Collisions between galaxy clusters dissipate enormous amounts of energy in the intra-cluster medium (ICM) through turbulence and shocks. In the process, Mpc-scale diffuse synchrotron emission in form of radio halos and relics can form. However, little is known about the very early phase of the collision. We used deep radio observations from 53 MHz to 1.5 GHz to study the pre-merging galaxy clusters A1758N and A1758S that are ∼2 Mpc apart. We confirm the presence of a giant bridge of radio emission connecting the two systems that was reported only tentatively in our earlier work. This is the second large-scale radio bridge observed to date in a cluster pair. The bridge is clearly visible in the LOFAR image at 144 MHz and tentatively detected at 53 MHz. Its mean radio emissivity is more than one order of magnitude lower than that of the radio halos in A1758N and A1758S. Interestingly, the radio and X-ray emissions of the bridge are correlated. Our results indicate that non-thermal phenomena in the ICM can be generated also in the region of compressed gas in-between infalling systems.

We present deep and high-fidelity images of the merging galaxy cluster A2256 at low frequencies using the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) and LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR). This cluster hosts one of the most prominent known relics with a remarkably spectacular network of filamentary substructures. The new uGMRT (300–850 MHz) and LOFAR (120–169 MHz) observations, combined with the archival Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA; 1–4 GHz) data, allowed us to carry out the first spatially resolved spectral analysis of the exceptional relic emission down to 6″ resolution over a broad range of frequencies. Our new sensitive radio images confirm the presence of complex filaments of magnetized relativistic plasma also at low frequencies. We find that the integrated spectrum of the relic is consistent with a single power law, without any sign of spectral steepening, at least below 3 GHz. Unlike previous claims, the relic shows an integrated spectral index of −1.07 ± 0.02 between 144 MHz and 3 GHz, which is consistent with the (quasi)stationary shock approximation. The spatially resolved spectral analysis suggests that the relic surface very likely traces the complex shock front, with a broad distribution of Mach numbers propagating through a turbulent and dynamically active intracluster medium. Our results show that the northern part of the relic is seen edge-on and the southern part close to face-on. We suggest that the complex filaments are regions where higher Mach numbers dominate the (re)acceleration of electrons that are responsible for the observed radio emission.

Low-frequency radio observations are revealing an increasing number of diffuse synchrotron sources from galaxy clusters, primarily in the form of radio halos or radio relics. The existence of this diffuse synchrotron emission indicates the presence of relativistic particles and magnetic fields. It is still an open question as to exactly what mechanisms are responsible for the population of relativistic electrons driving this synchrotron emission. The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey Deep Fields offer a unique view of this problem. Reaching noise levels below 30 μJy beam−1, these are the deepest images made at the low frequency of 144 MHz. This paper presents a search for diffuse emission in galaxy clusters in the first data release of the LOFAR Deep Fields. We detect a new high-redshift radio halo with a flux density of 8.9 ± 1.0 mJy and corresponding luminosity of P144MHz = (3.6 ± 0.6) × 1025 W Hz−1 in an X-ray detected cluster at z = 0.77 with a mass estimate of M500 = 3.3−1.7+1.1 × 1014 M⊙. Deep upper limits are placed on clusters with non-detections. We compare the results to the correlation between halo luminosity and cluster mass derived for radio halos found in the literature. This study is one of a few to find diffuse emission in low mass (M500 < 5 × 1014 M⊙) systems and shows that deep low-frequency observations of galaxy clusters are fundamental for opening up a new part of parameter space in the study of non-thermal phenomena in galaxy clusters.

Various studies have laid claim to finding an alignment of the polarization vectors or radio jets of active galactic nuclei over large distances, but these results have proven controversial and so far, there is no clear explanation for this observed alignment. To investigate this case further, we tested the hypothesis that the position angles of radio galaxies are randomly oriented in the sky by using data from the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS). A sample of 7555 double-lobed radio galaxies was extracted from the list of 318 520 radio sources in the first data release of LoTSS at 150 MHz. We performed statistical tests for uniformity of the two-dimensional (2D) orientations for the complete 7555 source sample. We also tested the orientation uniformity in three dimensions (3D) for the 4212 source sub-sample with photometric or spectroscopic redshifts. Our sample shows a significant deviation from uniformity (p-value <  10−5) in the 2D analysis at angular scales of about four degrees, mainly caused by sources with the largest flux densities. No significant alignment was found in the 3D analysis. Although the 3D analysis has access to fewer sources and suffers from uncertainties in the photometric redshift, the lack of alignment in 3D points towards the cause of the observed effect being unknown systematics or biases that predominantly affect the brightest sources, although this has yet to be demonstrated irrefutably and should be the subject of subsequent studies.

We present the first detailed analysis of the radio halo in the merging galaxy cluster Abell 2256 using the LOw Frequency ARray, the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope, and the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array. Radio observations (120 MHz-2 GHz) combined with archival Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray data allowed us to study the central radio halo emission with unprecedented detail. The integrated radio emission from the entire halo is characterized by an ultra-steep spectrum, which can be described by a power law with α 1.5 GHz 144 MHz = −1.63 ± 0.03 and radial steepening in the outer regions. The halo is significantly underluminous according to the current scaling relations between radio power and mass at 1.4 GHz, not at 150 MHz; ultra-steep spectrum halos are predicted to be statistically underluminous. Despite the complex structure of this system, the halo morphology is remarkably similar to that of the X-ray emission. The radio surface brightness distribution across the halo is strongly correlated with the X-ray brightness of the intracluster medium (ICM). The derived correlations show sublinear slopes and distinct structures: the core is I R ∝ I 1.51 X , the outermost region I R ∝ I 0.41 X , and we find radio morphological connections with X-ray discontinuities. We also find a strong anticorrelation between the radio spectral index and the X-ray surface brightness, implying radial steepening. We suggest that the halo core is either related to old plasma from previous active galactic nuclei activity, being advected, compressed, and reaccelerated by mechanisms activated by the cold front or less turbulent with strong magnetic field in the core. The change in the radio versus X-ray correlation slopes in the outer regions of the halo could be due to a radial decline of the magnetic field, the increase in the number density of seed particles, or increasing turbulence. Our findings suggest that the emitting volume is not homogenous according to turbulent reacceleration models.