The Treble Clef radio phoenix and its old nonthermal filaments
Abstract
By inspecting data from the LOFAR Two-meter Sky Survey (LoTSS), we noticed a peculiar bright and filamentary radio source at low-galactic latitude (b ≈ 0.5 °). This source, detected also in previous radio observations, was originally believed to be a pulsar, but was later suggested to be located in a heavily obscured galaxy cluster behind the Galactic plane. In this paper, we characterize for the first time the main properties of the host cluster (redshift, mass, temperature, X-ray luminosity, and dynamical status) by using X-ray observations performed with Chandra and SRG/eROSITA. In addition, by combining new uGMRT follow-up data with observations from the e LOFAR LBA Sky Survey (LoLSS), we perform a multifrequency, spatially resolved spectral analysis of the filamentary radio source (VLSS J0318.9+5755, nicknamed here the "Treble Clef" due to its morphology). We conclude that this source is a radio phoenix belonging to a massive, merging galaxy cluster in the Zone of Avoidance. We speculate that its complex morphology is shaped by gas motions generated in the intracluster medium during the ongoing merger, which are also likely responsible for the generation of the candidate radio halo tentatively observed in the cluster center. Owing to its highly filamentary morphology, brightness at ≲1 GHz, and extremely steep spectrum, reaching values of α> 4 between 400 and 650 MHz, this source represents an ideal target for high-resolution, very-low-frequency follow-up observations with LOFAR2.0.
Related
- The Effects of Cosmic Ray Protons on Galactic Nonthermal Filaments
- Probing faint radio activity from cores to filaments in two z=2.24 protoclusters with uGMRT
- Evidence of suppressed nonthermal broadening in a flare ribbon from stereoscopic observations
- Unveiling the nonthermal environments of NGC,3411 and NGC,5903 through new MeerKAT observations
- Nonthermal Particle Acceleration by Magnetic Pumping in Pulsating Plasmas
BibTeX
@misc{botteon2026treble,
title = {{The Treble Clef radio phoenix and its old nonthermal filaments}},
author = {A. Botteon and M. Brienza and K. Rajpurohit and N. Lyskova and E. Churazov and I. Khabibullin and T. Pasini and E. O'Sullivan and G. Brunetti and F. De Gasperin and E. De Rubeis and F. Gastaldello and D. N. Hoang and R. Kraft and G. Schellenberger and R. Sunyaev and R. J. van Weeren and F. Vazza},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2607.06659},
eprint = {2607.06659},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.06659},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - The Treble Clef radio phoenix and its old nonthermal filaments
AU - A. Botteon
AU - M. Brienza
AU - K. Rajpurohit
AU - N. Lyskova
AU - E. Churazov
AU - I. Khabibullin
AU - T. Pasini
AU - E. O'Sullivan
AU - G. Brunetti
AU - F. De Gasperin
AU - E. De Rubeis
AU - F. Gastaldello
AU - D. N. Hoang
AU - R. Kraft
AU - G. Schellenberger
AU - R. Sunyaev
AU - R. J. van Weeren
AU - F. Vazza
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2607.06659
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.06659
AB - By inspecting data from the LOFAR Two-meter Sky Survey (LoTSS), we noticed a peculiar bright and filamentary radio source at low-galactic latitude (b ≈ 0.5 °). This source, detected also in previous radio observations, was originally believed to be a pulsar, but was later suggested to be located in a heavily obscured galaxy cluster behind the Galactic plane. In this paper, we characterize for the first time the main properties of the host cluster (redshift, mass, temperature, X-ray luminosity, and dynamical status) by using X-ray observations performed with Chandra and SRG/eROSITA. In addition, by combining new uGMRT follow-up data with observations from the e LOFAR LBA Sky Survey (LoLSS), we perform a multifrequency, spatially resolved spectral analysis of the filamentary radio source (VLSS J0318.9+5755, nicknamed here the "Treble Clef" due to its morphology). We conclude that this source is a radio phoenix belonging to a massive, merging galaxy cluster in the Zone of Avoidance. We speculate that its complex morphology is shaped by gas motions generated in the intracluster medium during the ongoing merger, which are also likely responsible for the generation of the candidate radio halo tentatively observed in the cluster center. Owing to its highly filamentary morphology, brightness at ≲1 GHz, and extremely steep spectrum, reaching values of α> 4 between 400 and 650 MHz, this source represents an ideal target for high-resolution, very-low-frequency follow-up observations with LOFAR2.0.
ER -