Resolved studies of the correlation between the radio and far-infrared (FIR) emission from galaxies at different frequencies can unveil the interplay between star formation and relativistic interstellar medium (ISM). Thanks to the LOFAR LoTSS observations combined with the VLA, Herschel, and WISE data, we study the role of the cosmic rays and magnetic fields in the radio-FIR correlation on scales of ~> 200 pc in the nearby galaxy IC342. The thermal emission traced by the 22 micron emission, constitutes about 6%, 13%, and 30% of the observed radio emission at 0.14, 1.4, 4.8 GHz, respectively, in star forming regions and less in other parts. The nonthermal spectral index becomes flatter at frequencies lower than 1.4 GHz (a=-0.51 +- 0.09, S(nu)~ nu^(a)) than between 1.4 and 4.8 GHz (a = -1.06+- 0.19) on average and this flattening occurs not only in star-forming regions but also in diffuse ISM. The radio-FIR correlation holds at all radio frequencies; however, it is tighter at higher radio frequencies. A multi-scale analysis shows that this correlation cannot be maintained on small scales due to diffusion of cosmic ray electrons (CREs). The correlation breaks on a larger scale (320 pc) at 0.14 GHz than at 1.4 GHz (200 pc) indicating that those CREs traced at lower frequencies have diffused a longer path in the ISM. We find that the energy index of CREs becomes flatter in star forming regions in agreement with previous studies. Cooling of CREs due to the magnetic field is evident globally only after compensating for the effect of star formation activity which both accelerate CREs and amplify magnetic fields. Compared with other nearby galaxies, it is shown that the smallest scale of the radio-FIR correlation is proportional to the CREs propagation length on which the ordered magnetic field has an important effect.
S. Piras, C. Horellou, J. E. Conway, M. Thomasson, S. del Palacio, T. W. Shimwell, S. P. O'Sullivan, E. Carretti, I. Šnidaric, V. Jelic, B. Adebahr, A. Berger, P. N. Best, M. Brüggen, N. Herrera Ruiz, R. Paladino, I. Prandoni, J. Sabater, V. Vacca The aim of this study is to probe the sub-mJy polarized source population with LOFAR. We present the method used to stack LOFAR polarization datasets, the resulting catalog of polarized sources, and the derived polarized source counts. The ELAIS-N1 field was selected for a polarimetric study at 114.9-177.4 MHz. A total area of 25 deg2 was imaged at 6"- resolution in the Stokes Q and U parameters. Alignment of polarization angles was done both in frequency and in Faraday space before stacking datasets from 19 eight-hour-long epochs. A search for polarized sources was carried out in the final, stacked dataset, and the properties of the detected sources were examined. The depolarization level of sources known to be polarized at 1.4 GHz was quantified. A one-sigma noise level of 19 \muJy/beam was reached in the central part of the field after stacking. Twenty-five polarized sources were detected above 8\sigma, five of which had not been detected in polarization at any other radio frequencies before. Seven additional polarized components were found by lowering the threshold to 6\sigma at positions corresponding to sources known to be polarized at 1.4 GHz. In two radio galaxies, polarization was detected from both radio lobes, so the final number of associated radio continuum sources is 31. The detected sources are weakly polarized, with a median degree of polarization of 1.75% for the sample of sources detected in polarized emission. The sources previously detected in polarization at 1.4 GHz are significantly depolarized at 150 MHz. The catalog is used to derive the polarized source counts at 150 MHz. This is the deepest and highest-resolution polarization study at 150 MHz to date.
L. Gajović, B. Adebahr, A. Basu, V. Heesen, M. Brüggen, F. de Gasperin, M.A. Lara-Lopez, J.B.R. Oonk, H.W. Edler, D.J. Bomans, R. Paladino, L.E. Garduño, O. López-Cruz, M. Stein, J. Fritz, J. Piotrowska, A. Sinha Radio continuum emission from galaxies at gigahertz frequencies can be used as an extinction-free tracer of star formation. However, at frequencies of a few hundred megahertz, there is evidence for low-frequency spectral flattening. We wish to better understand the origin of this low-frequency flattening and, to this end, perform a spatially resolved study of the nearby spiral galaxy M 51. We explore the different effects that can cause flattening of the spectrum towards lower frequencies, such as free-free absorption and cosmic-ray ionisation losses. We used radio continuum intensity maps between 54 and 8350 MHz at eight different frequencies, with observations at 240 MHz from the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope presented for the first time. We corrected for contribution from thermal free-free emission using an H$\alpha$ map that has been extinction-corrected with 24 $\mu$m data. We fitted free-free absorption models to the radio spectra to determine the emission measure (EM) as well as polynomial functions to measure the non-thermal spectral curvature. The non-thermal low-frequency radio continuum spectrum between 54 and 144 MHz is very flat and even partially inverted, particularly in the spiral arms; contrary, the spectrum at higher frequencies shows the typical non-thermal radio continuum spectrum. However, we do not find any correlation between the EMs calculated from radio and from H$\alpha$ observations; instead, the non-thermal spectral curvature weakly correlates with the HI gas mass surface density. This suggests that cosmic-ray ionisation losses play an important role in the low-frequency spectral flattening. The observed spectral flattening towards low frequencies in M 51 is caused by a combination of ionisation losses and free-free absorption. The reasons for this flattening need to be understood in order to use sub-GHz frequencies as a star-formation tracer.
Gabriele Bruni, Luigi Piro, Yuan-Pei Yang, Salvatore Quai, Bing Zhang, Eliana Palazzi, Luciano Nicastro, Chiara Feruglio, Roberta Tripodi, Brendan O'Connor, Angela Gardini, Sandra Savaglio, Andrea Rossi, A. M. Nicuesa Guelbenzu, Rosita Paladino Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration, bright ($\sim$Jy) extragalactic bursts, whose production mechanism is still unclear. Recently, two repeating FRBs were found to have a physically associated persistent radio source of non-thermal origin. These two FRBs have unusually large Faraday rotation measure values likely tracing a dense magneto-ionic medium, consistent with synchrotron radiation originating from a nebula surrounding the FRB source. Recent theoretical arguments predict that, if the observed Faraday rotation measure mostly arises from the persistent radio source region, there should be a simple relation between the luminosity of the latter and the first. We report here the detection of a third, less luminous persistent radio source associated with the repeating FRB source FRB20201124A at a distance of 413 Mpc, significantly expanding the predicted relation into the low luminosity - low Faraday rotation measure regime ($<$1000 rad m-2). At lower values of the Faraday rotation measure, the expected radio luminosity falls below the limit of detection threshold for present-day radio telescopes. These findings support the idea that the persistent radio sources observed so far are generated by a nebula in the FRB environment, and that FRBs with low Faraday rotation measure may not show a persistent radio source because of a weaker magneto-ionic medium. This is generally consistent with models invoking a young magnetar as the central engine of the FRB, where the surrounding ionized nebula - or the interacting shock in a binary system - powers the persistent radio source.
Context. In order to understand galaxy evolution, it is essential to measure star formation rates (SFRs) across Cosmic times. Aims. The use of radio continuum emission as an extinction-free star formation tracer necessitates a good understanding of the influence of cosmic-ray electron (CRE) transport that we are aiming to improve with this work. Methods. We analyse the spatially resolved radio continuum-star-formation rate (radio-SFR) relation in 15 nearby galaxies using data from the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) and the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) at 144 and 1365 MHz, respectively. The hybrid SFR maps are based on observations with Spitzer at 24 $ {\mu}$m and with GALEX at 156 nm. Our pixel-by-pixel analysis at 1.2 kpc resolution reveals the usual sublinear radio-SFR relation for local measurements which can be linearised with a smoothing experiment, convolving the hybrid SFR map with a Gaussian kernel that provides us with the CRE transport length. Results. CRE transport can be described as energy-independent isotropic diffusion. If we consider only young CREs as identified with the radio spectral index, we find a linear relation showing the influence of cosmic-ray transport. We then define the CRE calorimetric efficiency as the ratio of radio-to-hybrid SFR surface density and show that it is a function of the radio spectral index. If we correct the radio-SFR relation for the CRE calorimetric efficiency parametrised with the radio spectral index, it becomes nearly linear with a slope of $1.01\pm 0.02$ independent of frequency. Conclusions. The corrected radio-SFR relation is universal and holds, both, for global and local measurements.
Alessandro Ignesti, Marisa Brienza, Benedetta Vulcani, Bianca M. Poggianti, Antonino Marasco, Rory Smith, Martin Hardcastle, Andrea Botteon, Ian D. Roberts, Jacopo Fritz, Rosita Paladino, Myriam Gitti, Anna Wolter, Neven Tomčić, Sean McGee, Alessia Moretti, Marco Gullieuszik, Alexander Drabent We report on the serendipitous discovery of an unprecedented interaction between the radio lobe of a radio galaxy and a spiral galaxy. The discovery was made thanks to LOFAR observations at 144 MHz of the galaxy cluster Abell 160 ($z=0.04317$) provided by the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey. The new low-frequency observations revealed that one of the radio plumes of the central galaxy GIN 049 overlaps with the spiral galaxy JO36. Previous studies carried out with MUSE revealed that the warm ionized gas in the disk of JO36, traced by the H$\alpha$ emission, is severely truncated with respect to the stellar disk. We further explore this unique system by including new uGMRT observations at 675 MHz to map the spectral index. The emerging scenario is that JO36 has interacted with the radio plume in the past 200-500 Myr. The encounter resulted in a positive feedback event for JO36 in the form of a star formation rate burst of $\sim14$ $M_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$. In turn, the galaxy passage left a trace in the radio-old plasma by re-shaping the old relativistic plasma via magnetic draping.
Alessia Moretti, Paolo Serra, Cecilia Bacchini, Rosita Paladino, Mpati Ramatsoku, Bianca M. Poggianti, Benedetta Vulcani, Tirna Deb, Marco Gullieuszik, Jacopo Fritz, Anna Wolter Cluster galaxies are affected by the surrounding environment, which influences, in particular, their gas, stellar content and morphology. In particular, the ram-pressure exerted by the intracluster medium promotes the formation of multi-phase tails of stripped gas detectable both at optical wavelengths and in the sub-mm and radio regimes, tracing the cold molecular and atomic gas components, respectively. In this work we analyze a sample of sixteen galaxies belonging to clusters at redshift $\sim 0.05$ showing evidence of an asymmetric HI morphology (based on MeerKAT observations) with and without a star forming tail. To this sample we add three galaxies with evidence of a star forming tail and no HI detection. Here we present the galaxies $\rm H_{2}$ gas content from APEX observations of the CO(2-1) emission. We find that in most galaxies with a star forming tail the $\rm H_{2}$ global content is enhanced with respect to undisturbed field galaxies with similar stellar masses, suggesting an evolutionary path driven by the ram-pressure stripping. As galaxies enter into the clusters their HI is displaced but also partially converted into $\rm H_{2}$, so that they are $\rm H_{2}$ enriched when they pass close to the pericenter, i. e. when they develop the star forming tails that are visible in UV/B broad bands and in H$\alpha$ emission. An inspection of the phase-space diagram for our sample suggests an anticorrelation between the HI and $\rm H_{2}$ gas phases as galaxies fall into the cluster potential. This peculiar behaviour is a key signature of the ram-pressure stripping in action.
V. Heesen, S. P. O'Sullivan, M. Brüggen, A. Basu, R. Beck, A. Seta, E. Carretti, M. G. H. Krause, M. Haverkorn, S. Hutschenreuter, A. Bracco, M. Stein, D. J. Bomans, R.-J. Dettmar, K. T. Chyży, G. H. Heald, R. Paladino, C. Horellou Context. The existence of magnetic fields in the circumgalactic medium (CGM) is largely unconstrained. Their detection is important as magnetic fields can have a significant impact on the evolution of the CGM and, in turn, the fields can serve as tracers for dynamical processes in the CGM. Aims. With Faraday rotation of polarised background sources, we aim to detect a possible excess of the rotation measure in the surrounding area of nearby galaxies. Methods. We use 2,461 residual rotation measures (RRMs) observed with the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR), where the foreground contribution from the Milky Way is subtracted. The RRMs are then studied around a subset of 183 nearby galaxies that was selected by apparent $B$-band magnitude. Results. We find that, in general, the RRMs show no significant excess for small impact parameters (i.e. the perpendicular distance to the line of sight). However, if we only consider galaxies at higher inclination angles and sight lines that pass close to the minor axis of the galaxies, we find significant excess at impact parameters of less than 100 kpc. The excess in |RRM| is 3.7 $\rm rad\,m^{-2}$ with an uncertainty between $\pm 0.9~\rm rad\,m^{-2}$ and $\pm 1.3~\rm rad\,m^{-2}$ depending on the statistical properties of the background (2.8$\sigma$-4.1$\sigma$). With electron densities of ~$10^{-4}~\rm cm^{-3}$ this suggests magnetic field strengths of a few tenths of a micro Gauss. Conclusions. Our results suggest a slow decrease of the magnetic field strength with distance from the galactic disc such as expected if the CGM is magnetised by galactic winds and outflows.
C. Bacchini, M. Mingozzi, B. M. Poggianti, A. Moretti, M. Gullieuszik, A. Marasco, B. Cervantes Sodi, O. Sánchez-García, B. Vulcani, A. Werle, R. Paladino, M. Radovich Cluster galaxies are subject to the ram pressure exerted by the intracluster medium, which can perturb or even strip away their gas while leaving the stars undisturbed. We model the distribution and kinematics of the stars and the molecular gas in four late-type cluster galaxies (JO201, JO204, JO206, and JW100), which show tails of atomic and ionized gas indicative of ongoing ram pressure stripping. We analyze MUSE@VLT data and CO data from ALMA searching for signatures of radial gas flows, ram pressure stripping, and other perturbations. We find that all galaxies, with the possible exception of JW100, host stellar bars. Signatures of ram pressure are found in JO201 and JO206, which also shows clear indications of ongoing stripping in the molecular disk outskirts. The stripping affects the whole molecular gas disk of JW100. The molecular gas kinematics in JO204 is instead dominated by rotation rather than ram pressure. We also find indications of enhanced turbulence of the molecular gas compared to field galaxies. Large-scale radial flows of molecular gas are present in JO204 and JW100, but more uncertain in JO201 and JO206. We show that our sample follows the molecular gas mass-size relation, confirming that it is essentially independent of environment even for the most extreme cases of stripping. Our findings are consistent with the molecular gas being affected by the ram pressure on different timescales and less severely than the atomic and ionized gas phases, likely because the molecular gas is denser and more gravitationally bound to the galaxy.
