A search for steep low-frequency radio spectra among quasars and clusters of galaxies

Using published flux densitiesS at low frequenciesv, radio spectra were constructed for 3C, 4C, and 4CT radio sources in Abell clusters of galaxies, radio galaxies outside Abell clusters, and quasars with known redshifts. About half the sources in rich Abell clusters (richness classesR>-2) have steep spectra between 38 and 178 MHz with spectral indices ₃₈ ¹⁷⁸ > whereSv ^–. However, radio galaxies outside clusters have values of ₃₈ ¹⁷⁸ 1.2, and no steep spectra were found among 170 quasars. The radio sources in rich clusters are probably confined by intergalactic gas, and the steep spectra develop over a period of 10⁹ yr as relativistic electrons lose energy. The absence of steep spectra among quasars does not necessarily mean that quasars never occur in rich clusters of galaxies, since quasars are probably being observed only in their early high-luminosity phases. The possibility that some quasar events occur in the nuclei of the dominant cD galaxies in clusters is discussed, but quasar events may occur in more than one type of galaxy.     

The study of multi-band radio observations on ultraviolet flares of chromospheric active binary V711 Tauri

The chromospherically-active binary, V711 Tau, had been observed by using the American Very Large Array (VLA) at five bands from 1.4 to 15 GHz. During the observation, the source was undergoing an intense flare, its radio luminosity up to 1.8 × 10¹⁸ erg s^–1 Hz^–1. The degree of circular polarization in the phase of the most intense flare was very small. With the decaying of the flare the flux density decreased, spectral index became smaller, spectra steeper and reversal frequency lower; the degree of circular polarization increased and its direction was dependent on frequency. These observational facts support the conclusion that the emission during intense flare is synchrotron (or synchro-cyclotron) mechanism. The magnetic intensity is about 10 G near = 1, the average electron energy, 4 MeV, the electron density with larger than 10 keV, 3 × 10⁴–9 × 10⁴ cm^–3 and the electronic energy spectrum index in power-law distribution 1.3.     

Stimulated comption effect in very compact radio sources

Expressions for the stimulated Compton effect are derived that are complete to order /ge/, where is the photon energy in the laboratory system, and =m ₀ C ² is the electron energy. Explicit formulas are given for the energy flow between a relativistic electron and a radiation field that obeys a power law so that the number of photons is proportional to ^–m–1. The amount of energy gained by an electron per second is then numerically calculated for conditions suggested by very compact radio sources as a function of the width of the spectrum, the spectral index, and the electron energy.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

Slowly varying component spectrum of the solar radio emission at millimetre wavelengths

This paper deals with the observed data on the solar S-component sources at millimetre wavelengths. The observations were made in 1968 and 1969 using the 22-m radio telescope of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory at six wavelengths: 2, 4, 6, 8, 13 and 17 mm. The enhanced intensity of the solar active region in comparison with the quiet Sun level varies proportionally to ^–2 if the wavelength is within the range of 2 ÷ 6 mm. In the wavelength band of 6 ÷ 17 mm almost flat spectra of the solar S-component sources is observed. Assuming the bremsstrahlung mechanism of the radio emission for the quiet Sun and the solar active regions an attempt has been made to treat the above presented data. It appears that the most probable explanation of the 2 ÷ 6 mm spectrum is that the S-component sources are opaque. In the 6 ÷ 17 mm wavelength band there are two possibilities: the active region may be either transparent or opaque. But in the last case the source brightness temperature must be proportional to ². Some differences in the spectra of the sources, identified with flocculi and with bipolar sunspot groups, were mentioned. The cold regions (as compared with the quiet Sun) were observed up to = 2 mm and identified with the filaments. However, its visibility falls when the wavelength decreases.     

