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NASA NTRS1997

The Decay of Optical Emission Form the Gamma-Ray Burst GRB 970228

The origin of gamma-ray bursts has been one of the great unsolved mysteries in high-energy astrophysics for almost 30 years. The recent discovery of fading sources at X-ray and optical wave-lengths coincident with the location of the gamma-ray burst GRB970228 therefore provides an unprecedented opportunity to probe the nature of these high-energy events. The optical counterpart appears to be a transient point source embedded in a region of extended nebulosity, the latter having been tentatively identified as a high-redshift galaxy. This would seem to favour models that place gamma-ray bursts at cosmological distances, although a range of mechanisms for producing the bursts is still allowed. A crucial piece of information for distinguishing between such models is how the brightness of the optical counterpart evolves with time. Here we re-evaluate the existing photometry of the optical counterpart of GRB970228 to construct an optical light curve for the transient event. We find that between 21 hours and six days after the burst, the R-band brightness decreased by a factor of approx. 50, with any subsequent decrease in brightness occurring at a much slower rate. As the point source faded, it also became redder. The initial behaviour of the source appears to be consistent with the 'fireball' model, in which the burst results from the merger of two neutron stars, but the subsequent decrease in the rate of fading may prove harder to explain. The gamma-ray burst of 28 February 1997, detected with the Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor on board the BeppoSAX satellite, and located with an approx. 3 feet radius position with the Wide Field Camera on the same satellite, was the first for which a fading X-ray and optical counterpart were discovered. The optical Counterpart was discovered from a comparison of V- and I-band images taken with the William Herschel Telescope (WHT) on February 28.99 UT, and the Isaac Newton Telescope (INT; V band) and the WHT (I band) on March 8.8 uT.

Galama, T.↗

NASA NTRS2015

The Ly(alpha) Line Profiles of Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies: Fast Winds and Lyman Continuum Leakage

We present new Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Origins Spectrograph far-ultraviolet (far-UV) spectroscopy and Keck Echellete optical spectroscopy of 11 ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs), a rare population of local galaxies experiencing massive gas inflows, extreme starbursts, and prominent outflows. We detect Ly(alpha) emission from eight ULIRGs and the companion to IRAS09583+4714. In contrast to the P Cygni profiles often seen in galaxy spectra, the Ly(alpha) profiles exhibit prominent, blueshifted emission out to Doppler shifts exceeding −1000 km/s in three H II-dominated and two AGN-dominated ULIRGs. To better understand the role of resonance scattering in shaping the Ly(alpha) line profiles, we directly compare them to non-resonant emission lines in optical spectra. We find that the line wings are already present in the intrinsic nebular spectra, and scattering merely enhances the wings relative to the line core. The Ly(alpha) attenuation (as measured in the COS aperture) ranges from that of the far-UV continuum to over 100 times more. A simple radiative transfer model suggests the Ly(alpha) photons escape through cavities which have low column densities of neutral hydrogen and become optically thin to the Lyman continuum in the most advanced mergers. We show that the properties of the highly blueshifted line wings on the Ly(alpha) and optical emission-line profiles are consistent with emission from clumps of gas condensing out of a fast, hot wind. The luminosity of the Ly(alpha) emission increases nonlinearly with the ULIRG bolometric luminosity and represents about 0.1-1% of the radiative cooling from the hot winds in the H II-dominated ULIRGs.

Infrared↗

DOE OSTI2022

Insights into the origin of halo mass profiles from machine learning

ABSTRACT The mass distribution of dark matter haloes is the result of the hierarchical growth of initial density perturbations through mass accretion and mergers. We use an interpretable machine-learning framework to provide physical insights into the origin of the spherically-averaged mass profile of dark matter haloes. We train a gradient-boosted-trees algorithm to predict the final mass profiles of cluster-sized haloes, and measure the importance of the different inputs provided to the algorithm. We find two primary scales in the initial conditions (ICs) that impact the final mass profile: the density at approximately the scale of the haloes’ Lagrangian patch RL ($R\sim 0.7\, R_L$) and that in the large-scale environment (R ∼ 1.7 RL). The model also identifies three primary time-scales in the halo assembly history that affect the final profile: (i) the formation time of the virialized, collapsed material inside the halo, (ii) the dynamical time, which captures the dynamically unrelaxed, infalling component of the halo over its first orbit, (iii) a third, most recent time-scale, which captures the impact on the outer profile of recent massive merger events. While the inner profile retains memory of the ICs, this information alone is insufficient to yield accurate predictions for the outer profile. As we add information about the haloes’ mass accretion history, we find a significant improvement in the predicted profiles at all radii. Our machine-learning framework provides novel insights into the role of the ICs and the mass assembly history in determining the final mass profile of cluster-sized haloes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS2010

