scholarly journals The low-frequency properties of FR 0 radio galaxies

2019 ◽  
Vol 631 ◽  
pp. A176 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Capetti ◽  
R. D. Baldi ◽  
M. Brienza ◽  
R. Morganti ◽  
G. Giovannini

Using the alternative data release of the TIFR GMRT Sky Survey (TGSS), we studied the low-frequency properties of FR 0 radio galaxies, the large population of compact radio sources associated with red massive early-type galaxies revealed by surveys at 1.4 GHz. We considered TGSS observations from FR0CAT, a sample formed by 104 FR 0s at z <  0.05: all but one of them are covered by the TGSS, and 43 of them are detected above a 5σ limit of 17.5 mJy. No extended emission has been detected around the FR 0s, corresponding to a luminosity limit of ≲4 × 1023 W Hz−1 over an area of 100 kpc × 100 kpc. All but eight FR 0s have a flat or inverted spectral shape (α <  0.5) between 150 MHz and 1.4 GHz: this spectral behavior confirms the general paucity of optically thin extended emission within the TGSS beam, as is expected for their compact 1.4 GHz morphology. Data at 5 GHz were used to build their radio spectra, which are also generally flat at higher frequencies. By focusing on a sub-sample of FR 0s with flux density > 50 mJy at 1.4 GHz, we found that ∼75% of them have a convex spectrum, but with a smaller curvature than the more powerful gigahertz peaked-spectrum sources (GPS). The typical FR 0s radio spectrum is better described by a gradual steepening toward high frequencies, rather than to a transition from an optically-thick to an optically-thin regime, possibly observed in only ∼15% of the sample.

1972 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 232-248
Author(s):  
Beverley J. Harris

Accurate relative spectra for 300 radio sources from the Parkes catalogue have been measured and a statistical study made of their relation to class of optical identification and to other radio properties. Individual spectra and their time variations have also been investigated.The results support the contention that radio sources for which no identification appears on the Palomar Sky Survey prints may be galaxies more luminous at radio frequencies than those which are identified. From a study of QSOs, radio galaxies and these blank field objects, it appears (a) that with increasing radio luminosity compact components are more often found, their presence being indicated by synchrotron self-absorption at low and high frequencies, by flat, variable spectra at high frequencies, and by interplanetary scintillations; and (b) that where no compact component contributes to the spectrum at high frequencies, many spectra steepen with increasing frequency, an effect which may be more marked for the more radio luminous objects.Detailed analyses of the time variations in the compact components of 22 variable sources are generally consistent with the adiabatically expanding, uniform sphere model of Shklovsky, Kellermann, van der Laan and others. The model was modified to include relativistic expansion according to the formulae given by Rees and Simon. The results suggest that these components have evolved within months or years, have linear dimension of 0.1 to 100 pc and magnetic fields of 1 to 10−4 G. Some spectra at frequencies above 5000 MHz suggest non-adiabatic expansion which may be the result of continued injection of energy into an expanding region.


2020 ◽  
Vol 638 ◽  
pp. A48 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Stuardi ◽  
S. P. O’Sullivan ◽  
A. Bonafede ◽  
M. Brüggen ◽  
P. Dabhade ◽  
...  

