arXiv subjects

F. Vazza

Publications and source records attributed to F. Vazza.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Resolved magnetic dynamo action in the simulated intracluster medium

Faraday rotation and synchrotron emission from extragalactic radio sources give evidence for the presence of magnetic fields extending over ~Mpc scales. However, the origin of these fields remains elusive. With new high-resolution grid simulations we studied the growth of magnetic fields in a massive galaxy cluster that in several aspects is similar to the Coma cluster. We investigated models in which magnetic fields originate from primordial seed fields with comoving strengths of 0.1 nG at redshift z=30. The simulations show evidence of significant magnetic field amplification. At the best spatial resolution (3.95 kpc), we are able to resolve the scale where magnetic tension balances the bending of magnetic lines by turbulence. This allows us to observe the final growth stage of the small-scale dynamo. To our knowledge this is the first time that this is seen in cosmological simulations of the intracluster medium. Our mock observations of Faraday Rotation provide a good match to observations of the Coma cluster. However, the distribution of magnetic fields shows strong departures from a simple Maxwellian distribution, suggesting that the three-dimensional structure of magnetic fields in real clusters may be significantly different than what is usually assumed when inferring magnetic field values from rotation measure observations.

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arXiv2017

Observations of the galaxy cluster CIZA J2242.8+5301 with the Sardinia Radio Telescope

We observed the galaxy cluster CIZA J2242.8+5301 with the Sardinia Radio Telescope to provide new constraints on its spectral properties at high frequency. We conducted observations in three frequency bands centred at 1.4 GHz, 6.6 GHz and 19 GHz, resulting in beam resolutions of 14$^{\prime}$, 2.9$^{\prime}$ and 1$^{\prime}$ respectively. These single-dish data were also combined with archival interferometric observations at 1.4 and 1.7 GHz. From the combined images, we measured a flux density of ${\rm S_{1.4GHz}=(158.3\pm9.6)\,mJy}$ for the central radio halo and ${\rm S_{1.4GHz}=(126\pm8)\,mJy}$ and ${\rm S_{1.4GHz}=(11.7\pm0.7)\,mJy}$ for the northern and the southern relic respectively. After the spectral modelling of the discrete sources, we measured at 6.6 GHz ${\rm S_{6.6GHz}=(17.1\pm1.2)\,mJy}$ and ${\rm S_{6.6GHz}=(0.6\pm0.3)\,mJy}$ for the northern and southern relic respectively. Assuming simple diffusive shock acceleration, we interpret measurements of the northern relic with a continuous injection model represented by a broken power-law. This yields an injection spectral index ${\rm α_{inj}=0.7\pm0.1}$ and a Mach number ${\rm M=3.3\pm0.9}$, consistent with recent X-ray estimates. Unlike other studies of the same object, no significant steepening of the relic radio emission is seen in data up to 8.35 GHz. By fitting the southern relic spectrum with a simple power-law (${\rm S_ν\proptoν^{-α}}$) we obtained a spectral index ${\rm α\approx1.9}$ corresponding to a Mach number (${\rm M\approx1.8}$) in agreement with X-ray estimates. Finally, we evaluated the rotation measure of the northern relic at 6.6 GHz. These results provide new insights on the magnetic structure of the relic, but further observations are needed to clarify the nature of the observed Faraday rotation.

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arXiv2017

On the connection between turbulent motions and particle acceleration in galaxy clusters

Giant radio halos are Mpc-scale diffuse radio sources associated with the central regions of galaxy clusters. The most promising scenario to explain the origin of these sources is that of turbulent re-acceleration, in which MeV electrons injected throughout the formation history of galaxy clusters are accelerated to higher energies by turbulent motions mostly induced by cluster mergers. In this Letter, we use the amplitude of density fluctuations in the intracluster medium as a proxy for the turbulent velocity and apply this technique to a sample of 51 clusters with available radio data. Our results indicate a segregation in the turbulent velocity of radio halo and radio quiet clusters, with the turbulent velocity of the former being on average higher by about a factor of two. The velocity dispersion recovered with this technique correlates with the measured radio power through the relation $P_{\rm radio}\proptoσ_v^{3.3\pm0.7}$, which implies that the radio power is nearly proportional to the turbulent energy rate. Our results provide an observational confirmation of a key prediction of the turbulent re-acceleration model and possibly shed light on the origin of radio halos.

