Pune-based researchers have used the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) — an array of thirty 45-metre antennas spread over 25 km in Khodad village, Narayangaon, Pune — to produce the most detailed image yet of the galaxy cluster Abell 521.
Galaxy clusters are the largest gravitationally bound systems in the Universe. Detailed images like the one now produced helps scientists understand how galaxy clusters like Abell 521 form and change over time.
“By studying these faint emissions, scientists can learn about dark matter, magnetic fields and cosmic rays,” said Ramananda Santra, a PhD candidate at Pune-based National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), who along with his guide Ruta Kale used the uGMRT telescopes to map the faint structures from this cluster of galaxies located about 3 billion light years from Earth.
“The upgraded GMRT is super important for finding out more about the faint signals coming from the galaxy cluster in the radio band. These signals are tricky to catch but uGMRT is super sensitive and can pick up these details,” Santra told The Indian Express.
These galaxy clusters comprise hundreds to thousands of galaxies bound together by gravity. At the heart of the galaxy clusters lies a vast sea of hot (with a temperature of tens of millions of kelvin or higher) plasma. The collisions between galaxy clusters release a huge amount of energy, which significantly impacts this plasma medium. Abell 521 is one of such massive giants, famous for its highly disturbed medium.
A team of astronomers from India, Italy, and the USA used cutting-edge telescopes, which include uGMRT, Chandra, and XMM-Newton, and innovative methodologies to make their discovery.
Their findings were recently published in the international journal The Astrophysical Journal. The new uGMRT observations led to the discovery of new extended radio emission below GHz frequencies for the first time which allows the study of turbulence and shocks in the plasma. The high sensitivity and resolution of GMRT provide astronomers with new dimensions to gain knowledge about the mysteries of cluster physics, scientists said.
“Radio Images show beautiful arc-like radio structures at the south of the cluster, and diffuse emission at the cluster center. The X-ray emission, detected by Chandra observatory, reveals a very tight resemblance with the radio structures near the cluster centre. A detailed investigation of the X-ray map reveals a strong connection for the origin of the radio structures via high velocity gas motions during the process of cluster merger,” said an official readout.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
First uploaded on: 22-02-2024 at 09:29 IST
