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    LOFAR imaging of Cygnus A - direct detection of a turnover in the hotspot radio spectra

    74533.pdf (708.7Kb)
    Access Status
    Open access
    Authors
    McKean, J.
    Godfrey, L.
    Vegetti, S.
    Wise, M.
    Morganti, R.
    Hardcastle, M.
    Rafferty, D.
    Anderson, J.
    Avruch, I.
    Beck, R.
    Bell, M.
    van Bemmel, I.
    Bentum, M.
    Bernardi, G.
    Best, P.
    Blaauw, R.
    Bonafede, A.
    Breitling, F.
    Broderick, J.
    Brueggen, M.
    Cerrigone, L.
    Ciardi, B.
    de Gasperin, F.
    Deller, A.
    Duscha, S.
    Engels, D.
    Falcke, H.
    Fallows, R.
    Frieswijk, W.
    Garrett, M.
    Griessmeier, J.
    van Haarlem, M.
    Heald, G.
    Hoeft, M.
    van der Horst, A.
    Iacobelli, M.
    Intema, Hubertus
    Juette, E.
    Karastergiou, A.
    Kondratiev, V.
    Koopmans, L.
    Kuniyoshi, M.
    Kuper, G.
    van Leeuwen, J.
    Maat, P.
    Mann, G.
    Markoff, S.
    McFadden, R.
    McKay-Bukowski, D.
    Mulcahy, D.
    Munk, H.
    Nelles, A.
    Orru, E.
    Paas, H.
    Pandey-Pommier, M.
    Pietka, M.
    Pizzo, R.
    Polatidis, A.
    Reich, W.
    Rottgering, H.
    Rowlinson, A.
    Scaife, A.
    Serylak, M.
    Shulevski, A.
    Sluman, J.
    Smirnov, O.
    Steinmetz, M.
    Stewart, A.
    Swinbank, J.
    Tagger, M.
    Thoudam, S.
    Toribio, M.
    Vermeulen, R.
    Vocks, C.
    van Weeren, R.
    Wucknitz, O.
    Yatawatta, S.
    Zarka, P.
    Date
    2016
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Citation
    McKean, J. and Godfrey, L. and Vegetti, S. and Wise, M. and Morganti, R. and Hardcastle, M. and Rafferty, D. et al. 2016. LOFAR imaging of Cygnus A - direct detection of a turnover in the hotspot radio spectra. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 463 (3): pp. 3143-3150.
    Source Title
    Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
    DOI
    10.1093/mnras/stw2105
    ISSN
    0035-8711
    Remarks

    This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©: 2016 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/74248
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    The low-frequency radio spectra of the hotspots within powerful radio galaxies can provide valuable information about the physical processes operating at the site of the jet termination. These processes are responsible for the dissipation of jet kinetic energy, particle acceleration, and magnetic-field generation. Here, we report new observations of the powerful radio galaxy Cygnus A using the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) between 109 and 183 MHz, at an angular resolution of ∼3.5 arcsec. The radio emission of the lobes is found to have a complex spectral index distribution, with a spectral steepening found towards the centre of the source. For the first time, a turnover in the radio spectrum of the two main hotspots of Cygnus A has been directly observed. By combining our LOFAR imaging with data from the Very Large Array at higher frequencies, we show that the very rapid turnover in the hotspot spectra cannot be explained by a low-energy cut-off in the electron energy distribution, as has been previously suggested. Thermal (free–free) absorption or synchrotron self-absorption models are able to describe the low-frequency spectral shape of the hotspots; however, as with previous studies, we find that the implied model parameters are unlikely, and interpreting the spectra of the hotspots remains problematic.

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