Far-Ultraviolet Number Counts of Field Galaxies

The Number counts of far-ultraviolet (FUV) galaxies as a function of magnitude provide a direct statistical measure of the density and evolution of star-forming galaxies. We report on the results of measurements of the rest-frame FUV number counts computed from data of several fields including the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, the Hubble Deep Field North, and the GOODS-North and -South fields. These data were obtained from the Hubble Space Telescope Solar Blind Channel of the Advance Camera for Surveys. The number counts cover an AB magnitude range from 20-29 magnitudes, covering a total area of 15.9 arcmin'. We show that the number counts are lower than those in previous studies using smaller areas. The differences in the counts are likely the result of cosmic variance; our new data cover more area and more lines of sight than the previous studies. The slope of our number counts connects well with local FUV counts and they show good agreement with recent semi-analytical models based on dark matter "merger trees".

Voyer, Elysse N.↗

DOE OSTI2019

Chandra Observations of the Spectacular A3411–12 Merger Event

We present deep Chandra observations of A3411–12, a remarkable merging cluster that hosts the most compelling evidence for electron reacceleration at cluster shocks to date. Using the ${Y}_{{\rm{X}}}\mbox{--}M$ scaling relation, we find r 500 ~ 1.3 Mpc, ${M}_{500}=(7.1\pm 0.7)\times {10}^{14}\ {M}_{\odot }$, ${kT}=6.5\pm 0.1\,\mathrm{keV}$, and a gas mass of ${M}_{{\rm{g}},500}=(9.7\pm 0.1)\times {10}^{13}{M}_{\odot }$. The gas mass fraction within r 500 is ${f}_{{\rm{g}}}=0.14\pm 0.01$. We compute the shock strength using density jumps to conclude that the Mach number of the merging subcluster is small ($M\leqslant {1.15}_{-0.09}^{+0.14}$). Here, we also present density, temperature, pseudo-pressure, and pseudo-entropy maps. Based on the pseudo-entropy map, we conclude that the cluster is undergoing a mild merger, consistent with the small Mach number. On the other hand, radio relics extend over Mpc scale in the A3411–12 system, which strongly suggests that a population of energetic electrons already existed over extended regions of the cluster.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS2011

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: ACT-CL J0102-4215 "El Gordo," a Massive Merging Cluster at Redshift 0.87

We present a detailed analysis from new multi-wavelength observations of the exceptional galaxy cluster ACT-CL J0102-4915, likely the most massive, hottest, most X-ray luminous and brightest Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect cluster known at redshifts greater than 0.6. The Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) collaboration discovered ACT-CL J0102-4915 as the most significant Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) decrement in a sky survey area of 755 square degrees. Our VLT/FORS2 spectra of 89 member galaxies yield a cluster redshift, z = 0.870, and velocity dispersion, sigma(gal) +/- 1321 106 km s-1. Our Chandra observations reveal a hot and X-ray luminous system with an integrated temperature of T(X) = 14:5 +/- 0:1 keV and 0.5 2.0 keV band luminosity of L(X) = (2:19 0:11) 1045 h(exp -2)70erg s-1. We obtain several statistically consistent cluster mass estimates; using empirical mass scaling relations with velocity dispersion, X-ray Y(X) , and integrated SZ distortion, we estimate a cluster mass of M(200) = (2:16 +/- 0:32) 10(exp 15) h(exp-1) 70M compared to the Sun. We constrain the stellar content of the cluster to be less than 1% of the total mass, using Spitzer IRAC and optical imaging. The Chandra and VLT/FORS2 optical data also reveal that ACT-CL J0102-4915 is undergoing a major merger between components with a mass ratio of approximately 2 to 1. The X-ray data show significant temperature variations from a low of 6:6 +/- 0:7 keV at the merging low-entropy, high-metallicity, cool core to a high of 22 +/- 6 keV. We also see a wake in the X-ray surface brightness and deprojected gas density caused by the passage of one cluster through the other from which we estimate a merger speed of around 1300 km s(exp -1) for an assumed merger timescale of 1 Gyr. ACTCL J0102-4915 is possibly a high-redshift analog of the famous Bullet Cluster. Such a massive cluster at this redshift is rare, although consistent with the standard CDM cosmology in the lower part of its allowed mass range. Massive, high-redshift mergers like ACT-CL J0102-4915 are unlikely to be reproduced in the current generation of numerical N-body cosmological simulations.

