scholarly journals The evolution of the low-frequency radio AGN population to z ≃ 1.5 in the ELAIS N1 field

2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (4) ◽  
pp. 4685-4702
Author(s):  
E F Ocran ◽  
A R Taylor ◽  
M Vaccari ◽  
C H Ishwara-Chandra ◽  
I Prandoni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Radio Emission ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Cosmic Evolution ◽  
Continuous Models ◽  
Infrared Star ◽  
Luminosity Evolution ◽  
Radio Luminosity Function

ABSTRACT We study the cosmic evolution of radio sources out to z ≃ 1.5 using a GMRT 610 MHz survey covering ∼1.86 deg2 of the ELAIS N1 field with a minimum/median rms noise 7.1/19.5 μJy beam−1 and an angular resolution of 6 arcsec. We classify sources as star forming galaxies (SFGs), radio-quiet (RQ) and radio-loud (RL) Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) using a combination of multiwavelength diagnostics and find evidence in support of the radio emission in SFGs and RQ AGN arising from star formation, rather than AGN-related processes. At high luminosities, however, both SFGs and RQ AGN display a radio excess when comparing radio and infrared star formation rates. The vast majority of our sample lie along the $\rm {SFR - \mathit{ M}_{\star }}$ ‘main sequence’ at all redshifts when using infrared star formation rates. We derive the 610 MHz radio luminosity function for the total AGN population, constraining its evolution via continuous models of pure density and pure luminosity evolution with $\rm {\Phi ^{\star }\, \propto \, (\, 1+\, \mathit{ z})^{(2.25\pm 0.38)-(0.63\pm 0.35)z}}$ and $\rm {\mathit{ L}_{610\, MHz}\, \propto \, (\, 1+\, \mathit{ z})^{(3.45\pm 0.53)-(0.55\pm 0.29)\mathit{ z}}}$, respectively. For our RQ and RL AGN, we find a fairly mild evolution with redshift best fitted by pure luminosity evolution with $\rm {\mathit{ L}_{610\, MHz}\, \propto \, (\, 1+\, \mathit{ z})^{(2.81\pm 0.43)-(0.57\pm 0.30)\mathit{ z}}}$ for RQ AGN and $\rm {\mathit{ L}_{610\, MHz}\, \propto \, (\, 1+\, \mathit{ z})^{(3.58\pm 0.54)-(0.56\pm 0.29)\mathit{ z}}}$ for RL AGN. The 610 MHz radio AGN population thus comprises two differently evolving populations whose radio emission is mostly SF-driven or AGN-driven, respectively.

scholarly journals The XXL Survey

2020 ◽  
Vol 642 ◽  
pp. A125
Author(s):  
L. Ceraj ◽  
V. Smolčić ◽  
I. Delvecchio ◽  
A. Butler ◽  
K. Tisanić ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Radio Emission ◽  
Host Galaxies ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Luminosity Functions ◽  
Lower Luminosity ◽  
Luminosity Evolution ◽  
Selection Of

We studied a sample of 274 radio and X-ray selected quasars (XQSOs) detected in the COSMOS and XXL-S radio surveys at 3 GHz and 2.1 GHz, respectively. This sample was identified by adopting a conservative threshold in X-ray luminosity, LX [2−10 keV] ≥ 1044 erg s−1, selecting only the most powerful quasars. A number of previous studies on the origin of radio emission in type-1 quasars have focused on the radio loudness distributions, some claiming to have found evidence for bimodality, pointing toward the existence of two physically different mechanisms for the radio emission. Using available multiwavelength data, we examined various criteria for the selection of radio-loud (RL) and radio-quiet (RQ) XQSOs and found that the number of RL/RQ XQSOs changes significantly depending on the chosen criterion. This discrepancy arises due to the different criteria tracing different physical processes and due to the fact that our sample was selected from flux-limited radio and X-ray surveys. Another approach to study the origin of radio emission in XQSOs is via their radio luminosity functions (RLF). We constructed the XQSO 1.4 GHz RLFs in six redshift bins at 0.5 ≤ z ≤ 3.75. The lower-1.4 GHz luminosity end shows a higher normalization than expected only from AGN contribution in all studied redshift bins. We found that the so-called “bump” is mostly dominated by emission due to star-forming processes within the host galaxies of XQSOs. As expected, AGN-related radio emission is the dominant contribution at the higher-luminosity end of RLF. To study the evolution of the XQSO RLF, we used a combination of analytic forms from the literature to constrain the “bump” due to star formation and the higher-luminosity AGN part of the RLF. We defined two 1.4 GHz luminosity thresholds, Lth, SF and Lth, AGN, below and above which more than 80% of sources contributing to the RLF are dominated by star formation and AGN-related activity, respectively. The two thresholds evolve with redshift, which is most likely driven by the strong evolution of star formation rates of the XQSO host galaxies. We found that both the lower and higher luminosity ends evolve significantly in density, while their luminosity evolution parameters are consistent with being constant. We found that the lower-luminosity end evolves both in density and luminosity, while the higher-luminosity end evolves significantly only in density. Our results expose the dichotomy of the origin of radio emission: while the higher-luminosity end of the XQSO RLF is dominated by AGN activity, the lower-luminosity end is dominated by the star formation-related processes.

