Giant low surface brightness haloes in distant radio galaxies: USS0828+193

Abstract The remnant phase of a radio galaxy begins when the jets launched from an active galactic nucleus are switched off. To study the fraction of radio galaxies in a remnant phase, we take advantage of a $8.31$ deg $^2$ subregion of the GAMA 23 field which comprises of surveys covering the frequency range 0.1–9 GHz. We present a sample of 104 radio galaxies compiled from observations conducted by the Murchison Widefield Array (216 MHz), the Australia Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (887 MHz), and the Australia Telescope Compact Array (5.5 GHz). We adopt an ‘absent radio core’ criterion to identify 10 radio galaxies showing no evidence for an active nucleus. We classify these as new candidate remnant radio galaxies. Seven of these objects still display compact emitting regions within the lobes at 5.5 GHz; at this frequency the emission is short-lived, implying a recent jet switch off. On the other hand, only three show evidence of aged lobe plasma by the presence of an ultra-steep-spectrum ( $\alpha<-1.2$ ) and a diffuse, low surface brightness radio morphology. The predominant fraction of young remnants is consistent with a rapid fading during the remnant phase. Within our sample of radio galaxies, our observations constrain the remnant fraction to $4\%\lesssim f_{\mathrm{rem}} \lesssim 10\%$ ; the lower limit comes from the limiting case in which all remnant candidates with hotspots are simply active radio galaxies with faint, undetected radio cores. Finally, we model the synchrotron spectrum arising from a hotspot to show they can persist for 5–10 Myr at 5.5 GHz after the jets switch of—radio emission arising from such hotspots can therefore be expected in an appreciable fraction of genuine remnants.

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MIGHTEE: Are giant radio galaxies more common than we thought?

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ◽

10.1093/mnras/staa3837 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

J Delhaize ◽

I Heywood ◽

M Prescott ◽

M J Jarvis ◽

I Delvecchio ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Surface Brightness ◽

Radio Galaxies ◽

Number Density ◽

Diffuse Emission ◽

The Past ◽

Recent Estimate ◽

Low Surface Brightness ◽

Extended Emission ◽

Radio Power ◽

Limited Sensitivity

Abstract We report the discovery of two new giant radio galaxies (GRGs) using the MeerKAT International GHz Tiered Extragalactic Exploration (MIGHTEE) survey. Both GRGs were found within a ∼1 deg2 region inside the COSMOS field. They have redshifts of z = 0.1656 and z = 0.3363 and physical sizes of 2.4 Mpc and 2.0 Mpc, respectively. Only the cores of these GRGs were clearly visible in previous high resolution VLA observations, since the diffuse emission of the lobes was resolved out. However, the excellent sensitivity and uv coverage of the new MeerKAT telescope allowed this diffuse emission to be detected. The GRGs occupy an unpopulated region of radio power – size parameter space. Based on a recent estimate of the GRG number density, the probability of finding two or more GRGs with such large sizes at z < 0.4 in a ∼1 deg2 field is only 2.7 × 10−6, assuming Poisson statistics. This supports the hypothesis that the prevalence of GRGs has been significantly underestimated in the past due to limited sensitivity to low surface brightness emission. The two GRGs presented here may be the first of a new population to be revealed through surveys like MIGHTEE which provide exquisite sensitivity to diffuse, extended emission.

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The 6C Survey

Symposium - International Astronomical Union ◽

10.1017/s0074180900015977 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 74 ◽

pp. 3-7

Author(s):

J. E. Baldwin

Keyword(s):

Surface Brightness ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Radio Galaxies ◽

Aperture Synthesis ◽

Radio Sources ◽

Source Density ◽

The North ◽

Low Surface Brightness ◽

Celestial Pole ◽

Frequency Survey

A new survey of radio sources at 151 MHz, which has not been described previously, is in progress at Cambridge. There are several of us working on it including Warner, Kenderdine, Waggett, Masson and Mayer. The results of the first observations are at present in a preliminary state but we hope that in time they will form the first part of the 6C survey. The purpose of the survey is not to reach the faintest sources detected so far in aperture synthesis observations but to study moderately faint sources at a low observing frequency and to cover a large part of the northern sky rapidly. The deepest survey made so far at a low frequency is that of Ryle and Neville (1962) at 178 MHz over a region of 50 square degrees near the north celestial pole. The faintest sources detected had flux densities of 0.25 Jy, corresponding to a source density of 104 sr−1. It is already 15 years since that survey, which was the first trial of aperture synthesis using the earth's rotation, and much more is now technically possible. One of the most interesting features of a low frequency survey is its ability to detect preferentially sources with steep radio spectra and to be sensitive to sources of very low surface brightness. We know that in many cases these two properties go together and are associated with old radio sources, or at least with those parts of sources which are old. Many of the weak radio galaxies in nearby clusters are obvious examples of this type of source while the final, and so far unidentified, stages of the development of the most powerful double sources may be exciting candidates for discovery.

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FR II radio galaxies at low frequencies – II. Spectral ageing and source dynamics

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ◽

10.1093/mnras/stx820 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 469 (1) ◽

pp. 639-655 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Jeremy J. Harwood ◽

Martin J. Hardcastle ◽

Raffaella Morganti ◽

Judith H. Croston ◽

Marcus Brüggen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Surface Brightness ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Radio Galaxies ◽

Speed Of Light ◽

Low Frequencies ◽

Very Large Array ◽

Low Surface Brightness ◽

Initial Electron Energy

AbstractIn this paper, the second in a series investigating Fanaroff–Riley type II (FR II) radio galaxies at low frequencies, we use LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) and Very Large Array (VLA) observations between 117 and 456 MHz, in addition to archival data, to determine the dynamics and energetics of two radio galaxies, 3C 452 and 3C 223, by fitting spectral ageing models on small spatial scales. We provide improved measurements for the physical extent of the two sources, including a previously unknown low surface brightness extension to the northern lobe of 3C 223, and revised energetics based on these values. We find spectral ages of $77.05^{+9.22}_{-8.74}$ and $84.96^{+15.02}_{-13.83}$ Myr for 3C 452 and 3C 223, respectively, suggesting a characteristic advance speed for the lobes of around 1 per cent of the speed of light. For 3C 452, we show that, even for a magnetic field strength not assumed to be in equipartition, a disparity of a factor of approximately 2 exists between the spectral age and that determined from a dynamical standpoint. We confirm that the injection index of both sources (as derived from the lobe emission) remains steeper than classically assumed values, even when considered on well-resolved scales at low frequencies. However, we find an unexpected sharp discontinuity between the spectrum of the hotspots and the surrounding lobe emission. We suggest that this discrepancy is a result of the absorption of hotspot emission and/or non-homogeneous and additional acceleration mechanisms; as such, hotspots should not be used in the determination of the underlying initial electron energy distribution.

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