Q. D'Amato, I. Prandoni, R. Gilli, C. Vignali, M. Massardi, E. Liuzzo, P. Jagannathan, M. Brienza, R. Paladino, M. Mignoli, S. Marchesi, A. Peca, M. Chiaberge, G. Mazzolari, C. Norman We present deep L-Band observations of the equatorial field centered on the z=6.3 SDSS QSO, reaching a 1 sigma sensitivity of ~2.5 uJy at the center of the field. We extracted a catalog of 1489 radio sources down to a flux density of ~12.5 uJy (5 sigma) over a field of view of ~ 30' diameter. We derived the source counts accounting for catalog reliability and completeness, and compared them with others available in the literature. Our source counts are among the deepest available so far, and, overall, are consistent with recent counts' determinations and models. We detected for the first time in the radio band the SDSS J1030+0524 QSO (26 +/- 5 uJy). We derived its optical radio loudness R_O = 0.62 +/- 0.12, which makes it the most radio quiet AGN at z >~ 6 discovered so far and detected at radio wavelengths. We unveiled extended diffuse radio emission associated with the lobes of a bright FRII radio galaxy located close to the center of the J1030 field, which is likely to become the future BCG of a protocluster at z=1.7. The lobes' complex morphology, coupled with the presence of X-ray diffuse emission detected around the FRII galaxy lobes, may point toward an interaction between the radio jets and the external medium. We also investigated the relation between radio and X-ray luminosity for a sample of 243 X-ray-selected objects obtained from 500 ks Chandra observations of the same field, and spanning a wide redshift range (0 ~< z ~< 3). Focused on sources with a spectroscopic redshift and classification, we found that sources hosted by ETG and AGN follow Log(L_R)/Log(L_X) linear correlations with slopes of ~0.6 and ~0.8, respectively. This is interpreted as a likely signature of different efficiency in the accretion process. Finally, we found that most of these sources (>~87%) show a radio-to-X-ray radio loudness R_X < -3.5, classifying these objects as radio quiet.
M. Stein, V. Heesen, R.-J. Dettmar, Y. Stein, M. Brüggen, R. Beck, B. Adebahr, T. Wiegert, C. J. Vargas, D. J. Bomans, J. Li, J. English, K. T. Chyzy, R. Paladino, F. S. Tabatabaei, A. Strong Galactic winds play a key role in regulating the evolution of galaxies over cosmic time. In recent years, the role of cosmic rays (CR) in the formation of the galactic wind has increasingly gained attention. Therefore, we use radio continuum data to analyse the cosmic ray transport in edge-on galaxies. Data from the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) data release 2 at 144 MHz (HBA) and reprocessed VLA data at 1.6 GHz (L-band) from the Continuum Halos in Nearby Galaxies - an EVLA Survey (CHANG-ES) enable us to increase the extent of the analysed radio continuum profile significantly (up to a factor of 2) compared to previous studies. We compute thermal emission maps using a mixture approach of H-alpha and near infrared data, which is then subtracted to yield radio synchrotron emission maps. Then we compile non-thermal spectral index maps and compute intensity profiles using a box integration approach. Lastly, we perform 1D cosmic ray transport modelling. The non-thermal spectral index maps show evidence that the LoTSS maps are affected by thermal absorption, in star forming regions. The scale height analysis reveals that most of the galaxies are equally well fitted with an one-component instead of a twocomponent exponential profile. We find a bi-modality within our sample. While NGC 3432 and NGC 4013 have similar scale heights in the L-band and HBA, the low-frequency scale heights of NGC 891, NGC 4157, and NGC 4631 exceed their high-frequency counterpart significantly. The 1D CR transport modelling shows agreement of the predicted magnetic field strength and the magnetic field strength estimates of equipartition measurements. Additionally we find an increasing difference of wind velocities (with increasing height over the galactic disk) between central and outer regions of the analysed galaxies.
F. S. Tabatabaei, W. Cotton, E. Schinnerer, R. Beck, A. Brunthaler, K. M. Menten, J. Braine, E. Corbelli, C. Kramer, J. E. Beckman, J. H. Knapen, R. Paladino, E. Koch, A. Camps Farina Studying the interplay between massive star formation and the interstellar medium (ISM) is paramount to understand the evolution of galaxies. Radio continuum (RC) emission serves as an extinction-free tracer of both massive star formation and the energetic components of the interstellar medium. We present a multi-band radio continuum survey of the local group galaxy M 33 down to ~30 pc linear resolution observed with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). We calibrate the star-formation rate surface density and investigate the impact of diffuse emission on this calibration using a structural decomposition. Separating the thermal and nonthermal emission components, the correlation between different phases of the interstellar medium and the impact of massive star formation are also investigated. Radio sources with sizes <~ 200 pc constitute about 36% (46%) of the total RC emission at 1.5 GHz (6.3 GHz) in the inner 18' x 18' (or 4kpc x 4kpc) disk of M 33. The nonthermal spectral index becomes flatter with increasing star-formation rate surface density, indicating the escape of cosmic ray electrons from their birth places. The magnetic field strength also increases with star-formation rate following a bi-modal relation, indicating that the small-scale turbulent dynamo acts more efficiently at higher luminosities and star-formation rates. Although the correlations are tighter in star-forming regions, the nonthermal emission is correlated also with the more quiescent molecular gas in the ISM. An almost linear molecular star-formation law exists in M 33 when excluding diffuse structures. Massive star formation amplifies the magnetic field and increases the number of high-energy cosmic ray electrons, which can help the onset of winds and outflows.
Alessandro Ignesti, Benedetta Vulcani, Bianca M. Poggianti, Alessia Moretti, Timothy Shimwell, Andrea Botteon, Reinout J. van Weeren, Ian D. Roberts, Jacopo Fritz, Neven Tomčić, Giorgia Peluso, Rosita Paladino, Myriam Gitti, Ancla Muüller, Sean McGee, Marco Gullieuszik Jellyfish galaxies, characterized by long filaments of stripped interstellar medium extending from their disks, are the prime laboratories to study the outcomes of ram pressure stripping. At radio wavelengths, they often show unilateral emission extending beyond the stellar disk, and an excess of radio luminosity with respect to that expected from their current star formation rate. We present new 144 MHz images provided by the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey for a sample of six galaxies from the GASP survey. These galaxies are characterized by a high global luminosity at 144 MHz ($6-27\times10^{22}$ W Hz$^{-1}$), in excess compared to their ongoing star formation rate. The comparison of radio and H$\alpha$ images smoothed with a Gaussian beam corresponding to $\sim$10 kpc reveals a sub-linear spatial correlation between the two emissions with an average slope $k=0.50$. In their stellar disk we measure $k=0.77$, which is close to the radio-to-star formation linear relation. We speculate that, as a consequence of the ram pressure, in these jellyfish galaxies the cosmic rays transport is more efficient than in normal galaxies. Radio tails typically have higher radio-to-H$\alpha$ ratios than the disks, thus we suggest that the radio emission is boosted by the electrons stripped from the disks. In all galaxies, the star formation rate has decreased by a factor $\leq10$ within the last $\sim10^8$ yr. The observed radio emission is consistent with the past star formation, so we propose that this recent decline may be the cause of their radio luminosity-to-star formation rate excess.
V. Heesen, T.-L. Klocke, M. Brüggen, F. S. Tabatabaei, A. Basu, R. Beck, A. Drabent, B. Nikiel-Wroczyński, R. Paladino, S. Schulz, M. Stein Context. Magnetic fields are key to understand galaxy evolution, regulating stellar feedback and star formation in galaxies. Aims. We probe the origin of magnetic fields in late-type galaxies, measuring magnetic field strengths, exploring whether magnetic fields are only passive constituents of the interstellar medium, or whether they are active constituents being part of the local energy equilibrium. Methods. We measure equipartition magnetic field strengths in 39 galaxies from LoTSS-DR2 using LOFAR observations at 144 MHz with 6 arcsec angular resolution which (0.1-0.7 kpc). For a subset of 9 galaxies, we obtain atomic and molecular mass surface densities using HI and CO(2-1) data, from the THINGS and HERACLES surveys, respectively. These data are at 13 arcsec angular resolution, which corresponds to 0.3-1.2 kpc at the distances of our galaxies. We measure kinetic energy densities using HI and CO velocity dispersions. Results. We found a mean magnetic field strength of 3.6-12.5 $\mu$G with a mean of $7.9 \pm 2.0$ $\mu$G across the full sample. The magnetic field strength has the tightest and steepest relation with the total gas surface density with $B\propto \Sigma_{\rm HI+H2}^{0.309\pm0.006}$. The relation with the star-formation rate surface density and molecular gas surface density has significantly flatter slopes. After accounting for the influence of cosmic-ray transport, we found an even steeper relation of $B\propto \Sigma_{\rm HI+H2}^{0.393\pm0.009}$. Conclusions. These results suggest that the magnetic field is regulated by a $B$-$\rho$ relation, which has its origin in the saturation of the small-scale dynamo. This is borne out by an agreement of kinetic and magnetic energy densities although local deviations do exist in particular in areas of high kinetic energy densities where the magnetic field is sub-dominant.
I. Agudo, L. Amati, T. An, F. E. Bauer, S. Benetti, M. G. Bernardini, R. Beswick, K. Bhirombhakdi, T. de Boer, M. Branchesi, S. J. Brennan, M. D. Caballero-García, E. Cappellaro, N. Castro Rodríguez, A. J. Castro-Tirado, K. C. Chambers, E. Chassande-Mottin, S. Chaty, T.-W. Chen, A. Coleiro, et al (79) We present the results from multi-wavelength observations of a transient discovered during the follow-up of S191213g, a gravitational wave (GW) event reported by the LIGO-Virgo Collaboration as a possible binary neutron star merger in a low latency search. This search yielded SN2019wxt, a young transient in a galaxy whose sky position (in the 80\% GW contour) and distance ($\sim$150\u2009Mpc) were plausibly compatible with the localisation uncertainty of the GW event. Initially, the transient's tightly constrained age, its relatively faint peak magnitude ($M_i \sim -16.7$\u2009mag) and the $r-$band decline rate of $\sim 1$\u2009mag per 5\u2009days appeared suggestive of a compact binary merger. However, SN2019wxt spectroscopically resembled a type Ib supernova, and analysis of the optical-near-infrared evolution rapidly led to the conclusion that while it could not be associated with S191213g, it nevertheless represented an extreme outcome of stellar evolution. By modelling the light curve, we estimated an ejecta mass of $\sim 0.1\,M_\odot$, with $^{56}$Ni comprising $\sim 20\%$ of this. We were broadly able to reproduce its spectral evolution with a composition dominated by helium and oxygen, with trace amounts of calcium. We considered various progenitors that could give rise to the observed properties of SN2019wxt, and concluded that an ultra-stripped origin in a binary system is the most likely explanation. Disentangling electromagnetic counterparts to GW events from transients such as SN2019wxt is challenging: in a bid to characterise the level of contamination, we estimated the rate of events with properties comparable to those of SN2019wxt and found that $\sim 1$ such event per week can occur within the typical GW localisation area of O4 alerts out to a luminosity distance of 500\u2009Mpc, beyond which it would become fainter than the typical depth of current electromagnetic follow-up campaigns.
Federico Radiconi, Valentina Vacca, Elia Battistelli, Annalisa Bonafede, Valentina Capalbo, Mark J. Devlin, Luca Di Mascolo, Luigina Feretti, Patricio A. Gallardo, Ajay Gill, Gabriele Giovannini, Federica Govoni, Yilun Guan, Matt Hilton, Adam D. Hincks, John P. Hughes, Marco Iacobelli, Giovanni Isopi, Francesca Loi, Kavilan Moodley, et al (11) We measure the local correlation between radio emission and Compton-$y$ signal across two galaxy clusters, Abell~399 and Abell~401, using maps from the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) and the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) + \Planck. These datasets allow us to make the first measurement of this kind at $\sim$arcminute resolution. We find that the radio brightness scales as $F_{\mathrm{radio}} \propto y^{1.5}$ for Abell~401 and $F_{\mathrm{radio}} \propto y^{2.8}$ for Abell~399. Furthermore, using \XMM data, we derive a sublinear correlation between radio and X-ray brightness for both the clusters ($F_{\mathrm{radio}} \propto F_{\rm X}^{0.7}$). Finally, we correlate the Compton-$y$ and X-ray data, finding that an isothermal model is consistent with the cluster profiles, $y \propto F_{\rm X}^{0.5}$. By adopting an isothermal--$\beta$ model, we are able, for the first time, to jointly use radio, X-ray, and Compton-$y$ data to estimate the scaling index for the magnetic field profile, $B(r) \propto n_{\mathrm{e}}(r)^{\eta}$ in the injection and re-acceleration scenarios. Applying this model, we find that the combined radio and Compton-$y$ signal exhibits a significantly tighter correlation with the X-ray across the clusters than when the datasets are independently correlated. We find $\eta \sim 0.6{-}0.8$. These results are consistent with the upper limit we derive for the scaling index of the magnetic field using rotation measure values for two radio galaxies in Abell~401. We also measure the radio, Compton-$y$, and X-ray correlations in the filament between the clusters but conclude that deeper data are required for a convincing determination of the correlations in the filament.
