Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

A non-thermal study of the brightest cluster galaxy NGC 1275 - the Gamma-Radio connection over four decades

Dutson, K.L.; Edge, A.C.; Hinton, J.A.; Hogan, M.T.; Gurwell, M.A.; Alston, W.N.

A non-thermal study of the brightest cluster galaxy NGC 1275 - the Gamma-Radio connection over four decades Thumbnail


Authors

K.L. Dutson

J.A. Hinton

M.T. Hogan

M.A. Gurwell

W.N. Alston



Abstract

Emission from the active nucleus in the core of the brightest cluster galaxy of the Perseus cluster, NGC 1275, has varied dramatically over the past four decades. Prompted by the Fermi detection of flaring in the γ-ray band, we present the recent increased activity of this source in the context of its past radio and γ-ray output. The broad correspondence between the high-frequency radio data and the high-energy (HE) emission is striking. However, on short time-scales this correlation breaks down and the 1.3 mm Submillimeter Array flux is apparently unaffected during Fermi -detected flaring activity. The fact that NGC 1275 is also detected at TeV energies during the periods of HE γ-ray flaring suggests that the short-time-scale variation might be primarily related to changes in the inverse Compton scattering of photons by the electron population in the jet. The longer-time-scale changes suggest a 30–40 year variation in the fuelling of the black hole that affects the power of the inner jet. NCG 1275 is a laboratory for the class of brightest cluster galaxies, and its variability on these time-scales has implications for our understanding of massive galaxies in cooling-core clusters. The case of NGC 1275 highlights the need for wide coverage across the radio band to correctly account for the contribution to emission from a synchrotron self-absorbed core (for example when considering contamination of Sunyaev–Zel'dovich effect observations), and the danger of variability biases in radio surveys of galaxies.

Citation

Dutson, K., Edge, A., Hinton, J., Hogan, M., Gurwell, M., & Alston, W. (2014). A non-thermal study of the brightest cluster galaxy NGC 1275 - the Gamma-Radio connection over four decades. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 442(3), 2048-2057. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu975

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Aug 1, 2014
Deposit Date Jun 25, 2014
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Print ISSN 0035-8711
Electronic ISSN 1365-2966
Publisher Royal Astronomical Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 442
Issue 3
Pages 2048-2057
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu975
Keywords Radiation mechanisms: non-thermal, Galaxies: active, Galaxies: clusters: individual: Perseus, Galaxies: individual: NGC 1275, Gamma rays: galaxies, Radio continuum: galaxies.

Files

Published Journal Article (753 Kb)
PDF

Copyright Statement
This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society © 2014 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.





You might also like



Downloadable Citations