Coffee talks
Friday 16/10/2020 @ 11:30, On-line
Andrea Botteon (Leiden Observatory), "Results and prospects on galaxy clusters with LOFAR"
In recent years, diffuse synchrotron emission has been found in an increasing number of galaxy clusters. These radio sources (halos, relics, mini-halos, phoenixes) imply the presence of cosmic rays and magnetic fields in the intra-cluster medium (ICM). An important question is how the cosmic rays are accelerated to produce these extended synchrotron emitting sources. It is generally believed that gas motions in the ICM play an important role in the generation of these cosmic rays. Diffuse sources in clusters are best studied at low-frequencies due to their steep spectra. LOFAR has recently opened a new observing window in the radio sky at low-frequency, allowing for a major step forward in the study of radio emission from the ICM. In this talk, I will report on very recent results published by the LOFAR Galaxy Clusters Working Group, with a particular focus on the discovery of the most giant radio sources triggered by cluster mergers known to date. Some forthcoming results will also be highlighted at the end of the talk.