Context. Giant radio galaxies (GRGs) are physically large radio sources that extend well beyond their host galaxy environment. Their polarization properties are affected by the poorly constrained magnetic field that permeates the intergalactic medium on megaparsec scales. A low frequency (< 200 MHz) polarization study of this class of radio sources is now possible with LOFAR. Aims. Here we investigate the polarization properties and Faraday rotation measure (RM) of a catalog of GRGs detected in the LOFAR Two-meter Sky Survey. This is the first low frequency polarization study of a large sample of radio galaxies that were selected on their physical size. We explore the magneto-ionic properties of their under-dense environment and probe intergalactic magnetic fields using the Faraday rotation properties of their radio lobes. LOFAR is a key instrument for this kind of analysis because it can probe small amounts of Faraday dispersion (< 1 rad m−2), which are associated with weak magnetic fields and low thermal gas densities. Methods. We used RM synthesis in the 120−168 MHz band to search for polarized emission and to derive the RM and fractional polarization of each detected source component. We study the depolarization between 1.4 GHz and 144 MHz using images from the NRAO VLA Sky Survey. We investigate the correlation of the detection rate, the RM difference between the lobes, and the depolarization with different parameters as follows: the angular and linear size of the sources and the projected distance from the closest foreground galaxy cluster. In our sample, we also included 3C 236, which is one of the largest radio galaxies known. Results. From a sample of 240 GRGs, we detected 37 sources in polarization, all of which have a total flux density above 56 mJy. We detected significant RM differences between the lobes, which would be inaccessible at gigahertz frequencies, with a median value of ∼1 rad m−2. The fractional polarization of the detected GRGs at 1.4 GHz and 144 MHz is consistent with a small amount of Faraday depolarization (a Faraday dispersion < 0.3 rad m−2). Our analysis shows that the lobes are expanding into a low-density (< 10−5 cm−3) local environment that is permeated by weak magnetic fields (< 0.1 μG) with fluctuations on scales of 3−25 kpc. The presence of foreground galaxy clusters appears to influence the polarization detection rate up to 2R500. In general, this work demonstrates the ability of LOFAR to quantify the rarefied environments in which these GRGs exist and highlights them as an excellent statistical sample to use as high precision probes of magnetic fields in the intergalactic medium and the Milky Way.


2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (A29B) ◽  
pp. 319-320
Author(s):  
David H. Roberts ◽  
Lakshmi Saripalli ◽  
Ravi Subrahmanyan

AbstractCoalescence of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in galaxy mergers is potentially the dominant contributor to the low frequency gravitational wave background (GWB). It was proposed by Merritt & Ekers that X-shaped radio galaxies are signposts of such coalescences and that their abundance might be used to predict the magnitude of the GWB. Cheung identified a sample of 100 candidate X-shaped radio galaxies using the NRAO FIRST survey; these are small-axial-ratio extended radio sources with off-axis emission. In Roberts et al. we made radio images of 52 of these sources with resolution of about 1 arcsecond using archival Very Large Array data. Fifty-one of the 52 were observed at 1.4 GHz, seven were observed at 1.4 and 5 GHz, and one was observed only at 5 GHz. Our higher resolution VLA images along with FIRST survey images of the sources in the sample reveal that extended extragalactic radio sources with small axial ratios are largely (60%) cases of double radio sources with twin lobes that have off-axis extensions, usually with inversion-symmetric structure. The available radio images indicate that at most 20% of sources might be genuine X-shaped radio sources that could have formed by a restarting of beams in a new direction following an interruption and axis flip. The remaining 20% are in neither of these categories.These images indicate that at most a small fraction of the candidates might be genuine X-shaped radio sources that were formed by a restarting of beams in a new direction following a major merger, or by spin drift caused by BH-BH interaction. This suggests that fewer than 1.3% of extended radio sources appear to be candidates for genuine axis reorientations (“spin flips”), or 2.2% if possible “axis drift” sources are included, much smaller than the 7% suggested by Leahy & Parma. Thus, the associated GWB may be substantially smaller than previous estimates. These results can be used to normalize detailed calculations of the SMBH coalescence rate and the GWB.


2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (S313) ◽  
pp. 231-235
Author(s):  
Leah K. Morabito ◽  
Adam Deller ◽  
J. B. R. Oonk ◽  
Huub Röttgering ◽  
George Miley

AbstractThe correlation between radio spectral steepness and redshift has been successfully used to find high redshift (z ⩾ 2) radio galaxies, but the origin of this relation is unknown. The ultra-steep spectra of high-z radio sources make them ideally suited for studies with the Low Band Antenna of the new Low Frequency Array, which covers 10–80 MHz and has baselines up to about 1300 km. As part of an ongoing survey, we use the longest baselines to map the low-frequency (< 70 MHz) spatial distributions along the jets of 5 bright extended steep spectrum high-z radio sources. From this, we will determine whether the spectra change over these spatially resolved sources, thereby constraining particle acceleration processes. We present early results from our low-frequency survey of ultra-steep spectrum radio galaxies. The first low frequency long baseline images of these objects are presented.