Menanteau, Felipe↗

DOE OSTI2025

XRISM Reveals Low Nonthermal Pressure in the Core of the Hot, Relaxed Galaxy Cluster A2029

We present XRISM Resolve observations of the core of the hot, relaxed galaxy cluster Abell 2029 (A2029). We find that the line-of-sight bulk velocity of the intracluster medium (ICM) within the central 180 kpc is at rest with respect to the brightest cluster galaxy, with a 3σ upper limit of ∣vbulk∣ < 100 km s−1. We robustly measure the field-integrated ICM velocity dispersion to be σv = 169 ± 10 km s−1, obtaining similar results for both single-temperature and two-temperature plasma models to account for the cluster cool core. This result, if ascribed to isotropic turbulence, implies a subsonic ICM with Mach number M 3D ≈ 0.22 and a nonthermal pressure fraction of 2.6 ± 0.3%. The turbulent velocity is similar to what was measured in the core of the Perseus cluster by Hitomi, but here in a more massive cluster with an ICM temperature of 7 keV, the limit on the nonthermal pressure fraction is even more stringent. Our result is consistent with expectations from simulations of relaxed clusters, but it is on the low end of the predicted distribution, indicating that A2029 is an exceptionally relaxed cluster with no significant impacts from either a recent minor merger or active galactic nucleus activity.

Audard, Marc (ORCID:000000034721034X)↗

DOE OSTI2023

The LIGO HET Response (LIGHETR) Project to Discover and Spectroscopically Follow Optical Transients Associated with Neutron Star Mergers

The LIGO HET Response (LIGHETR) project is an enterprise to follow up optical transients (OTs) discovered as gravitational-wave merger sources by the LIGO/Virgo collaboration (LVC). Early spectroscopy has the potential to constrain crucial parameters such as the aspect angle. The LIGHETR collaboration also includes the capacity to model the spectroscopic evolution of mergers to facilitate a real-time direct comparison of models with our data. The principal facility is the Hobby–Eberly Telescope. LIGHETR uses the massively replicated VIRUS array of spectrographs to search for associated OTs and obtain early blue spectra, and in a complementary role, the low-resolution LRS2 spectrograph is used to obtain spectra of viable candidates as well as a densely sampled series of spectra of true counterparts. Once an OT is identified, the anticipated cadence of spectra would match or considerably exceed anything achieved for GW170817 = AT2017gfo for which there were no spectra in the first 12 hr and thereafter only roughly once daily. We describe special HET-specific software written to facilitate the program and attempts to determine the flux limits to undetected sources. We also describe our campaign to follow up OT candidates during the third observational campaign of the LIGO and Virgo Scientific Collaborations. We obtained VIRUS spectroscopy of candidate galaxy hosts for five LVC gravitational-wave events and LRS2 spectra of one candidate for the OT associated with S190901ap. We identified that candidate, ZTF19abvionh = AT2019pip, as a possible Wolf–Rayet star in an otherwise unrecognized nearby dwarf galaxy.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Signatures of large-scale cold fronts in the optically-selected merging cluster HSC J085024+001536

Abstract We represent a joint X-ray, weak-lensing, and optical analysis of the optically-selected merging cluster, HSC J085024+001536, from the Subaru HSC-SSP survey. Both the member galaxy density and the weak-lensing mass map show that the cluster is composed of south-east and north-west components. The two-dimensional weak-lensing analysis shows that the south-east component is the main cluster, and the sub-cluster and main cluster mass ratio is $0.32^{+0.75}_{-0.23}$. The north-west sub-cluster is offset by ∼700 kpc from the main cluster center, and their relative line-of-sight velocity is ∼1300 km s−1 from spectroscopic redshifts of member galaxies. The X-ray emission is concentrated around the main cluster, while the gas mass fraction within a sphere of 1′ radius of the sub-cluster is only $f_{\mathrm{gas}}=4.0^{+2.3}_{-3.3}\%$, indicating that the sub-cluster gas was stripped by ram pressure. An X-ray residual image shows three arc-like excess patterns, of which two are symmetrically located at ∼550 kpc from the X-ray morphological center, and the other is close to the X-ray core. The excess close to the sub-cluster has a cold-front feature where dense-cold gas and thin-hot gas contact. The two outer excesses are tangentially elongated about ∼450–650 kpc, suggesting that the cluster is merged with a non-zero impact parameter. Overall features revealed by the multi-wavelength datasets indicate that the cluster is at the second impact or later. Since the optically-defined merger catalog is unbiased for merger boost of the intracluster medium, X-ray follow-up observations will pave the way to understand merger physics at various phases.