Confirmation of radio absorption by the intergalactic medium

The conventional interpretation of the cosmic background radiation (CBR) as a relic of the Big Bang assumes that the intergalactic medium is highly transparent to radio frequency radiation. Previous work (Lerner, 1990) used the well-known correlation of IR and radio luminosities of spiral galaxies to test this assumption. That analysis, using 237 Shapley-Ames galaxies showed that radio luminosity (L _R ) for a given IR-luminosity, declines with distance, implying that the IGM strongly absorbs radio frequency radiation. That absorption has now been confirmed using a sample of 301 IR-bright galaxies. Using two independent methods of determining the correlation of IR and radio luminosities of spiral and interacting galaxies, the sample shows that for a givenL _IR ,L _R D ^{–0.32±0.04} over a range of distances from 0.7-300 Mpc. (H ₀ = 75 km s^–1 Mpc^–1). The correlation is significant at the 8 or 10^–14 level. Absorption by the IGM is the only reasonable explanation for this correlation. The existence of such absorption implies that neither the isotropy nor the spectrum of the CBR are primordial and that neither is evidence for a Big Bang.     

A model for solar radio pulsations at short centimetric band

In this paper, the observed solar radio pulsations during the bursts at 9.375 GHz are considered to be excited by some plasma instability. Under the condition of the conservation of energy in the wave-particle interaction, the saturation time of plasma instabilities is inversely proportional to the initial radiation intensity, which may explain why the repetition rate of the pulsations is directly proportional to the radio burst flux at 9.375 GHz as well as 15 GHz and 22 GHz. It is also predicted that the energy released in an individual pulse increases with increasing the flux of radio bursts, the modularity of the pulsations decreases with increasing the flux of radio bursts, these predictions are consistent with the statistical results at 9.375 GHz in different events. The energy density of the non-thermal particles in these events is estimated from the properties of pulsation. For the typical values of the ambient plasma density (10⁹ cm^–3) and the ratio between the nonthermal and ambient electrons (10^–4), the order of magnitude of the energy density and the average energy of the nonthermal electrons is 10^–4 erg/cm³ and 10 kev, respectively. It is interesting that there are two branches in a statistical relation between the repetition rate and the radio burst flux in a special event on March 11–17, 1989, which just corresponds to two different orders of magnitude for the quasi-quantized energy released in these five bursts. This result may be explained by the different ratios between the thermal and the nonthermal radiations.     

Dynamical evolution in clusters of galaxies with low-frequency radio emission

Clusters of galaxies in which radio emission at low frequencies (178 MHz) has been detected were classified on the Bautz-Morgan (BM) system according to the dominance of the brightest galaxy. Radio sources with steep low-frequency spectra occur in clusters of all BM types but more often in rich clusters; the distributions of BM types for clusters with high and low spectral indices between 38 and 178 MHz are similar. Glass copies of Mount Palomar Sky Survey plates were measured to determine the distribution of the ten brightest galaxies in clusters without dominant galaxies. Some clusters were found to have central cores of bright galaxies which may reflect mass segregation of galaxies due to dynamical friction. The bright galaxies in such cores may later merge to form dominant cD galaxies. The positions of the cD galaxies and cores of bright galaxies are often at projected distances <200 kpc from the low-frequency radio emission. The low-frequency spectrum of radio emission associated with a cD galaxy may be either steep or normal, but the low-frequency spectrum from a core of bright galaxies is usually steep. A steep spectrum may develop when a radio source is confined by hot gas in a cluster over a long period (10⁹ yr). Confinement would probably occur for radio sources associated with bright galaxies in the cores of clusters and cD galaxies in clusters. However, cD galaxies may have recurrent radio outbursts so that steep spectra are not always observed.     

