VLA observations of the wide-angle tailed radio source 1313 + 073

Abstract

The authors present VLA observations at 20 and 6 cm of the wide-angle tailed source 1313+073. It has an asymmetric structure with a sharp bend in the eastern tail and a gradual bend in the western. Both tails become diffuse after the bends. The authors explore several models to explain this structure and conclude that the tails bend because of the motion of the parent cD galaxy through the intracluster medium, which is possible if the cluster containing the source is dynamically young. Examination of the optical fields of 26 similar sources shows that in 20 of them the parent galaxies have a fainter companion (by ≡2 mag), or are D, cD or db. This indicates that cannibalism may be important in the formation and powering of such sources.