MWA and VLA Observations of Diffuse Radio Lobes in M87
This study investigates the projected, quasi-symmetric ∼46 kiloparsec-scale diffuse radio lobes surrounding the giant elliptical galaxy M87, utilizing well-sampled wideband (60 MHz–10.55 GHz) observations from the Murchison Widefield Array and Very Large Array, supplemented by data from the Low-freq...
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adddb7 |
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| author | Linhui Wu Fu-Guo Xie Qian Zheng Quan Guo Huanyuan Shan Dan Hu Stefan W. Duchesne Nick Seymour Jingying Wang Junhua Gu Qingwen Wu Zhenghao Zhu Melanie Johnston-Hollitt Christopher J. Riseley Xu-Liang Fan |
| author_facet | Linhui Wu Fu-Guo Xie Qian Zheng Quan Guo Huanyuan Shan Dan Hu Stefan W. Duchesne Nick Seymour Jingying Wang Junhua Gu Qingwen Wu Zhenghao Zhu Melanie Johnston-Hollitt Christopher J. Riseley Xu-Liang Fan |
| author_sort | Linhui Wu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study investigates the projected, quasi-symmetric ∼46 kiloparsec-scale diffuse radio lobes surrounding the giant elliptical galaxy M87, utilizing well-sampled wideband (60 MHz–10.55 GHz) observations from the Murchison Widefield Array and Very Large Array, supplemented by data from the Low-frequency Array and Effelsberg. The observed structures feature sharp edges and filaments, with nearly uniform and moderately steep spectral indices ( α , mostly within −1.2 ≤ α ≤ −0.8), indicating turbulence. Well-sampled radio spectra for the lobes’ diffuse region are derived using the continuous injection (CI) model (with α _inj ≃ −0.86 and ν _b ≃ 1.72 GHz), and for its three localized regions using the impulsive injection model (e.g., the Jaffe–Perola (JP) model). From energy equipartition analysis, we estimate the typical magnetic field strength in the lobes’ diffuse region to be B _eq ≃ 10 μ G. The age of the lobes is estimated as ∼30–50 Myr, based on lifetimes derived from the CI and JP models and sound crossing time. Outflow powers of ∼(0.2–2) × 10 ^44 erg s ^–1 for the lobes’ diffuse components and ∼(1–11) × 10 ^44 erg s ^–1 for the whole source are calculated. With this power assessment, we conclude that the galactic stellar wind has a negligible effect, and the active galactic nucleus (AGN)-driven jet can provide the necessary energy for the whole system. Furthermore, we argue that while the wind driven by current AGN activity is unlikely to power the lobes’ diffuse components, an average enhancement of AGN activity by a factor of ∼10 ^2 over the past ∼30–50 Myr remains plausible. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e6fb013752f04eb6a27a72f112724a0c |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-e6fb013752f04eb6a27a72f112724a0c2025-08-20T02:36:23ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-0198812810.3847/1538-4357/adddb7MWA and VLA Observations of Diffuse Radio Lobes in M87Linhui Wu0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3454-6522Fu-Guo Xie1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9969-2091Qian Zheng2Quan Guo3Huanyuan Shan4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8534-837XDan Hu5Stefan W. Duchesne6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3846-0315Nick Seymour7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3506-5536Jingying Wang8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5598-2668Junhua Gu9https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9765-6521Qingwen Wu10https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4773-4987Zhenghao Zhu11Melanie Johnston-Hollitt12https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2756-8301Christopher J. Riseley13https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3369-1085Xu-Liang Fan14https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0988-9910Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 80 Nandan Road, Shanghai, 200030, People’s Republic of ChinaShanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 80 Nandan Road, Shanghai, 200030, People’s Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , A20 Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, People’s Republic of ChinaShanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 80 Nandan Road, Shanghai, 200030, People’s Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , A20 Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, People’s Republic of ChinaShanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 80 Nandan Road, Shanghai, 