V. Heesen, M. Staffehl, A. Basu, R. Beck, M. Stein, F. S. Tabatabaei, M. J. Hardcastle, K. T. Chyży, T. W. Shimwell, B. Adebahr, R. Beswick, D. J. Bomans, A. Botteon, E. Brinks, M. Brüggen, R.-J. Dettmar, A. Drabent, F. de Gasperin, G. Gürkan, G. H. Heald, et al (7) Context. Cosmic rays and magnetic fields are key ingredients in galaxy evolution, regulating both stellar feedback and star formation. Their properties can be studied with low-frequency radio continuum observations, free from thermal contamination. Aims. We define a sample of 76 nearby (< 30 Mpc) galaxies, with rich ancillary data in the radio continuum and infrared from the CHANG-ES and KINGFISH surveys, which will be observed with the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) at 144 MHz. Methods. We present maps for 45 of them as part of the LoTSS data release 2 (LoTSS-DR2), where we measure integrated flux densities and study integrated and spatially resolved radio spectral indices. We investigate the radio-SFR relation, using star-formation rates (SFR) from total infrared and H $\alpha$ + 24-$\mu$m emission. Results. The radio-SFR relation at 144 MHz is clearly super-linear with $L_{144} \propto SFR^{1.4-1.5}$. The mean integrated radio spectral index between 144 and $\approx$1400 MHz is $\langle \alpha\rangle = -0.56 \pm 0.14$, in agreement with the injection spectral index for cosmic ray electrons (CRE). However, the radio spectral index maps show a variation of spectral indices with flatter spectra associated with star-forming regions and steeper spectra in galaxy outskirts and, in particular, in extra-planar regions. We found that galaxies with high star-formation rates (SFR) have steeper radio spectra; we find similar correlations with galaxy size, mass, and rotation speed. Conclusions. Galaxies that are larger and more massive are better electron calorimeters, meaning that the CRE lose a higher fraction of their energy within the galaxies. This explains the super-linear radio-SFR relation, with more massive, star-forming galaxies being radio bright. We propose a semi-calorimetric radio-SFR relation, which employs the galaxy mass as a proxy for the calorimetric efficiency.
F. Salvestrini, C. Gruppioni, E. Hatziminaoglou, F. Pozzi, C. Vignali, V. Casasola, R. Paladino, S. Aalto, P. Andreani, S. Marchesi, T. Stanke We present a multi-wavelength study of the molecular gas properties of a sample of local Seyfert 2 galaxies to assess if, and to what extent, the presence of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) can affect the Interstellar Medium (ISM) properties in a sample of 33 local Seyfert 2 galaxies. We compare the molecular gas content (MH2), derived from new and archival low-J CO line measurements of a sample of AGN and a control sample of star-forming galaxies (SFGs). Both the AGN and the control sample are characterised in terms of host-galaxy properties (e.g., stellar and dust masses, Mstar and Mdust, respectively; and star formation rate, SFR). We also investigate the effect of AGN activity onto the emission of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules in the mid-infrared (MIR), a waveband where the dust-reprocessed emission from the obscured AGN contributes the most. The AGN hosted in less massive galaxies (i.e., log(Mstar/Msun)<10.5; log(Mdust/Msun)<7.5) show larger molecular gas content with respect to SFGs matched in stellar and dust mass. When comparing their depletion time(tdep~MH2/SFR), AGN show tdep~0.3-1.0 Gyr, similar to those observed in the control sample of SFGs. Seyfert 2 galaxies show fainter PAH luminosity at increasingly larger dominance of the nuclear activity in the MIR. We find no clear evidence for a systematic reduction of the molecular gas reservoir at galactic scale in Seyfert galaxies with respect to SFGs. This is in agreement with recent studies showing that molecular gas content only is reduced in regions of sub-kpc size, where the emission from the accreting supermassive black hole dominates. Nonetheless, we show that the impact of AGN activity on the ISM is clearly visible as suppression of the PAH luminosity.
Valentina Vacca, Timothy Shimwell, Richard A. Perley, Federica Govoni, Matteo Murgia, Luigina Feretti, Gabriele Giovannini, Francesca Loi, Ettore Carretti, Filippo Cova, Fabio Gastaldello, Marisa Girardi, Torsten Ensslin, Hiroki Akamatsu, Annalisa Bonafede, Etienne Bonnassieux, Walter Boschin, Andrea Botteon, Gianfranco Brunetti, Marcus Brueggen, et al (9) The galaxy cluster Abell 523 (A523) hosts an extended diffuse synchrotron source historically classified as a radio halo. Its radio power at 1.4 GHz makes it one of the most significant outliers in the scaling relations between observables derived from multi-wavelength observations of galaxy clusters: it has a morphology that is different and offset from the thermal gas, and it has polarized emission at 1.4 GHz typically difficult to observe for this class of sources. A magnetic field fluctuating on large spatial scales (~ 1 Mpc) can explain these peculiarities but the formation mechanism for this source is not yet completely clear. To investigate its formation mechanism, we present new observations obtained with the LOw Frequency ARray at 120-168 MHz and the Jansky Very Large Array at 1-2 GHz, which allow us to study the spectral index distribution of this source. According to our data the source is observed to be more extended at 144 MHz than previously inferred at 1.4 GHz, with a total size of about 1.8 Mpc and a flux density S_144MHz = (1.52 +- 0.31) Jy. The spectral index distribution of the source is patchy with an average spectral index alpha ~ 1.2 between 144 MHz and 1.410 GHz, while an integrated spectral index alpha ~ 2.1 has been obtained between 1.410 GHz and 1.782 GHz. A previously unseen patch of steep spectrum emission is clearly detected at 144 MHz in the south of the cluster. Overall, our findings suggest that we are observing an overlapping of different structures, powered by the turbulence associated with the primary and a possible secondary merger.
S. Bianchi, M. Murgia, A. Melis, V. Casasola, F. Galliano, F. Govoni, A. P. Jones, S. C. Madden, R. Paladino, F. Salvestrini, E. M. Xilouris, N. Ysard We observed four nearby spiral galaxies (NGC 3627, NGC 4254, NGC 4736 and NGC 5055) in the K band with the 64-m Sardinia Radio Telescope, with the aim of detecting the Anomalous Microwave Emission (AME), a radiation component presumably due to spinning dust grains, observed so far in the Milky Way and in a handful of other galaxies only (most notably, M 31). We mapped the galaxies at 18.6 and 24.6 GHz and studied their global photometry together with other radio-continuum data from the literature, in order to find AME as emission in excess of the synchrotron and thermal components. We only find upper limits for AME. These non-detections, and other upper limits in the literature, are nevertheless consistent with the average AME emissivity from the few detections: it is $\epsilon^\mathrm{AME}_{\mathrm{30~GHz}} = 2.4\pm0.4 \times 10^{-2}$ MJy sr$^{-1}$ (M$_\odot$ pc$^{-2}$)$^{-1}$ in units of dust surface density (equivalently, $1.4\pm0.2 \times 10^{-18}$ Jy sr$^{-1}$ (H cm$^{-2}$)$^{-1}$ in units of H column density). We finally suggest to search for AME in quiescent spirals with relatively low radio luminosity, such as M~31.
N. Luber, A. Müller, J. H. van Gorkom, B. M. Poggianti, B. Vulcani, A. Franchetto, C. Bacchini, D. Bettoni, T. Deb, J. Fritz, M. Gullieuszik, A. Ignesti, Y. Jaffe, A. Moretti, R. Paladino, M. Ramatsoku, P. Serra, R. Smith, N. Tomicic, S. Tonnesen, et al (2) We present the results of a VLA HI imaging survey aimed at understanding why some galaxies develop long extraplanar H$\alpha$ tails, becoming extreme jellyfish galaxies. The observations are centered on five extreme jellyfish galaxies, optically selected from the WINGS and OmegaWINGS surveys and confirmed to have long H$\alpha$ tails through MUSE observations. Each galaxy is located in a different cluster. In the observations there are in total 88 other spiral galaxies within the field of view (40'x40') and observed bandwidth (6500 km s$^{-1}$). We detect 13 of these 88 spirals, plus one uncatalogued spiral, with HI masses ranging from 1 to 7 $\times$ 10${^9}$ M$_{\odot}$. Many of these detections have extended HI disks, two show direct evidence for ram pressure stripping, while others are possibly affected by tidal forces and/or ram-pressure stripping. We stack the 75 non-detected spiral galaxies and find an average HI mass of 1.9 $\times$ 10$^{8}$ M$_{\odot}$, which given their average stellar mass, implies they are very HI deficient. Comparing the extreme jellyfish galaxies to the other disk galaxies, we find that they have a larger stellar mass than almost all disk galaxies and than all HI detected galaxies, they are at smaller projected distance from the cluster center and at higher relative velocity to the cluster mean than all HI detections and most non-detections. We conclude that the high stellar mass allows extreme jellyfish galaxies to fall deeply into the cluster before being stripped and the surrounding ICM pressure gives rise to their spectacular star-forming tails.
Q. D'Amato, I. Prandoni, M. Brienza, R. Gilli, C. Vignali, R. Paladino, F. Loi, M. Massardi, M. Mignoli, S. Marchesi, A. Peca, P. Jagannathan In this work we performed a spectral energy distribution (SED) analysis in the optical/infrared band of the host galaxy of a proto-brightest cluster galaxy (BCG, NVSS J103023+052426) in a proto-cluster at z = 1.7. We found that it features a vigorous star formation rate (SFR) of ${\sim}$570 $\mathrm{M_{\odot}}$/yr and a stellar mass of $M_{\ast} \sim 3.7 \times 10^{11}$ $\mathrm{M_{\odot}}$; the high corresponding specific SFR = $1.5 \pm 0.5$ $\mathrm{Gyr^{-1}}$ classifies this object as a starburst galaxy that will deplete its molecular gas reservoir in $\sim$ $3.5 \times 10^8$ yr. Thus, this system represents a rare example of a proto-BCG caught during the short phase of its major stellar mass assembly. Moreover, we investigated the nature of the host galaxy emission at 3.3 mm. We found that it originates from the cold dust in the interstellar medium, even though a minor non-thermal AGN contribution cannot be completely ruled out. Finally, we studied the polarized emission of the lobes at 1.4 GHz. We unveiled a patchy structure where the polarization fraction increases in the regions in which the total intensity shows a bending morphology; in addition, the magnetic field orientation follows the direction of the bendings. We interpret these features as possible indications of an interaction with the intracluster medium. This strengthens the hypothesis of positive AGN feedback, as inferred in previous studies of this object on the basis of X-ray/mm/radio analysis. In this scenario, the proto-BCG heats the surrounding medium and possibly enhances the SFR in nearby galaxies.
This is the fourth paper of a series investigating the AGN fuelling/feedback processes in a sample of eleven nearby low-excitation radio galaxies (LERGs). In this paper we present follow-up Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of one source, NGC3100, targeting the $^{12}$CO(1-0), $^{12}$CO(3-2), HCO$^{+}$(4-3), SiO(3-2) and HNCO(6-5) molecular transitions. $^{12}$CO(1-0) and $^{12}$CO(3-2) lines are nicely detected and complement our previous $^{12}$CO(2-1) data. By comparing the relative strength of these three CO transitions, we find extreme gas excitation conditions (i.e. $T_{\rm ex}\gtrsim50$ K) in regions that are spatially correlated with the radio lobes, supporting the case for a jet-ISM interaction. An accurate study of the CO kinematics demonstrates that, although the bulk of the gas is regularly rotating, two distinct non-rotational kinematic components can be identified in the inner gas regions: one can be associated to inflow/outflow streaming motions induced by a two-armed spiral perturbation; the second one is consistent with a jet-induced outflow with $v_{\rm max}\approx 200$ km s$^{-1}$ and $\dot{M}\lesssim 0.12$ M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$. These values indicate that the jet-CO coupling ongoing in NGC3100 is only mildly affecting the gas kinematics, as opposed to what expected from existing simulations and other observational studies of (sub-)kpc scale jet-cold gas interactions. HCO$^{+}$(4-3) emission is tentatively detected in a small area adjacent to the base of the northern radio lobe, possibly tracing a region of jet-induced gas compression. The SiO(3-2) and HNCO(6-5) shock tracers are undetected: this - along with the tentative HCO$^{+}$(4-3) detection - may be consistent with a deficiency of very dense (i.e. $n_{\rm crit} > 10^{6}$ cm$^{-3}$) cold gas in the central regions of NGC3100.
S. Bianchi, M. Murgia, A. Melis, V. Casasola, M. Galametz, F. Galliano, F. Govoni, A. Jones, S. Madden, R. Paladino, E. Xilouris, N. Ysard The mm-to-cm range of the Spectral Energy Distribution of spiral galaxies remains largely unexplored. Its coverage is required to disentangle the contribution of dust emission, free-free and synchrotron radiation and can provide constraints on dust models, star-formation rates and ISM properties. We present the case for a synergy between NIKA2 observations of nearby spirals and those from planned and current instrumentation at the Sardinia Radio Telescope, and report on a pilot K-band program to search for Anomalous Microwave Emission, an elusive emission component which is presumably related to dust.
Alessandro Ignesti, Benedetta Vulcani, Bianca M. Poggianti, Rosita Paladino, Timothy Shimwell, Julia Healy, Myriam Gitti, Cecilia Bacchini, Alessia Moretti, Mario Radovich, Reinout J. van Weeren, Ian D. Roberts, Andrea Botteon, Ancla Müller, Sean McGee, Jacopo Fritz, Neven Tomčić, Ariel Werle, Matilde Mingozzi, Marco Gullieuszik, et al (1) Ram pressure stripping is a crucial evolutionary driver for cluster galaxies. It is thought to be able to accelerate the evolution of their star formation, trigger the activity of their central active galactic nucleus (AGN) and the interplay between the galactic and environmental gas, and eventually dissipate their gas reservoir. We explored the outcomes of ram pressure stripping by studying the non-thermal radio emission of the jellyfish galaxy JW100 in the cluster Abell 2626 ($z=0.055$) by combining LOFAR, MeerKAT, and VLA observations from 0.144 to 5.5 GHz. We studied the integrated spectra of the stellar disk, the stripped tail and the AGN, mapped the spectral index over the galaxy, and constrained the magnetic field intensity to be between 11 and 18 $\mu$G in the disk and $<10$ $\mu$G in the tail. The stellar disk radio emission is dominated by a radiatively old plasma, likely related to an older phase of high star formation rate. This suggests that the star formation was quickly quenched by a factor of 4 in a few $10^7$ yr. The radio emission in the tail is consistent with the stripping scenario, where the radio plasma originally accelerated in the disk is then displaced in the tail. The morphology of the radio and X-ray emissions supports the scenario of accretion of the magnetized environmental plasma onto the galaxy. The AGN non-thermal spectrum indicates that the relativistic electron acceleration may have occurred simultaneously with a central ionized gas outflow, thus suggesting a physical connection between the two processes.
