arXiv subjects

J. M. Boxelaar

Publications and source records attributed to J. M. Boxelaar.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Two-component large-scale radio emission in Abell 2244

Context. In recent years, clusters have been observed that host multi-component haloes, both in non-merging and merging systems. The existence of these multi-component haloes suggests that there is no clear distinction between the single components. Aims. Abell 2244 is an intermediate-mass cluster that hosts a double component diffuse radio emission. The aim of this paper is to carry out a in-depth study of the diffuse radio emission to constrain its origin and characterize its main radio properties. Methods. In this work we present LOFAR HBA, MeerKAT UHF, and L-band observations of the cluster Abell 2244. We investigated the nature of the diffuse radio emission, combining high sensitivity radio data with XMM-Newton deep X-ray observations. We also used mock LOFAR observations to investigate contamination of the emission from faint radio sources. Results. We find an integrated spectral index of $\alpha^{1279}_{144} = 0.9 \pm 0.1$ for both components, where only the radio halo shows spectral steepening at higher frequencies. These values are comparable with the spectral indices observed in disturbed massive clusters. The outer component does not follow the same radio X-ray correlation as the radio halo, which suggests a different physical origin. Conclusions. By analysing the physical and morphological properties of the diffuse emission, we find that the characteristics of the outer component of the emission are intermediate between those of radio haloes and of known megahaloes. Hence, we speculate that the source is either a morphologically disturbed radio halo, caused by a minor merger interaction, or a megahalo but we cannot reach a final classification. From the mock observations, we find that it is unlikely that the emission is caused by faint sources at low resolutions.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

The ultra low-frequency spectral properties of bright extended radio galaxies in the 3CRR catalogue

Context. Active galactic nuclei (AGN) jets are fundamental drivers of galaxy evolution, injecting kinetic energy into their environments. The large-scale morphology and spectral properties of these radio galaxies are consequences of complex particle acceleration, energy loss, and absorption processes. While the shape of the synchrotron spectrum encodes the plasma's energetic history, understanding the physics of particle acceleration and duty cycles has historically been limited by a lack of well-resolved observations at ultra-low frequencies (< 100 MHz), where the oldest cosmic ray electron populations are traced. Aims. This study aims to perform the first comprehensive multi-frequency analysis of bright extended radio galaxies down to 58 MHz. The goal is to study electron acceleration mechanisms, accurately measure the low-frequency spectral shape, and constrain the injection index for a sample of Fanaroff-Riley (FR) I and II galaxies using spectral ageing models. Methods. Utilising new 58 MHz observations from the LOFAR Low Band Antenna (LBA) combined with LOFAR High Band Antenna (HBA; 144 MHz) and Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey (RACS, 887 MHz & 943.5 MHz & 1367.5 MHz) data, a sub-sample of 22 extended sources from the 3CRR catalogue was selected, requiring the largest angular size to be at least 2.5'. The analysis involves constructing detailed spectral index maps and utilising radio colour-colour diagrams to interpret spectral shapes and constrain ageing model parameters across the radio lobes. Results. This study presents the ultra-low frequency spectral index maps for this sample. For FR I galaxies, spectral indices range from ~0.5 near the core (consistent with first-order Fermi acceleration) to > 1.0 in the lobes. For FR II galaxies, hotspots exhibit steep low-frequency spectra (0.5 - 0.9), suggesting complex acceleration or absorption effects.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey: VII. Third Data Release

We present the third data release of the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS-DR3). The survey images cover 88% of the northern sky and were created from 12,950 hrs of data (18.6 PB) accumulated over 10.5 years. The images were produced through direction-independent and direction-dependent calibration pipelines that correct for instrumental effects as well as spatially and temporally varying ionospheric distortions. In our 120-168 MHz continuum mosaic images with an angular resolution of 6 arcsec (9 arcsec below declination 10$^\circ$) we catalogue 13,667,877 sources, formed from 16,943,656 Gaussian components. The scatter in the astrometric precision approximately follows the expected noise-like behaviour but with an additional systematic component of at least 0.24 arcsec that is likely due to calibration imperfections. The random flux density scale error is 6%, while the systematic offset was previously shown to be within 2%. The median sensitivity of our mosaics is 92$\mu$Jy beam$^{-1}$. Completeness simulations, accounting for realistic source models, time- and bandwidth-smearing effects, and astrometric errors, indicate that we detect more than 95% of compact sources with integrated flux densities exceeding 9 times the local root mean square (RMS) noise. However, the recovered source counts in a particular integrated flux density bin do not match the injected counts until flux densities exceed 45 times the local RMS noise. The Euclidean-normalised differential source counts derived from the survey constrain the radio source population over five orders of magnitude and are in good agreement with previous deep and wide-area surveys. All data products are publicly available, including catalogues, individual-field Stokes I, Q, U, and V images, mosaicked Stokes I images, and $uv$ data with associated direction-dependent calibration solutions.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

