We examine the brightness of the Cosmic Radio Background (CRB) by comparing the contribution from individual source counts to absolute measurements. We use a compilation of radio counts to estimate the contribution of detected sources to the CRB in several different frequency bands.We apply a Monte Carlo Markov Chain technique to estimate the brightness values and uncertainties, paying attention to various sources of systematic error. We compare our results to absolute measurements from the ARCADE 2 experiment. At v = 150 MHz, 325 MHz, 408 MHz, 610 MHz, 1.4 GHz, 4.8 GHz, and 8.4 GHz our calculated contributions to the background sky temperature are 18, 2.8, 1.6, 0.71, 0.11, 0.0032, 0.0059 K, respectively. If the ARCADE 2 measurements are correct and come from sources, then there must be an additional population of radio galaxies, fainter than where current data are probing. More specifically, the Euclidean-normalized counts at 1.4 GHz have to have an additional bump below about 10 μJy.
We present the first results from the HST Archival Legacy project "SKYSURF." As described in Windhorst et al. 2022, SKYSURF utilizes the large HST archive to study the diffuse UV, optical, and near-IR backgrounds and foregrounds in detail. Here we utilize SKYSURF's first sky-surface brightness measurements to constrain the level of near-IR diffuse Extragalactic Background Light (EBL). Our sky-surface brightness measurements have been verified to an accuracy of better than 1%, which when combined with systematic errors associated with HST, results in sky brightness uncertainties of $\sim$2-4% $…
Constraining the Baryon Fraction in Extragalactic Diffuse Ionized Gas with 124 Localized Fast Radio Bursts
Hunan Normal University（湖南师范大学）；Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院紫金山天文台）；University of Science and Technology of China（中国科学技术大学）
We derive the maximum fraction of energy emitted in the form of massive (Kaluza- Klein) gravitons by core collapse supernovae, and the corresponding minimal extra-dimensional Planck mass M* in the ADD gravity framework at TeV scales. Our constraints arise: a) from the extragalactic gamma ray background observed by Fermi-LAT after astrophysical sources have been removed, and b) via the residual galactic emission left after astrophysical and potentially dark matter emission have been removed. We focus on a number of extra dimensions 3 and 4, since M* is then in the TeV range, where astrophysical…
Recent high-energy data from Fermi-LAT on the diffuse gamma-ray background have been used to set among the best constraints on annihilating TeV cold dark matter candidates. In order to assess the robustness of these limits, we revisit and update the calculation of the isotropic extragalactic gamma-ray intensity from dark matter annihilation. The emission from halos with masses $\geq10^{10}\,M_{\odot}$ provides a robust lower bound on the predicted intensity. The intensity including smaller halos whose properties are extrapolated from their higher mass counterparts is typically 5 times higher, …
High--frequency predictions for number counts and spectral properties of extragalactic radio sources. New evidences of a break at mm wavelengths in spectra of bright blazar sources
Building on our previous cross-correlation analysis (Xia et al. 2011) between the isotropic gamma-ray background (IGRB) and different tracers of the large-scale structure of the universe, we update our results using 60-months of data from the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. We perform a cross-correlation analysis between the IGRB and objects that may trace the astrophysical sources of the IGRB: SDSS-DR6 QSOs, the SDSS-DR8 Main Galaxy Sample, Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs) in the SDSS catalog, 2MASS galaxies, and radio NVSS galaxies. The benefit of correla…
Next-generation radio surveys are about to transform radio astronomy by discovering and studying tens of millions of previously unknown radio sources. These surveys will provide new insights to understand the evolution of galaxies, measuring the evolution of the cosmic star formation rate, and rivalling traditional techniques in the measurement of fundamental cosmological parameters. By observing a new volume of observational parameter space, they are also likely to discover unexpected new phenomena. This review traces the evolution of extragalactic radio continuum surveys from the earliest da…
We give an overview and describe the rationale, methods, and testing of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Archival Legacy project "SKYSURF." SKYSURF uses HST's unique capability as an absolute photometer to measure the ~0.2-1.7 $μ$m sky surface brightness (SB) from 249,861 WFPC2, ACS, and WFC3 exposures in ~1400 independent HST fields. SKYSURF's panchromatic dataset is designed to constrain the discrete and diffuse UV to near-IR sky components: Zodiacal Light (ZL; inner Solar System), Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs; outer Solar System), Diffuse Galactic Light (DGL), and the discrete plus diffuse Ext…
We report quasi-simultaneous GMRT observations of seven extragalactic radio sources at 150, 325, 610 and 1400 MHz, in an attempt to accurately define their radio continuum spectra, particularly at frequencies below the observed spectral turnover. We had previously identified these sources as candidates for a sharply inverted integrated radio spectrum whose slope is close to, or even exceeds $α_c$ = +2.5, the theoretical limit due to synchrotron self-absorption (SSA) in a source of incoherent synchrotron radiation arising from relativistic particles with the canonical (i.e., power-law) energy d…
We present the discovery of another Odd Radio Circle (ORC) with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) at 944 MHz. The observed radio ring, ORC J0102-2450, has a diameter of ~70 arcsec or 300 kpc, if associated with the central elliptical galaxy DES J010224.33-245039.5 (z ~ 0.27). Considering the overall radio morphology (circular ring and core) and lack of ring emission at non-radio wavelengths, we investigate if ORC J0102-2450 could be the relic lobe of a giant radio galaxy seen end-on or the result of a giant blast wave. We also explore possible interaction scenarios, for …