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arXiv2017

Sardinia Radio Telescope observations of Abell 194 - the intra-cluster magnetic field power spectrum

We study the intra-cluster magnetic field in the poor galaxy cluster Abell 194 by complementing radio data, at different frequencies, with data in the optical and X-ray bands. We analyze new total intensity and polarization observations of Abell 194 obtained with the Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT). We use the SRT data in combination with archival Very Large Array observations to derive both the spectral aging and Rotation Measure (RM) images of the radio galaxies 3C40A and 3C40B embedded in Abell 194. The optical analysis indicates that Abell 194 does not show a major and recent cluster merger, but rather agrees with a scenario of accretion of small groups. Under the minimum energy assumption, the lifetimes of synchrotron electrons in 3C40B measured from the spectral break are found to be 157 Myrs. The break frequency image and the electron density profile inferred from the X-ray emission are used in combination with the RM data to constrain the intra-cluster magnetic field power spectrum. By assuming a Kolmogorov power law power spectrum, we find that the RM data in Abell 194 are well described by a magnetic field with a maximum scale of fluctuations of Lambda_max=64 kpc and a central magnetic field strength of =1.5 microG. Further out, the field decreases with the radius following the gas density to the power of eta=1.1. Comparing Abell 194 with a small sample of galaxy clusters, there is a hint of a trend between central electron densities and magnetic field strengths.

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arXiv2016

Turbulence and Vorticity in Galaxy Clusters Generated by Structure Formation

Turbulence is a key ingredient for the evolution of the intracluster medium, whose properties can be predicted with high resolution numerical simulations. We present initial results on the generation of solenoidal and compressive turbulence in the intracluster medium during the formation of a small-size cluster using highly resolved, non-radiative cosmological simulations, with a refined monitoring in time. In this first of a series of papers, we closely look at one simulated cluster whose formation was distinguished by a merger around $z \sim 0.3$. We separate laminar gas motions, turbulence and shocks with dedicated filtering strategies and distinguish the solenoidal and compressive components of the gas flows using Hodge-Helmholtz decomposition. Solenoidal turbulence dominates the dissipation of turbulent motions ($\sim 95\%$) in the central cluster volume at all epochs. The dissipation via compressive modes is found to be more important ($\sim 30 \%$ of the total) only at large radii ($\geq 0.5 ~r_{\rm vir}$) and close to merger events. We show that enstrophy (vorticity squared) is good proxy of solenoidal turbulence. All terms ruling the evolution of enstrophy (i.e. baroclinic, compressive, stretching and advective terms) are found to be significant, but in amounts that vary with time and location. Two important trends for the growth of enstrophy in our simulation are identified: first, enstrophy is continuously accreted into the cluster from the outside, and most of that accreted enstrophy is generated near the outer accretion shocks by baroclinic and compressive processes. Second, in the cluster interior vortex stretching is dominant, although the other terms also contribute substantially.

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arXiv2016

Constraining the efficiency of cosmic ray acceleration by cluster shocks

We study the acceleration of cosmic rays by collisionless structure formation shocks with ENZO grid simulations. Data from the FERMI satellite enable the use of galaxy clusters as a testbed for particle acceleration models. Based on advanced cosmological simulations that include different prescriptions for gas and cosmic rays physics, we use the predicted γ-ray emission to constrain the shock acceleration efficiency. We infer that the efficiency must be on average <0.1% for cosmic shocks, particularly for the 2<M<5 merger shocks that are mostly responsible for the thermalisation of the intracluster medium. These results emerge, both, from non-radiative and radiative runs including feedback from active galactic nuclei, as well as from zoomed resimulations of a cluster resembling MACSJ1752.0+0440. The limit on the acceleration efficiency we report is lower than what has been assumed in the literature so far. Combined with the information from radio emission in clusters, it appears that a revision of the present understanding of shock acceleration in the ICM is unavoidable.

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arXiv2016

Detecting the cosmic web with radio surveys

We study the challenges to detect the cosmic web at radio wavelengths with state-of-the-art cosmological simulations of extragalactic magnetic fields. The incoming generation of radio surveys operating at low frequency, like LOFAR, SKA-LOW and MWA will have the best chance to detect the large-scale, low surface brightness emission from the shocked cosmic web. The detected radio emission will enable to constrain the average magnetisation level of the gas in filaments and the acceleration efficiency of electrons by strong shocks. In case of detections, through statistical modelling (e.g. correlation functions) it will be possible to discriminate among competing scenarios for the magnetisation of large-scale structures (i.e. astrophysical versus primordial scenarios), making radio surveys an important probe of cosmic magnetogenesis.

