Re-acceleration model for the `Sausage' Radio Relic

TL;DR

This paper proposes a re-acceleration model involving a shock and pre-existing relativistic electrons to explain the observed properties of the Sausage radio relic, resolving discrepancies between radio and X-ray inferred Mach numbers.

Contribution

It introduces a re-acceleration model with specific electron spectral parameters that better explains the relic's radio observations compared to simple shock acceleration.

Findings

Re-acceleration model fits observed radio brightness profiles.

Pre-existing electron spectrum characterized by slope s≈4.1 and cutoff Lorentz factor 3-5×10^4.

Addresses the Mach number discrepancy between radio and X-ray observations.

Abstract

The Sausage radio relic is the arc-like radio structure in the cluster CIZA J2242.8+5301, whose observed properties can be best understood by synchrotron emission from relativistic electrons accelerated at a merger-driven shock. However, there remain a few puzzles that cannot be explained by the shock acceleration model with only in-situ injection. In particular, the Mach number inferred from the observed radio spectral index, $M_{\rm radio}\approx 4.6$, while the Mach number estimated from X-ray observations, $M_{\rm X-ray}\approx 2.7$. In an attempt to resolve such a discrepancy, here we consider the re-acceleration model in which a shock of $M_s\approx 3$ sweeps through the intracluster gas with a pre-existing population of relativistic electrons. We find that observed brightness profiles at multi frequencies provide strong constraints on the spectral shape of pre-existing electrons. The models with a power-law momentum spectrum with the slope, $s\approx 4.1$, and the cutoff Lorentz factor, $\gamma_{e,c}\approx 3-5\times 10^4$ can reproduce reasonably well the observed spatial profiles of radio fluxes and integrated radio spectrum of the Sausage relic. The possible origins of such relativistic electrons in the intracluster medium remain to be investigated further.