Ancla Müller, Christoph Pfrommer, Alessandro Ignesti, Alessia Moretti, Ana Lourenco, Rosita Paladino, Yara Jaffe, Myriam Gitti, Tiziana Venturi, Marco Gullieuszik, Bianca Poggianti, Benedetta Vulcani, Andrea Biviano, Björn Adebahr, Ralf-Jürgen Dettmar We present deep JVLA observations at 1.4 GHz and 2.7 GHz (full polarization), as well as optical OmegaWINGS/WINGS and X-ray observations of two extended radio galaxies in the IIZW108 galaxy cluster at z = 0.04889. They show a bent tail morphology in agreement with a radio lobed galaxy falling into the cluster potential. Both galaxies are found to possess properties comparable with narrow-angle tail galaxies in the literature even though they are part of a low mass cluster. We find a spectral index steepening and an increase in fractional polarization through the galaxy jets and an ordered magnetic field component mostly aligned with the jet direction. This is likely caused by either shear due to the velocity difference of the intracluster medium and the jet fluid and/or magnetic draping of the intracluster medium across the galaxy jets. We find clear evidence that one source is showing two active galactic nuclei (AGN) outbursts from which we expect the AGN has never turned off completely. We show that pure standard electron cooling cannot explain the jet length. We demonstrate therefore that these galaxies can be used as a laboratory to study gentle re-acceleration of relativistic electrons in galaxy jets via transition from laminar to turbulent motion.
M. G. Campitiello, A. Ignesti, M. Gitti, F. Brighenti, M. Radovich, A. Wolter, N. Tomicic, C. Bellhouse, B. M. Poggianti, A. Moretti, B. Vulcani, Y. L. Jaffè, R. Paladino, A. Muller, J. Fritz, A. C. C. Lourenco, M. Gullieuszik X-ray studies of jellyfish galaxies play a crucial role in understanding the interactions between the interstellar medium (ISM) and the intracluster medium (ICM). In this paper, we focused on the jellyfish galaxy JO201. By combining archival Chandra observations, MUSE H$\alpha$ cubes, and maps of the emission fraction of the diffuse ionised gas, we investigated both its high energy spectral properties and the spatial correlation between its X-ray and optical emissions. The X-ray emission of JO201 is provided by both the Compton thick AGN (L$_{\text{X}}^{0.5-10 \text{keV}}$=2.7$\cdot$10$^{41}$ erg s$^{-1}$, not corrected for intrinsic absorption) and an extended component (L$_{\text{X}}^{0.5-10 \, \text{keV}}\approx$1.9-4.5$\cdot$10$^{41}$ erg s$^{-1}$) produced by a warm plasma (kT$\approx$1 keV), whose luminosity is higher than expected from the observed star formation (L$_{\text{X}}\sim$3.8$\cdot10^{40}$ erg s$^{-1}$). The spectral analysis showed that the X-ray emission is consistent with the thermal cooling of hot plasma. These properties are similar to the ones found in other jellyfish galaxies showing extended X-ray emission. A point-to-point analysis revealed that this X-ray emission closely follows the ISM distribution, whereas CLOUDY simulations proved that the ionisation triggered by this warm plasma would be able to reproduce the [OI]/H$\alpha$ excess observed in JO201. We conclude that the galactic X-ray emitting plasma is originated on the surface of the ISM as a result of the ICM-ISM interplay. This process would entail the cooling and accretion of the ICM onto the galaxy, which could additionally fuel the star formation, and the emergence of [OI]/H$\alpha$ excess in the optical spectrum.
R. Kondapally, P. N. Best, M. J. Hardcastle, D. Nisbet, M. Bonato, J. Sabater, K. J. Duncan, I. McCheyne, R. K. Cochrane, R. A. A. Bowler, W. L. Williams, T. W. Shimwell, C. Tasse, J. H. Croston, A. Goyal, M. Jamrozy, M. J. Jarvis, V. H. Mahatma, H. J. A. R\öttgering, D. J. B. Smith, et al (23) We present the source associations, cross-identifications, and multi-wavelength properties of the faint radio source population detected in the deep tier of the LOFAR Two Metre Sky Survey (LoTSS): the LoTSS Deep Fields. The first LoTSS Deep Fields data release consists of deep radio imaging at 150~MHz of the ELAIS-N1, Lockman Hole, and Boötes fields, down to RMS sensitives of around 20, 22, and 32$~\mu$Jy\u2009beam$^{-1}$, respectively. These fields are some of the best studied extra-galactic fields in the northern sky, with existing deep, wide-area panchromatic photometry from X-ray to infrared wavelengths, covering a total of $\approx$~26~\mboxdeg$^{2}$. We first generated improved multi-wavelength catalogues in ELAIS-N1 and Lockman Hole; combined with the existing catalogue for Boötes, we present forced, matched aperture photometry for over 7.2 million sources across the three fields. We identified multi-wavelength counterparts to the radio detected sources, using a combination of the Likelihood Ratio method and visual classification, which greatly enhances the scientific potential of radio surveys and allows for the characterisation of the photometric redshifts and the physical properties of the host galaxies. The final radio-optical cross-matched catalogue consists of 81\u2009951 radio-detected sources, with counterparts identified and multi-wavelength properties presented for 79\u2009820 ($>$97\%) sources. We also examine the properties of the host galaxies, and through stacking analysis find that the radio population with no identified counterpart is likely dominated by AGN at $z\sim3-4$. This dataset contains one of the largest samples of radio-selected star-forming galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGN) at these depths, making it ideal for studying the history of star-formation, and the evolution of galaxies and AGN across cosmic time.
F. Calura, E. Vanzella, S. Carniani, R. Gilli, P. Rosati, M. Meneghetti, R. Paladino, R. Decarli, M. Brusa, A. Lupi, Q. D'Amato, P. Bergamini . G. B. Caminha - We report on ALMA observations of D1, a system at z~6.15 with stellar mass M_* ~ 10^7 M_sun containing globular cluster (GC) precursors, strongly magnified by the galaxy cluster MACS J0416.1-2403. Since the discovery of GC progenitors at high redshift, ours is the first attempt to probe directly the physical properties of their neutral gas through infrared observations. A careful analysis of our dataset, performed with a suitable procedure designed to identify faint narrow lines and which can test various possible values for the unknown linewidth value, allowed us to identify a 4-sigma tentative detection of [CII] emission with intrinsic luminosity L_CII=(2.9 +/- 1.4) 10^6 L_sun, one of the lowest values ever detected at high redshift. This study offers a first insight on previously uncharted regions of the L_CII-SFR relation. Despite large uncertainties affecting our measure of the star formation rate, if taken at face value our estimate lies more than 1 dex below the values observed in local and high redshift systems. Our weak detection indicates a deficiency of [CII] emission, possibly ascribed to various explanations, such as a low-density gas and/or a strong radiation field caused by intense stellar feedback, and a low metal content. From the non-detection in the continuum we derive constraints on the dust mass, with 3-sigma upper limit values as low as a few 10^4 M_sun, consistent with the values measured in local metal-poor galaxies.
This is the third paper of a series exploring the multi-frequency properties of a sample of eleven nearby low-excitation radio galaxies (LERGs) in the southern sky. We are conducting an extensive study of different galaxy components (stars, dust, warm and cold gas, radio jets) with the aim of better understanding the AGN fuelling/feedback cycle in LERGs. Here we present new, deep, sub-kpc resolution Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA) data for five sample sources at 10 GHz. Coupling these data with previously-acquired Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) CO(2-1) observations and measurements of comparable quality from the literature, we carry out for the first time a full 3D analysis of the relative orientations of jet and disc rotation axes in six FR I LERGs. This analysis shows (albeit with significant uncertainties) that the relative orientation angles span a wide range ($\approx$30$^{\circ}-60^{\circ}$). There is no case where both axes are accurately aligned and there is a marginally significant tendency for jets to avoid the disc plane. Our study also provides further evidence for the presence of a jet-CO disc interaction (already inferred from other observational indicators) in at least one source, NGC 3100. In this case, the limited extent of the radio jets, along with distortions in both the molecular gas and the jet components, suggest that the jets are young, interacting with the surrounding matter and rapidly decelerating.
Francesca Loi, Matteo Murgia, Valentina Vacca, Federica Govoni, Andrea Melis, Denis Wittor, Rainer Beck, Maya Kierdorf, Annalisa Bonafede, Walter Boschin, Marisa Brienza, Ettore Carretti, Raimondo Concu, Luigina Feretti, Fabio Gastaldello, Rosita Paladino, Kamlesh Rajpurohit, Paolo Serra, Franco Vazza Observations of radio relics at very high frequency (>10 GHz) can help to understand how particles age and are (re-)accelerated in galaxy cluster outskirts and how magnetic fields are amplified in these environments. In this work, we present new single-dish 18.6 GHz Sardinia Radio Telescope and 14.25 GHz Effelsberg observations of the well known northern radio relic of CIZA J2242.8+5301. We detected the relic which shows a length of $\sim$1.8 Mpc and a flux density equal to $\rm S_{14.25\,GHz}=(9.5\pm3.9)\,mJy$ and $\rm S_{18.6\,GHz}=(7.67\pm0.90)\,mJy$ at 14.25 GHz and 18.6 GHz respectively. The resulting best-fit model of the relic spectrum from 145 MHz to 18.6 GHz is a power-law spectrum with spectral index $\alpha=1.12\pm0.03$: no evidence of steepening has been found in the new data presented in this work. For the first time, polarisation properties have been derived at 18.6 GHz, revealing an averaged polarisation fraction of $\sim40\%$ and a magnetic field aligned with the 'filaments' or 'sheets' of the relic.
We present a multi-wavelength study (from X-ray to millimetre) of the nearby low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (LLAGN) NGC 7213. We combine the information from the different bands to characterize the source in terms of contribution from the AGN and the host-galaxy interstellar medium (ISM). This approach allows us to provide a coherent picture of the role of the AGN and its impact, if any, on the star formation and molecular gas properties of the host galaxy. We focused our study on archival ALMA Cycle 1 observations, where the CO(2-1) emission line has been used as a tracer of the molecular gas. Using the 3DBarolo code on ALMA data, we performed the modelling of the molecular gas kinematics traced by the CO(2-1) emission, finding a rotationally dominated pattern. The host-galaxy molecular gas mass was estimated from the integrated CO(2-1) emission line obtained with APEX data, assuming an $\alpha_{CO}$ conversion factor. By using the ALMA data, we would have underestimated the gas masses by a factor $\sim$3, given the filtering out of the large scale emission in interferometric observations. We also performed a complete X-ray spectral analysis on archival observations, revealing a relatively faint and unobscured AGN. The AGN results to be too faint to significantly affect the properties of the host-galaxy, such as star formation activity and molecular gas kinematics and distribution.
A. Moretti, R. Paladino, B. M. Poggianti, P. Serra, M. Ramatsoku, A. Franchetto, T. Deb, M. Gullieuszik, N. Tomicic, M. Mingozzi, B. Vulcani, M. Radovich, D. Bettoni, J. Fritz In the disks of four jellyfish galaxies from the GASP sample at redshift $\sim 0.05$ we detect molecular gas masses systematically higher than in field galaxies. These galaxies are being stripped of their gas by ram pressure from the intra cluster medium and are, in general, forming stars at high rate with respect to non-stripped galaxies of similar stellar masses. We find that, unless giant molecular clouds in the disk are unbound by ram pressure leading to exceptionally high CO--to--$\rm H_2$ conversion factors, these galaxies have a molecular gas content 4-5 times higher than normal galaxies of similar masses, and molecular gas depletion times ranging from $\sim$1 to 9 Gyr, corresponding to generally very low star formation efficiencies. The molecular gas mass within the disk is a factor between 4 and $\sim$100 times higher than the neutral gas mass, as opposed to the disks of normal spirals that contain similar amounts of molecular and neutral gas. Intriguingly, the molecular plus neutral total amount of gas is similar to that in normal spiral galaxies of similar stellar mass. These results strongly suggest that ram pressure in disks of galaxies during the jellyfish phase leads to a very efficient conversion of HI into $\rm H_2$.
Charles L. H. Hull, Paulo C. Cortes, Valentin J. M. Le Gouellec, Josep M. Girart, Hiroshi Nagai, Kouichiro Nakanishi, Seiji Kameno, Edward B. Fomalont, Crystal L. Brogan, George A. Moellenbrock, Rosita Paladino, Eric Villard We characterize the accuracy of linear-polarization mosaics made using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). First, we observed the bright, highly linearly polarized blazar 3C 279 at Bands 3, 5, 6, and 7 (3 mm, 1.6 mm, 1.3 mm, and 0.87 mm, respectively). At each band, we measured the blazar's polarization on an 11$\times$11 grid of evenly-spaced offset pointings covering the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) area of the primary beam. After applying calibration solutions derived from the on-axis pointing of 3C 279 to all of the on- and off-axis data, we find that the residual polarization errors across the primary beam are similar at all frequencies: the residual errors in linear polarization fraction $P_\textrm{frac}$ and polarization position angle $\chi$ are $\lesssim$0.001 ($\lesssim$0.1% of Stokes $I$) and $\lesssim$1$^\circ$ near the center of the primary beam; the errors increase to $\sim$0.003-0.005 ($\sim$0.3-0.5% of Stokes $I$) and $\sim$1-5$^\circ$ near the FWHM as a result of the asymmetric beam patterns in the (linearly polarized) $Q$ and $U$ maps. We see the expected double-lobed "beam squint" pattern in the circular polarization (Stokes $V$) maps. Second, to test the polarization accuracy in a typical ALMA project, we performed observations of continuum linear polarization toward the Kleinmann-Low nebula in Orion (Orion-KL) using several mosaic patterns at Bands 3 and 6. We show that after mosaicking, the residual off-axis errors decrease as a result of overlapping multiple pointings. Finally, we compare the ALMA mosaics with an archival 1.3 mm CARMA polarization mosaic of Orion-KL and find good consistency in the polarization patterns.