scholarly journals The VLA-COSMOS 3 GHz Large Project: Star formation properties and radio luminosity functions of AGN with moderate-to-high radiative luminosities out to z∼ 6

2018 ◽  
Vol 620 ◽  
pp. A192 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Ceraj ◽  
V. Smolčić ◽  
I. Delvecchio ◽  
M. Novak ◽  
G. Zamorani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Radio Emission ◽  
Spectral Energy Distribution ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
Distribution Fitting ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Luminosity Functions ◽  
Large Project ◽  
Analytic Models

We have studied a sample of 1604 moderate-to-high radiative luminosity active galactic nuclei (HLAGN) selected at 3 GHz within the VLA-COSMOS 3 GHz Large Project. These were classified by combining multiple AGN diagnostics: X-ray data, mid-infrared data and broadband spectral energy distribution fitting. We decomposed the total radio 1.4 GHz luminosity (L1.4 GHz, TOT) into the emission originating from star formation and AGN activity by measuring the excess in L1.4 GHz, TOT relative to the infrared-radio correlation of star-forming galaxies. To quantify the excess, for each source we calculated the AGN fraction (fAGN) defined as the fractional contribution of AGN activity to L1.4 GHz, TOT. The majority of the HLAGN, (68.0 ± 1.5)%, are dominated by star-forming processes (fAGN ≤ 0.5), while (32.0 ± 1.5)% are dominated by AGN-related radio emission (0.5 <  fAGN ≤ 1). We used the AGN-related 1.4 GHz emission to derive the 1.4 GHz AGN luminosity functions of HLAGN. By assuming pure density and pure luminosity evolution models we constrained their cosmic evolution out to z ∼ 6, finding Φ*(z)∝(1 + z)(2.64 ± 0.10)+(−0.61 ± 0.04)z and L*(z)∝(1 + z)(3.97 ± 0.15)+(−0.92 ± 0.06)z. These evolutionary laws show that the number and luminosity density of HLAGN increased from higher redshifts (z ∼ 6) up to a maximum in the redshift range 1 <  z <  2.5, followed by a decline toward local values. By scaling the 1.4 GHz AGN luminosity to kinetic luminosity using the standard conversion, we estimate the kinetic luminosity density as a function of redshift. We compare our result to the semi-analytic models of radio mode feedback, and find that this feedback could have played an important role in the context of AGN-host co-evolution in HLAGN which shows evidence of AGN-related radio emission (fAGN >  0).

scholarly journals Constraining photoionization models with a reprojected optical diagnostic diagram

2020 ◽  
Vol 499 (4) ◽  
pp. 5749-5764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xihan Ji ◽  
Renbin Yan
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Line Ratio ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Optical Diagnostic ◽  
Diagnostic Diagram ◽  
Upper Limits ◽  
Nitrogen Abundance

ABSTRACT Optical diagnostic diagrams are powerful tools to separate different ionizing sources in galaxies. However, the model-constraining power of the most widely used diagrams is very limited and challenging to visualize. In addition, there have always been classification inconsistencies between diagrams based on different line ratios, and ambiguities between regions purely ionized by active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and composite regions. We present a simple reprojection of the 3D line ratio space composed of [N ii]λ6583/H α, [S ii]λλ6716, 6731/H α, and [O iii]λ5007/H β, which reveals its model-constraining power and removes the ambiguity for the true composite objects. It highlights the discrepancy between many theoretical models and the data loci. With this reprojection, we can put strong constraints on the photoionization models and the secondary nitrogen abundance prescription. We find that a single nitrogen prescription cannot fit both the star-forming locus and AGN locus simultaneously, with the latter requiring higher N/O ratios. The true composite regions stand separately from both models. We can compute the fractional AGN contributions for the composite regions, and define demarcations with specific upper limits on contamination from AGN or star formation. When the discrepancy about nitrogen prescriptions gets resolved in the future, it would also be possible to make robust metallicity measurements for composite regions and AGNs.