200030, People’s Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , A20 Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, People’s Republic of ChinaShanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 80 Nandan Road, Shanghai, 200030, People’s Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , A20 Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, People’s Republic of China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing, 100049, People’s Republic of ChinaDepartment of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University , Kotlářská 2, Brno, 611 37, Czech RepublicCSIRO Space and Astronomy , PO Box 1130, Bentley WA 6102, AustraliaInternational Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), Curtin University , Bentley, WA 6102, AustraliaShanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 80 Nandan Road, Shanghai, 200030, People’s Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , A20 Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, People’s Republic of ChinaNational Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 20A Datun Road, Beijing, 100101, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology , Wuhan 430074, People’s Republic of ChinaShanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 80 Nandan Road, Shanghai, 200030, People’s Republic of ChinaCurtin Institute for Computation, Curtin University , GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, AustraliaAstronomisches Institut der Ruhr-Universität Bochum (AIRUB) , Universitätsstraße 150, 44801 Bochum, GermanySchool of Mathematics, Physics and Statistics, Shanghai University of Engineering Science , Shanghai 201620, People’s Republic of ChinaThis study investigates the projected, quasi-symmetric ∼46 kiloparsec-scale diffuse radio lobes surrounding the giant elliptical galaxy M87, utilizing well-sampled wideband (60 MHz–10.55 GHz) observations from the Murchison Widefield Array and Very Large Array, supplemented by data from the Low-frequency Array and Effelsberg. The observed structures feature sharp edges and filaments, with nearly uniform and moderately steep spectral indices ( α , mostly within −1.2 ≤ α ≤ −0.8), indicating turbulence. Well-sampled radio spectra for the lobes’ diffuse region are derived using the continuous injection (CI) model (with α _inj ≃ −0.86 and ν _b ≃ 1.72 GHz), and for its three localized regions using the impulsive injection model (e.g., the Jaffe–Perola (JP) model). From energy equipartition analysis, we estimate the typical magnetic field strength in the lobes’ diffuse region to be B _eq ≃ 10 μ G. The age of the lobes is estimated as ∼30–50 Myr, based on lifetimes derived from the CI and JP models and sound crossing time. Outflow powers of ∼(0.2–2) × 10 ^44 erg s ^–1 for the lobes’ diffuse components and ∼(1–11) × 10 ^44 erg s ^–1 for the whole source are calculated. With this power assessment, we conclude that the galactic stellar wind has a negligible effect, and the active galactic nucleus (AGN)-driven jet can provide the necessary energy for the whole system. Furthermore, we argue that while the wind driven by current AGN activity is unlikely to power the lobes’ diffuse components, an average enhancement of AGN activity by a factor of ∼10 ^2 over the past ∼30–50 Myr remains plausible.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adddb7Active galaxiesRadio continuum emissionRadio lobesRadio interferometryRadio active galactic nuclei |
| spellingShingle | Linhui Wu Fu-Guo Xie Qian Zheng Quan Guo Huanyuan Shan Dan Hu Stefan W. Duchesne Nick Seymour Jingying Wang Junhua Gu Qingwen Wu Zhenghao Zhu Melanie Johnston-Hollitt Christopher J. Riseley Xu-Liang Fan MWA and VLA Observations of Diffuse Radio Lobes in M87 The Astrophysical Journal Active galaxies Radio continuum emission Radio lobes Radio interferometry Radio active galactic nuclei |
| title | MWA and VLA Observations of Diffuse Radio Lobes in M87 |
| title_full | MWA and VLA Observations of Diffuse Radio Lobes in M87 |
| title_fullStr | MWA and VLA Observations of Diffuse Radio Lobes in M87 |
| title_full_unstemmed | MWA and VLA Observations of Diffuse Radio Lobes in M87 |
| title_short | MWA and VLA Observations of Diffuse Radio Lobes in M87 |
| title_sort | mwa and vla observations of diffuse radio lobes in m87 |
| topic | Active galaxies Radio continuum emission Radio lobes Radio interferometry Radio active galactic nuclei |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adddb7 |
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