Diffuse radio sources in groups and poor clusters

We have discovered new diffuse radio sources likely associated with groups of galaxies at low redshift (0.01–0.04) and without apparent AGN by using the WENSS and WISH catalogs to perform an unbiased survey. These sources resemble the radio halos, mini-halos, and ‘relics’ of rich clusters, which are thought to be powered by shocks and turbulence from infall into their deep potential wells. Our detection of similar sources within the shallow potential wells of groups of galaxies may challenge this model. Their radio luminosities are approximately two orders of magnitude higher than expected from the extrapolation of the apparent rich cluster radio/X-ray luminosity relation. Even if these sources are misidentified distant clusters, they would lie above the apparent rich cluster radio/X-ray luminosity relation in the literature, suggesting that detections of radio halos and relics thus far may be more biased than previously thought. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)