We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of the quadruply lensed z=1.51 quasar HS 0810+2554 which provide useful insight on the kinematics and morphology of the CO molecular gas and the ~2 mm continuum emission in the quasar host galaxy. Lens modeling of the mm-continuum and the spectrally integrated CO(3-2) images indicates that the source of the mm-continuum has an eccentricity of e~0.9 with a size of ~1.6 kpc and the source of line emission has an eccentricity of e~0.7 with a size of ~1 kpc. The spatially integrated emission of the CO(2-1) and CO(3-2) lines shows a triple peak structure with the outer peaks separated by Dv_21 = 220 +\- 19 km s^-1 and Dv_32 = 245 +/- 28 km s^-1, respectively, suggesting the presence of rotating molecular CO line emitting gas. Lensing inversion of the high spatial resolution images confirms the presence of rotation of the line emitting gas. Assuming a conversion factor of alpha_CO = 0.8 M_solar (K km s^-1 pc^2)^-1 we find the molecular gas mass of HS 0810+2554 to be M _ Mol = [(5.2 +/- 1.5)/mu_32] x10^10 M_solar, where mu_32 is the magnification of the CO(3-2) emission. We report the possible detection, at the 3.0 - 4.7 sigma confidence level, of shifted CO(3-2) emission lines of high-velocity clumps of CO emission with velocities up to 1702 km s^-1. We find that the momentum boost of the large scale molecular wind is below the value predicted for an energy-conserving outflow given the momentum flux observed in the small scale ultrafast outflow.
A. Moretti, R. Paladino, B. M. Poggianti, P. Serra, E. Roediger, M. Gullieuszik, N. Tomicic, M. Radovich, B. Vulcani, Y. L. Jaffe', J. Fritz, D. Bettoni, M. Ramatsoku, A. Wolter Within the GASP survey, aimed at studying the effect of the ram-pressure stripping on the star formation quenching in cluster galaxies, we analyze here ALMA observations of the jellyfish galaxy JW100. We find an unexpected large amount of molecular gas ($\sim 2.5 \times 10^{10} M_{\odot}$), 30\% of which is located in the stripped gas tail out to $\sim$35 kpc from the galaxy center. The overall kinematics of molecular gas is similar to the one shown by the ionized gas, but for clear signatures of double components along the stripping direction detected only out to 2 kpc from the disk. The line ratio $r_{21}$ has a clumpy distribution and in the tail can reach large values ($\geq 1$), while its average value is low (0.58 with a 0.15 dispersion). All these evidence strongly suggest that the molecular gas in the tail is newly born from stripped HI gas or newly condensed from stripped diffuse molecular gas. The analysis of interferometric data at different scales reveals that a significant fraction ($\sim 40\%$) of the molecular gas is extended over large scales ($\geq 8$ kpc) in the disk, and this fraction becomes predominant in the tail ($\sim 70\%$). By comparing the molecular gas surface density with the star formation rate surface density derived from the \Ha emission from MUSE data, we find that the depletion time on 1 kpc scale is particularly large ($5-10$ Gyr) both within the ram-pressure disturbed region in the stellar disk, and in the complexes along the tail.
Bianca M. Poggianti, Alessandro Ignesti, Myriam Gitti, Anna Wolter, Fabrizio Brighenti, Andrea Biviano, Koshy George, Benedetta Vulcani, Marco Gullieuszik, Alessia Moretti, Rosita Paladino, Daniela Bettoni, Andrea Franchetto, Yara Jaffe', Mario Radovich, Elke Roediger, Neven Tomicic, Stephanie Tonnesen, Callum Bellhouse, Jacopo Fritz, et al (1) With MUSE, Chandra, VLA, ALMA and UVIT data from the GASP programme we study the multiphase baryonic components in a jellyfish galaxy (JW100) with a stellar mass 3.2 X 10^11 M_sun hosting an AGN. We present its spectacular extraplanar tails of ionized and molecular gas, UV stellar light, X-ray and radio continuum emission. This galaxy represents an excellent laboratory to study the interplay between different gas phases and star formation, and the influence of gas stripping, gas heating, and AGN. We analyze the physical origin of the emission at different wavelengths in the tail, in particular in-situ star formation (related to Halpha, CO and UV emission), synchrotron emission from relativistic electrons (producing the radio continuum) and heating of the stripped interstellar medium (ISM) (responsible for the X-ray emission). We show the similarities and differences of the spatial distributions of ionized gas, molecular gas and UV light, and argue that the mismatch on small scales (1kpc) is due to different stages of the star formation process. We present the relation Halpha--X-ray surface brightness, which is steeper for star-forming regions than for diffuse ionised gas regions with high [OI]/Halpha ratio. We propose that ISM heating due to interaction with the intracluster medium (either for mixing, thermal conduction or shocks) is responsible for the X-ray tail, the observed [OI]-excess and the lack of star formation in the northern part of the tail. We also report the tentative discovery in the tail of the most distant (and among the brightest) currently known ULX, a point-like ultraluminous X-ray source commonly originating in a binary stellar system powered either by an intermediate-mass black hole or a magnetized neutron star.
This is the second paper of a series exploring the multi-component (stars, warm and cold gas and radio jets) properties of a sample of eleven nearby low excitation radio galaxies (LERGs), with the aim of better understanding the AGN fuelling/feedback cycle in these objects. Here we present a study of the molecular gas kinematics of six sample galaxies detected in $^{12}$CO(2-1) with ALMA. In all cases, our modelling suggests that the bulk of the gas in the observed (sub-)kpc CO discs is in ordered rotation. Nevertheless, low-level distortions are ubiquitous, indicating that the molecular gas is not fully relaxed into the host galaxy potential. The majority of the discs, however, are only marginally resolved, preventing us from drawing strong conclusions. NGC 3557 and NGC 3100 are special cases. The features observed in the CO velocity curve of NGC 3557 allow us to estimate a super-massive black hole (SMBH) mass of $(7.10\pm0.02)\times10^{8}$ M$_{\odot}$, in agreement with expectations from the M$_{\rm SMBH}- \sigma_{*}$ relation. The rotation pattern of NGC 3100 shows distortions that appear to be consistent with the presence of both a position angle and inclination warp. Non-negligible radial motions are also found in the plane of the CO disc, likely consistent with streaming motions associated with the spiral pattern found in the inner regions of the disc. The dominant radial motions are likely to be inflows, supporting a scenario in which the cold gas is contributing to the fuelling of the AGN.
M. T. Beltrán, M. Padovani, J. M. Girart, D. Galli, R. Cesaroni, R. Paladino, G. Anglada, R. Estalella, M. Osorio, R. Rao, Á. Sánchez-Monge, Q. Zhang Context. Submillimeter Array (SMA) 870 micron polarization observations of the hot molecular core G31.41+0.31 revealed one of the clearest examples up to date of an hourglass-shaped magnetic field morphology in a high-mass star-forming region. Aims. To better establish the role that the magnetic field plays in the collapse of G31.41+0.31, we carried out Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of the polarized dust continuum emission at 1.3 mm with an angular resolution four times higher than that of the previous (sub)millimeter observations to achieve an unprecedented image of the magnetic field morphology. Methods. We used ALMA to perform full polarization observations at 233 GHz (Band 6). The resulting synthesized beam is 0.28"x0"20 which, at the distance of the source, corresponds to a spatial resolution of ~875 au. Results. The observations resolve the structure of the magnetic field in G31.41+0.31 and allow us to study the field in detail. The polarized emission in the Main core of G31.41+0.41is successfully fit with a semi-analytical magnetostatic model of a toroid supported by magnetic fields. The best fit model suggests that the magnetic field is well represented by a poloidal field with a possible contribution of a toroidal component of ~10% of the poloidal component, oriented southeast to northwest at ~ -44 deg and with an inclination of ~-45 degr. The magnetic field is oriented perpendicular to the northeast to southwest velocity gradient detected in this core on scales from 1E3-1E4 au. This supports the hypothesis that the velocity gradient is due to rotation and suggests that such a rotation has little effect on the magnetic field. The strength of the magnetic field estimated in the central region of the core with the Davis-Chandrasekhar-Fermi method is ~8-13 mG and implies that the mass-to-flux ratio in this region is slightly supercritical ...
V. Heesen, L. Whitler, P. Schmidt, A. Miskolczi, S. S. Sridhar, C. Horellou, R. Beck, G. Gürkan, E. Scannapieco, M. Brüggen, G. H. Heald, M. Krause, R. Paladino, B. Nikiel-Wroczyński, R.-J. Dettmar Cosmic rays play a pivotal role in launching galactic winds, particularly in quiescently star-forming galaxies where the hot gas alone is not sufficient to drive a wind. Except for the Milky Way, not much is known about the transport of cosmic rays in galaxies. In this Letter, we present low-frequency observations of the nearby edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 4565 using the LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR). With our deep 144-MHz observations, we obtain a clean estimate of the emission originating from old cosmic-ray electrons (CRe), which is almost free from contamination by thermal emission. We measured vertical profiles of the non-thermal radio continuum emission that we fitted with Gaussian and exponential functions. The different profile shapes correspond to 1D cosmic-ray transport models of pure diffusion and advection, respectively. We detect a warp in the radio continuum that is reminiscent of the previously known HI warp. Because the warp is not seen at GHz-frequencies in the radio continuum, its minimum age must be about 100 Myr. The warp also explains the slight flaring of the thick radio disc that can otherwise be well described by a Gaussian profile with an FWHM of 65 arcsec (3.7 kpc). The diffusive radio halo together with the extra-planar X-ray emission may be remnants of enhanced star-forming activity in the past where the galaxy had a galactic wind, as GHz-observations indicate only a weak outflow in the last 40 Myr. NGC 4565 could be in transition from an outflow- to an inflow-dominated phase.
Vincenzo Galluzzi, Giuseppe Puglisi, Sandra Burkutean, Elisabetta Liuzzo, Matteo Bonato, Marcella Massardi, Rosita Paladino, Loretta Gregorini, Roberto Ricci, Tiziana Trombetti, Luigi Toffolatti, Carlo Burigana, Anna Bonaldi, Laura Bonavera, Viviana Casasola, Gianfranco De Zotti, Ronald David Ekers, Sperello di Serego Alighieri, Marcos López-Caniego, Marco Tucci We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimiter Array (ALMA) high sensitivity ($\sigma_P \simeq 0.4\,$mJy) polarimetric observations at $97.5\,$GHz (Band 3) of a complete sample of $32$ extragalactic radio sources drawn from the faint Planck-ATCA Co-eval Observations (PACO) sample ($b<-75^\circ$, compact sources brighter than $200\,$mJy at $20\,$GHz). We achieved a detection rate of $~97\%$ at $3\,\sigma$ (only $1$ non-detection). We complement these observations with new Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) data between $2.1$ and $35\,$GHz obtained within a few months and with data published in earlier papers from our collaboration. Adding the co-eval GaLactic and Extragalactic All-sky Murchison widefield array (GLEAM) survey detections between $70\,$ and $230\,$MHz for our sources, we present spectra over more than $3$ decades in frequency in total intensity and over about $1.7$ decades in polarization. The spectra of our sources are smooth over the whole frequency range, with no sign of dust emission from the host galaxy at mm wavelengths nor of a sharp high frequency decline due, for example, to electron ageing. We do however find indications of multiple emitting components and present a classification based on the number of detected components. We analyze the polarization fraction behaviour and distributions up to $97\,$GHz for different source classes. Source counts in polarization are presented at $95\,$GHz.
F. Govoni, E. Orrù, A. Bonafede, M. Iacobelli, R. Paladino, F. Vazza, M. Murgia, V. Vacca, G. Giovannini, L. Feretti, F. Loi, G. Bernardi, C. Ferrari, R.F. Pizzo, C. Gheller, S. Manti, M. Brüggen, G. Brunetti, R. Cassano, F. de Gasperin, et al (9) Galaxy clusters are the most massive gravitationally bound structures in the Universe. They grow by accreting smaller structures in a merging process that produces shocks and turbulence in the intra-cluster gas. We observed a ridge of radio emission connecting the merging galaxy clusters Abell 0399 and Abell 0401 with the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) at 140 MHz. This emission requires a population of relativistic electrons and a magnetic field located in a filament between the two galaxy clusters. We performed simulations to show that a volume-filling distribution of weak shocks may re-accelerate a pre-existing population of relativistic particles, producing emission at radio wavelengths that illuminates the magnetic ridge.
Koshy George, B. M. Poggianti, C. Bellhouse, M. Radovich, J. Fritz, R. Paladino, D. Bettoni, Y. Jaffé, A. Moretti, M. Gullieuszik, B. Vulcani, G. Fasano, C. S. Stalin, A. Subramaniam, S.N. Tandon We report evidence for star formation quenching in the central 8.6 kpc region of the jellyfish galaxy JO201 which hosts an active galactic nucleus, while undergoing strong ram pressure stripping. The ultraviolet imaging data of the galaxy disk reveal a region with reduced flux around the center of the galaxy and a horse shoe shaped region with enhanced flux in the outer disk. The characterization of the ionization regions based on emission line diagnostic diagrams shows that the region of reduced flux seen in the ultraviolet is within the AGN-dominated area. The CO J$_{2-1}$ map of the galaxy disk reveals a cavity in the central region. The image of the galaxy disk at redder wavelengths (9050-9250 $\overset{\lower.5em\circ}{\mathrm{A}}$) reveals the presence of a stellar bar. The star formation rate map of the galaxy disk shows that the star formation suppression in the cavity occurred in the last few 10$^8$ yr. We present several lines of evidence supporting the scenario that suppression of star formation in the central region of the disk is most likely due to the feedback from the AGN. The observations reported here make JO201 a unique case of AGN feedback and environmental effects suppressing star formation in a spiral galaxy.
