Description
Brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) are among the most luminous and massive galaxies in the current epoch. They are expected to contribute to the cosmic ray population in galaxy clusters, yet past research on BCGs with the Fermi-LAT γ-ray space telescope produced only upper limits, with a few exceptions. It is important to investigate this issue further to broaden the understanding of the radiation emission mechanisms and the interaction between the galaxy cluster environment and the central supermassive black holes powering the BCGs. We present a spectral and temporal variability analysis of 9 BCGs from the 4FGL-DR4 catalogue, including the well-known radio galaxies NGC 1275 and 3C 264, using four times more Fermi-LAT data than the earlier studies. We hope this work will pave the way for future multi-wavelength and multi-messenger observations, furthering our understanding of these fascinating galaxies and their contribution to the cosmic ray population in galaxy clusters.
