CHANG-ES. XXXVIII. A Thin Radio Halo Shaped by Slow Cosmic-Ray Transport in the Quiescent Galaxy NGC 4565

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Main Authors: Xu, Jianghui, Li, Jiang-Tao, Liu, Guilin, Luan, Luan, Heesen, Volker, Beck, Rainer, Irwin, Judith, Wang, Q. Daniel, Stein, Michael, Lu, Li-Yuan, Yang, Yang, Stil, Jeroen, English, Jayanne, Dettmar, Ralf-Jürgen
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Published: 2026
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author Xu, Jianghui
Li, Jiang-Tao
Liu, Guilin
Luan, Luan
Heesen, Volker
Beck, Rainer
Irwin, Judith
Wang, Q. Daniel
Stein, Michael
Lu, Li-Yuan
Yang, Yang
Stil, Jeroen
English, Jayanne
Dettmar, Ralf-Jürgen
author_facet Xu, Jianghui
Li, Jiang-Tao
Liu, Guilin
Luan, Luan
Heesen, Volker
Beck, Rainer
Irwin, Judith
Wang, Q. Daniel
Stein, Michael
Lu, Li-Yuan
Yang, Yang
Stil, Jeroen
English, Jayanne
Dettmar, Ralf-Jürgen
contents We present the VLA C-array S-band (2--4 GHz) radio continuum observations of the nearby edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 4565, a target from the Continuum Halos in Nearby Galaxies - an EVLA (CHANG-ES) Survey. We conduct rotation measure synthesis to probe the magnetic field structure and analyze the vertical radio continuum intensity profiles using the 1-D cosmic ray transportation models. The radio continuum emission of NGC 4565 is vertically compact, with a vertical-to-radial extent ratio of $\sim 1/6$. Its vertical profile is optimally described by a two-component Gaussian distribution, yielding a mean Gaussian halo scale height of $\sim 3.0$ kpc. The magnetic field is weak, predominantly disk-parallel, with an equipartition strength of $\lesssim 5\ μ$G and a rotation measure profile indicative of an axisymmetric spiral structure. Nevertheless, we identify a localized, faint vertical magnetic field component in the northeastern region, hinting at an X-shaped structure that spatially coincides with extraplanar structures detected in H I and soft X-ray emission. The CR transport modeling favors a flux-tube advection scenario, with a slow initial velocity of $v_0 \approx 60$ km s$^{-1}$, consistent with a limited energy input from star formation. Therefore, the absence of an extended radio halo can be explained by the low star formation rate, the weak magnetic field, and the inefficient CR transport. The localized X-shaped field may trace a weak, magnetically guided outflow or a tidal perturbation induced by the nearby companion. NGC 4565 is thus a key quiescent benchmark for understanding the physical conditions required to drive large-scale outflows and generate extended radio halos.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_22417
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle CHANG-ES. XXXVIII. A Thin Radio Halo Shaped by Slow Cosmic-Ray Transport in the Quiescent Galaxy NGC 4565
Xu, Jianghui
Li, Jiang-Tao
Liu, Guilin
Luan, Luan
Heesen, Volker
Beck, Rainer
Irwin, Judith
Wang, Q. Daniel
Stein, Michael
Lu, Li-Yuan
Yang, Yang
Stil, Jeroen
English, Jayanne
Dettmar, Ralf-Jürgen
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We present the VLA C-array S-band (2--4 GHz) radio continuum observations of the nearby edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 4565, a target from the Continuum Halos in Nearby Galaxies - an EVLA (CHANG-ES) Survey. We conduct rotation measure synthesis to probe the magnetic field structure and analyze the vertical radio continuum intensity profiles using the 1-D cosmic ray transportation models. The radio continuum emission of NGC 4565 is vertically compact, with a vertical-to-radial extent ratio of $\sim 1/6$. Its vertical profile is optimally described by a two-component Gaussian distribution, yielding a mean Gaussian halo scale height of $\sim 3.0$ kpc. The magnetic field is weak, predominantly disk-parallel, with an equipartition strength of $\lesssim 5\ μ$G and a rotation measure profile indicative of an axisymmetric spiral structure. Nevertheless, we identify a localized, faint vertical magnetic field component in the northeastern region, hinting at an X-shaped structure that spatially coincides with extraplanar structures detected in H I and soft X-ray emission. The CR transport modeling favors a flux-tube advection scenario, with a slow initial velocity of $v_0 \approx 60$ km s$^{-1}$, consistent with a limited energy input from star formation. Therefore, the absence of an extended radio halo can be explained by the low star formation rate, the weak magnetic field, and the inefficient CR transport. The localized X-shaped field may trace a weak, magnetically guided outflow or a tidal perturbation induced by the nearby companion. NGC 4565 is thus a key quiescent benchmark for understanding the physical conditions required to drive large-scale outflows and generate extended radio halos.
title CHANG-ES. XXXVIII. A Thin Radio Halo Shaped by Slow Cosmic-Ray Transport in the Quiescent Galaxy NGC 4565
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.22417