scholarly journals Early Science from POSSUM: Shocks, turbulence, and a massive new reservoir of ionised gas in the Fornax cluster

Author(s):  
C. S. Anderson ◽  
G. H. Heald ◽  
J. A. Eilek ◽  
E. Lenc ◽  
B. M. Gaensler ◽  
...  

Abstract We present the first Faraday rotation measure (RM) grid study of an individual low-mass cluster—the Fornax cluster—which is presently undergoing a series of mergers. Exploiting commissioning data for the POlarisation Sky Survey of the Universe’s Magnetism (POSSUM) covering a ${\sim}34$ square degree sky area using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), we achieve an RM grid density of ${\sim}25$ RMs per square degree from a 280-MHz band centred at 887 MHz, which is similar to expectations for forthcoming GHz-frequency ${\sim}3\pi$ -steradian sky surveys. These data allow us to probe the extended magnetoionic structure of the cluster and its surroundings in unprecedented detail. We find that the scatter in the Faraday RM of confirmed background sources is increased by $16.8\pm2.4$ rad m−2 within 1 $^\circ$ (360 kpc) projected distance to the cluster centre, which is 2–4 times larger than the spatial extent of the presently detectable X-ray-emitting intracluster medium (ICM). The mass of the Faraday-active plasma is larger than that of the X-ray-emitting ICM and exists in a density regime that broadly matches expectations for moderately dense components of the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium. We argue that forthcoming RM grids from both targeted and survey observations may be a singular probe of cosmic plasma in this regime. The morphology of the global Faraday depth enhancement is not uniform and isotropic but rather exhibits the classic morphology of an astrophysical bow shock on the southwest side of the main Fornax cluster, and an extended, swept-back wake on the northeastern side. Our favoured explanation for these phenomena is an ongoing merger between the main cluster and a subcluster to the southwest. The shock’s Mach angle and stand-off distance lead to a self-consistent transonic merger speed with Mach 1.06. The region hosting the Faraday depth enhancement also appears to show a decrement in both total and polarised radio emission compared to the broader field. We evaluate cosmic variance and free-free absorption by a pervasive cold dense gas surrounding NGC 1399 as possible causes but find both explanations unsatisfactory, warranting further observations. Generally, our study illustrates the scientific returns that can be expected from all-sky grids of discrete sources generated by forthcoming all-sky radio surveys.

1995 ◽  
Vol 151 ◽  
pp. 216-217
Author(s):  
R. Neuhäuser ◽  
Th. Preibisch

AbstractWe study the X-ray emission of several hundred (young, low-mass, late-type, pre-main sequence) T Tauri stars (TTS) in the Taurus T association, a nearby well-studied region of ongoing star formation. We report on X-ray emission variability of TTS as observed with the flux-limited ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS). Since RASS observations are spatially unbiased, we can investigate the X-ray flare rate of TTS on a large sample. We find that large flares are very rare (once per year), while medium-size flares can occur once in ∼ 40 days.


2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (S267) ◽  
pp. 106-106
Author(s):  
Lin-wen Chen ◽  
Li-Ting Hsu

Type 2 QSOs (QSO2s) are intrinsically luminous QSOs embedded in dusty environments. In this work, we study the radio, optical, and soft X-ray properties of 887 optically selected [O III]-based QSO2s (Reyes et al. 2008) at z<0.83 to investigate the connection between QSO2s and their environments. We use SDSS data to measure the luminosity-limited galaxy counts in a volume centered on each QSO2 and defined by Δ z<0.1 (based on photometric redshifts) and within a projected distance of 1.5 Mpc of the QSO2 (δ1.5Mpc). We used ROSAT All Sky Survey (RASS) data to estimate the X-ray excess. Hsu & Chen (2010), after correcting for Galactic absorption, obtain a lower limit for the intrinsic neutral hydrogen column density (NH) toward each of the QSO2s. About 50% of these sources have NH > 1022 cm−2. We take this value as a threshold to subdivide QSO2s into high- and low-NH groups, and compare their environments. The distributions δ1.5Mpc of the two populations show that, in regions of higher galaxy density, QSO2s are dominated by the high-NH population (Figure 1), suggesting a closer connection between more obscured QSO2s and surrounding galaxies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 489 (2) ◽  
pp. 2216-2226
Author(s):  
Melanie L Demers ◽  
Laura C Parker ◽  
Ian D Roberts

Abstract We investigate the dependence of stellar disc scale lengths on environment for a sample of Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 galaxies with published photometric bulge-disc decompositions. We compare disc scale lengths at fixed bulge mass for galaxies in an isolated field environment to galaxies in X-ray rich and X-ray poor groups. At low bulge mass, stellar disc scale lengths in X-ray rich groups are smaller compared to discs in both X-ray poor groups and in isolated field environments. This decrease in disc scale length is largely independent of halo mass, though shows some dependence on group-centric distance. We also find that stellar disc scale lengths are smaller in X-ray rich environments for a subset of star-forming galaxies and for galaxies of different morphological types. We note that disc scale lengths of low mass galaxies are known to have large systematic uncertainties, however we focus on differences between samples with the same measurement biases. Our results show that stellar disc scale lengths depend on X-ray brightness, a tracer of IGM density, suggesting a role for hydrodynamic processes such as ram-pressure stripping and/or starvation.


