We investigate the effects of ram pressure on the ordered magnetic field of a galaxy hosting a radio halo and strong nuclear outflows. New radio images in total and polarized intensity of the edge-on Virgo galaxy NGC 4388 were obtained within the CHANG-ES EVLA project. The unprecedented noise level reached allows us to detect striking new features of the ordered magnetic field. The nuclear outflow extends far into the halo to about 5 kpc from the center and is spatially correlated with the and X-ray emission. For the first time, the southern outflow is detected. Above and below both spiral arms we find extended blobs of polarized emission with an ordered field oriented perpendicular to the disk. The synchrotron lifetime of the cosmic-ray electrons (CREs) in these regions yields a mean outflow velocity of , in agreement with a galactic wind scenario. The observed symmetry of the polarized halo features in NGC 4388 excludes a compression of the halo gas by the ram pressure of the intracluster medium (ICM). The assumption of equilibrium between the halo pressure and the ICM ram pressure yields an estimate of the ICM density that is consistent with both the ICM density derived from X-ray observations and the recent Planck Sunyaev–Zel’dovich measurements. The detection of a faint radio halo around cluster galaxies could thus be used for an estimate of ICM ram pressure.

Context. Galactic winds play a key role in regulating the evolution of galaxies over cosmic time. In recent years, the role of cosmic rays (CRs) in the formation of the galactic wind has increasingly gained attention. Therefore, we use radio continuum data to analyse the CR transport in edge-on galaxies. Aims. With newly reduced radio continuum data of five edge-on galaxies (NGC 891, NGC 3432, NGC 4013, NGC 4157, and NGC 4631), we plan to set new constraints on the morphology of radio halos and the physical properties of galactic winds driven by stellar feedback. By distinguishing between the central and outer regions of the galaxies, our study setup allows us to search for variations in the radio halo profile or CR transport along the galactic disk. Methods. Data from the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) Data Release 2 at 144 MHz (HBA) and reprocessed data from the Very Large Array (VLA) at 1.5 GHz (L band) from the Continuum Halos in Nearby Galaxies – an EVLA Survey (CHANG-ES) enable us to increase the extent of the analysed radio continuum profile significantly (up to a factor of 2) compared to previous studies. We computed thermal emission maps using a mixture approach with Hα and near-infrared data, which were then subtracted to yield radio synchrotron emission maps. Then we compiled non-thermal spectral index maps and computed intensity profiles using a box integration approach. Lastly, we performed 1D CR transport modelling. Results. The non-thermal spectral index maps show evidence that the LoTSS maps are affected by thermal absorption in star-forming regions. The scale height analysis reveals that most of the galaxies are equally well fitted with a one-component instead of a two-component exponential profile. We find a bi-modality within our sample. While NGC 3432 and NGC 4013 have similar scale heights in the L band and HBA, the low-frequency scale heights of NGC 891, NGC 4157, and NGC 4631 exceed their high-frequency counterpart significantly. The 1D CR transport modelling shows agreement between the predicted magnetic field strength and the magnetic field strength estimates of equipartition measurements. Additionally, we find an increasing difference in wind velocities (with increasing height over the galactic disk) between the central and outer regions of the analysed galaxies.

We present the serendipitous detection of a new Galactic supernova remnant (SNR), G288.8–6.3, using data from the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) survey. Using multifrequency analysis, we confirm this object as an evolved Galactic SNR at high Galactic latitude with low radio surface brightness and typical SNR spectral index of α = − 0.41 ± 0.12. To determine the magnetic field strength in SNR G288.8–6.3, we present the first derivation of the equipartition formulae for SNRs with spectral indices α > − 0.5. The angular size is 1.°8 × 1.°6 (107.′6 × 98.′4), and we estimate that its intrinsic size is ∼40 pc, which implies a distance of ∼1.3 kpc and a position of ∼140 pc above the Galactic plane. This is one of the largest in angular size and closest Galactic SNRs. Given its low radio surface brightness, we suggest that it is about 13,000 yr old.

CHANG-ES (Continuum Halos in Nearby Galaxies—an EVLA Survey) is an ambitious project to target 35 nearby disk galaxies that are edge-on to the line of sight. The orientation permits both the disk and halo regions to be studied. The observations were initially at 1.5 GHz (L-band) and 6.0 GHz (C-band) in a variety of VLA array configurations, and in all four Stokes parameters, which allowed for spatially resolved images in total intensity plus polarization. The inclusion of polarization is unique to an edge-on galaxy survey and reveals the galaxies’ halo magnetic fields. This paper will summarize the results to date, some of which are new phenomena, never seen prior to CHANG-ES. For example, we see that ‘X-type’ fields, as well as rotation measure reversals, are common features of spiral galaxies. Further observations at 3.0 GHz (S-band) as well as future scientific opportunities will also be described.

The existing reservoirs of neutral atomic hydrogen gas (H I) in galaxies are insufficient to have maintained the observed levels of star formation without some kind of replenishment. This refuelling of the H I reservoirs is likely to occur at column densities an order of magnitude lower than previous observational limits (N_{H I, limit} ∼ 10¹⁹ cm⁻² at a 30″ resolution over a linewidth of 20 km s⁻¹). In this paper, we present recent deep H I observations of NGC 5068, a nearby isolated star-forming galaxy observed by MeerKAT as part of the MHONGOOSE survey. With these new data, we were able to detect low column density H I around NGC 5068 with a 3σ detection limit of N_H I = 6.4 × 10¹⁷ cm⁻² at a 90″ resolution over a 20 km s⁻¹ linewidth. The high sensitivity and resolution of the MeerKAT data reveal a complex morphology of the H I in this galaxy – a regularly rotating inner disk coincident with the main star-forming disk of the galaxy, a warped outer disk of low column density gas (N_H I < 9 × 10¹⁹ cm⁻²), in addition to clumps of gas on the north-western side of the galaxy. We employed a simple two disk model that described the inner and outer disks, which enabled us to identify anomalous gas that deviates from the rotation of the main galaxy. The morphology and the kinematics of the anomalous gas suggest a possible extra-galactic origin. We explore a number of possible origin scenarios that may explain the anomalous gas, and conclude that fresh accretion is the most likely scenario.

We report the discovery of the 10 kpc scale radio lobes in the Sombrero galaxy (NGC 4594), using data from the Continuum Halos in Nearby Galaxies—an Expanded Very Large Array Survey project. We further examine the balance between the magnetic pressure inside the lobes and the thermal pressure of the ambient hot gas. At the radii r of ∼(1–10) kpc, the magnetic pressure inside the lobes and the thermal pressure of the ambient hot gas are generally in balance. This implies that the jets could expand into the surroundings to at least r ∼ 10 kpc. The feedback from the active galactic nucleus jet responsible for the large-scale lobes may help to explain the unusually high X-ray luminosity of this massive quiescent isolated disk galaxy, although more theoretical work is needed to further examine this possibility.