ELAIS-N1 deep field uGMRT Band-2: constraints on diffuse Galactic synchrotron emission power spectrum

Abstract

We present high sensitivity, low radio frequency continuum observations of the ELAIS-N1 field with 32 h of observations of the uGMRT (upgraded Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope) Band-2 (120-250MHz) covering 5.86 deg2 area, achieving a central off-source RMS noise of 237 μJy beam-1 with a resolution of 11.45 arcsec at the central frequency of 183 MHz. A radio source catalogue of 1027 sources statistically matches with similar observations at different frequencies within the sensitivity range of the uGMRT. The calibrated data are further used to characterize the dominant foreground, the diffuse Galactic synchrotron emission (DGSE), in angular scale and frequency regime. We derived the angular power spectrum (APS) of DGSE in two ways: image-based estimator (i-APS) and visibility-based Tapered Gridded Estimator (TGE; hereafter as t-APS). We assess the characteristics of DGSE with a power-law form of Cℓ= A(1000/ℓ)β. Combining data from Band-2 and earlier Band-3 observations, we derived a spectral variation of Cℓ in the form of Cℓ = Av-2α ℓ-β. Our result indicates a spectral break at v = 230 ± 5MHz, corresponding to a synchrotron age of tsyn = 106 ± 1 Myr for the cosmic-ray electrons (CRe). This break result suggests a low-energy cut-off in the CRe population, leading to spectral curvature at low frequencies. Using both of the techniques, i-APS and t-APS, we find that the mean spectral index α and power-law index β are consistent within the frequency range 120-500 MHz. © The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society.