LOFAR 58 MHz Legacy Survey of the 3CRR Catalog

The Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) is uniquely able to perform deep, 15" resolutions imaging at frequencies below 100 MHz. Observations in this regime, using the Low Band Antenna (LBA) system, are significantly affected by instrumental and ionospheric distortions. Recent developments in calibration techniques have enabled routine production of high-fidelity images at these challenging frequencies. The aim of this paper is to obtain images of the radio sources included in the Third Cambridge catalog, second revised version (3CRR), at an observing frequency of 58 MHz, with an angular resolution of 15"and sensitivity to both compact and diffuse radio emission. This work also aims to produce accurate flux measurements for all sources. This dataset is designed to serve as a reference for low-frequency radio galaxy studies and future spectral aging analyses. We deliver 58. MHz radio images for the complete 3CRR sample including flux density measurements. We determined that the LBA has an accurate flux density scale with an average flux uncertainty of 10%. This is an important confirmation for any future works using the LOFAR LBA system. With these results we characterize the bright radio galaxy population with new high-resolution low-frequency images. We also provide high-resolution models of these sources which will be useful for calibrating future surveys. This legacy survey significantly expands the available high-resolution data at low frequencies and is the first fully imaged high-resolution sample at ultra low frequencies (< 100 MHz). It lays the foundation for future studies of radio galaxy physics, low-energy cosmic-ray populations, and the interplay between radio jets and their environments.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

A Robust Model for Flux Density Calculations of Radio Halos in Galaxy Clusters: Halo-FDCA

Here we present Halo-FDCA, a robust open source Python package for modeling and estimating total flux densities of radio (mini) halos in galaxy clusters. Radio halos are extended ( ~200 - 1500 kpc in size) synchrotron emitting sources found in galaxy clusters that trace the presence of cosmic rays and magnetic fields in the intracluster medium (ICM). These sources are centrally located and have a low surface brightness. Their exact origin is still unknown but they are likely related to cosmic rays being re-accelerated in-situ by merger or sloshing driven ICM turbulence. The presented algorithm combines the numerical power of the Markov Chain Monte Carlo routine and multiple theoretical models to estimate the total radio flux density of a radio halo from a radio image and its associated uncertainty. This method introduces a flexible analytic fitting procedure to replace existing simplistic manual measurements prone to biases and inaccuracies. It allows to easily determine the properties of the emission and is particularly suitable for future studies of large samples of clusters.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

LOFAR observations of galaxy clusters in HETDEX

Diffuse cluster radio sources, in the form of radio halos and relics, reveal the presence of cosmic rays and magnetic fields in the intracluster medium (ICM). These cosmic rays are thought to be (re-)accelerated through ICM turbulence and shock waves generated by cluster merger events. Here we characterize the presence of diffuse radio emission in known galaxy clusters in the HETDEX Spring Field, covering 424 deg$^2$. For this, we developed a method to extract individual targets from LOFAR observations processed with the LoTSS DDF-pipeline. This procedure enables improved calibration and joint imaging and deconvolution of multiple pointings of selected targets. The calibration strategy can also be used for LOFAR Low-Band Antenna (LBA) and international-baseline observations. The fraction of Planck PSZ2 clusters with any diffuse radio emission apparently associated with the ICM is $73\pm17\%$. We detect a total of 10 radio halos and 12 candidate halos in the HETDEX Spring Field. Five clusters host radio relics. The fraction of radio halos in Planck PSZ2 clusters is $31\pm11\%$, and $62\pm15\%$ when including the candidate radio halos. Based on these numbers, we expect that there will be at least $183 \pm 65$ radio halos found in the LoTSS survey in PSZ2 clusters, in agreement with predictions. The integrated flux densities for the radio halos were computed by fitting exponential models to the radio images. From these flux densities, we determine the cluster mass (M$_{500}$) and Compton Y parameter (Y$_{500}$) 150 MHz radio power (P$_{\rm{150 MHz}}$) scaling relations for Planck PSZ2-detected radio halos. We find that the slopes of these relations are steeper than those determined from the 1.4 GHz radio powers. However, considering the uncertainties this is not a statistically significant result.

astro-ph.CO↗