We present the Tiered Radio Extragalactic Continuum Simulation (T-RECS): a new simulation of the radio sky in continuum, over the 150 MHz-20 GHz range. T-RECS models two main populations of radio galaxies: Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) and Star-Forming Galaxies (SFGs), and corresponding sub-populations. Our model also includes polarized emission over the full frequency range, which has been characterised statistically for each population using the available information. We model the clustering properties in terms of probability distributions of hosting halo masses, and use lightcones extracted…
We examine the possibility that Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) originate from the activity of extragalactic civilizations. Our analysis shows that beams used for powering large light sails could yield parameters that are consistent with FRBs. The characteristic diameter of the beam emitter is estimated through a combination of energetic and engineering constraints, and both approaches intriguingly yield a similar result which is on the scale of a large rocky planet. Moreover, the optimal frequency for powering the light sail is shown to be similar to the detected FRB frequencies. These `coincidences…
The joint analysis of the Dispersion and Faraday Rotation Measure from distant, polarised Fast Radio Bursts may be used to put constraints on the origin and distribution of extragalactic magnetic fields on cosmological scales. While the combination of Dispersion and Faraday Rotation Measure can in principle give the average magnetic fields along the line-of-sight, in practice this method must be used with care because it strongly depends on the assumed magnetisation model on large cosmological scales. Our simulations show that the observation of Rotation Measures with $\geq 1-10 ~\rm rad/m^2$ …
Extragalactic jets are a common feature of radio-loud active galaxies. The nature of the observed jets in relation to the bulk flow is still unclear. In particular it is not clear whether the observations of parsec-scale jets using the very long baseline interferometric technique (VLBI) reveal wave-like structures that develop and propagate along the jet, or trace the jet flow itself. In this contribution I review the evidence collected during the last years showing that the ridge-lines of helical radio-jets do not correspond to observational artifacts. This conclusion was reached by studying …
Early on, extragalactic radio sources have pointed to a cosmologically evolving Universe. They were also an important piece of evidence for the existence of supermassive black holes, now thought to be a key component of galaxies. The observation that the power of radio sources increases with redshift, whereas the cosmological assembly of mass proceeds vice versa means that radio sources have their strongest impact in the early Universe. Our simulations suggest that radio sources heat hot halo gas, boost star formation in disc galaxies and other cold gas in the vicinity, possibly filaments, by …
Galaxy clusters with signs for a recent merger show in many cases extended diffuse radio features. This emission originates from relativistic electrons which suffer synchrotron losses due to the intra-cluster magnetic field. The mechanisms of the particle acceleration and the properties of the magnetic field are still poorly understood. We search for diffuse radio emission in galaxy clusters. Here, we study the complex galaxy cluster Abell 2069, for which X-ray observations indicate a recent merger. We investigate the cluster's radio continuum emission by deep Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telesc…
Observations of the extragalactic radio background have uncovered a significant isotropic emission across multiple frequencies spanning from 22 MHz to 10 GHz. The intensity of this non-thermal emission component significantly exceeds the expected contribution from known astrophysical sources. Interestingly, models have indicated that the annihilation of dark matter particles may reproduce both the flux and spectrum of the excess. However, the lack of a measurable anisotropy in the residual emission remains challenging for both dark matter and standard astrophysical interpretations of the ARCAD…
The presence of large-scale magnetic fields and ultra-relativistic electrons in the intra-cluster medium (ICM) is confirmed through the detection of diffuse radio synchrotron sources, so-called radio halos and relics. Due to their steep-spectrum nature, these sources are rarely detected at frequencies above a few GHz, especially in low-mass systems. The aim of this study is to discover and characterise diffuse radio sources in low-mass galaxy clusters in order to understand their origin and their scaling with host cluster properties. We searched for cluster-scale radio emission from low-mass g…
J1248+4826: A diffuse radio source consistent with re-energized fossil plasma in a galaxy group
INAF - Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica (IASF)（意大利国家天体物理研究所空间天体物理学与宇宙学研究所）；University of California, San Diego（加利福尼亚大学圣地亚哥分校）；University of Arizona（亚利桑那大学）；Université Paris-Saclay（巴黎萨克雷大学）
The photon zero-mass hypothesis has been investigated for a long time using the frequency-dependent time delays of radio emissions from astrophysical sources. However, the search for a rest mass of the photon has been hindered by the similarity between the frequency-dependent dispersions due to the plasma and nonzero photon mass effects. Considering the contributions to the observed dispersion measure from both the plasma and nonzero photon mass effects, and assuming the dispersion induced by the plasma effect is an unknown constant, we obtain a robust limit on the photon mass by directly fitt…
It has been suggested that unresolved radio galaxies and radio quasars (sometimes referred to as misaligned active galactic nuclei) could be responsible for a significant fraction of the observed diffuse gamma-ray background. In this study, we use the latest data from the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope to characterize the gamma-ray emission from a sample of 51 radio galaxies. In addition to those sources that had previously been detected using Fermi data, we report here the first statistically significant detection of gamma-ray emission from the radio galaxies 3C 212, 3C 411, and B3 0309+411B…
Radio U-Net: a convolutional neural network to detect diffuse radio sources in galaxy clusters and beyond
Istituto di Radio Astronomia, INAF（意大利国家天体物理研究所射电天文研究所）；Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Universitá di Bologna（博洛尼亚大学物理与天文系）；Hamburger Sternwarte（汉堡天文台）