Ph. André, A. Hughes, V. Guillet, F. Boulanger, A. Bracco, E. Ntormousi, D. Arzoumanian, A.J. Maury, J.-Ph. Bernard, S. Bontemps, I. Ristorcelli, J.M. Girart, F. Motte, K. Tassis, E. Pantin, T. Montmerle, D. Johnstone, S. Gabici, A. Efstathiou, S. Basu, et al (36) SPICA, the cryogenic infrared space telescope recently pre-selected for a `Phase A' concept study as one of the three remaining candidates for ESA's fifth medium class (M5) mission, is foreseen to include a far-infrared polarimetric imager (SPICA-POL, now called B-BOP), which would offer a unique opportunity to resolve major issues in our understanding of the nearby, cold magnetized Universe. This paper presents an overview of the main science drivers for B-BOP, including high dynamic range polarimetric imaging of the cold interstellar medium (ISM) in both our Milky Way and nearby galaxies. Thanks to a cooled telescope, B-BOP will deliver wide-field 100-350 micron images of linearly polarized dust emission in Stokes Q and U with a resolution, signal-to-noise ratio, and both intensity and spatial dynamic ranges comparable to those achieved by Herschel images of the cold ISM in total intensity (Stokes I). The B-BOP 200 micron images will also have a factor ~30 higher resolution than Planck polarization data. This will make B-BOP a unique tool for characterizing the statistical properties of the magnetized interstellar medium and probing the role of magnetic fields in the formation and evolution of the interstellar web of dusty molecular filaments giving birth to most stars in our Galaxy. B-BOP will also be a powerful instrument for studying the magnetism of nearby galaxies and testing galactic dynamo models, constraining the physics of dust grain alignment, informing the problem of the interaction of cosmic rays with molecular clouds, tracing magnetic fields in the inner layers of protoplanetary disks, and monitoring accretion bursts in embedded protostars.
This is the first paper of a series exploring the multi-frequency properties of a sample of eleven nearby low excitation radio galaxies (LERGs) in the southern sky. We are conducting an extensive study of different galaxy components (stars, warm and cold gas, radio jets) with the aim of improving our understanding of the AGN fuelling/feedback cycle in LERGs. We present ALMA Band 6 $^{12}$CO(2-1) and continuum observations of nine sources. Continuum emission from the radio cores was detected in all objects. Six sources also show mm emission from jets on kpc/sub-kpc scales. The jet structures are very similar at mm and cm wavelengths. We conclude that synchrotron emission associated with the radio jets dominates the continuum spectra up to 230 GHz. The $^{12}$CO(2-1) line was detected in emission in six out of nine objects, with molecular gas masses ranging from $2 \times 10^{7}$ to $2 \times 10^{10}$ M$_{\rm \odot}$. The CO detections show disc-like structures on scales from $\approx$0.2 to $\approx$10 kpc. In one case (NGC 3100) the CO disc presents some asymmetries and is disrupted in the direction of the northern radio jet, indicating a possible jet/disc interaction. In IC 4296, CO is detected in absorption against the radio core, as well as in emission. In four of the six galaxies with CO detections, the gas rotation axes are roughly parallel to the radio jets in projection; the remaining two cases show large misalignments. In those objects where optical imaging is available, dust and CO appear to be co-spatial.
F. Bacciotti, J.M. Girart, M. Padovani, L. Podio, R. Paladino, L. Testi, E. Bianchi, D. Galli, C. Codella, D. Coffey, C. Favre, D. Fedele We have recently obtained polarimetric data at mm wavelengths with ALMA for the young systems DG Tau and CW Tau, for which the rotation properties of jet and disk have been investigated in previous high angular resolution studies. The motivation was to test the models of magneto-centrifugal launch of jets via the determination of the magnetic configuration at the disk surface. The analysis of these data, however, reveals that self-scattering of dust thermal radiation dominates the polarization pattern. It is shown that even if no information on the magnetic field can be derived in this case, the polarization data are a powerful tool for the diagnostics of the properties and the evolution of dust in protoplanetary disks.
V. Heesen, E. Buie II, C. J. Huff, L. A. Perez, J. G. Woolsey, D. A. Rafferty, A. Basu, R. Beck, E. Brinks, C. Horellou, E. Scannapieco, M. Brüggen, R.-J. Dettmar, K. Sendlinger, B. Nikiel-Wroczyński, K. T. Chyży, P. N. Best, G. H. Heald, R. Paladino Radio continuum (RC) emission in galaxies allows us to measure star formation rates (SFRs) unaffected by extinction due to dust, of which the low-frequency part is uncontaminated from thermal (free-free) emission. We calibrate the conversion from the spatially resolved 140 MHz RC emission to the SFR surface density ($\Sigma_{\rm SFR}$) at 1 kpc scale. We used recent observations of three galaxies (NGC 3184, 4736, and 5055) from the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS), and archival LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR) data of NGC 5194. Maps were created with the facet calibration technique and converted to radio $\Sigma_{\rm SFR}$ maps using the Condon relation. We compared these maps with hybrid $\Sigma_{\rm SFR}$ maps from a combination of GALEX far-ultraviolet and Spitzer 24 $\mu\rm m$ data using plots tracing the relation at $1.2\times 1.2$-kpc$^2$ resolution. The RC emission is smoothed with respect to the hybrid $\Sigma_{\rm SFR}$ owing to the transport of cosmic-ray electrons (CREs). This results in a sublinear relation $(\Sigma_{\rm SFR})_{\rm RC} \propto [(\Sigma_{\rm SFR})_{\rm hyb}]^{a}$, where $a=0.59\pm 0.13$ (140 MHz) and $a=0.75\pm 0.10$ (1365 MHz). Both relations have a scatter of $\sigma = 0.3~\rm dex$. If we restrict ourselves to areas of young CREs ($\alpha > -0.65$; $I_\nu \propto \nu^\alpha$), the relation becomes almost linear at both frequencies with $a\approx 0.9$ and a reduced scatter of $\sigma = 0.2~\rm dex$. We then simulate the effect of CRE transport by convolving the hybrid $\Sigma_{\rm SFR}$ maps with a Gaussian kernel until the RC-SFR relation is linearised; CRE transport lengths are $l=1$-5 kpc. Solving the CRE diffusion equation, we find diffusion coefficients of $D=(0.13$-$1.5) \times 10^{28} \rm cm^2\,s^{-1}$ at 1 GeV. A RC-SFR relation at $1.4$ GHz can be exploited to measure SFRs at redshift $z \approx 10$ using $140$ MHz observations.
B. Nikiel-Wroczyński, A. Berger, N. Herrera Ruiz, D. J. Bomans, S. Blex, C. Horellou, R. Paladino, A. Becker, A. Miskolczi, R. Beck, K. Chyży, R.-J. Dettmar, G. Heald, V. Heesen, M. Jamrozy, T. W. Shimwell, C.Tasse We use the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) Data Release I to identify the groups of galaxies (and individual galaxies) from the Hickson Compact Groups and Magnitude Limited Compact Groups samples that emit at the frequency of 150\u2009MHz, characterise their radio emission (extended or limited to the galaxies), and compare new results to earlier observations and theoretical predictions. The detection of 73 systems (and 7 more -- probably) out of 120, of which as many as 17 show the presence of extended radio structures, confirms the previous hypothesis of the common character of the magnetic field inside galaxy groups and its detectability. In order to investigate the future potential of low-frequency radio studies of galaxy groups, we also present a more detailed insight into four radio-emitting systems, for which the strength of the magnetic field inside their intergalactic medium (IGM) is calculated. The estimated values are comparable to that found inside star-forming galaxies, suggesting a dynamical and evolutionary importance of the magnetic field in galaxy groups.
Francesca Bacciotti, Josep Miquel Girart, Marco Padovani, Linda Podio, Rosita Paladino, Leonardo Testi, Eleonora Bianchi, Daniele Galli, Claudio Codella, Deirdre Coffey, Cecile Favre, Davide Fedele We present polarimetric data of CW Tau and DG Tau, two well-known Class II disk/jet systems, obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array at 870 $\mu$m and 0."2 average resolution. In CW Tau, the total and polarized emission are both smooth and symmetric, with polarization angles almost parallel to the minor axis of the projected disk. In contrast, DG Tau displays a structured polarized emission, with an elongated brighter region in the disk's near side and a belt-like feature beyond about 0."3 from the source. At the same time the total intensity is spatially smooth, with no features. The polarization pattern, almost parallel to the minor axis in the inner region, becomes azimuthal in the outer belt, possibly because of a drop in optical depth. The polarization fraction has average values of 1.2% in CW Tau and 0.4% in DG Tau. Our results are consistent with polarization from self-scattering of the dust thermal emission. Under this hypothesis, the maximum size of the grains contributing to polarization is in the range 100 - 150 $\mu$m for CW Tau and 50 - 70 $\mu$m for DG Tau. The polarization maps combined with dust opacity estimates indicate that these grains are distributed in a geometrically thin layer in CW Tau, representing a settling in the disk midplane. Meanwhile, such settling is not yet apparent for DG Tau. These results advocate polarization studies as a fundamental complement to total emission observations, in investigations of the structure and the evolution of protoplanetary disks.
K. T. Chyży, W. Jurusik, J. Piotrowska, B. Nikiel-Wroczyński, V. Heesen, V. Vacca, N. Nowak, R. Paladino, P. Surma, S. S. Sridhar, G. Heald, R. Beck, J. Conway, K. Sendlinger, M. Curyło, D. Mulcahy, J. W. Broderick, M. J. Hardcastle, J. R. Callingham, G. Gürkan, et al (18) The shape of low-frequency radio continuum spectra of normal galaxies is not well understood, the key question being the role of physical processes such as thermal absorption in shaping them. In this work we take advantage of the LOFAR Multifrequency Snapshot Sky Survey (MSSS) to investigate such spectra for a large sample of nearby star-forming galaxies. Using the measured 150MHz flux densities from the LOFAR MSSS survey and literature flux densities at various frequencies we have obtained integrated radio spectra for 106 galaxies. The spectra are explained through the use of a three-dimensional model of galaxy radio emission, and radiation transfer dependent on the galaxy viewing angle and absorption processes. Spectra of our galaxies are generally flatter at lower compared to higher frequencies but as there is no tendency for the highly inclined galaxies to have more flattened low-frequency spectra, we argue that the observed flattening is not due to thermal absorption, contradicting the suggestion of Israel & Mahoney (1990). According to our modelled radio maps for M51-like galaxies, the free-free absorption effects can be seen only below 30MHz and in the global spectra just below 20MHz, while in the spectra of starburst galaxies, like M82, the flattening due to absorption is instead visible up to higher frequencies of about 150MHz. Locally, within galactic disks, the absorption effects are distinctly visible in M51-like galaxies as spectral flattening around 100-200MHz in the face-on objects, and as turnovers in the edge-on ones, while in M82-like galaxies there are strong turnovers at frequencies above 700MHz, regardless of viewing angle. Our modelling suggests that the weak spectral flattening observed in the nearby galaxies studied here results principally from synchrotron spectral curvature due to cosmic ray energy losses and propagation effects.
A. Neld, C. Horellou, D.D. Mulcahy, R. Beck, S. Bourke, T.D. Carozzi, K.T. Chyży, J.E. Conway, J.S. Farnes, A. Fletcher, M. Haverkorn, G. Heald, A. Horneffer, B. Nikiel-Wroczyński, R. Paladino, S.S. Sridhar, C.L. Van Eck The new generation of broad-band radio continuum surveys will provide large data sets with polarization information. New algorithms need to be developed to extract reliable catalogs of linearly polarized sources that can be used to characterize those sources and produce a dense rotation measure (RM) grid to probe magneto-ionized structures along the line of sight via Faraday rotation. The aim of the paper is to develop a computationally efficient and rigorously defined source-finding algorithm for linearly polarized sources. We used a calibrated data set from the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) at 150 MHz centered on the nearby galaxy M51 to search for polarized background sources. With a new imaging software, we re-imaged the field at a resolution of 18''x15'' and cataloged a total of about 3000 continuum sources within 2.5 degrees of the center of M51. We made small Stokes Q and U images centered on each source brighter than 100 mJy in total intensity (201 sources) and used RM synthesis to create corresponding Faraday cubes that were analyzed individually. For each source, the noise distribution function was determined from a subset of measurements at high Faraday depths where no polarization is expected; the peaks in polarized intensity in the Faraday spectrum were identified and the p-value of each source was calculated. Finally, the false discovery rate method was applied to the list of p-values to produce a list of polarized sources and quantify the reliability of the detections. We also analyzed sources fainter than 100 mJy but that were reported as polarized in the literature at at least another radio frequency. Of the 201 sources that were searched for polarization, 6 polarized sources were detected confidently (with a false discovery rate of 5 percent). This corresponds to a number density of 1 polarized source per 3.3 square degrees, or 0.3 source/square degree. [Abridged]
M. Brienza, R. Morganti, M. Murgia, N. Vilchez, B. Adebahr, E. Carretti, R. Concu, F. Govoni, J. Harwood, H. Intema, F. Loi, A. Melis, R. Paladino, S. Poppi, A. Shulevski, V. Vacca, G. Valente Radio loud Active Galactic Nuclei are episodic in nature, cycling through periods of activity and quiescence. In this work we investigate the duty cycle of the radio galaxy B2~0258+35, which was previously suggested to be a restarted radio galaxy based on its morphology. The radio source consists of a pair of kpc-scale jets embedded in two large-scale lobes (~240 kpc) with relaxed shape and very low surface brightness, which resemble remnants of a past AGN activity. We have combined new LOFAR data at 145 MHz and new SRT data at 6600 MHz with available WSRT data at 1400 MHz to investigate the spectral properties of the outer lobes and derive their age. Interestingly, the spectrum of both the outer Northern and Southern lobes is not ultra-steep as expected for an old ageing plasma with spectral index values equal to $\rm \alpha_{1400}^{145}=0.48\pm0.11$ and $\rm \alpha_{6600}^{1400}=0.69\pm0.20$ in the outer Northern lobe, and $\rm \alpha_{1400}^{145}=0.73\pm0.07$ in the outer Southern lobe. Moreover, despite the wide frequency coverage available for the outer Northern lobe (145-6600~MHz), we do not identify a significant spectral curvature (SPC$\simeq$0.2$\pm0.2$). While mechanisms such as in-situ particle reacceleration, mixing or compression can temporarily play a role in preventing the spectrum from steepening, in no case seem the outer lobes to be compatible with being very old remnants of past activity as previously suggested (with age $\gtrsim$ 80 Myr). We conclude that either the large-scale lobes are still fuelled by the nuclear engine or the jets have switched off no more than a few tens of Myr ago. Our study shows the importance of combining morphological and spectral properties to reliably classify the evolutionary stage of low surface brightness, diffuse emission that low frequency observations are revealing around a growing number of radio sources.