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arXiv2015

The gas distribution in the outer regions of galaxy clusters

We present the analysis of a local (z = 0.04 - 0.2) sample of 31 galaxy clusters with the aim of measuring the density of the X-ray emitting gas in cluster outskirts. We compare our results with numerical simulations to set constraints on the azimuthal symmetry and gas clumping in the outer regions of galaxy clusters. We exploit the large field-of-view and low instrumental background of ROSAT/PSPC to trace the density of the intracluster gas out to the virial radius. We perform a stacking of the density profiles to detect a signal beyond r200 and measure the typical density and scatter in cluster outskirts. We also compute the azimuthal scatter of the profiles with respect to the mean value to look for deviations from spherical symmetry. Finally, we compare our average density and scatter profiles with the results of numerical simulations. As opposed to some recent Suzaku results, and confirming previous evidence from ROSAT and Chandra, we observe a steepening of the density profiles beyond \sim r500. Comparing our density profiles with simulations, we find that non-radiative runs predict too steep density profiles, whereas runs including additional physics and/or treating gas clumping are in better agreement with the observed gas distribution. We report for the first time the high-confidence detection of a systematic difference between cool-core and non-cool core clusters beyond \sim 0.3r200, which we explain by a different distribution of the gas in the two classes. Beyond \sim r500, galaxy clusters deviate significantly from spherical symmetry, with only little differences between relaxed and disturbed systems. We find good agreement between the observed and predicted scatter profiles, but only when the 1% densest clumps are filtered out in the simulations. [Abridged]

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arXiv2015

Radio halos in SZ-selected clusters of galaxies: the making of a halo?

Radio halos are synchrotron radio sources detected in some massive galaxy clusters. Their Mpc-size indicates that (re)acceleration processes are taking place in the host cluster. X-ray catalogues of galaxy clusters have been used in the past to search for radio halos and to understand their connection with cluster-cluster mergers and with the thermal component of the intra-cluster medium. More recently, the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect has been proven to be a better route to search for massive clusters in a wider redshift range. With the aim of discovering new radio halos and understanding their connection with cluster-cluster mergers, we have selected from the Planck Early source catalog the most massive clusters, and we have observed with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope at 323 MHz those objects for which deep observations were not available. We have discovered new peculiar radio emission in three of the observed clusters finding: (i) a radio halo in the cluster RXCJ0949.8+1708; (ii) extended emission in Abell 1443 that we classify as a radio halo plus a radio relic, with a bright filament embedded in the radio halo; (iii) low-power radio emission is found in CIZA J1938.3+5409 which is ten times below the radio - X-ray correlation, and represents the first direct detection of the radio emission in the "upper-limit" region of the radio - X-ray diagram. We discuss the properties of these new radio halos in the framework of theoretical models for the radio emission.

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arXiv2015

Forecasts for the detection of the magnetised cosmic web from cosmological simulations

The cosmic web contains a large fraction of the total gas mass in the universe but is difficult to detect at most wavelengths. Synchrotron emission from shock-accelerated electrons may offer the chance of imaging the cosmic web at radio wavelengths. In this work we use 3D cosmological ENZO-MHD simulations (combined with a post-processing renormalisation of the magnetic field to bracket for missing physical ingredients and resolution effects) to produce models of the radio emission from the cosmic web. In post-processing we study the capabilities of 13 large radio surveys to detect this emission. We find that surveys by LOFAR, SKA1-LOW and MWA have a chance of detecting the cosmic web, provided that the magnetisation level of the tenuous medium in filaments is of the order of 1% of the thermal gas energy.

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arXiv2015

Constraining the electron and proton acceleration efficiencies in merger shocks in galaxy clusters

Radio relics in galaxy clusters are associated with powerful shocks that (re)accelerate relativistic electrons. It is widely believed that the acceleration proceeds via diffusive shock acceleration. In the framework of thermal leakage, the ratio of the energy in relativistic electrons to the energy in relativistic protons should should be smaller than $K_{\rm e/p} \sim 10^{-2}$. The relativistic protons interact with the thermal gas to produce $γ$-rays in hadronic interactions. Combining observations of radio relics with upper limits from $γ$-ray observatories can constrain the ratio $K_{\rm e/p}$. In this work we selected 10 galaxy clusters that contain double radio relics, and derive new upper limits from the stacking of $γ$-ray observations by FERMI. We modelled the propagation of shocks using a semi-analytical model, where we assumed a simple geometry for shocks and that cosmic ray protons are trapped in the intracluster medium. Our analysis shows that diffusive shock acceleration has difficulties in matching simultaneously the observed radio emission and the constraints imposed by FERMI, unless the magnetic field in relics is unrealistically large ($\gg 10 ~\rm μG$). In all investigated cases (also including realistic variations of our basic model and the effect of re-acceleration) the mean emission of the sample is of the order of the stacking limit by FERMI, or larger. These findings put tension on the commonly adopted model for the powering of radio relics, and imply that the relative acceleration efficiency of electrons and protons is at odds with predictions of diffusive shock acceleration, requiring $K_{\rm e/p} \geq 10-10^{-2}$.

