High-resolution, High-sensitivity, Low-frequency uGMRT View of Coma Cluster of Galaxies

Abstract

Abstract We present high-resolution, high-sensitivity upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope observations of the Coma cluster (A1656) at 250–500 MHz and 550–850 MHz. At 250–500 MHz, 135 sources have extensions >0.′45 (with peak-to-local-noise ratio >4). Of these, 24 sources are associated with Coma-member galaxies. In addition, we supplement this sample of 24 galaxies with 20 ram pressure stripped (RPS) galaxies from (Chen et al. 2020, eight are included in the original extended radio source sample) and an additional five are detected and extended. We present radio morphologies, radio spectra, spectral index maps, and equipartition properties for these two samples. In general, we find the equipartition properties lie within a narrow range (e.g., P min = 1–3 × 10− 13 dynes cm−2). Only NGC 4874, one of the two brightest central Coma cluster galaxies, has a central energy density and pressure about five times higher and a radio source age about 50% lower than that of the other Coma galaxies. We find a diffuse tail of radio emission trailing the dominant galaxy of the merging NGC 4839 group that coincides with the slingshot tail seen in X-rays. The southwestern radio relic, B1253+275, has a large extent ≈32′ × 10′ (≃1.08 × 0.34 Mpc2). For NGC 4789, whose long radio tails merge into the relic and may be a source of its relativistic seed electrons, we find a transverse radio spectral gradient, a steepening from southwest to northeast across the width of the radio source. Finally, radio morphologies of the extended and RPS samples suggest that these galaxies are on their first infall into Coma on (predominantly) radial orbits.