Pulsar radio emission

A new version of the theory of pulsar radio emission is developed for the case of a coaxial rotator. It is based on the electric field that we established [G. S. Sahakian, Astrofizika, 37, 97 (1994)] for the radiation channel (the channel of open magnetic field lines) and on convenient approximations for the electron energy obtained in [G. S. Sahakian and É. S. Chubarian, Astrofizika, 37, 255 (1994)]. It is shown that, owing to the emission of photons of curvature radiation by particles, e e+_c', and photon annihilation, _c e⁺e^– in the lower part of the radiation channel, a special region (the magnetic funnel) is formed in which vigorous cascade multiplication of particles occurs. The height of the magnetic funnel is h 6R^0.2, where R is the radius of the neutron star and is its angular rotation rate. As a result of supersaturation of the plasma density in the magnetic funnel, a discharge occurs after each time intervalt5·10^–7–0.8B ₁₂ ^–1.4 R ₆ ^–0.2 , i.e., the longitudinal electric field disappears (B is the magnetic induction in the star). During the active radiative processes in the magnetic funnel, two main fluxes of particles with high ultrarelativistic energies are formed: an upward flux of electrons and a positron flux falling onto the star's magnetic cap. These fluxes are accompanied by narrow strips of positron and electron fluxes, respectively, of considerably lower energy, which are fairly powerful, coherent radio sources. The pulsar's radio luminosity is calculated to be L7.4·10^223.8 ₃₀ ³ R ₆ ^–2 erg/sec, where =BR 3/2 is the star's magnetic moment. Comparing this result with observations, we conclude that the magnetic moment and hence the mass of the neutron star evidently must be considerably smaller, on the average, for fast pulsars than for slow ones. It is shown that the magnetic moment of the neutron star can be determined from the intervals between micropulses in the pulse profiles. The problem of the origin of the macrostructure of the radio pulse is discussed.Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 141–185, January – March, 1995.     

A preferred orientation of extragalactic double radio sources

The distribution of the main axes of double radio sources is used to test isotropy of that part of the universe which is accessible to radio investigations. Data for 274 double and/or extended sources have been taken from the literature to compute the fit to several simple models of global orientation by means of a ²-test. The best fit has been found on a 3%-significance level for the preferred orientation along a right-handed helix with pitch angle 82° in the direction =95°, =–38° (165°,b=20°). This preferential alignment of radio sources is assumed to be caused by a largescale magnetic field.     

71 GHz (4.2 mm) solar radio bursts in the period July 1967 to December 1969

The results of 2 1/2 years (July 1967 – December 1969) monitoring of solar radio bursts at 71 GHz ( = 4.2 mm) at the Radio and Space Research Station, Slough are presented. During this period only seven events were positively identified as 71 GHz bursts. One of these events (6 July, 1968) is among the largest solar bursts ever recorded anywhere in the microwave-millimetre wave band (47000 × 10^–22Wm^–2Hz^–1), and the associated magnetic field may possibly have exceeded 7200 G. Another event (27 March, 1969) has demonstrated that bursts at 71 GHz can be both intense (4700 × 10^–22Wm^–2Hz^–1) and complex. On other occasions, the absence of any detectable event at 71 GHz helps to define the high frequency spectrum of the burst, this being an important factor in determining the initial energy distribution of the electrons ejected by the associated flare. On one such occasion (21 March, 1969) the derived energy distribution index is 8, in contrast with the more usual values of 2–4.1969–1970 NCR-OAR Senior Post-Doctoral Research Associate at Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories, L. G. Hanscom Field, Bedford, Mass., U.S.A.     

On the spectra of type-III solar radio bursts observed at low frequencies

The spectra of strong bursts observed at low frequencies by OGO-5 during 1968–1970 are presented. They usually exhibit an intense main peak between 100 kHz and 1 MHz, and sometimes a less intense secondary peak between 1 and 3.5 MHz. Main peaks of 10^–12 Wm^–2 Hz^–1 or more were obtained in very strong events, but because of antenna calibration problems those could be one or two orders of magnitude too high. Recently published work supports the finding that type III bursts at low frequencies can be at least four orders of magnitude more intense than at ground-based frequencies of observation. It is found that the energy received at the Earth increases with decreasing frequency approximately as f ^–n, where 3 n 4.     