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arXiv2015

Unravelling the origin of large-scale magnetic fields in galaxy clusters and beyond through Faraday Rotation Measures with the SKA

We investigate the possibility for the SKA to detect and study the magnetic fields in galaxy clusters and in the less dense environments surrounding them using Faraday Rotation Measures. To this end, we produce 3-dimensional magnetic field models for galaxy clusters of different masses and in different stages of their evolution, and derive mock rotation measure observations of background radiogalaxies. According to our results, already in phase I, we will be able to infer the magnetic field properties in galaxy clusters as a function of the cluster mass, down to $10^{13}$ solar-masses. Moreover, using cosmological simulations to model the gas density, we have computed the expected rotation measure through shock-fronts that occur in the intra-cluster medium during cluster mergers. The enhancement in the rotation measure due to the density jump will permit to constraint the magnetic field strength and structure after the shock passage. SKA observations of polarised sources located behind galaxy clusters will answer several questions about the magnetic field strength and structure in galaxy clusters, and its evolution with cosmic time.

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arXiv2014

Gas clumping in galaxy clusters

The reconstruction of galaxy cluster's gas density profiles is usually performed by assuming spherical symmetry and averaging the observed X-ray emission in circular annuli. In the case of a very inhomogeneous and asymmetric gas distribution, this method has been shown to return biased results in numerical simulations because of the $n^2$ dependence of the X-ray emissivity. We propose a method to recover the true density profiles in the presence of inhomogeneities, based on the derivation of the azimuthal median of the surface brightness in concentric annuli. We demonstrate the performance of this method with numerical simulations, and apply it to a sample of 31 galaxy clusters in the redshift range 0.04-0.2 observed with ROSAT/PSPC. The clumping factors recovered by comparing the mean and the median are mild and show a slight trend of increasing bias with radius. For $R<R_{500}$, we measure a clumping factor $\sqrt{C}<1.1$, which indicates that the thermodynamic properties and hydrostatic masses measured in this radial range are only mildly affected by this effect. Comparing our results with three sets of hydrodynamical numerical simulations, we found that non-radiative simulations significantly overestimate the level of inhomogeneities in the ICM, while the runs including cooling, star formation, and AGN feedback reproduce the observed trends closely. Our results indicate that most of the accretion of X-ray emitting gas is taking place in the diffuse, large-scale accretion patterns rather than in compact structures.

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arXiv2014

Influence of adaptive mesh refinement and the hydro solver on shear-induced mass stripping in a minor-merger scenario

We compare two different codes for simulations of cosmological structure formation to investigate the sensitivity of hydrodynamical instabilities to numerics, in particular, the hydro solver and the application of adaptive mesh refinement (AMR). As a simple test problem, we consider an initially spherical gas cloud in a wind, which is an idealized model for the merger of a subcluster or galaxy with a big cluster. Based on an entropy criterion, we calculate the mass stripping from the subcluster as a function of time. Moreover, the turbulent velocity field is analyzed with a multi-scale filtering technique. We find remarkable differences between the commonly used PPM solver with directional splitting in the Enzo code and an unsplit variant of PPM in the Nyx code, which demonstrates that different codes can converge to systematically different solutions even when using uniform grids. For the test case of an unbound cloud, AMR simulations reproduce uniform-grid results for the mass stripping quite well, although the flow realizations can differ substantially. If the cloud is bound by a static gravitational potential, however, we find strong sensitivity to spurious fluctuations which are induced at the cutoff radius of the potential and amplified by the bow shock. This gives rise to substantial deviations between uniform-grid and AMR runs performed with Enzo, while the mass stripping in Nyx simulations of the subcluster is nearly independent of numerical resolution and AMR. Although many factors related to numerics are involved, our study indicates that unsplit solvers with advanced flux limiters help to reduce grid effects and to keep numerical noise under control, which is important for hydrodynamical instabilities and turbulent flows.