We present a multi-frequency study of the ultraluminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) IRAS 00183-7111 (z=0.327), selected from the Spoon diagnostic diagram as a highly obscured active galactic nucleus (AGN) candidate. ALMA Cycle 0 millimetre and X-ray observations are used; the main aim is to verify at what level the molecular gas, traced by the CO, may be responsible for the obscuration observed at X-ray energies. Theory and observations both suggest that galaxy-scale absorption may play a role in the AGN obscuration at intermediate (i.e. Compton-thin) column densities. We derived a molecular gas column density of $(8.0\pm0.9)\times10^{21}$ cm$^{-2}$ from the ALMA CO$_{(1-0)}$ detection, while the best-fit column density of cold gas obtained from X-ray spectral fitting is $6.8^{+2.1}_{-1.5}\times10^{22}$ cm$^{-2}$. The two quantities suggest that the molecular gas may contribute only a fraction of the AGN obscuration; however, the link between them is not straightforward. The nuclear regions of IRAS 00183-7111 are likely stratified into different layers of matter: one inner and highly ionized by the strong radiation field of the AGN (as inferred from the high-ionization iron line found in the X-ray spectra), and one outer and colder, extending more than 5~kpc from the nucleus (as traced by the molecular gas observed with ALMA). The molecular gas regions also give rise to a vigorous starburst with SFR$\sim260\pm28$ M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$. The complexity of this nuclear environment makes it difficult to identify the origin of the AGN obscuration given the quality of the data currently available. Higher resolution observations in the millimetre regime are needed to deeply investigate this issue.
V. Vacca, M. Murgia, F. Govoni, F. Loi, F. Vazza, A. Finoguenov, E. Carretti, L. Feretti, G. Giovannini, R. Concu, A. Melis, C. Gheller, R. Paladino, S. Poppi, G. Valente, G. Bernardi, W. Boschin, M. Brienza, T.E. Clarke, S. Colafrancesco, et al (12) We report the detection of diffuse radio emission which might be connected to a large-scale filament of the cosmic web covering a 8deg x 8deg area in the sky, likely associated with a z~0.1 over-density traced by nine massive galaxy clusters. In this work, we present radio observations of this region taken with the Sardinia Radio Telescope. Two of the clusters in the field host a powerful radio halo sustained by violent ongoing mergers and provide direct proof of intra-cluster magnetic fields. In order to investigate the presence of large-scale diffuse radio synchrotron emission in and beyond the galaxy clusters in this complex system, we combined the data taken at 1.4 GHz obtained with the Sardinia Radio Telescope with higher resolution data taken with the NRAO VLA Sky Survey. We found 28 candidate new sources with a size larger and X-ray emission fainter than known diffuse large-scale synchrotron cluster sources for a given radio power. This new population is potentially the tip of the iceberg of a class of diffuse large-scale synchrotron sources associated with the filaments of the cosmic web. In addition, we found in the field a candidate new giant radio galaxy.
D.D. Mulcahy, A. Horneffer, R. Beck, M. Krause, P. Schmidt, A. Basu, K.T. Chyzy, R.-J. Dettmar, M. Haverkorn, G. Heald, V. Heesen, C. Horellou, M. Iacobelli, B. Nikiel-Wroczynski, R. Paladino, A.M.M. Scaife, Sarrvesh S. Sridhar, R. G. Strom, F.S. Tabatabaei, T. Cantwel, et al (7) Low-frequency radio continuum observations of edge-on galaxies are ideal to study cosmic-ray electrons (CREs) in halos via radio synchrotron emission and to measure magnetic field strengths. We obtained new observations of the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 891 at 129-163 MHz with the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) and at 13-18 GHz with the Arcminute Microkelvin Imager (AMI) and combine them with recent high-resolution Very Large Array (VLA) observations at 1-2 GHz, enabling us to study the radio continuum emission over two orders of magnitude in frequency. The spectrum of the integrated nonthermal flux density can be fitted by a power law with a spectral steepening towards higher frequencies or by a curved polynomial. Spectral flattening at low frequencies due to free-free absorption is detected in star-forming regions of the disk. The mean magnetic field strength in the halo is 7 +- 2 $\mu$G. The scale heights of the nonthermal halo emission at 146 MHz are larger than those at 1.5 GHz everywhere, with a mean ratio of 1.7 +- 0.3, indicating that spectral ageing of CREs is important and that diffusive propagation dominates. The halo scale heights at 146 MHz decrease with increasing magnetic field strengths which is a signature of dominating synchrotron losses of CREs. On the other hand, the spectral index between 146 MHz and 1.5 GHz linearly steepens from the disk to the halo, indicating that advection rather than diffusion is the dominating CRE transport process. This issue calls for refined modelling of CRE propagation.
A. Moretti, R. Paladino, B. M. Poggianti, M. D'Onofrio, D. Bettoni, M. Gullieuszik, Y. L. Jaffe, B. Vulcani, G. Fasano, J. Fritz, K. Torstensson Jellyfish galaxies in clusters are key tools to understand environmental processes at work in dense environments. The advent of Integral Field Spectroscopy has recently allowed to study a significant sample of stripped galaxies in the cluster environment at z$\sim 0.05$, through the GAs Stripping Phenomena in galaxies with MUSE (GASP) survey. However, optical spectroscopy can only trace the ionized gas component through the H$_{\alpha}$ emission that can be spatially resolved on kpc scale at this redshift. The complex interplay between the various gas phases (ionized, neutral, molecular) is however yet to be understood. We report here the detection of large amounts of molecular gas both in the tails and in the disks of 4 jellyfish galaxies from the GASP sample with stellar masses $\sim 3.5\times 10^{10}-3\times 10^{11} M_{\odot}$, showing strong stripping. The mass of molecular gas that we measure in the tails amounts to several $10^9 M_{\odot}$ and the total mass of molecular gas ranges between 15 and 100 \% of the galaxy stellar mass. The molecular gas content within the galaxies is compatible with the one of normal spiral galaxies, suggesting that the molecular gas in the tails has been formed in-situ. We find a clear correlation between the ionized gas emission $\rm H\alpha$ and the amount of molecular gas. The CO velocities measured from APEX data are not always coincident with the underlying $\rm H\alpha$ emitting knots, and the derived Star Formation Efficiencies appear to be very low.
V. Heesen, D. A. Rafferty, A. Horneffer, R. Beck, A. Basu, J. Westcott, L. Hindson, E. Brinks, K. T. Chyży, A. M. M. Scaife, M. Brüggen, G. Heald, A. Fletcher, C. Horellou, F. S. Tabatabaei, R. Paladino, B. Nikiel-Wroczyński, M. Hoeft, R.-J. Dettmar Low-mass galaxies are subject to strong galactic outflows, in which cosmic rays may play an important role, they can be best traced with low-frequency radio continuum observations, which are less affected by spectral ageing. We present a study of the nearby star burst dwarf irregular galaxy IC 10 using observations at 140 MHz with the LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR), at 1580 MHz with the Very Large Array (VLA) and at 6200 MHz with the VLA and the 100-m Effelsberg telescope. We find that IC 10 has a low-frequency radio halo, which manifests itself as a second component (thick disc) in the minor axis profiles of the non-thermal radio continuum emission at 140 and 1580 MHz. These profiles are then fitted with 1D cosmic-ray transport models for pure diffusion and advection. We find that a diffusion model fits best, with a diffusion coefficient of $D=(0.4$-$0.8) \times 10^{26}(E/{\rm GeV})^{0.5}~{\rm cm^2\,s^{-1}}$, which is at least an order of magnitude smaller than estimates both from anisotropic diffusion and the diffusion length. In contrast, advection models, which cannot be ruled out due to the mild inclination, while providing poorer fits, result in advection speeds close to the escape velocity of $\approx$$50~\rm km\,s^{-1}$, as expected for a cosmic-ray driven wind. Our favoured model with an accelerating wind provides a self-consistent solution, where the magnetic field is in energy equipartition with both the warm neutral and warm ionized medium with an important contribution from cosmic rays. Consequently, cosmic rays can play a vital role for the launching of galactic winds in the disc--halo interface.
M. Brusa, G. Cresci, E. Daddi, R. Paladino, M. Perna, A. Bongiorno, E. Lusso, M. T. Sargent, V. Casasola, C. Feruglio, F. Fraternali, I. Georgiev, V. Mainieri, S. Carniani, A. Comastri, F. Duras, F. Fiore, F. Mannucci, A. Marconi, E. Piconcelli, et al (12) We imaged with ALMA and ARGOS/LUCI the molecular gas and the dust and stellar continuum in XID2028, an obscured QSO at z=1.593, where the presence of a massive outflow in the ionized gas component traced by the [O III]5007 emission has been resolved up to 10 kpc. This target represents a unique test case to study QSO 'feedback in action' at the peak epoch of AGN-galaxy coevolution. The QSO has been detected in the CO(5-4) transition and in the 1.3mm continuum, at ~30 and ~20 \sigma significance respectively, with both emissions confined in the central (<4 kpc) radius area. Our analysis suggests the presence of a fast rotating molecular disc (v~400 km/s) on very compact scales, and well inside the galaxy extent seen in the rest-frame optical light (~10 kpc, as inferred from the LUCI data). Adding available measurements in additional two CO transitions, CO(2-1) and CO(3-2), we could derive a total gas mass of ~10$^{10}$ M$_\odot$, thanks to a critical assessment of CO excitation and the comparison with Rayleigh-Jeans continuum estimate. This translates into a very low gas fraction (<5%) and depletion time scales of 40-75 Myr, reinforcing the result of atypical gas consumption conditions in XID2028, possibly due to feedback effects on the host galaxy. Finally, we also detect at ~5\sigma the presence of high velocity CO gas, which we interpret as a signature of galaxy-scale molecular outflow, spatially coincident with the ionised gas outflow. XID2028 represents therefore a unique case where the measurement of total outflowing mass (~500-800 M$_\odot$/yr) including the molecular and atomic components, in both the ionised and neutral phases, has been attempted for a high-z QSO.
Vincenzo Galluzzi, Marcella Massardi, Anna Bonaldi, Viviana Casasola, Loretta Gregorini, Tiziana Trombetti, Carlo Burigana, Matteo Bonato, Gianfranco De Zotti, Roberto Ricci, Jamie Stevens, Ronald David Ekers, Laura Bonavera, Sperello di Serego Alighieri, Elisabetta Liuzzo, Marcos Lopez-Caniego, Rosita Paladino, Luigi Toffolatti, Marco Tucci, Joseph Russell Callingham We present high sensitivity ($\sigma_P \simeq 0.6\,$mJy) polarimetric observations in seven bands, from $2.1$ to $38\,$GHz, of a complete sample of $104$ compact extragalactic radio sources brighter than $200\,$mJy at $20\,$GHz. Polarization measurements in six bands, in the range $5.5-38\,$GHz, for $53$ of these objects were reported by \citetGalluzzi2017. We have added new measurements in the same six bands for another 51 sources and measurements at $2.1\,$GHz for the full sample of $104$ sources. Also, the previous measurements at $18$, $24$, $33$ and $38\,$GHz were re-calibrated using the updated model for the flux density absolute calibrator, PKS1934-638, not available for the earlier analysis. The observations, carried out with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), achieved a $90\%$ detection rate (at $5\sigma$) in polarization. $89$ of our sources have a counterpart in the $72$ to $231\,$MHz GLEAM survey \citepHurleyWalker2017, providing an unparalleled spectral coverage of $2.7$ decades of frequency for these sources. While the total intensity data from $5.5$ to $38\,$GHz could be interpreted in terms of single component emission, a joint analysis of more extended total intensity spectra presented here, and of the polarization spectra, reveals that over $90\%$ of our sources show clear indications of at least two emission components. We interpret this as an evidence of recurrent activity. Our high sensitivity polarimetry has allowed a $5\,\sigma$ detection of the weak circular polarization for $\sim 38\%$ of the dataset, and a deeper estimate of $20\,$GHz polarization source counts than has been possible so far.
J. S. Farnes, G. Heald, H. Junklewitz, D. D. Mulcahy, M. Haverkorn, C. L. Van Eck, C. J. Riseley, M. Brentjens, C. Horellou, V. Vacca, D. I. Jones, A. Horneffer, R. Paladino The optimal source-finding strategy for linear polarization data is an unsolved problem, with many inhibitive factors imposed by the technically-challenging nature of polarization observations. Such an algorithm is essential for Square Kilometre Array (SKA) pathfinder surveys, such as the Multifrequency Snapshot Sky Survey (MSSS) with the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR), as data volumes are significant enough to prohibit manual inspection. We present a new strategy of `Faraday Moments' for source-finding in linear polarization with LOFAR, using the moments of the frequency-dependent full-Stokes data (i.e. the mean, standard deviation, skewness, and excess kurtosis). Through simulations of the sky, we find that moments can identify polarized sources with a high completeness: 98.5% at a signal-to-noise of 5. While the method has low reliability, Rotation Measure (RM) Synthesis can be applied per candidate source to filter out instrumental and spurious detections. This combined strategy will result in a complete and reliable catalogue of polarized sources that includes the full sensitivity of the observational bandwidth. We find that the technique can reduce the number of pixels on which RM Synthesis needs to be performed by a factor of $\approx1\times10^{5}$ for source distributions anticipated with modern radio telescopes. Through tests on LOFAR data, we find that the technique works effectively in the presence of diffuse emission. Extensions of this method are directly applicable to other upcoming radio surveys such as the POlarization Sky Survey of the Universe's Magnetism (POSSUM) with the Australia Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), and the SKA itself.