The GLEAM 4-Jy Sample: The brightest radio-sources in the southern sky

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (S356) ◽  
pp. 375-375
Author(s):  
Sarah White
Keyword(s):  
Radio Emission ◽  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Visual Inspection ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Radio Sources ◽  
Relativistic Jets ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
Murchison Widefield Array ◽  
Past Activity

AbstractLow-frequency radio emission allows powerful active galactic nuclei (AGN) to be selected in a way that is unaffected by dust obscuration and orientation of the jet axis. It also reveals past activity (e.g. radio lobes) that may not be evident at higher frequencies. Currently, there are too few “radio-loud” galaxies for robust studies in terms of redshift-evolution and/or environment. Hence our use of new observations from the Murchison Widefield Array (the SKA-Low precursor), over the southern sky, to construct the GLEAM 4-Jy Sample (1,860 sources at S151MHz > 4 Jy). This sample is dominated by AGN and is 10 times larger than the heavily relied-upon 3CRR sample (173 sources at S178MHz > 10 Jy) of the northern hemisphere. In order to understand how AGN influence their surroundings and the way galaxies evolve, we first need to correctly identify the galaxy hosting the radio emission. This has now been completed for the GLEAM 4-Jy Sample – through repeated visual inspection and extensive checks against the literature – forming a valuable, legacy dataset for investigating relativistic jets and their interplay with the environment.

scholarly journals Fundamental differences in the radio properties of red and blue quasars: insight from the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS)

2020 ◽  
Vol 494 (3) ◽  
pp. 3061-3079 ◽  
Author(s):  
D J Rosario ◽  
V A Fawcett ◽  
L Klindt ◽  
D M Alexander ◽  
L K Morabito ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Control Sample ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Sloan Digital Sky Survey ◽  
Stellar Objects ◽  
Radio Detection ◽  
Sky Survey ◽  
Quasi Stellar Objects ◽  
First Time

ABSTRACT Red quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) are a subset of the luminous end of the cosmic population of active galactic nuclei (AGNs), most of which are reddened by intervening dust along the line of sight towards their central engines. In recent work from our team, we developed a systematic technique to select red QSOs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and demonstrated that they have distinctive radio properties using the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty centimetres radio survey. Here we expand our study using low-frequency radio data from the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS). With the improvement in depth that LoTSS offers, we confirm key results: Compared to a control sample of normal ‘blue’ QSOs matched in redshift and accretion power, red QSOs have a higher radio detection rate and a higher incidence of compact radio morphologies. For the first time, we also demonstrate that these differences arise primarily in sources of intermediate radio loudness: Radio-intermediate red QSOs are × 3 more common than typical QSOs, but the excess diminishes among the most radio-loud systems and the most radio-quiet systems in our study. We develop Monte Carlo simulations to explore whether differences in star formation could explain these results, and conclude that, while star formation is an important source of low-frequency emission among radio-quiet QSOs, a population of AGN-driven compact radio sources is the most likely cause for the distinct low-frequency radio properties of red QSOs. Our study substantiates the conclusion that fundamental differences must exist between the red and normal blue QSO populations.

scholarly journals A radio polarimetric study to disentangle AGN activity and star formation in Seyfert galaxies

2020 ◽  
Vol 499 (1) ◽  
pp. 334-354
Author(s):  
Biny Sebastian ◽  
P Kharb ◽  
C P O’Dea ◽  
J F Gallimore ◽  
S A Baum
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Radio Emission ◽  
Seyfert Galaxies ◽  
Starburst Galaxies ◽  
Shock Acceleration ◽  
Very Large Array ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Array Configuration ◽  
Star Forming Regions ◽  
Tentative Evidence

ABSTRACT To understand the origin of radio emission in radio-quiet active galactic nucleus (AGN) and differentiate between the contributions from star formation, AGN accretion, and jets, we have observed a nearby sample of Seyfert galaxies along with a comparison sample of starburst galaxies using the Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA) in full-polarization mode in the B-array configuration. The radio morphologies of the Seyfert galaxies show lobe/bubble-like features or prominent cores in radio emission, whereas the starburst galaxies show radio emission spatially coincident with the star-forming regions seen in optical images. There is tentative evidence that Seyferts tend to show more polarized structures than starburst galaxies at the resolution of our observations. We find that unlike a sample of Seyfert galaxies hosting kilo-parsec scale radio (KSR) emission, starburst galaxies with superwinds do not show radio-excess compared to the radio–FIR correlation. This suggests that shock acceleration is not adequate to explain the excess radio emission seen in Seyferts and hence most likely have a jet-related origin. We also find that the [O iii] luminosity of the Seyferts is correlated with the off-nuclear radio emission from the lobes, whereas it is not well correlated with the total emission which also includes the core. This suggests strong jet–medium interaction, which in turn limits the jet/lobe extents in Seyferts. We find that the power contribution of AGN jet, AGN accretion, and star formation is more or less comparable in our sample of Seyfert galaxies. We also find indications of episodic AGN activity in many of our Seyfert galaxies.

