Mid-infrared excess from the west hot spot of the radio galaxy Pictor A unveiled by WISE

TL;DR

This study reports the detection of a mid-infrared excess in the west hot spot of Pictor A using WISE data, suggesting a complex electron population and magnetic field structure beyond simple synchrotron models.

Contribution

It presents the first mid-infrared detection of the hot spot and identifies a significant excess indicating a distinct electron component and magnetic field variation within the hot spot.

Findings

Mid-infrared excess detected at 22 μm with 4.8σ significance.

The excess is modeled as a separate electron population with a lower cutoff frequency.

Magnetic field in the excess region is stronger than the minimum energy condition.

Abstract

Mid-infrared properties are reported of the west hot spot of the radio galaxy Pictor A with the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). The mid-infrared counterpart to the hot spot, WISE J051926.26-454554.1, is listed in the AllWISE source catalog. The source was detected in all the four WISE photometric bands. A comparison between the WISE and radio images reinforces the physical association of the \wise\ source to the hot spot. The WISE flux density of the source was carefully evaluated. A close investigation of the multi-wavelength synchrotron spectral energy distribution from the object reveals a mid-infrared excess at the wavelength of $\lambda=22$ $\mu$m with a statistical significance of $4.8 \sigma$ over the simple power-law extrapolation from the synchrotron radio spectrum. The excess is reinforced by single and double cutoff power-law modeling of the radio-to-optical spectral energy distribution. The synchrotron cutoff frequency of the main and excess components was evaluated as $7.1 \times 10^{14}$ Hz and $5.5 \times 10^{13}$ Hz, respectively. From the cutoff frequency, the magnetic field of the emission region was constrained as a function of the region size. In order to interpret the excess component, an electron population different from the main one dominating the observed radio spectrum is necessary. The excess emission is proposed to originate in a sub structure within the hot spot, in which the magnetic field is by a factor of a few stronger than that in the minimum energy condition. The relation of the mid-infrared excess to the X-ray emission is briefly discussed.