A radio ridge connecting two galaxy clusters in a filament of the cosmic web.
Govoni, F. 1,*; Orru, E. 2; Bonafede, A. 3,4,5; Iacobelli, M. 2; Paladino, R. 3; Vazza, F. 3,4,5; Murgia, M. 1; Vacca, V. 1; Giovannini, G. 3,4; Feretti, L. 3; Loi, F. 1,4; Bernardi, G. 3,6,7; Ferrari, C. 8; Pizzo, R. F. 2; Gheller, C. 9; Manti, S. 10; Bruggen, M. 5; Brunetti, G. 3; Cassano, R. 3; de Gasperin, F. 5,11; En[latin sharp s]lin, T. A. 12,13; Hoeft, M. 14; Horellou, C. 15; Junklewitz, H. 16; Rottgering, H. J. A. 11; Scaife, A. M. M. 17; Shimwell, T. W. 2,11; van Weeren, R. J. 11; Wise, M. 2,18
[Report]
Science.
364(6444):981-984, June 07, 2019.
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Galaxy clusters are the most massive gravitationally bound structures in the Universe. They grow by accreting smaller structures in a merging process that produces shocks and turbulence in the intracluster gas. We observed a ridge of radio emission connecting the merging galaxy clusters Abell 0399 and Abell 0401 with the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) telescope network at 140 megahertz. This emission requires a population of relativistic electrons and a magnetic field located in a filament between the two galaxy clusters. We performed simulations to show that a volume-filling distribution of weak shocks may reaccelerate a preexisting population of relativistic particles, producing emission at radio wavelengths that illuminates the magnetic ridge.
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