1998 ◽  
Vol 188 ◽  
pp. 217-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Hubrig ◽  
T. W. Berghöfer

In the ROSAT all-sky survey 11 HgMn stars were detected as soft X-ray emitters (Berghöfer, Schmitt & Cassinelli 1996). Prior to ROSAT, X-ray observations with the Einstein Observatory had suggested that stars in the spectral range B5-A7 are devoid of X-ray emission. Since there is no X-ray emitting mechanism available for these stars (also not for HgMn stars), the usual argument in the case of an X-ray detected star of this spectral type is the existence of an unseen low-mass companion which is responsible for the X-ray emission. However, this hypothesis is not easily testable. Based on high resolution X-ray images taken with the ROSAT HRI, Berghöfer & Schmitt (1994) showed that known visual late-type companions can be disregarded in this context. In almost all cases studied so far (including two HgMn stars in our sample) the X-ray emission is associated with the primary B star.


1994 ◽  
Vol 162 ◽  
pp. 200-201
Author(s):  
Thomas W. Berghöfer ◽  
Jürgen H. M. M. Schmitt

Extensive stellar surveys with the Einstein Observatory (Chlebowski et al., 1989) and with ROSAT have clearly confirmed the presence of stellar X-ray emission over nearly the whole range of the HR diagram. In the ROSAT all-sky survey data approximately 20000 stellar X-ray sources were detected (Schmitt et al., 1992). Most of these stellar X-ray emitters are low mass late-type stars, the origin of their X-ray emission is thought to be coronal.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (S351) ◽  
pp. 151-154
Author(s):  
G. Riccio ◽  
M. Paolillo ◽  
R. D’Abrusco ◽  
M. Cantiello ◽  
X. Jin ◽  
...  

AbstractThe formation of Low mass X-ray binaries (LMXB) is favored within dense stellar systems such as Globular Clusters (GCs). The connection between LMXB and Globular Clusters has been extensively studied in the literature, but these studies have always been restricted to the innermost regions of galaxies. We present a study of LMXB in GCs within the central 1.5 deg2 of the Fornax cluster with the aim of confirming the existence of a population of LMXB in intra-cluster GCs and understand if their properties are related to the host GCs, to the environment or/and to different formation channels.


2004 ◽  
Vol 190 ◽  
pp. 33-38
Author(s):  
Paula Szkody

AbstractThe first two years of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey have discovered over 50 new cataclysmic variables, of which four are confirmed Polars, two others are likely candidates and several others are good candidates for Intermediate Polars or SW Sex stars. Several systems have unusual characteristics, including large amplitude, narrow cyclotron humps indicating a very low temperature shock on a cool white dwarf, or very deep eclipses. Although SDSS is finding a variety of systems, it is ideal for picking up the low mass transfer rate magnetic systems missed in X-ray surveys and in past optical surveys with brighter limits. Thus, it is providing us with a clearer picture of the range of conditions existing in magnetics CVs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 633 ◽  
pp. A59
Author(s):  
Surajit Paul ◽  
Sameer Salunkhe ◽  
Satish Sonkamble ◽  
Prateek Gupta ◽  
Tony Mroczkowski ◽  
...  

We report the discovery of a putative radio relic, 830 kpc in length, and found towards the outskirts of galaxy cluster Abell 1697 (z = 0.181), using the LOFAR Two Meter Sky Survey at 144 MHz. An X-ray-inferred mass of M500X-ray = 2.9−0.7+0.8 × 1014 M⊙ places Abell 1697 among the least massive relic hosts. The relic is also detected at 325 MHz in the Westerbork Northern Sky Survey and at 1.4 GHz in the NRAO VLA Sky Survey, with an average spectral index of α(144, 325, 1400 MHz) = − 0.98 ± 0.01, and magnetic field of Beq ∼ 0.6 μG. This relic, located in the north-east periphery of the cluster, is 300 kpc wide, exhibits a gradual spectral steepening across the width (α144 MHz1.4 GHz(inj) = −0.70 ± 0.11 to α144 MHz1.4 GHz(edge) = −1.19 ± 0.15), as well as indications of a co-spatial X-ray (ROSAT) shock and the radio relic emission. The radio power of the relic is P1.4 GHz = 8.5 ± 1.1 × 1023 W Hz−1, which is found to be in good agreement with the expected empirical correlation between the radio power and largest linear size of relics. The relic is trailed by extended (790 × 550 kpc) diffuse radio emission towards the cluster centre, which is likely an ultra-steep spectrum (α144 MHz1.4 GHz < −1.84) radio source. This structure is also found to be older by at least 190 Myr, has a very low surface brightness of 0.3 μJy arcsec−2 and magnetic field Beq ∼ 0.8 μG, similar to that of a radio phoenix. Finally, we discuss the possible mechanisms responsible for the relic and the trailing diffuse radio emission, invoking re-acceleration due to wake turbulence, as well as the revival of fossil electrons in the remnant radio lobes of active galactic nuclei by the cluster merger shocks.


1988 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
pp. 47-50
Author(s):  
K. Masai ◽  
S. Hayakawa ◽  
F. Nagase

AbstractEmission mechanisms of the iron Kα-lines in X-ray binaries are discussed in relation with the characteristic temperature Txof continuum radiation thereof. The 6.7 keV line is ascribed to radiative recombination followed by cascades in a corona of ∼ 100 eV formed above the accretion disk. This mechanism is attained for Tx≲ 10 keV as observed for low mass X-ray binaries. The 6.4 keV line observed for binary X-ray pulsars with Tx&gt; 10 keV is likely due to fluorescence outside the He II ionization front.


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