Observational Properties of Diffuse Halos in Clusters

Abstract

The number of known diffuse radio sources in clusters of galaxies has grown in recent years, making it possible to derive statistical properties of these sources and of the hosting clusters. We show that diffuse sources are associated with X-ray luminous clusters which have undergone recent merger processes. The radio and X-ray structures are often similar, and correlations are found between radio and X-ray parameters. This is indication of a link between the diffuse relativistic and thermal plasma in clusters of galaxies.