2002/01/31 by Christian Kaiser, Christian R. Kaiser, Garret Cotter · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Magnetic field #Physics #Radio Astronomy Observations and Technology #Radio galaxy #Spectral line #X-shaped radio galaxy #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.2002.05799.x
published as Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc. 336 (2002) 649 · 9 pages, 11 figures, submitted to MNRAS
arxiv created 2002/06/24 · openalex publication_date 2002/10/21 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Radio relic sources in galaxy clusters are often described as the remnants of powerful radio galaxies. Here we develop a model for the evolution of such relics after the jets cease to supply energy to the lobes. This includes the treatment of a relic overpressured with respect to its gaseous surroundings even after the jets switch off. We also determine the radio emission of relics for a large variety of assumptions. We take into account the evolution of the strength of the magnetic field during the phase of relativistic particle injection into the lobes. The resulting spectra show mild steepening at around 1 GHz but avoid any exponential spectral cut-offs. The model calculations are used to fit the observed spectra of seven radio relics. The quality of the fits is excellent for all models discussed. Unfortunately, this implies that it is virtually impossible to determine any of the important source parameters from the observed radio emission alone.