A shock front at the radio relic of Abell 2744

D. Eckert; M. Jauzac; F. Vazza; M. S. Owers; J. P. Kneib; C. Tchernin; H. Intema; K. Knowles

doi:10.1093/mnras/stw1435

A shock front at the radio relic of Abell 2744

D. Eckert^*, M. Jauzac, F. Vazza, M. S. Owers, J. P. Kneib, C. Tchernin, H. Intema, K. Knowles

^*Corresponding author for this work

Centre in Astronomy, Astrophysics & Astrophotonics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

46 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Radio relics are Mpc-scale diffuse radio sources at the peripheries of galaxy clusters which are thought to trace outgoing merger shocks. We present XMM-Newton and Suzaku observations of the galaxy cluster Abell 2744 (z = 0.306), which reveal the presence of a shock front 1.5 Mpc east of the cluster core. The surface-brightness jump coincides with the position of a known radio relic. Although the surface-brightness jump indicates a weak shock with a Mach number M=1.7_-0.3^+0.5, the plasma in the post-shock region has been heated to a very high temperature (~13 keV) by the passage of the shock wave. The low-acceleration efficiency expected from such a weak shock suggests that mildly relativistic electrons have been re-accelerated by the passage of the shock front.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1302-1307
Number of pages	6
Journal	Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume	461
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stw1435
Publication status	Published - 11 Sep 2016

Keywords

Galaxies: clusters: individual: A2744
X-rays: galaxies: clusters

Access to Document

10.1093/mnras/stw1435

Cite this

@article{78153c437ece4954876ae282204d259d,

title = "A shock front at the radio relic of Abell 2744",

abstract = "Radio relics are Mpc-scale diffuse radio sources at the peripheries of galaxy clusters which are thought to trace outgoing merger shocks. We present XMM-Newton and Suzaku observations of the galaxy cluster Abell 2744 (z = 0.306), which reveal the presence of a shock front 1.5 Mpc east of the cluster core. The surface-brightness jump coincides with the position of a known radio relic. Although the surface-brightness jump indicates a weak shock with a Mach number M=1.7-0.3+0.5, the plasma in the post-shock region has been heated to a very high temperature (~13 keV) by the passage of the shock wave. The low-acceleration efficiency expected from such a weak shock suggests that mildly relativistic electrons have been re-accelerated by the passage of the shock front.",

keywords = "Galaxies: clusters: individual: A2744, X-rays: galaxies: clusters",

author = "D. Eckert and M. Jauzac and F. Vazza and Owers, {M. S.} and Kneib, {J. P.} and C. Tchernin and H. Intema and K. Knowles",

year = "2016",

month = sep,

day = "11",

doi = "10.1093/mnras/stw1435",

language = "English",

volume = "461",

pages = "1302--1307",

journal = "Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters",

issn = "1745-3925",

publisher = "Oxford University Press",

number = "2",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - A shock front at the radio relic of Abell 2744

AU - Eckert, D.

AU - Jauzac, M.

AU - Vazza, F.

AU - Owers, M. S.

AU - Kneib, J. P.

AU - Tchernin, C.

AU - Intema, H.

AU - Knowles, K.

PY - 2016/9/11

Y1 - 2016/9/11

N2 - Radio relics are Mpc-scale diffuse radio sources at the peripheries of galaxy clusters which are thought to trace outgoing merger shocks. We present XMM-Newton and Suzaku observations of the galaxy cluster Abell 2744 (z = 0.306), which reveal the presence of a shock front 1.5 Mpc east of the cluster core. The surface-brightness jump coincides with the position of a known radio relic. Although the surface-brightness jump indicates a weak shock with a Mach number M=1.7-0.3+0.5, the plasma in the post-shock region has been heated to a very high temperature (~13 keV) by the passage of the shock wave. The low-acceleration efficiency expected from such a weak shock suggests that mildly relativistic electrons have been re-accelerated by the passage of the shock front.

AB - Radio relics are Mpc-scale diffuse radio sources at the peripheries of galaxy clusters which are thought to trace outgoing merger shocks. We present XMM-Newton and Suzaku observations of the galaxy cluster Abell 2744 (z = 0.306), which reveal the presence of a shock front 1.5 Mpc east of the cluster core. The surface-brightness jump coincides with the position of a known radio relic. Although the surface-brightness jump indicates a weak shock with a Mach number M=1.7-0.3+0.5, the plasma in the post-shock region has been heated to a very high temperature (~13 keV) by the passage of the shock wave. The low-acceleration efficiency expected from such a weak shock suggests that mildly relativistic electrons have been re-accelerated by the passage of the shock front.

KW - Galaxies: clusters: individual: A2744

KW - X-rays: galaxies: clusters

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84982279876&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FT140100255

U2 - 10.1093/mnras/stw1435

DO - 10.1093/mnras/stw1435

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84982279876

VL - 461

SP - 1302

EP - 1307

JO - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters

JF - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters

SN - 1745-3925

IS - 2

ER -

A shock front at the radio relic of Abell 2744

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this