Tanaka, Keigo↗

DOE OSTI2025

Merger Response of Halo Anisotropy Properties

Anisotropy properties—halo spin, shape, position offset, velocity offset, and orientation—are an important family of dark matter halo properties that indicate the level of directional variation of the internal structures of halos. These properties reflect the dynamical state of halos, which in turn depends on the mass assembly history. In this work, we study the evolution of anisotropy properties in response to merger activity using the IllustrisTNG simulations. We find that the response trajectories of the anisotropy properties significantly deviate from secular evolution. These trajectories have the same qualitative features and timescales across a wide range of merger and host properties. We propose explanations for the behavior of these properties and connect their evolution to the relevant stages of merger dynamics. We measure the relevant dynamical timescales. We also explore the dependence of the strength of the response on time of merger, merger ratio, and mass of the main halo. These results provide insight into the physics of halo mergers and their effects on the statistical behavior of halo properties. This study paves the way toward a physical understanding of scaling relations, particularly to how systematics in their scatter are connected to the mass assembly histories of halos.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2020

The Young and Nearby Normal Type Ia Supernova 2018gv: UV-optical Observations and the Earliest Spectropolarimetry

The nondetection of companion stars in SN Ia progenitor systems lends support to the notion of double-degenerate systems and explosions triggered by the merging of two white dwarfs. This very asymmetric process should lead to a conspicuous polarimetric signature. By contrast, observations consistently find very low continuum polarization as the signatures from the explosion process largely dominate over the pre-explosion configuration within several days. Critical information about the interaction of the ejecta with a companion and any circumstellar matter is encoded in the early polarization spectra. In this study, we obtain spectropolarimetry of SN 2018gv with the ESO Very Large Telescope at -13.6 days relative to the B-band maximum light, or ~5 days after the estimated explosion—the earliest spectropolarimetric observations to date of any SN Ia. These early observations still show a low continuum polarization (lesssim0.2%) and moderate line polarization (0.30% ± 0.04% for the prominent Si ii λ6355 feature and 0.85% ± 0.04% for the high-velocity Ca component). The high degree of spherical symmetry implied by the low-line and continuum polarization at this early epoch is consistent with explosion models of delayed detonations and is inconsistent with the merger-induced explosion scenario. Finally, the dense UV and optical photometry and optical spectroscopy within the first ~100 days after the maximum light indicate that SN 2018gv is a normal SN Ia with similar spectrophotometric behavior to SN 2011fe.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS2019

The Afterglow and Kilonova of the Short GRB 160821B

GRB 160821B is a short duration gamma-ray burst (GRB) detected and localized by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory in the outskirts of a spiral galaxy at z = 0.1613, at a projected physical offset of 16 kpc from the galaxy’s center. We present X-ray, optical/nIR, and radio observations of its counterpart and model them with two distinct components of emission: a standard afterglow, arising from the interaction of the relativistic jet with the surrounding medium, and a kilonova, powered by the radioactive decay of the sub-relativistic ejecta. Broadband modelling of the afterglow data reveals a weak reverse shock propagating backward into the jet, and a likely jet-break at 3.5 d. This is consistent with a structured jet seen slightly off-axis (θview ∼ θcore) while expanding into a low-density medium (n ≈ 10−3 cm−3). Analysis of the kilonova properties suggests a rapid evolution towards red colours, similar toAT2017gfo, and a low-nIR luminosity, possibly due to the presence of a long-lived neutron star. The global properties of the environment, the inferred low mass (Mej <~ 0.006 Msun) and velocities (vej >~ 0.05c) of lanthanide-rich ejecta are consistent with a binary neutron star merger progenitor.