Direct observations of low-energy solar electrons associated with a type III solar radio burst

A highly anisotropic packet of solar electron intensities was observed on 6 April 1971 with a sensitive electrostatic analyzer array on the Earth-orbiting satellite IMP-6. The anisotropies of intensities at electron energies of several keV were factors 10 favoring the expected direction of the interplanetary magnetic lines of force from the Sun. The directional, differential intensities of solar electrons were determined over the energy range 1–40 keV and peak intensities were 10² cm^–2 s^–1 sr^–1 eV^–1 at 2–6 keV. This anisotropic packet of solar electrons was detected at the sattelite for a period of 4200 s and was soon followed by isotropic intensities for a relatively prolonged period. This impulsive emission was associated with the onsets of an optical flare, soft X-ray emission and a radio noise storm at centimeter wavelengths on the western limb of the Sun. Simultaneous measurements of a type III radio noise burst at kilometric wavelengths with a plasma wave instrument on the same satellite showed that the onsets for detectable noise levels ranged from 500 s at 178 kHz to 2700 s at 31.1 kHz. The corresponding drift rate requires a speed of 0.15c for the exciting particles if the emission is at the electron plasma frequency. The corresponding electron energy of 6 keV is in excellent agreement with the above direct observations of the anisotropic electron packet. Further supporting evidence that several-keV solar electrons in the anisotropic packet are associated with the emission of type III radio noise beyond 50R is provided by their time-of-arrival at Earth and the relative durations of the radio noise and the solar electron packet. Electron intensities at E 45 keV and the isotropic intensities of lower-energy solar electrons are relatively uncorrelated with the measurements of type III radio noise at these low frequencies. The implications of these observations relative to those at higher frequencies, and heliocentric radial distances 50R , include apparent deceleration of the exciting electron beam with increasing heliocentric radial distance.Research supported in part by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under contracts NAS5-11039 and NAS5-11074 and grant NGL16-001-002 and by the Office of Naval Research under contract N000-14-68-A-0196-0003.     

Radio-emitting electrons and cosmic ray confinement

The propagation of cosmic ray electrons in the framework of the Disk-Halo diffusion model in which the diffusion coefficientD z E (wherez is the distance from the galactic plane andE is the energy), and the magnetic fieldHz ^– has been examined by making use of the recently available radio data up to 8 GHz toward the Anticenter (A) and Halo Minimum (M). The following inferences are then made. From the difference in the frequency at which steepening occurs in the radio spectra towardA andH, it is found that the observations are consistent with the magnetic field decreasing withz such that =0.24–0.37. An electron injection spectrum with a single power law down to energies well below 1 GeV cannot explain satisfactorily the observed radio spectra. All observations, however, can be understood in a self consistent way if the observed steepening of the radio spectra, and hence the interstellar electron spectrum, is due partly to the deviation in the power law electron injection spectrum below a few GeV and partly to the first break arising from electron energy losses occurring in the same energy region. In this case, using the value of obtained above and a value of =0.3–0.6, it is found that the spectral index ₀ of the injected electrons above a few GeV has a value between 1.9 and 2.3 and the index a value between 0.5 and 1. Further, if the electrons and protons have the same spectral shape at injection, then ₀=2.1–2.3.NASA-NRC, Senior Research Associate on leave from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay, India.     

