G17.8+16.7: A New Supernova Remnant

Non-thermal radio emission is detected in the region of the gamma-ray source FHES J1723.5 − 0501. The emission has an approximately circular shape 0.8○ in diameter. The observations confirm its nature as a new supernova remnant, We derive constraints on the source parameters using the radio data and gamma-ray observations of the region. The distance to the object is possibly in the range 1.4–3.5 kpc. An SNR age of the order of 10 kyr is compatible with the radio and GeV features, but an older or younger SNR cannot be ruled out. A simple one-zone leptonic model naturally explains the multi-wavelength non-thermal fluxes of the source at its location outside the Galactic plane.

High-sensitivity radio study of the non-thermal stellar bow shock EB27

We present a deep radio-polarimetric observation of the stellar bow shock EB27 associated to the massive star BD+43○3654. This is the only stellar bow shock confirmed to have non-thermal radio emission. We used the Jansky Very Large Array in S band (2–4 GHz) to test whether this synchrotron emission is polarised. The unprecedented sensitivity achieved allowed us to map even the fainter regions of the bow shock, revealing that the more diffuse emission is steeper and the bow shock brighter than previously reported. No linear polarisation is detected in the bow shock above 0.5%, although we detected polarised emission from two southern sources, probably extragalactic in nature. We modeled the intensity and morphology of the radio emission to better constrain the magnetic field and injected power in relativistic electrons. Finally, we derived a set of more precise parameters for the system EB27–BD+43○3654 using Gaia Early Data Release 3, including the spatial velocity. The new trajectory, back in time, intersects the core of the Cyg OB2 association.

Non-thermal radio supernova remnants of exiled Wolf–Rayet stars

ABSTRACT A signification fraction of Galactic massive stars (${\ge}8\, \rm M_{\odot }$) are ejected from their parent cluster and supersonically sail away through the interstellar medium (ISM). The winds of these fast-moving stars blow asymmetric bubbles thus creating a circumstellar environment in which stars eventually die with a supernova explosion. The morphology of the resulting remnant is largely governed by the circumstellar medium of the defunct progenitor star. In this paper, we present 2D magneto-hydrodynamical simulations investigating the effect of the ISM magnetic field on the shape of the supernova remnants of a $35\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ star evolving through a Wolf–Rayet phase and running with velocity 20 and $40\, \rm km\, \rm s^{-1}$, respectively. A $7\, \mu \rm G$ ambient magnetic field is sufficient to modify the properties of the expanding supernova shock front and in particular to prevent the formation of filamentary structures. Prior to the supernova explosion, the compressed magnetic field in the circumstellar medium stabilizes the wind/ISM contact discontinuity in the tail of the wind bubble. A consequence is a reduced mixing efficiency of ejecta and wind materials in the inner region of the remnant, where the supernova shock wave propagates. Radiative transfer calculations for synchrotron emission reveal that the non-thermal radio emission has characteristic features reflecting the asymmetry of exiled core-collapse supernova remnants from Wolf–Rayet progenitors. Our models are qualitatively consistent with the radio appearance of several remnants of high-mass progenitors, namely the bilateral G296.5+10.0 and the shell-type remnants CTB109 and Kes 17, respectively.

Does the fir-radio correlation evolve with redshift in irregular and disk galaxies?

It was confirmed that there is a strong linear correlation between the thermal far-infrared (FIR) and non-thermal radio emission of the star-forming galaxies. Recent works based on this correlation over large redshifts have shown that the correlation is evolving towards higher redshifts. In this paper, possible physical causes that lead to the evolution of this correlation are explored. One possible cause is that the interaction between galaxies is responsible for this behavior. We used the morphology of galaxies, as an indicator of past or present interactions, because it is generally known that the irregular morphology of galaxies is a consequence of collisions or close approaches. To test this hypothesis, a sample of dusty star-forming galaxies up to a redshift z = 3:5 from the COSMOS field has been selected. The sample has been divided, according to the morphological type, into two subsamples (disk and irregular galaxies), and the evolution of the correlation with redshift has been analyzed separately for both of them. It was found that in both subsamples there is no indication for the redshift evolution of the FIR-radio correlation. However, it was also found that the mean correlation parameter, qFIR, is lower in irregular galaxies, which may indicate that they can still affect the evolution of the correlation if their abundance in the sample increases towards higher redshifts. Disk galaxies, which statistically dominate the sample, may be responsible for the lack of this evolution. On the other hand, a fundamental problem with optically determined morphology is the dust obscuration in massive galaxies at z > 2. To test the idea that interacting galaxies are responsible for redshift evolution of the FIR-radio correlation, it is, necessary to analyze a much larger sample for which the morphology has been determined, taking into account the VLA and ALMA imaging in addition to optical images, and which contains a higher fraction of irregular galaxies. Finally, it was also found that the qFIR parameter and its evolution are very sensitive to the radio spectral index above z > 1 and that its misinterpretation and taking a constant value of ? = 0:7 may be responsible for the observed evolution of the correlation.

The auroral radio emission of the magnetic B-type star ρ OphC

ABSTRACT The non-thermal radio emission of main-sequence early-type stars is a signature of stellar magnetism. We present multiwavelength (1.6–16.7 GHz) ATCA measurements of the early-type magnetic star ρ OphC, which is a flat-spectrum non-thermal radio source. The ρ OphC radio emission is partially circularly polarized with a steep spectral dependence: the fraction of polarized emission is about $60{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ at the lowest frequency sub-band (1.6 GHz) while is undetected at 16.7 GHz. This is clear evidence of coherent Auroral Radio Emission (ARE) from the ρ OphC magnetosphere. Interestingly, the detection of the ρ OphC’s ARE is not related to a peculiar rotational phase. This is a consequence of the stellar geometry, which makes the strongly anisotropic radiation beam of the amplified radiation always pointed towards Earth. The circular polarization sign evidences mainly amplification of the ordinary mode of the electromagnetic wave, consistent with a maser amplification occurring within dense regions. This is indirect evidence of the plasma evaporation from the polar caps, a phenomenon responsible for the thermal X-ray aurorae. ρ OphC is not the first early-type magnetic star showing the O-mode dominated ARE but is the first star with the ARE always on view.