2021 ◽  
Vol 922 (2) ◽  
pp. 197
Author(s):  
Anna Wójtowicz ◽  
Łukasz Stawarz ◽  
Jerzy Machalski ◽  
Luisa Ostorero

Abstract The dynamical evolution and radiative properties of luminous radio galaxies and quasars of the FR II type, are well understood. As a result, through the use of detailed modeling of the observed radio emission of such sources, one can estimate various physical parameters of the systems, including the density of the ambient medium into which the radio structure evolves. This, however, requires rather comprehensive observational information, i.e., sampling the broadband radio continua of the targets at several frequencies, and imaging their radio structures with high resolution. Such observations are, on the other hand, not always available, especially for high-redshift objects. Here, we analyze the best-fit values of the source physical parameters, derived from extensive modeling of the largest currently available sample of FR II radio sources, for which good-quality multiwavelength radio flux measurements could be collected. In the analyzed data set, we notice a significant and nonobvious correlation between the spectral index of the nonthermal radio emission continuum, and density of the ambient medium. We derive the corresponding correlation parameters, and quantify the intrinsic scatter by means of Bayesian analysis. We propose that the discovered correlation could be used as a cosmological tool to estimate the density of ambient medium for large samples of distant radio galaxies. Our method does not require any detailed modeling of individual sources, and relies on limited observational information, namely, the slope of the radio continuum between the rest-frame frequencies 0.4 and 5 GHz, possibly combined with the total linear size of the radio structure.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-172
Author(s):  
A. P. Miroshnichenko ◽  

Purpose: Estimate of the environment density of giant (with the linear size of about megaparsec) radio structures for galaxies and quasars with steep low-frequency spectra taken from the UTR-2 catalogue. Study of the cosmological evolution of environment density of giant radio sources. Determination of dependence of contribution of radio lobes into the emission of giant sources with respect to their environment density. Design/methodology/approach: We use the sample of sources from the UTR-2 catalogue of extragalactic sources to estimate the environment density for giant sources with steep low-frequency spectra. The selection criteria for the examined objects are the following: 1) the spectral index value is equal or larger than 1; 2) the fl ux density of emission at the frequency of 25 MHz is larger than 10 Jy; 3) the sample sources are optically identifi ed. The value of environment density of examined sources is obtained with the assumption of equality of source jet luminosity (at the synchrotron mechanism of radio emission) and its corresponding kinetic luminosity. The analysis of the estimates of environment densities is made for different classes of the sample objects (for galaxies and quasars with linear steep spectra and with break steep spectra). Findings: The estimates of environment density have been derived for giant radio structures formed by the jets of sources with steep spectrum from the UTR-2 catalogue. On the average, the environment density for the quasar structure (~ 10-28 g/sm3) is lesser than the one for the galaxies (~ 10-27 g/sm3 to ~ 10-26 g/sm3). The larger jet environment density is typical for the galaxies and quasars with the break steep spectra than for those with the linear steep spectra. The inverse power relation of the jet environment density and the source redshift (the cosmological evolution of the jet environment density) has been derived. The contribution of jet-related radio lobes into the emission of sources displays the inverse power relation for the environment density of the corresponding radio structures. Conclusions: The mean values of obtained estimates of environment density of giant jets of radio sources with steep low-frequency spectra indicate the lesser environment density of quasar jets than that for the galaxy jets. Giant radio sources with steep low-frequency spectrum (especially, with break steep spectrum) reveal considerable evolution of environment density of jets. The larger contribution of radio lobes (jets) into the emission of sources corresponds to the lesser environment density of sources taken from the UTR-2 catalogue. It can be due to propagation of jets (surrounded by radio lobes) from powerful radio sources to distances of about megaparsec, until the balance of source’s environment density and extragalactic environment density is reached. Key words: steep low-frequency radio spectrum; giant radio structure; jets; radio lobes; galaxies; quasars; environment density