Gravitational waves↗

DOE OSTI2024

Milky Way-est: Cosmological Zoom-in Simulations with Large Magellanic Cloud and Gaia–Sausage–Enceladus Analogs

Abstract We present Milky Way-est, a suite of 20 cosmological cold-dark-matter-only zoom-in simulations of Milky Way (MW)-like host halos. Milky Way-est hosts are selected such that they (i) are consistent with the MW’s measured halo mass and concentration, (ii) accrete a Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC)-like (≈10 11 M ⊙ ) subhalo within the last 2 Gyr on a realistic orbit, placing them near 50 kpc from the host center at z ≈ 0, and (iii) undergo a >1:5 sub-to-host halo mass ratio merger with a Gaia–Sausage–Enceladus (GSE)-like system at early times (0.67 < z < 3). Hosts satisfying these LMC and GSE constraints constitute <1% of all halos in the MW’s mass range, and their total masses grow rapidly at late times due to LMC analog accretion. Compared to hosts of a similar final halo mass that are not selected to include LMC and GSE analogs, Milky Way-est hosts contain 22% more subhalos with present-day virial masses above 10 8 M ⊙ throughout the virial radius, on average. This enhancement reaches ≈80% in the inner 100 kpc and is largely, if not entirely, due to LMC-associated subhalos. These systems also induce spatial anisotropy in Milky Way-est subhalo populations, with ≈60% of the total subhalo population within 100 kpc found in the current direction of the LMC. Meanwhile, we find that GSE-associated subhalos do not significantly contribute to present-day Milky Way-est subhalo populations. These results provide context for our Galaxy’s dark matter structure and subhalo population and will help interpret a range of measurements that are currently only possible in the MW.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS2016

A Giant Radio Halo in a Low-Mass Sz-selected Galaxy Cluster: ACT-CLJ0256.5+0006

We present the detection of a giant radio halo (GRH) in the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ)- selected merging galaxy cluster ACT-CL J0256.5+ 0006 (z = 0.363), observed with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope at 325 and 610 MHz. We find this cluster to host a faint (S610 = 5.6 +/- 1.4mJy) radio halo with an angular extent of 2.6 arcmin, corresponding to 0.8 Mpc at the cluster redshift, qualifying it as a GRH. J0256 is one of the lowest mass systems, M500, SZ = (5.0 +/- 1.2) × 10(exp14) M, found to host a GRH. We measure the GRH at lower significance at 325 MHz (S325 = 10.3 +/- 5.3mJy), obtaining a spectral index measurement of α610 325 = 1.0+ 0.7 − 0.9. This result is consistent with the mean spectral index of the population of typical radio haloes, alpha = 1.2 +/- 0.2. Adopting the latter value, we determine a 1.4 GHz radio power of P1.4 GHz = (1.0 +/- 0.3) × 10(exp 24)W/Hz, placing this cluster within the scatter of known scaling relations. Various lines of evidence, including the intracluster medium morphology, suggest that ACT-CL J0256.5+ 0006 is composed of two subclusters. We determine a merger mass ratio of 7:4, and a line-of-sight velocity difference of v⊥ = 1880 +/- 210 km/s. We construct a simple merger model to infer relevant time-scales in the merger. From its location on the P1.4GHz-LX scaling relation, we infer that we observe ACT-CL J0256.5+ 0006 just before first core crossing.

Knowles, Kendra↗

DOE OSTI2021

COMPASO : A new halo finder for competitive assignment to spherical overdensities

We describe a new method (compaso) for identifying groups of particles in cosmological N-body simulations. compaso builds upon existing spherical overdensity (SO) algorithms by taking into consideration the tidal radius around a smaller halo before competitively assigning halo membership to the particles. In this way, the compaso finder allows for more effective deblending of haloes in close proximity as well as the formation of new haloes on the outskirts of larger ones. This halo-finding algorithm is used in the abacussummit suite of N-body simulations, designed to meet the cosmological simulation requirements of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) survey. compaso is developed as a highly efficient on-the-fly group finder, which is crucial for enabling good load-balancing between the GPU and CPU and the creation of high-resolution merger trees. In this paper, we describe the halo-finding procedure and its particular implementation in abacus, accompanying it with a qualitative analysis of the finder. We test the robustness of the compaso catalogues before and after applying the cleaning method described in an accompanying paper and demonstrate its effectiveness by comparing it with other validation techniques. We then visualize the haloes and their density profiles, finding that they are well fit by the NFW formalism. Finally, we compare other properties such as radius–mass relationships and two-point correlation functions with that of another widely used halo finder, rockstar.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS2001