The nearby extreme accretion and feedback system PDS 456: finding a complex radio-emitting nucleus

ABSTRACT When a black hole accretes close to the Eddington limit, the astrophysical jet is often accompanied by radiatively driven, wide-aperture and mildly relativistic winds. Powerful winds can produce significant non-thermal radio emission via shocks. Among the nearby critical accretion quasars, PDS 456 has a very massive black hole (about 1 billion solar masses), shows a significant star-forming activity (about 70 solar masses per year), and hosts exceptionally energetic X-ray winds (power up to 20 per cent of the Eddington luminosity). To probe the radio activity in this extreme accretion and feedback system, we performed very long baseline interferometric (VLBI) observations of PDS 456 at 1.66 GHz with the European VLBI Network and the enhanced Multi-Element Remotely Linked Interferometry Network. We find a rarely seen complex radio-emitting nucleus consisting of a collimated jet and an extended non-thermal radio emission region. The diffuse emission region has a size of about 360 pc and a radio luminosity about three times higher than that of the nearby extreme starburst galaxy Arp 220. The powerful nuclear radio activity could result either from a relic jet with a peculiar geometry (nearly along the line of sight) or more likely from diffuse shocks formed naturally by the existing high-speed winds impacting on high-density star-forming regions.

A global view on the colliding-wind binary WR 147

ABSTRACT We present results from a global view on the colliding-wind binary WR 147. We analysed new optical spectra of WR 147 obtained with the Gran Telescopio Canarias and archive spectra from the Hubble Space Telescope by making use of modern atmosphere models accounting for optically thin clumping. We adopted a grid-modelling approach to derive some basic physical characteristics of both stellar components in WR 147. For the currently accepted distance of 630 pc to WR 147, the values of mass-loss rate derived from modelling its optical spectra are in acceptable correspondence with that from modelling its X-ray emission. However, they give a lower radio flux than observed. A plausible solution for this problem could be the volume filling factor at large distances from the star (radio-formation region) being smaller than that close to the star (optical-formation region). Adopting this, the model can match well both optical and thermal radio emission from WR 147. The global view on the colliding-wind binary WR 147 thus shows that its observational properties in different spectral domains can be explained in a self-consistent physical picture.

Search for non-thermal X-ray emission in the colliding wind binary Cygnus OB2 #8A

Aims. Cyg OB2 #8A is a massive O-type binary displaying strong non-thermal radio emission. Owing to the compactness of this binary, emission of non-thermal X-ray photons via inverse Compton scattering is expected. Methods. We first revised the orbital solution for Cyg OB2 #8A using new optical spectra. We then reduced and analysed X-ray spectra obtained with XMM-Newton, Swift, INTEGRAL, and NuSTAR. Results. The analysis of the XMM-Newton and Swift data allows us to better characterise the X-ray emission from the stellar winds and colliding winds region at energies below 10 keV. We confirm the variation of the broad-band light curve of Cyg OB2 #8A along the orbit with, for the first time, the observation of the maximum emission around phase 0.8. The minimum ratio of the X-ray to bolometric flux of Cyg OB2 #8A remains well above the level expected for single O-type stars, indicating that the colliding wind region is not disrupted during the periastron passage. The analysis of the full set of publicly available INTEGRAL observations allows us to refine the upper limit on the non-thermal X-ray flux of the Cyg OB2 region between 20 and 200 keV. Two NuSTAR observations (phases 0.028 and 0.085) allow us to study the Cyg OB2 #8A spectrum up to 30 keV. These data do not provide evidence of the presence of non-thermal X-rays, but bring more stringent constraints on the flux of a putative non-thermal component. Finally, we computed, thanks to a new dedicated model, the anisotropic inverse Compton emission generated in the wind shock region. The theoretical non-thermal emission appears to be compatible with observational limits and the kinetic luminosity computed from these models is in good agreement with the unabsorbed flux observed below 10 keV.

Murchison Widefield Array detection of steep-spectrum, diffuse, non-thermal radio emission within Abell 1127

Diffuse, non-thermal emission in galaxy clusters is increasingly being detected in low-frequency radio surveys and images. We present a new diffuse, steep-spectrum, non-thermal radio source within the cluster Abell 1127 found in survey data from the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). We perform follow-up observations with the ‘extended’ configuration MWA Phase II with improved resolution to better resolve the source and measure its low-frequency spectral properties. We use archival Very Large Array S-band data to remove the discrete source contribution from the MWA data, and from a power law model fit we find a spectral index of –1.83±0.29 broadly consistent with relic-type sources. The source is revealed by the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope at 150 MHz to have an elongated morphology, with a projected linear size of 850 kpc as measured in the MWA data. Using Chandra observations, we derive morphological estimators and confirm quantitatively that the cluster is in a disturbed dynamical state, consistent with the majority of phoenices and relics being hosted by merging clusters. We discuss the implications of relying on morphology and low-resolution imaging alone for the classification of such sources and highlight the usefulness of the MHz to GHz radio spectrum in classifying these types of emission. Finally, we discuss the benefits and limitations of using the MWA Phase II in conjunction with other instruments for detailed studies of diffuse, steep-spectrum, non-thermal radio emission within galaxy clusters.