The environment of Hercules A

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

8

Scientific paper

We have made VLA radio total intensity and polarisation observations in the A, B and C configurations at 1665, 1435, 1365 and 1295 MHz and in the B, C and D configurations at 8465 and 8415 MHz to study the environment of the powerful radio galaxy Hercules A. We have also made ROSAT PSPC and HRI X-ray observations to study the intracluster gas in the Hercules A cluster. We have mapped the Faraday rotation field with high resolution (/1.''4~2.5 h-1100 kpc for q0=0), and combined this with the X-ray data on the gas distribution in order to map the magnetic field of the cluster. We have found that Hercules A exhibits a strong Laing-Garrington effect: the western side of the radio emission is more depolarised than the eastern side. The X-ray observations have revealed an extended X-ray emission elongated along the radio galaxy axis and a weak nuclear component. The Hercules A cluster is a cooling flow cluster, which appears isothermal at large radii. Comparing the Faraday dispersion profile with the X-ray estimated density profile, we found that the magnetic field is decreasing with radius and we have estimated a central value of 3<~B0 (μG) <~9. The estimated core electron density of n0~=6.6x103 m-3 reveals a dense environment in which Hercules A is situated.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

The environment of Hercules A does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with The environment of Hercules A, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The environment of Hercules A will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1512331

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.