The Square Kilometre Array (SKA)

Abstract:

Radio continuum emission provides a unique opportunity to study star formation unbiased by dust obscuration. However, if radio observations are to be used to accurately trace star formation to high redshifts, it is crucial that the physical processes that affect the radio emission from star-forming galaxies are well understood. While inverse Compton (IC) losses from the cosmic microwave background (CMB) are negligible in the local universe, the rapid increase in the strength of the CMB energy density with redshift [] means that this effect becomes increasingly important at . Using a sample of high-redshift () Lyman-break galaxies selected in the rest-frame ultraviolet (UV), we have stacked radio observations from the MIGHTEE survey to estimate their 1.4-GHz flux densities. We find that for a given rest-frame UV magnitude, the 1.4-GHz flux density and luminosity decrease with redshift. We compare these results to the theoretical predicted effect of energy losses due to IC scattering off the CMB, and find that the observed decrease is consistent with this explanation. We discuss other possible causes for the observed decrease in radio flux density with redshift at a given UV magnitude, such as a top-heavy initial mass function at high redshift or an evolution of the dust properties, but suggest that IC scattering is the most compelling explanation.

Abstract:

We present the results of a three-year X-ray, optical, and radio polarimetric monitoring campaign of the prototypical black hole X-ray binary Cyg X-1, conducted from 2022 to 2024. The X-ray polarization of Cyg X-1 was measured 13 times with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), covering both hard and soft spectral states. The X-ray polarization degree (PD) in the hard state was found to be ≈4.0%, roughly twice as high as in the soft state, where it was around 2.2%. In both states, a statistically significant increase in PD with the energy was found. Moreover, a linear relation between PD and spectral hardness suggests a gradual and continuous evolution of the polarization properties, rather than an abrupt change of polarization production mechanism between states. The polarization angle (PA) was independent of the spectral state and showed no trend with the photon energy. The X-ray PA is well aligned with the orientation of the radio jet, as well as the optical and radio PAs. We find significant orbital changes of PA in the hard state, which we attribute to scattering of X-ray emission at the intrabinary structure. No significant superorbital variability in PD or PA was found at the period P so = 294 d. We detect, for the first time in this source, polarization of the radio emission, with the PA aligned with the jet, and a strong increase of the PD at a transition to the soft state. We also find no correlation between the X-ray and optical polarization; if any, there is a long-term anti-correlation between the X-ray PD and the radio PD.