The discovery of lensed radio and X-ray sources behind the Frontier Fields cluster MACS J0717.5+3745 with the JVLA and Chandra

TL;DR

This study uses JVLA and Chandra observations of the MACS J0717.5+3745 cluster to identify and analyze lensed radio and X-ray sources, revealing insights into star forming galaxies and AGN at high redshift.

Contribution

It presents the first high-resolution radio and X-ray survey of MACS J0717.5+3745, detecting lensed sources and analyzing their properties and implications for galaxy evolution.

Findings

Detected 51 compact radio sources, including 7 lensed with amplification >2.

Identified 2 X-ray sources likely to be AGN.

Evidence for increased radio source density at 0.6<z<2.0.

Abstract

We report on high-resolution JVLA and Chandra observations of the HST Frontier Cluster MACS J0717.5+3745. MACS J0717.5+3745 offers the largest contiguous magnified area of any known cluster, making it a promising target to search for lensed radio and X-ray sources. With the high-resolution 1.0-6.5 GHz JVLA imaging in A and B configuration, we detect a total of 51 compact radio sources within the area covered by the HST imaging. Within this sample we find 7 lensed sources with amplification factors larger than $2$. None of these sources are identified as multiply-lensed. Based on the radio luminosities, the majority of these sources are likely star forming galaxies with star formation rates of 10-50 M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$ located at $1 \lesssim z \lesssim 2$. Two of the lensed radio sources are also detected in the Chandra image of the cluster. These two sources are likely AGN, given their $2-10$ keV X-ray luminosities of $\sim 10^{43-44}$ erg s$^{-1}$. From the derived radio luminosity function, we find evidence for an increase in the number density of radio sources at $0.6<z<2.0$, compared to a $z < 0.3$ sample. Our observations indicate that deep radio imaging of lensing clusters can be used to study star forming galaxies, with star formation rates as low as $\sim10$ M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$, at the peak of cosmic star formation history.