F. Loi, M. Murgia, F. Govoni, V. Vacca, L. Feretti, G. Giovannini, E. Carretti, F. Gastaldello, M. Girardi, F. Vazza, R. Concu, A. Melis, R. Paladino, S. Poppi, G. Valente, W. Boschin, T.E. Clarke, S. Colafrancesco, T. Enßlin, C. Ferrari, et al (8) We observed the galaxy cluster CIZA J2242.8+5301 with the Sardinia Radio Telescope to provide new constraints on its spectral properties at high frequency. We conducted observations in three frequency bands centred at 1.4 GHz, 6.6 GHz and 19 GHz, resulting in beam resolutions of 14$^{\prime}$, 2.9$^{\prime}$ and 1$^{\prime}$ respectively. These single-dish data were also combined with archival interferometric observations at 1.4 and 1.7 GHz. From the combined images, we measured a flux density of ${\rm S_{1.4GHz}=(158.3\pm9.6)\,mJy}$ for the central radio halo and ${\rm S_{1.4GHz}=(126\pm8)\,mJy}$ and ${\rm S_{1.4GHz}=(11.7\pm0.7)\,mJy}$ for the northern and the southern relic respectively. After the spectral modelling of the discrete sources, we measured at 6.6 GHz ${\rm S_{6.6GHz}=(17.1\pm1.2)\,mJy}$ and ${\rm S_{6.6GHz}=(0.6\pm0.3)\,mJy}$ for the northern and southern relic respectively. Assuming simple diffusive shock acceleration, we interpret measurements of the northern relic with a continuous injection model represented by a broken power-law. This yields an injection spectral index ${\rm \alpha_{inj}=0.7\pm0.1}$ and a Mach number ${\rm M=3.3\pm0.9}$, consistent with recent X-ray estimates. Unlike other studies of the same object, no significant steepening of the relic radio emission is seen in data up to 8.35 GHz. By fitting the southern relic spectrum with a simple power-law (${\rm S_{\nu}\propto\nu^{-\alpha}}$) we obtained a spectral index ${\rm \alpha\approx1.9}$ corresponding to a Mach number (${\rm M\approx1.8}$) in agreement with X-ray estimates. Finally, we evaluated the rotation measure of the northern relic at 6.6 GHz. These results provide new insights on the magnetic structure of the relic, but further observations are needed to clarify the nature of the observed Faraday rotation.
Roberto P. Mignani, Rosita Paladino, Bronek Rudak, Anna Zajczyk, Alessandro Corongiu, Andrea de Luca, Wolfgang Hummel, Andrea Possenti, Ulrich Geppert, Marta Burgay, Gianni Marconi Pulsars are neutron stars, stellar corpses left over after supernova explosions of stars about ten times as massive as our Sun, with densities comparable to the atomic nucleus', spinning with periods from few milliseconds up to few seconds, and endowed with magnetic fields thousands billion times stronger than the Earth's, where particles are accelerated to the relativistic regime producing electromagnetic radiation across the entire spectrum. Although there is a general consensus on the fact that pulsars' radio emission is coherent in nature, whereas the emission from the optical to high-energy $\gamma$-rays is due to incoherent processes, it has not been established yet at which wavelengths the transition occurs, a key information for all emission models of pulsar magnetospheres. Of course, to address this issue covering the spectral region between high-frequency radio waves and the mid-IR is crucial. We used the Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA) to observe the Vela pulsar (PSR\u2009B0833$-$45), one of the very few observed in radio and from the mid-infrared up to the very high-energy $\gamma$-rays. We detected Vela at frequencies of 97.5, 145, 233, 343.5 GHz and found that its energy density spectrum follows a power-law of spectral index $\alpha = -0.93 \pm 0.16$. The ALMA spectrum corresponds to very high brightness temperatures - from $10^{17}$ to $10^{15}$ K - suggesting that a coherent radiative process still contributes to the mm/sub-mm emission. This is, therefore, the first indication of coherent emission other than radio originating in pulsars. At the same time, we identified an extended structure, preliminarily detected in ground-based observations. We support its interpretation as a counter-jet protruding from the pulsar.
We present Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) polarization observations at 97.5 GHz of the southern hot spot of the radio galaxy 3C 445. The hot spot structure is dominated by two bright components enshrouded by diffuse emission. Both components show fractional polarization between 30 and 40 per cent, suggesting the presence of shocks. The polarized emission of the western component has a displacement of about 0.5 kpc outward with respect to the total intensity emission, and may trace the surface of a front shock. Strong polarization is observed in a thin strip marking the ridge of the hot spot structure visible from radio to optical. No significant polarization is detected in the diffuse emission between the main components, suggesting a highly disordered magnetic field likely produced by turbulence and instabilities in the downstream region that may be at the origin of the extended optical emission observed in this hot spot. The polarization properties support a scenario in which a combination of both multiple and intermittent shock fronts due to jet dithering, and spatially distributed stochastic second-order Fermi acceleration processes are present in the hot spot complex.
F. Govoni, M. Murgia, V. Vacca, F. Loi, M. Girardi, F. Gastaldello, G. Giovannini, L. Feretti, R. Paladino, E. Carretti, R. Concu, A. Melis, S. Poppi, G. Valente, G. Bernardi, A. Bonafede, W. Boschin, M. Brienza, T.E. Clarke, S. Colafrancesco, et al (13) We study the intra-cluster magnetic field in the poor galaxy cluster Abell 194 by complementing radio data, at different frequencies, with data in the optical and X-ray bands. We analyze new total intensity and polarization observations of Abell 194 obtained with the Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT). We use the SRT data in combination with archival Very Large Array observations to derive both the spectral aging and Rotation Measure (RM) images of the radio galaxies 3C40A and 3C40B embedded in Abell 194. The optical analysis indicates that Abell 194 does not show a major and recent cluster merger, but rather agrees with a scenario of accretion of small groups. Under the minimum energy assumption, the lifetimes of synchrotron electrons in 3C40B measured from the spectral break are found to be 157 Myrs. The break frequency image and the electron density profile inferred from the X-ray emission are used in combination with the RM data to constrain the intra-cluster magnetic field power spectrum. By assuming a Kolmogorov power law power spectrum, we find that the RM data in Abell 194 are well described by a magnetic field with a maximum scale of fluctuations of Lambda_max=64 kpc and a central magnetic field strength of <B0>=1.5 microG. Further out, the field decreases with the radius following the gas density to the power of eta=1.1. Comparing Abell 194 with a small sample of galaxy clusters, there is a hint of a trend between central electron densities and magnetic field strengths.
A. O. Clarke, G. Heald, T. Jarrett, J. D. Bray, M. J. Hardcastle, T. M. Cantwell, A. M. M. Scaife, M. Brienza, A. Bonafede, R. P. Breton, J. W. Broderick, D. Carbone, J. H. Croston, J. S. Farnes, J. J. Harwood, V. Heesen, A. Horneffer, A. J. van der Horst, M. Iacobelli, W. Jurusik, et al (23) We report on the discovery in the LOFAR Multifrequency Snapshot Sky Survey (MSSS) of a giant radio galaxy (GRG) with a projected size of $2.56 \pm 0.07$ Mpc projected on the sky. It is associated with the galaxy triplet UGC 9555, within which one is identified as a broad-line galaxy in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) at a redshift of $0.05453 \pm 1 \times 10^{-5} $, and with a velocity dispersion of $215.86 \pm 6.34$ km/s. From archival radio observations we see that this galaxy hosts a compact flat-spectrum radio source, and we conclude that it is the active galactic nucleus (AGN) responsible for generating the radio lobes. The radio luminosity distribution of the jets, and the broad-line classification of the host AGN, indicate this GRG is orientated well out of the plane of the sky, making its physical size one of the largest known for any GRG. Analysis of the infrared data suggests that the host is a lenticular type galaxy with a large stellar mass ($\log~\mathrm{M}/\mathrm{M}_\odot = 11.56 \pm 0.12$), and a moderate star formation rate ($1.2 \pm 0.3~\mathrm{M}_\odot/\mathrm{year}$). Spatially smoothing the SDSS images shows the system around UGC 9555 to be significantly disturbed, with a prominent extension to the south-east. Overall, the evidence suggests this host galaxy has undergone one or more recent moderate merger events and is also experiencing tidal interactions with surrounding galaxies, which have caused the star formation and provided the supply of gas to trigger and fuel the Mpc-scale radio lobes.
V. Galluzzi, M. Massardi, A. Bonaldi, V. Casasola, L. Gregorini, T. Trombetti, C. Burigana, G. De Zotti, R. Ricci, J. Stevens, R. D. Ekers, L. Bonavera, S. di Serego Alighieri, E. Liuzzo, M. Lopez-Caniego, A. Mignano, R. Paladino, L. Toffolatti, M. Tucci We present high sensitivity polarimetric observations in 6 bands covering the 5.5-38 GHz range of a complete sample of 53 compact extragalactic radio sources brighter than 200 mJy at 20 GHz. The observations, carried out with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), achieved a 91% detection rate (at 5 sigma). Within this frequency range the spectra of about 95% of sources are well fitted by double power laws, both in total intensity and in polarisation, but the spectral shapes are generally different in the two cases. Most sources were classified as either steep- or peaked-spectrum but less than 50% have the same classification in total and in polarised intensity. No significant trends of the polarisation degree with flux density or with frequency were found. The mean variability index in total intensity of steep-spectrum sources increases with frequency for a 4-5 year lag, while no significant trend shows up for the other sources and for the 8 year lag. In polarisation, the variability index, that could be computed only for the 8 year lag, is substantially higher than in total intensity and has no significant frequency dependence.
F. Massaro, D. E. Harris, E. Liuzzo, M. Orienti, R. Paladino, A. Paggi, G. R. Tremblay, B. J. Wilkes, J. Kuraszkiewicz, S. A. Baum, C. P. O'Dea As part of our program to build a complete radio and X-ray database of all the 3CR extragalactic radio sources, we present an analysis of 93 sources for which Chandra archival data are available. Most of these sources have been already published. Here we provide a uniform re-analysis and present nuclear X-ray fluxes and X-ray emission associated with radio jet knots and hotspots using both publicly available radio images and new radio images that have been constructed from data available in the VLA archive. For about 1/3 of the sources in the selected sample a comparison between the Chandra and the radio observations was not reported in the literature: we find X-ray detections of 2 new radio jet knots and 17 hotspots. We also report the X-ray detection of extended emission from the intergalactic medium of 15 galaxy clusters, two of which were most likely unknown previously.
Aims: To gain insight into the expected gas dynamics at the interface of the Galactic bar and spiral arms in our own Milky Way galaxy, we examine as an extragalactic counterpart the evidence for multiple distinct velocity components in the cold, dense molecular gas populating a comparable region at the end of the bar in the nearby galaxy NGC3627. Methods: We assemble a high resolution view of molecular gas kinematics traced by CO(2-1) emission and extract line-of-sight velocity profiles from regions of high and low gas velocity dispersion. Results: The high velocity dispersions arise with often double-peaked or multiple line-profiles. We compare the centroids of the different velocity components to expectations based on orbital dynamics in the presence of bar and spiral potential perturbations. A model of the region as the interface of two gas-populated orbits families supporting the bar and the independently rotating spiral arms provides an overall good match to the data. An extent of the bar to the corotation radius of the galaxy is favored. Conclusions: Using NGC3627 as an extragalactic example, we expect situations like this to favor strong star formation events such as observed in our own Milky Way since gas can pile up at the crossings between the orbit families. The relative motions of the material following these orbits is likely even more important for the build up of high density in the region. The surface densities in NGC3627 are also so high that shear at the bar end is unlikely to significantly weaken the star formation activity. We speculate that scenarios in which the bar and spiral rotate at two different pattern speeds may be the most favorable for intense star formation at such interfaces.
We present full-polarization observations of the compact, steep-spectrum radio quasar 3C~286 made with the ALMA at 1.3~mm. These are the first full-polarization ALMA observations, which were obtained in the framework of Science Verification. A bright core and a south-west component are detected in the total intensity image, similar to previous centimeter images. Polarized emission is also detected toward both components. The fractional polarization of the core is about 17\%, this is higher than the fractional polarization at centimeter wavelengths, suggesting that the magnetic field is even more ordered in the millimeter radio core than it is further downstream in the jet. The observed polarization position angle (or EVPA) in the core is $\sim$\,$39^{\circ}$, which confirms the trend that the EVPA slowly increases from centimeter to millimeter wavelengths. With the aid of multi-frequency VLBI observations, we argue that this EVPA change is associated with the frequency-dependent core position. We also report a serendipitous detection of a sub-mJy source in the field of view, which is likely to be a submillimeter galaxy.
G. A. Fuller, A. Avison, M. Beltran, V. Casasola, P. Caselli, C. Cicone, F. Costagliola, C. De Breuck, L. Hunt, I. Jimenez-Serra, R. Laing, S. Longmore, M. Massardi, T. Mroczkowski, R. Paladino, S. Ramstedt, A. Richards, L. Testi, D. Vergani, S. Viti, et al (1) We discuss the science drivers for ALMA Band 2 which spans the frequency range from 67 to 90 GHz. The key science in this frequency range are the study of the deuterated molecules in cold, dense, quiescent gas and the study of redshifted emission from galaxies in CO and other species. However, Band 2 has a range of other applications which are also presented. The science enabled by a single receiver system which would combine ALMA Bands 2 and 3 covering the frequency range 67 to 116 GHz, as well as the possible doubling of the IF bandwidth of ALMA to 16 GHz, are also considered.