The proper motion VS redshift relation for superluminal radio sources

Two models for superluminal radio sources predict sharp lower bounds for the apparent velocities of separation. The light echo model predicts a minimum velocityv _min=2c, and the dipole field model predictsv _min=4.446c. Yahil (1979) has suggested that, if either of these models is correct, thenv _min provides a standard velocity which can be used to determine the cosmological parametersH andq ₀. This is accomplished by estimating a lower envelope for the proper motion vs redshift relation. Yahil also argued that the procedure could easily be generalized to include a nonzero cosmical constant . We derive the formulas relating the proper motion to the redshiftz in a Friedmann universe with a nonzero . We show that the determination of a lower envelope for a given sample of measured points yields an estimate of the angle of inclination _i for each source in the sample. We formulate the estimation of the lower envelope as a constrained maximum likelihood problem with the constraints specified by the expected value of the largest order statistic for the estimated _i . We solve this problem numerically using an off-the-shelf nonlinearly constrained nonlinear optimization program from the NAg library. Assuming =0, we apply the estimation procedure to a sample of 27 sources with measured values , using both the light echo and the dipole field models. The fits giveH=103 km s^–1 Mpc^–1 for the light echo model andH=46 km s^–1 Mpc^–1 for the dipole field model. In both cases the fits giveq ₀=0.4, but the uncertainty in this result is too large to rule out the possibility thatq ₀>0.5. When is allowed to be a free parameter, we obtainH=105 km s^–1 Mpc^–1 for the light echo model andH=47 km s^–1 Mpc^–1 for the dipole field model. In both cases the fits giveq ₀=–1 and /H ₀ ² =6.7, but no significance can be attached to these results because of the paucity of measured data at hight redshifts. For all of the fits, we compute the corresponding estimates of the _i and compare the cumulative distribution of these values with that expected from a sample of randomly oriented sources. In all cases we find a large excess of sources at low-inclination angles (high apparent velocities). The expected selection effect would produce such an excess, but the excess is large enough to suggest a strong contamination of the sample by relativistic beam sources which would only be seen at low inclination angles.Applied Research Corporation     

The effect of luminosity-redshift correlation on the analysis of the angular size-redshift relation for radio galaxies

The variation of radio luminosity with redshift and its effect on the analysis of the angular size-redshift ( –z) relation for a bright radio source sample (s ₁₇₈ 10Jy) has been investigated. By assuming a power law dependence of luminosity on redshift of the formP (1 +z), it was found that 4.4 (with correlation coefficientr 0.99) for at leastz 0.3. Correction for such a strongP – (1 +z) correlation when considering the –z data for the sample led to a steeper –z slope. This could be explained by assuming linear size evolution of the formD (1 +z)^–n withn = 2.8 – 3.3 consistent with both theoretical results and those obtained for more homogeneous source samples.     

Observations of a post-flare radio burst in X-rays

More than six hours after the two-ribbon flare of 21 May 1980, the hard X-ray spectrometer aboard the SMM imaged an extensive arch above the flare region which proved to be the lowest part of a stationary post-flare noise storm recorded at the same time at Culgoora. The X-ray arch extended over 3 or more arc minutes to a projected distance of 95 000 km, and its real altitude was most probably between 110 000 and 180 000 km. The mean electron density in the cloud was close to 10⁹ cm^–3 and its temperature stayed for many hours at a fairly constant value of about 6.5 × 10⁶ K. The bent crystal spectrometer aboard the SMM confirms that the arch emission was basically thermal. Variations in brightness and energy spectrum at one of the supposed footpoints of the arch seem to correlate in time with radio brightness suggesting that suprathermal particles from the radio noise regions dumped in variable quantities into the low corona and transition layer; these particles may have contributed to the population of the arch, after being trapped and thermalized. The arch extended along the H = 0 line thus apparently hindering any upward movement of the upper loops reconnected in the flare process. There is evidence from Culgoora that this obstacle may have been present above the flare since 15–30 min after its onset.     

The secular behavior of X-ray and radio emission from supernova remnants

General models for the secular behavior of the radio and X-ray emission from supernova remnants are examined and compared with the observations. Hot plasma and synchrotron models for the X-ray emission are considered. Among other things, it is concluded that (1) the total kinetic energy released in most supernova outbursts is probably less than about 10⁵¹ ergs; (2) continuous injection probably occurs for at least 10 yr in every case and about 1000 yr in most supernova remnants, in which case the supernova remnants 3C392, W28, Pup A and IC443 should produce 1–10 keV X-ray fluxes 10^–10 ergs/cm² sec; and (3) the X-ray sources in the Crab Nebula, Cas A and Tycho can be explained in terms of a model wherein continuous injection occurs for 300 yr for the Crab Nebula, much less than 250 yr for Cas A and much longer than 400 yr for Tycho. Finally, it is shown that if Tycho and Cas A contain an X-ray star such as NP0532, it is quite possible that the X-ray emission from those sources is predominantly due to the X-ray star.Supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Contract No. F44620-67-C-0065.     

