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Alma Mater Studiorum Universit`a degli Studi di Bologna ... - Inaf

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6.7. Future prospects 131<br />

and is therefore not relevant. Energy can be injected on large scales from the interactions<br />

between the ra<strong>di</strong>o source and the magnetized gas, gas motions (“sloshing”) within the<br />

group/cluster potential well (e.g. merger-related) and motion of the host galaxy. All of<br />

these provide energy input on roughly the outer scale estimated for 3C 449 and 0755+37<br />

(the latter subject to confirmation by three-<strong>di</strong>mensional modelling). In principle, the origin<br />

of the maximum scale could be constrained by observations of the same type of ra<strong>di</strong>o source<br />

in <strong>di</strong>fferent environments.<br />

5. RM structure and its connection with the ra<strong>di</strong>o source morphology<br />

I pointed out a potential correlation between ra<strong>di</strong>o source morphology and RM anisotropy.<br />

RM bands have so far been unambiguously detected only in lobed ra<strong>di</strong>o galaxies. This is<br />

what expected if the process producing bands is related to some form of compression or<br />

draping. Ra<strong>di</strong>o galaxies with lobes are indeed expected to be more effective than tailed<br />

sources in compressing the surroun<strong>di</strong>ng gas. Production of RM bands by draped fields in<br />

tailed sources is not excluded, provided that there is relative motion between the source and<br />

the surroun<strong>di</strong>ng gas. This might occur in narrow-angle tail sources (where the host galaxy<br />

is moving rapidly through the ICM) or in wide-angle tails if there are sloshing motions of<br />

gas in the cluster potential well.<br />

6.7 Future prospects<br />

The work described in this thesis raises a number of observational questions, inclu<strong>di</strong>ng the<br />

following.<br />

1. How common are anisotropic RM structures? Do they occur primarily in lobed ra<strong>di</strong>o<br />

galaxies with small axial ratios, consistent with jet-driven expansion into an unusually dense<br />

surroun<strong>di</strong>ng me<strong>di</strong>um? Is their frequency qualitatively consistent with the two-<strong>di</strong>mensional<br />

draped-field picture?<br />

2. Why do we see bands primarily in sources where the isotropic RM component has a flat<br />

power spectrum of low amplitude? Is this just because the bands can be obscured by largescale<br />

fluctuations, or is there a causal connection?<br />

3. Are the RM bands suggested in tailed sources such as 3C 465 and Hydra A caused by a<br />

similar phenomenon (e.g. bulk flow of the IGM around the tails)?<br />

4. Is an asymmetry between approaching and rece<strong>di</strong>ng lobes seen in the banded RM<br />

component? If so, what does that imply about the field structure?<br />

131

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