Statistical investigation of the non-thermal emission of galaxy clusters

TL;DR

This study performs a statistical analysis of non-thermal emissions in galaxy clusters using stacked radio and X-ray data to understand their origins, properties, and relation to thermal components across different mass regimes.

Contribution

It extends previous analyses to lower mass clusters and investigates correlations between non-thermal and thermal emissions to understand underlying mechanisms.

Findings

Preliminary radio-X scaling relations established.

Insights into non-thermal pressure contributions.

Constraints on non-thermal properties within hierarchical structure formation.

Abstract

A diffuse non-thermal component has now been observed in massive merging clusters. To better characterise this component, and to extend analyses done for massive clusters down to a lower mass regime, we are conducting a statistical analysis over a large number of X-ray clusters (from ROSAT based catalogues). By means of their stacked radio and X-ray emissions, we are investigating correlations between the non-thermal and the thermal baryonic components. We will present preliminary results on radio-X scaling relations with which we aim to probe the mechanisms that power diffuse radio emission ; to better constrain whether the non-thermal cluster properties are compatible with a hierarchical framework of structure formation ; and to quantify the non-thermal pressure.