Nonlinear treatment for solar radio spikes

We emphasize that a nonlinear treatment is required to realize the diagnostic potentiality of solar spiky emission. The observational constraints including the latest data on the harmonic structure, degree, and sense of polarization are discussed. A set of coupled equations for energy density of high-frequency normal modes of a magneto-active plasma involving the most important nonlinear effects within the three-wave approximation is deduced. The equations include both previously known and new effects. The qualitative evaluations of the equations obtained have provided a few new findings: (i) quasi-linear relaxation of fast electrons on quasi-potential waves (_) occurs in a characteristic time scale of the order of 10 ms if the frequency,f, is about 1 GHz; (ii) the stimulated scattering of the transverse waves on the background plasma particles is shown to be important if the brightness temperature of the spiky emission exceeds 10¹⁵–10¹⁶ K; (iii) the Raman scattering of the transverse waves on background plasma density inhomogeneities may suppress the electron cyclotron maser instability if n _e ² /n _e ² 3 × (10^–4–10^–5).     

Radio observations of early-type galaxies with dust lanes

Radio and optical images of early-type galaxies with dust lanes have been analyzed in order to investigate the characteristics of the radio emission and to compare it with their properties at other frequencies. Except three galaxies, the remaining sources of our sample have diffuse radio emission, which does not extend beyond the stellar disk. The radio structures are small and weak (linear sizes in the range 2–10 kpc and radio powers in the range 5×10²⁰–5×10²¹W Hz^–1). Our preliminary results show that in a minority of cases (the most powerful radio sources) radio emission originates in the associated galactic nuclei, where a massive black hole is harboured. On the contrary, in the less powerful among our radio galaxies, sources originating from stellar phenomena may play and important role. We have classified the galaxies with respect to the dust lane morphology, comparing it with the radio emission. The sample is too small in order to reach firm conclusions, but the lack of radio sources in early-type galaxies with dust lanes along the galaxy minor axis seems to suggest that the accretion of material does not reach the conditions necessary to trigger nuclear activity.Paper presented at the 11th European Regional Astronomical Meetings of the IAU on New Windows to the Universe, held 3–8 July, 1989, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.     

The comparative spectra of cosmic-ray protons and helium nuclei

We have re-examined and extended the measurements of the primary cosmic ray proton and helium nuclei intensities in the range from a few MeV nuc^–1 to 100 GeV nuc^–1 using a considerable body of recently published data. The differential spectra obtained from this data are determined as a function of both energy and rigidity. The exponents of the energy spectra of both protons and helium nuclei are found to be different at the same energy/nucleon and to increase with increasing energy between 1 and 100 GeV nuc^–1 reaching a value=–2.70 at higher energies and in addition, theP/He ratio changes from a value 5 at 1 GeV nuc^–1 and below to a value 30 at 100 GeV nuc^–1. On a rigidity representation the spectral exponent for each species is nearly identical and remains virtually constant above several GV at a value of –2.70, and in addition, theP/He ratio is also a constant 7 above 3 GeV. The changingP/He ratio and spectral exponent on an energy representation occur at energies well above those at which interplanetary modulation effects or interstellar ionization energy loss effects can significantly affect the spectra. In effect by comparing energy spectra and rigidity spectra in the intermediate energy range above the point where solar modulation effects and interstellar energy loss effects are important, but in the range where there are significant differences between energy and rigidity spectra, we deduce that the cosmic ray source spectra are effectively rigidity spectra. This fact has important implications regarding the mechanism of acceleration of this radiation and also with regard to the form of the assumed galactic spectrum at low energies. The relationship between the proton and helium spectra derived here and the heavier nuclei spectral differences recently reported in the literature is also examined.If rigidity spectra are adopted for protons and helium nuclei, then the source abundance ratio of these two components is determined to be 7:1. Some cosmological implications of this ratio are discussed.