Can cluster merger shocks reproduce the luminosity and shape distribution of radio relics?

Radio relics in galaxy clusters are believed to trace merger shock fronts. If cosmological structure formation determines the luminosity, size and shape distributions of radio relics, then merger shocks need to be lighted up in a homogeneous way. We investigate if a mock relic sample, obtained from...

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Autor principal: Nuza, Sebastián E.
Publicado: 2017
Materias:
Galaxies: clusters: general
Large-scale structure of Universe
Methods: numerical
Radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
Shock waves
Acceso en línea:https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00358711_v470_n1_p240_Nuza
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00358711_v470_n1_p240_Nuza
Aporte de:
Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA) de Universidad de Buenos Aires
id paper:paper_00358711_v470_n1_p240_Nuza
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spelling paper:paper_00358711_v470_n1_p240_Nuza2023-06-08T15:01:45Z Can cluster merger shocks reproduce the luminosity and shape distribution of radio relics? Nuza, Sebastián E. Galaxies: clusters: general Large-scale structure of Universe Methods: numerical Radiation mechanisms: non-thermal Shock waves Radio relics in galaxy clusters are believed to trace merger shock fronts. If cosmological structure formation determines the luminosity, size and shape distributions of radio relics, then merger shocks need to be lighted up in a homogeneous way. We investigate if a mock relic sample, obtained from zoomed galaxy cluster simulations, is able to match the properties of relics measured in the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS). We compile a list of all radio relics known to date and homogeneously measure their parameters in all NVSS images and apply the same procedure to relics in our simulations. Number counts in the mock relic sample increase more steeply towards lower relic flux densities, suggesting an incompleteness of NVSS in this regime. Overall, we find that NVSS and mock samples show similar properties. However, large simulated relics tend to be somewhat smaller and closer to the cluster centre than observed ones. Besides this, the mock sample reproduces very well-known correlations for radio relics, in particular those relating the radio luminosity with the largest linear size and the X-ray luminosity. We show that these correlations are largely governed by the sensitivity of the NVSS observations. Mock relics show a similar orientation with respect to the direction to the cluster centre as the NVSS sample. Moreover, we find that their maximum radio luminosity roughly correlates with cluster mass, although displaying a large scatter. The overall good agreement between NVSS and the mock sample suggests that properties of radio relics are indeed governed by merger shock fronts, emitting in a homogeneous fashion. Our study demonstrates that the combination of mock observations and data from upcoming radio surveys will allow us to shed light on both the origin of radio relics and the nature of the intracluster medium. © 2017 The Author. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved. Fil:Nuza, S.E. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. 2017 https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00358711_v470_n1_p240_Nuza http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00358711_v470_n1_p240_Nuza
institution Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str I-28
repository_str R-134
collection Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA)
topic Galaxies: clusters: general
Large-scale structure of Universe
Methods: numerical
Radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
Shock waves
spellingShingle Galaxies: clusters: general
Large-scale structure of Universe
Methods: numerical
Radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
Shock waves
Nuza, Sebastián E.
Can cluster merger shocks reproduce the luminosity and shape distribution of radio relics?
topic_facet Galaxies: clusters: general
Large-scale structure of Universe
Methods: numerical
Radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
Shock waves
description Radio relics in galaxy clusters are believed to trace merger shock fronts. If cosmological structure formation determines the luminosity, size and shape distributions of radio relics, then merger shocks need to be lighted up in a homogeneous way. We investigate if a mock relic sample, obtained from zoomed galaxy cluster simulations, is able to match the properties of relics measured in the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS). We compile a list of all radio relics known to date and homogeneously measure their parameters in all NVSS images and apply the same procedure to relics in our simulations. Number counts in the mock relic sample increase more steeply towards lower relic flux densities, suggesting an incompleteness of NVSS in this regime. Overall, we find that NVSS and mock samples show similar properties. However, large simulated relics tend to be somewhat smaller and closer to the cluster centre than observed ones. Besides this, the mock sample reproduces very well-known correlations for radio relics, in particular those relating the radio luminosity with the largest linear size and the X-ray luminosity. We show that these correlations are largely governed by the sensitivity of the NVSS observations. Mock relics show a similar orientation with respect to the direction to the cluster centre as the NVSS sample. Moreover, we find that their maximum radio luminosity roughly correlates with cluster mass, although displaying a large scatter. The overall good agreement between NVSS and the mock sample suggests that properties of radio relics are indeed governed by merger shock fronts, emitting in a homogeneous fashion. Our study demonstrates that the combination of mock observations and data from upcoming radio surveys will allow us to shed light on both the origin of radio relics and the nature of the intracluster medium. © 2017 The Author. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved.
author Nuza, Sebastián E.
author_facet Nuza, Sebastián E.
author_sort Nuza, Sebastián E.
title Can cluster merger shocks reproduce the luminosity and shape distribution of radio relics?
title_short Can cluster merger shocks reproduce the luminosity and shape distribution of radio relics?
title_full Can cluster merger shocks reproduce the luminosity and shape distribution of radio relics?
title_fullStr Can cluster merger shocks reproduce the luminosity and shape distribution of radio relics?
title_full_unstemmed Can cluster merger shocks reproduce the luminosity and shape distribution of radio relics?
title_sort can cluster merger shocks reproduce the luminosity and shape distribution of radio relics?
publishDate 2017
url https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00358711_v470_n1_p240_Nuza
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00358711_v470_n1_p240_Nuza
work_keys_str_mv AT nuzasebastiane canclustermergershocksreproducetheluminosityandshapedistributionofradiorelics
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