Related papers: Shock acceleration efficiency in radio relics
Some galaxy clusters show diffuse radio emission in the form of peripheral relics (so far attributed to primary, shock-(re)accelerated electrons) or central halos. Analysing radio and X-ray data from the literature, we find new connections…
Diffuse radio sources in galaxy clusters are unique signposts of cluster assembly in the Universe. Our knowledge of their observational properties has considerably improved over the past decade, and the long standing questions concerning…
Without amplification, magnetic fields in expanding ejecta of young supernova remnants (SNRs) will be orders of magnitude below those required to shock accelerate thermal electrons, or ions, to relativistic energies or to produce radio…
We present LOFAR $120-168$ MHz images of the merging galaxy cluster Abell 1240 that hosts double radio relics. In combination with the GMRT $595-629$ MHz and VLA $2-4$ GHz data, we characterised the spectral and polarimetric properties of…
Observations of galaxy clusters show radio emission extended over almost the system scale, necessitating mechanisms for particle acceleration. Previous models for acceleration such as diffusive shock acceleration and that due to turbulence…
The strong activity of radio galaxies should have led to a nearly ubiquitous presence of fossil radio plasma in the denser regions of the inter-galactic medium as clusters, groups and filaments of galaxies. This fossil radio plasma can…
It has often been thought that the northern radio relic in the galaxy cluster CIZA J2242.8+5301 (the "Sausage" Cluster) is associated with cosmic ray (CR) electrons that are accelerated at a shock through the diffusive shock acceleration…
Diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) is now widely accepted as the model to explain the production of cosmic rays (CRs) in a wide range of astrophysical environments. Despite initial successes of the theory in explaining the energetics and…
Radio halos and relics are diffuse radio sources found in galaxy clusters showing significant substructure at X-ray wavelengths. These sources provide important information about non-thermal processes taking place in the ICM. Until now only…
A joint hadronic model is shown to quantitatively explain the observations of diffuse radio emission from galaxy clusters in the form of minihalos, giant halos, relics, and their hybrid, transitional stages. Cosmic-ray diffusion of order…
Merger shocks induce turbulence in the intra-cluster medium (ICM), and, under some circumstances, accelerate electrons to relativistic velocities to form so-called radio relics. Relics are mostly found at the periphery of galaxy clusters…
Mega-parsec scale radio sources in the form of halos and relics are often detected in dynamically disturbed galaxy clusters. Although they are associated with merger-induced turbulence and shocks, respectively, their formation is not fully…
An important aspect of the radio emission from galaxy clusters is represented by the diffuse radio sources associated with the intracluster medium: radio halos, relics and mini-halos. The radio halos and relics are indicators of cluster…
Diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) at relativistic shocks is expected to be an important acceleration mechanism in a variety of astrophysical objects including extragalactic jets in active galactic nuclei and gamma ray bursts. These sources…
Diffusive Shock Acceleration (DSA) cannot efficiently accelerate particles without the presence of self-consistently generated or pre-existing strong turbulence ($ \delta B/B \sim 1 $) in the vicinity of the shock. The problem we address in…
In a growing number of galaxy clusters diffuse extended radio sources have been found. These sources are not directly associated with individual cluster galaxies. The radio emission reveal the presence of cosmic rays and magnetic fields in…
Galaxy clusters grow by mergers with other clusters and galaxy groups. These mergers create shock waves within the intracluster medium (ICM) that can accelerate particles to extreme energies. In the presence of magnetic fields, relativistic…
The recent discoveries in the theory of diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) that stem from first-principle kinetic plasma simulations are discussed. When ion acceleration is efficient, the back-reaction of non-thermal particles and…
Recent results on the radio emission from galaxy clusters are reviewed, with emphasis both on the radio galaxies and on the diffuse radio emission from the intracluster medium. We show that the formation of the tailed morphology in cluster…
In this paper we compute the luminosity function of radio relics. In our calculation we include only those relics that are produced by the compression of former radio cocoons. This compression is provided by shocks that are generated in the…