scholarly journals The 1.4-GHz cosmic star formation history at z < 1.3

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
Author(s):  
James E. Upjohn ◽  
Michael J. I. Brown ◽  
Andrew M. Hopkins ◽  
Nicolas J. Bonne
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Luminosity Function ◽  
Star Formation Rate ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Radio Continuum ◽  
Star Formation History ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Formation History ◽  
Radio Measurements ◽  
Radio Luminosity Function

AbstractWe measure the cosmic star formation history out to z = 1.3 using a sample of 918 radio-selected star-forming galaxies within the 2-deg2 COSMOS field. To increase our sample size, we combine 1.4-GHz flux densities from the VLA-COSMOS catalogue with flux densities measured from the VLA-COSMOS radio continuum image at the positions of I &lt; 26.5 galaxies, enabling us to detect 1.4-GHz sources as faint as 40 μJy. We find that radio measurements of the cosmic star formation history are highly dependent on sample completeness and models used to extrapolate the faint end of the radio luminosity function. For our preferred model of the luminosity function, we find the star formation rate density increases from 0.017 M⊙ yr−1 Mpc−3 at z ∼ 0.225 to 0.092 M⊙ yr−1 Mpc−3 at z ∼ 1.1, which agrees to within 40% of recent UV, IR and 3-GHz measurements of the cosmic star formation history.

scholarly journals The dependence of mass and environment on the secular processes of AGNs in terms of morphology, colour, and specific star-formation rate

2018 ◽  
Vol 620 ◽  
pp. A113 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Argudo-Fernández ◽  
I. Lacerna ◽  
S. Duarte Puertas
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Star Formation Rate ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Stellar Mass ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Late Type ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Isolated Galaxies

Context. Galaxy mass and environment play a major role in the evolution of galaxies. In the transition from star-forming to quenched galaxies, active galactic nuclei (AGNs) also have a principal action therein. However, the connections between these three actors are still uncertain. Aims. In this work we investigate the effects of stellar mass and the large-scale structure (LSS) environment on the fraction of optical nuclear activity in a population of isolated galaxies, where AGN would not be triggered by recent galaxy interactions or mergers. Methods. As a continuation of a previous work, we focus on isolated galaxies to study the effect of stellar mass and the LSS in terms of morphology (early- and late-type), colour (red and blue), and specific star-formation rate (quenched and star-forming). To explore where AGN activity is affected by the LSS, we separate galaxies into two groups, of low- and high mass, respectively, and use the tidal strength parameter to quantify the effects. Results. We found that AGN is strongly affected by stellar mass in “active” galaxies (namely late-type, blue, and star-forming), but that mass has no influence on “quiescent” galaxies (namely early-type, red, and quenched), at least for masses down to 1010 M⊙. In relation to the LSS, we found an increase in the fraction of star-forming nuclei galaxies with denser LSS in low-mass star-forming and red isolated galaxies. Regarding AGN, we find a clear increase in the fraction of AGNs with denser environment in quenched and red isolated galaxies, independently of the stellar mass. Conclusions. Active galactic nuclei activity appears to be “mass triggered” in active isolated galaxies. This means that AGN activity is independent of the intrinsic properties of the galaxies, but is dependent on their stellar mass. On the other hand, AGN activity appears to be “environment triggered” in quiescent isolated galaxies, where the fraction of AGNs as a function of specific star formation rate and colour increases from void regions to denser LSS, independently of stellar mass.

scholarly journals CONTINUOUS MID-INFRARED STAR FORMATION RATE INDICATORS: DIAGNOSTICS FOR 0

2015 ◽  
Vol 800 (2) ◽  
pp. 143 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Battisti ◽  
D. Calzetti ◽  
B. D. Johnson ◽  
D. Elbaz
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Star Formation Rate ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Mid Infrared ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Infrared Star

scholarly journals Interpretation of Source Counts and Redshift Data in Evolutionary Universes

1977 ◽  
Vol 74 ◽  
pp. 269-277
Author(s):  
J. V. Wall ◽  
T. J. Pearson ◽  
M. S. Longair
Keyword(s):  
Radio Source ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Physical Basis ◽  
Source Population ◽  
Cosmic Evolution ◽  
Survey Population ◽  
Frequency Survey ◽  
Source Populations ◽  
Luminosity Evolution

Conventional interpretation of the N(S) relation requires cosmic evolution of the radio source population. Investigators agree on the general features of this evolution: it must be confined to the most luminous sources, and must be strong, the numbers of such sources at redshifts of 1 to 4 exceeding the present numbers by a factor ≳103. There is no consensus as to whether density or luminosity evolution prevails (or both), whether a cutoff in redshift is necessary, or whether the source populations found in high-frequency surveys follow even the general evolutionary picture deduced for the low-frequency survey population. It is therefore hardly surprising that the physical basis of the evolution, the ultimate goal of N(S) interpretation, remains largely “in the realm of imaginative speculation” (P. A. G. Scheuer).

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