Serendipitous decametre detection of ultra steep spectrum radio emission in Abell 655

Some galaxy clusters contain non-thermal synchrotron emitting plasma that permeate the intracluster medium (ICM). The spectral properties of this radio emission are not well characterised at decametre wavelengths ( ν < 30 MHz), primarily due to the severe corrupting effects of the ionosphere. Using a recently developed calibration strategy, we present LOFAR images below 30 MHz of the low-mass galaxy cluster Abell 655, which was serendipitously detected in an observation of the bright calibrator 3C 196. We combine this observation with LOFAR data at 144 MHz and new band 4 upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope observations centred at 650 MHz. In the 15–30 MHz LOFAR image, diffuse emission is seen with a physical extent of about 700 kpc. We argue that the diffuse emission detected in this galaxy cluster likely has multiple origins. At higher frequencies (650 MHz), the diffuse emission resembles a radio halo, while at lower frequencies the emission seems to consist of several components and bar-like structures. This detection of diffuse emission suggests that most low-frequency emission in this cluster comes from re-energised fossil plasma from old Active Galacitic Nucleus outbursts co-existing with the radio halo component. By counting the number of cluster radio detections in the decametre band, we estimate that around a quarter of the Planck clusters host re-energised fossil plasma that is detectable in the decametre band with LOFAR.