Diffuse radio emission in a REFLEX cluster

¹ Istituto di Radioastronomia – INAF, via Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy e-mail: lferetti@ira.inaf.it
² Max Planck Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik, PO Box 1312, 85741 Garching, FRG
³ Dipartimento di Astronomia, Univ. Bologna, Via Ranzani 1, 40127 Bologna, Italy

Received: 3 February 2005
Accepted: 16 July 2005

Abstract

Deep Very Large Array radio observations are presented for the REFLEX clusters and . They are at similar distances and show similar X-ray luminosity, but they are quite different in X-ray structure. Indeed is regular and relaxed, whereas is characterized by substructure and possible merging processes. The radio images reveal the lack of diffuse emission in and the presence of a complex diffuse structure in . The diffuse source in the latter cluster consists of a central radio halo which extends to the West toward the cluster periphery and bends to the North to form a possible relic. Another extended source is detected in the eastern cluster peripheral region. Although there could be plausible optical identifications for this source, it might also be a relic candidate owing to its very steep spectrum. The present results confirm the tight link between diffuse cluster radio sources and cluster merger processes.