VLA observations of 3C 295 - A young radio galaxy?

We present VLA observations of the luminous radio galaxy 3C 295 at 2, 3.6, 6, and 20 cm. The combination of its extreme luminosity with small physical size results in a very high energy density and equipartition magnetic field strengths of ~500 μG. The spectrum is unusually steep for a radio galaxy, and shows curvature at all frequencies. In addition, we find the largest Faraday rotation measures (RMs) yet measured in an extragalactic source, exceeding 20,000 radians m^-2^ in places. We believe these RMs are caused by cluster gas and magnetic fields of strength ~30μG, and are not produced within the source or at its boundary. We suggest that this is a young radio galaxy, less than 2 million years old.