A Spectropolarimetric Study of Pictor A Radio Galaxy with MeerKAT

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Andati, Lexy A. L., Baidoo, Lerato M., Ramaila, Athanaseus J. T., Smirnov, Oleg M., Makhathini, Sphesihle, Perley, Richard A.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
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author Andati, Lexy A. L.
Baidoo, Lerato M.
Ramaila, Athanaseus J. T.
Smirnov, Oleg M.
Makhathini, Sphesihle
Perley, Richard A.
author_facet Andati, Lexy A. L.
Baidoo, Lerato M.
Ramaila, Athanaseus J. T.
Smirnov, Oleg M.
Makhathini, Sphesihle
Perley, Richard A.
contents We present the results of a polarimetric study from our new high-sensitivity L-band (0.8--1.7 GHz) observation of Pictor A with the MeerKAT radio telescope. We confirm the presence of the radio jet extending from the nucleus to the western hotspot of this source. Additionally, we show the radio emission expected to be coincident with previously observed X-ray emission in the radio lobes, confirming that the emission mechanism is of inverse Compton origin, as suggested by a previous study. Our spectropolarimetric analysis using the RM-Synthesis technique reveals a relatively uniform mean RM distribution across the lobes of Pictor A, with most lines-of-sight exhibiting single-peaked Faraday spectra. However, a number of the lines-of-sight exhibit single peaked spectra with a wide base or multiple peaks, suggesting the presence of multiple Faraday components or a Faraday thick structure along Pictor A's lines-of-sight. We also confirm the asymmetry in RM variability and depolarization between the two lobes of this source which were reported in a previous study.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2402_17647
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Spectropolarimetric Study of Pictor A Radio Galaxy with MeerKAT
Andati, Lexy A. L.
Baidoo, Lerato M.
Ramaila, Athanaseus J. T.
Smirnov, Oleg M.
Makhathini, Sphesihle
Perley, Richard A.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We present the results of a polarimetric study from our new high-sensitivity L-band (0.8--1.7 GHz) observation of Pictor A with the MeerKAT radio telescope. We confirm the presence of the radio jet extending from the nucleus to the western hotspot of this source. Additionally, we show the radio emission expected to be coincident with previously observed X-ray emission in the radio lobes, confirming that the emission mechanism is of inverse Compton origin, as suggested by a previous study. Our spectropolarimetric analysis using the RM-Synthesis technique reveals a relatively uniform mean RM distribution across the lobes of Pictor A, with most lines-of-sight exhibiting single-peaked Faraday spectra. However, a number of the lines-of-sight exhibit single peaked spectra with a wide base or multiple peaks, suggesting the presence of multiple Faraday components or a Faraday thick structure along Pictor A's lines-of-sight. We also confirm the asymmetry in RM variability and depolarization between the two lobes of this source which were reported in a previous study.
title A Spectropolarimetric Study of Pictor A Radio Galaxy with MeerKAT
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.17647