The implications of bent jets in galaxy groups

Abstract

Bent-double sources, sometimes referred to as wide- or narrow-angle tails, are most likely the result of ram pressure from either the motion of the source through a dense medium or the "cluster weather." These unusual sources have long been associated with high density, high velocity dispersion, and turbulent environments of massive clusters, however a surprising number have been found in lower mass systems. We focus our attention on a sample of such sources in galaxy groups where the velocity dispersion is significantly lower. We have acquired multi-frequency radio continuum observations using the GMRT of our bent-double sample and new optical spectroscopy to measure the velocity dispersion of groups hosting these bent-double sources. Our goal is to derive an estimate of the density of the intergalactic medium in these groups. Here, we present GMRT data for one source in our sample.