Particle Acceleration on Megaparsec Scales in a Merging Galaxy Cluster
Particle Acceleration on Megaparsec Scales in a Merging Galaxy Cluster
Galaxy clusters form through a sequence of mergers of smaller galaxy clusters and groups. Models of diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) suggest that in shocks that occur during cluster mergers, particles are accelerated to relativistic energies, similar to supernova remnants. Together with magnetic fields these particles emit synchrotron radiation and may …