1982 ◽  
Vol 97 ◽  
pp. 435-436 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. N. Owen ◽  
J. J. Puschell ◽  
R. A. Laing

The purpose of this communication is to update our knowledge of the radio structural properties of quasars and blank field radio sources (blank field ≡ any radio source without an identification on the Palomar Sky Survey prints). The quasar sample consists of all sources (25) with angular sizes greater than 10 arcsec in the list of Jodrell Bank quasars observed by Owen, Porcas and Neff (1978). The blank fields consist of 16 3CR sources also with structures >10 arcsec based on Cambridge 5 km telescope observations. The sources were selected in low-frequency surveys; their emission at ν < 1 GHz is dominated by extended components with steep spectra. Thus, both samples should be oriented randomly in space except for a slight bias to be in the plane of the sky.


1994 ◽  
Vol 159 ◽  
pp. 425-425
Author(s):  
D. Dallacasa ◽  
C. Fanti ◽  
R. Fanti

GHz-Peaked Spectrum (GPS) radio sources are intrinsically small (< 1 kpc) and unbeamed objects. The galaxies considered here (0316+161, 0404+768, 0428+205, 1323+321, 1358+624, 1819+39, 1829+29) have been selected from the Peacock and Wall (1981) catalogue, and belong to a complete sample of Compact Steep-Spectrum (CSS) radio sources (Fanti et al., 1990). Their radio spectra show a turnover which could be explained in terms of synchrotron self-absorption. It occurs at frequencies ranging from about 100 MHz to 5 GHz and for this reason they do not appear in the 3CR catalogue.


1996 ◽  
Vol 175 ◽  
pp. 569-570
Author(s):  
R.D. Dagkesamanskii

Cosmological evolution of synchrotron spectra of the powerful extragalactic radio sources was studied by many authors. Some indications of such an evolution had been found firstly by analysis of ‘spectral index - flux density’ (α – S) relation for the sample of relatively strong radio sources. Later Gopal-Krishna and Steppe extended the analysis to weaker sources and found that the slope of αmed(S) curve changes dramatically at intermediate flux densities. Gopal-Krishna and Steppe pointed out that the maxima of the αmed(S) curve and of differential source counts are at almost the same flux density ranges (see, Fig. 2). It has to be noticed that the all mentioned results were obtained using the low-frequency spectral indices and on the basis of low frequency samples.


2019 ◽  
Vol 626 ◽  
pp. A8 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Missaglia ◽  
F. Massaro ◽  
A. Capetti ◽  
M. Paolillo ◽  
R. P. Kraft ◽  
...  

We present a catalog of 47 wide-angle tailed radio galaxies (WATs), the WATCAT, mainly built including a radio morphological classification; WATs were selected by combining observations from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory/Very Large Array Sky Survey (NVSS), the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters (FIRST), and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We included in the catalog only radio sources showing two-sided jets with two clear “warmspots” (i.e., jet knots as bright as 20% of the nucleus) lying on the opposite side of the radio core, and having classical extended emission resembling a plume beyond them. The catalog is limited to redshifts z ≤ 0.15, and lists only sources with radio emission extended beyond 30 kpc from the host galaxy. We found that host galaxies of WATCAT sources are all luminous (−20.5 ≳ Mr ≳ −23.7), red early-type galaxies with black hole masses in the range 108 ≲ MBH ≲ 109 M⊙. The spectroscopic classification indicates that they are all low-excitation galaxies (LEGs). Comparing WAT multifrequency properties with those of FR I and FR II radio galaxies at the same redshifts, we conclude that WATs show multifrequency properties remarkably similar to FR I radio galaxies, having radio power of typical FR IIs.


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