NAT) radio galaxy, a cluster member, is located at the center of the radio relic. The steep spectrum tails of this active galactic nucleus lead into the large radio relic where the radio spectrum flattens again. This morphological connection between the NAT radio galaxy and relic provides evidence for re-acceleration (revival) of fossil electrons. The presence of hot ≳20 keV ICM gas detected by Chandra near the relic location provides additional support for this re-acceleration scenario.

The discovery of lensed radio and X-ray sources behind the Frontier Fields cluster MACS J0717.5+3745 with the JVLA and Chandra

We report on high-resolution JVLA and Chandra observations of the HST Frontier Cluster MACS J0717.5+3745. MACS J0717.5+3745 offers the largest contiguous magnified area of any known cluster, making it a promising target to search for lensed radio and X-ray sources. With the high-resolution 1.0-6.5 GHz JVLA imaging in A and B configuration, we detect a total of 51 compact radio sources within the area covered by the HST imaging. Within this sample we find 7 lensed sources with amplification factors larger than

A DISTANT RADIO MINI-HALO IN THE PHOENIX GALAXY CLUSTER

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Binary Black Holes, Gas Sloshing, and Cold Fronts in the X-ray Halo Hosting 4C+37.11

. None of these sources are identified as multiply-lensed. Based on the radio luminosities, the majority of these sources are likely star forming galaxies with star formation rates of 10-50 M

FRONTIER FIELDS CLUSTERS: DEEP CHANDRA OBSERVATIONS OF THE COMPLEX MERGER MACS J1149.6+2223

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LOFAR discovery of an ultra-steep radio halo and giant head–tail radio galaxy in Abell 1132

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