One Source, Two Source(s): Ribs and Tethers

Abstract

We present the unique and challenging case of a radio galaxy in Abell 3266 observed as part of the MeerKAT Galaxy Cluster Legacy Survey. It has quasi-periodic bright patches along the tail which connect to never-before-seen thin transverse extensions, which we call “ribs”, reaching up to ∼50 kpc from the central axis of the tail. At a distance of ∼400 kpc from the host (assuming the z=0.0594 redshift of Abell 3266) we found what appears to be a triple source with its own apparent host at a photometric redshift of 0.78. Mysteriously, the part of the tail far from the host and the triple are connected by a series of thin filaments, which we call “tethers”. The far tail, tethers and triple also have similar spectra and Faraday rotation measures, suggesting that there is only one—quite complicated—source, with a serendipitous background AGN in the triple. We look at possible causes for the “rib” and “tether” structures, and the emerging phenomena of intracluster medium filaments associated with radio galaxies.

Keywords

• radio galaxy
• clusters of galaxies
• radio jets