MeerKAT observations of Abell 1775 and Abell 1795: the discovery of a hadronic radio halo?

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: van Weeren, R. J., Osinga, E., Brunetti, G., Riseley, C. J., Botteon, A., Timmerman, R., Bonafede, A., Brüggen, M., Cassano, R., Cuciti, V., Dallacasa, D., de Gasperin, F., de Jong, J. M. G. H. J., Gastaldello, F., Knowles, K., Zhang, X.
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2026
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author van Weeren, R. J.
Osinga, E.
Brunetti, G.
Riseley, C. J.
Botteon, A.
Timmerman, R.
Bonafede, A.
Brüggen, M.
Cassano, R.
Cuciti, V.
Dallacasa, D.
de Gasperin, F.
de Jong, J. M. G. H. J.
Gastaldello, F.
Knowles, K.
Zhang, X.
author_facet van Weeren, R. J.
Osinga, E.
Brunetti, G.
Riseley, C. J.
Botteon, A.
Timmerman, R.
Bonafede, A.
Brüggen, M.
Cassano, R.
Cuciti, V.
Dallacasa, D.
de Gasperin, F.
de Jong, J. M. G. H. J.
Gastaldello, F.
Knowles, K.
Zhang, X.
contents Giant radio haloes are diffuse synchrotron sources typically found in merging galaxy clusters, while smaller mini-haloes occur in cool-core clusters. Both trace cosmic-ray electrons in the intracluster medium, though recent observations suggest their distinction is not always clear. We present new 903-1655 MHz MeerKAT observations of Abell 1775 and Abell 1795, both hosting cool cores and cold fronts. Combined with reprocessed 120-168 MHz LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey data, we perform imaging and spectral analyses of their radio emission. In both clusters, we detect radio haloes with distinct inner and outer components. In Abell 1775, the halo appears diffuse at 1.3 GHz, while LOFAR images reveal steep-spectrum filaments. In Abell 1795, the inner component corresponds to a previously reported mini-halo candidate, but the full structure extends to $\sim$1 Mpc with a spectral index of $α=-1.08\pm0.06$. The presence of such a large, flat-spectrum halo in a dynamically relaxed cluster makes Abell 1795 an outlier relative to typical merging systems. This suggests that some relaxed clusters may still retain sufficient turbulence to sustain particle re-acceleration, or that hadronic interactions producing secondary electrons play a significant role. Together with other recent discoveries in cool-core systems, our results indicate that some large radio haloes may have been overlooked in past studies due to limited dynamic range near bright central AGN. Finally, we detect steep-spectrum emission south of Abell 1795's central AGN, tracing a 45 kpc X-ray and optical filament that terminates in an X-ray cavity, likely linked to a past AGN outburst.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_16288
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle MeerKAT observations of Abell 1775 and Abell 1795: the discovery of a hadronic radio halo?
van Weeren, R. J.
Osinga, E.
Brunetti, G.
Riseley, C. J.
Botteon, A.
Timmerman, R.
Bonafede, A.
Brüggen, M.
Cassano, R.
Cuciti, V.
Dallacasa, D.
de Gasperin, F.
de Jong, J. M. G. H. J.
Gastaldello, F.
Knowles, K.
Zhang, X.
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Giant radio haloes are diffuse synchrotron sources typically found in merging galaxy clusters, while smaller mini-haloes occur in cool-core clusters. Both trace cosmic-ray electrons in the intracluster medium, though recent observations suggest their distinction is not always clear. We present new 903-1655 MHz MeerKAT observations of Abell 1775 and Abell 1795, both hosting cool cores and cold fronts. Combined with reprocessed 120-168 MHz LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey data, we perform imaging and spectral analyses of their radio emission. In both clusters, we detect radio haloes with distinct inner and outer components. In Abell 1775, the halo appears diffuse at 1.3 GHz, while LOFAR images reveal steep-spectrum filaments. In Abell 1795, the inner component corresponds to a previously reported mini-halo candidate, but the full structure extends to $\sim$1 Mpc with a spectral index of $α=-1.08\pm0.06$. The presence of such a large, flat-spectrum halo in a dynamically relaxed cluster makes Abell 1795 an outlier relative to typical merging systems. This suggests that some relaxed clusters may still retain sufficient turbulence to sustain particle re-acceleration, or that hadronic interactions producing secondary electrons play a significant role. Together with other recent discoveries in cool-core systems, our results indicate that some large radio haloes may have been overlooked in past studies due to limited dynamic range near bright central AGN. Finally, we detect steep-spectrum emission south of Abell 1795's central AGN, tracing a 45 kpc X-ray and optical filament that terminates in an X-ray cavity, likely linked to a past AGN outburst.
title MeerKAT observations of Abell 1775 and Abell 1795: the discovery of a hadronic radio halo?
topic Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.16288