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arXiv2014

On the amplification of magnetic fields in cosmic filaments and galaxy clusters

The amplification of primordial magnetic fields via a small-scale turbulent dynamo during structure formation might be able to explain the observed magnetic fields in galaxy clusters. The magnetisation of more tenuous large-scale structures such as cosmic filaments is more uncertain, as it is challenging for numerical simulations to achieve the required dynamical range. In this work, we present magneto-hydrodynamical cosmological simulations on large uniform grids to study the amplification of primordial seed fields in the intracluster medium (ICM) and in the warm-hot-intergalactic medium (WHIM). In the ICM, we confirm that turbulence caused by structure formation can produce a significant dynamo amplification, even if the amplification is smaller than what is reported in other papers. In the WHIM inside filaments, we do not observe significant dynamo amplification, even though we achieve Reynolds numbers of $R_{\rm e} \sim 200-300$. The maximal amplification for large filaments is of the order of $\sim 100$ for the magnetic energy, corresponding to a typical field of a few $\sim \rm nG$ starting from a primordial weak field of $10^{-10}$ G (comoving). In order to start a small-scale dynamo, we found that a minimum of $\sim 10^2$ resolution elements across the virial radius of galaxy clusters was necessary. In filaments we could not find a minimum resolution to set off a dynamo. This stems from the inefficiency of supersonic motions in the WHIM in triggering solenoidal modes and small-scale twisting of magnetic field structures. Magnetic fields this small will make it hard to detect filaments in radio observations.

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arXiv2014

A new double radio relic in PSZ1 G096.89+24.17 and a radio relic mass-luminosity relation

Radio relics are diffuse synchrotron sources in galaxy clusters that are believed to trace large-scale shock waves. We have discovered a new double radio relic system in PSZ1 G096.89+24.17 (z=0.3) and have carried out a full-polarization radio observation using the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) at 1.4 GHz. The observation revealed the presence of two relics located on the two diametrically opposite sides of the cluster and hints of a central radio halo. The linear sizes of the relics are $\sim 0.9$ and $\sim 1.4$ Mpc. We carried out an analysis of all known double radio relics by using radio, X-ray and Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) data. We find that the radio luminosity of double relics is a steep function of the cluster mass, with $L_R \propto M^{2.83\pm0.39}$. If we include single radio relics, this relation is maintained. This dependence has implications for the origin of magnetic fields at the relic's locations.

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arXiv2013

The Hot and Energetic Universe: The astrophysics of galaxy groups and clusters

As the nodes of the cosmic web, clusters of galaxies trace the large-scale distribution of matter in the Universe. They are thus privileged sites in which to investigate the complex physics of structure formation. However, the complete story of how these structures grow, and how they dissipate the gravitational and non-thermal components of their energy budget over cosmic time, is still beyond our grasp. Fundamental questions such as How do hot diffuse baryons accrete and dynamically evolve in dark matter potentials? How and when was the energy that we observe in the ICM generated and distributed? Where and when are heavy elements produced and how are they circulated? are still unanswered. Most of the cluster baryons exists in the form of a diffuse, hot, metal-enriched plasma that radiates primarily in the X-ray band (the intracluster medium, ICM), allowing the X-ray observations of the evolving cluster population to provide a unique opportunity to address these topics. Athena+ with its large collecting area and unprecedented combination of high spectral and angular resolution offers the only way to make major advances in answering these questions. Athena+ will show how the baryonic gas evolves in the dark matter potential wells by studying the motions and turbulence in the ICM. Athena+ will be able to resolve the accreting region both spatially and spectroscopically, probing the true nature and physical state of the X-ray emitting plasma. Athena+ has the capabilities to permit a definitive understanding of the formation and evolution of large-scale cosmic structure through the study of the cluster population.

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arXiv2013

Measurements and simulation of Faraday rotation across the Coma radio relic

The aim of this work is to probe the magnetic field properties in relics and infall regions of galaxy clusters using Faraday Rotation Measures. We present Very Large Array multi-frequency observations of seven sources in the region South-West of the Coma cluster, where the infalling group NGC4839 and the relic 1253+275 are located. The Faraday Rotation Measure maps for the observed sources are derived and analysed to study the magnetic field in the South-West region of Coma. We discuss how to interpret the data by comparing observed and mock rotation measures maps that are produced simulating different 3-dimensional magnetic field models. The magnetic field model that gives the best fit to the Coma central region underestimates the rotation measure in the South-West region by a factor ~6, and no significant jump in the rotation measure data is found at the position of the relic. We explore different possibilities to reconcile observed and mock rotation measure trends, and conclude that an amplification of the magnetic field along the South-West sector is the most plausible solution. Our data together with recent X-ray estimates of the gas density obtained with Suzaku suggest that a magnetic field amplification by a factor ~3 is required throughout the entire South-West region in order to reconcile real and mock rotation measures trends. The magnetic field in the relic region is inferred to be ~2 microG, consistent with Inverse Compton limits.

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