Radio spectral properties of star-forming galaxies between 150 and 5000 MHz in the ELAIS-N1 field

Abstract

ABSTRACT By combining high-sensitivity LOFAR 150 MHz, uGMRT 400 MHz and 1250 MHz, GMRT 610 MHz, and VLA 5 GHz data in the ELAIS-N1 field, we study the radio spectral properties of radio-detected star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at observer-frame frequencies of 150–5000 MHz. We select ∼3500 SFGs that have both LOFAR 150 MHz and GMRT 610 MHz detections, and obtain a median two-point spectral index of $\alpha _{150}^{610}=-0.51\pm 0.01$. The photometric redshift of these SFGs spans z = 0.01−6.21. We also measure the two-point radio spectral indices at 150–400–610–1250 MHz and 150–610–5000 MHz, respectively, for the GMRT 610-MHz-detected SFGs, and find that, on average, the radio spectrum of SFGs is flatter at low frequency than at high frequency. At observer-frame 150–5000 MHz, we find that the radio spectrum slightly steepens with increasing stellar mass. However, we only find that the radio spectrum flattens with increasing optical depth at V band at $\nu \lesssim 1$ GHz. We suggest that spectral ageing due to the energy loss of CR electrons and thermal free–free absorption could be among the possible main physical mechanisms that drive the above two correlations, respectively. In addition, both of these mechanisms could physically explain why the radio spectrum is flatter at low frequency than at high frequency.