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Observational properties of diffuse radio sources in Galaxy Clusters. Current knowledge and open questions

Diffuse radio sources in galaxy clusters are unique signposts of cluster assembly in the Universe. Our knowledge of their observational properties has considerably improved over the past decade, and the long standing questions concerning their origin and rarity are now starting to receive some answers. It is nowadays fairly well established that massive cluster mergers are the key ingredient to account for the origin of halos and relics. The increasing number of halos and relics found now allow to derive significant statistical correlations. It has been shown that galaxy clusters may be radio-loud or radio--quiet with respect to the presence of radio halos. Morevoer, radio halos and relics are present only in unrelaxed clusters, whereas no such sources have ever been found in relaxed systems. It has also become clear that a large distribution exists for the spectral index of the synchrotron spectrum of radio halos, and ultra-steep halos have been found. Despite all this, a number of observational issues remain open. Well defined radio spectra, from ~ hundred MHz to GHz frequencies and good spectral imaging are available only for few halos and relics, and such information is crucial for a detailed understanding of their origin. It is presently unclear if there are basic differences between clusters with ultra steep spectrum radio halos and those hosting "classical" ones, and it is unknown if less energetic mergers result in an observational signature in the radio band. With the forthcoming advent of LOFAR and of the SKA Pathfinders, we will soon be able to observe galaxy clusters with a major improvement in the radio sensitivity and frequency coverage, and we expect to be able to soon address some of these pressing questions.