Characterizing the Small Scale Structure in Clusters of Galaxies

We studied galaxy clusters Abell 119, Abell 754, and Abell 1750, using data from the ASCA and ROSAT satellites. In addition, we completed the paper "Merging Binary Clusters". In this paper we study three prominent bi-modal X-ray clusters: A3528, A1750 and A3395. Since the sub-clusters in these systems have projected separations of 0.93, 1.00 and 0.67 Mpc respectively, we examine their X-ray and optical observations to investigate the dynamics and possible merging of these sub-clusters. Using data taken with ROSAT and ASCA, we analyze the temperature and surface brightness distributions. We also analyze the velocity distributions of the three clusters using new measurements supplemented with previously published data. We examined both the overall cluster properties as well as the two sub-cluster elements in each. These results were then applied to the determination of the overall cluster masses, that demonstrate excellent consistency between the various methods used. While the characteristic parameters of the sub-clusters are typical of isolated objects, our temperature results for the regions between the two sub-clusters clearly confirm the presence of merger activity that is suggested by the surface brightness distributions. These three clusters represent a progression of equal-sized sub-cluster mergers, starting from initial contact to immediately before first core passage.

Forman, William R.↗

NASA NTRS2013

New Detections of Radio Minihalos in Cool Cores of Galaxy Clusters

Cool cores of some galaxy clusters exhibit faint radio minihalos. Their origin is unclear, and their study has been limited by their small number. We undertook a systematic search for minihalos in a large sample of X-ray luminous clusters with high-quality radio data. In this article, we report four new minihalos (A 478, ZwCl 3146,RXJ 1532.9+3021, and A 2204) and five candidates found in the reanalyzed archival Very Large Array observations.The radio luminosities of our minihalos and candidates are in the range of 102325 W Hz1 at 1.4 GHz, which is consistent with these types of radio sources. Their sizes (40160 kpc in radius) are somewhat smaller than those of previously known minihalos. We combine our new detections with previously known minihalos, obtaining a total sample of 21 objects, and briefly compare the cluster radio properties to the average X-ray temperature and the total masses estimated from Planck.We find that nearly all clusters hosting minihalos are hot and massive. Beyond that, there is no clear correlation between the minihalo radio power and cluster temperature or mass (in contrast with the giant radio halos found in cluster mergers, whose radio luminosity correlates with the cluster mass). Chandra X-ray images indicate gas sloshing in the cool cores of most of our clusters, with minihalos contained within the sloshing regions in many of them. This supports the hypothesis that radio-emitting electrons are reaccelerated by sloshing. Advection of relativistic electrons by the sloshing gas may also play a role in the formation of the less extended minihalos.

X-ray Polarization↗

NASA NTRS2016

A Giant Radio Halo in a Low-Mass SZ-Selected Galaxy Cluster: ACT-CL J0256.5+0006

We present the detection of a giant radio halo (GRH) in the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ)-selected merging galaxy cluster ACT-CL J0256.5+0006 (zeta = 0.363), observed with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope at 325 MHz and 610 MHz. We find this cluster to host a faint (S(sub 610) = 5.6 +/- 1.4 mJy) radio halo with an angular extent of 2.6 arcmin, corresponding to 0.8 Mpc at the cluster redshift, qualifying it as a GRH. J0256 is one of the lowest-mass systems, M(sub 500,SZ) = (5.0 +/- 1.2) x 10(sup14) solar mass foud to host a GRH. We measure the GRH at lower significance at 325 MHz (S(sub 325) = 10.3 +/- 5.3 mJy), obtaining a spectral index measurement of alpha sup 610 sub 325 = 1.0(sup +0.7)(sub 0.9). This result is consistent with the mean spectral index of the population of typical radio halos, alpha = 1.2 +/- 0.2. Adopting the latter value, we determine a 1.4 GHz radio power of P(sub 1.4GHz) = (1.0 +/- 03) x 10(sup 24) W Hz(sup -1), placing this cluster within the scatter of known scaling relations. Various lines of evidence, including the ICM morphology, suggest that ACT-CL J0256.5+0006 is composed of two subclusters. We determine a merger mass ratio of 7:4, and a line-of-sight velocity difference of perpendicular = 1880 +/- 210 km s(sup -1). We construct a simple merger model of infer relevant time-scales in the merger. From its location on the P1.4GHz-L(sub x) scaling relation, we infer that we observe ACT-CL J0256.5+0006 just before first core crossing.

core crossing↗