94 research outputs found

    The gamma-ray emission region in the FRII Radio Galaxy 3C 111

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    The Broad Line Radio Galaxy 3C 111, characterized by a Fanaroff-Riley II (FRII) radio morphology, is one of the sources of the Misaligned Active Galactic Nuclei sample, consisting of Radio Galaxies and Steep Spectrum Radio Quasars, recently detected by the Fermi-Large Area Telescope. Our analysis of the 24-month gamma-ray light curve shows that 3C 111 was only occasionally detected at high energies. It was bright at the end of 2008 and faint, below the Fermi-Large Area Telescope sensitivity threshold, for the rest of the time. A multifrequency campaign of 3C~111, ongoing in the same period, revealed an increase of the mm, optical and X-ray fluxes in 2008 September-November, interpreted by Chatterjee et al. (2011) as due to the passage of a superluminal knot through the jet core. The temporal coincidence of the mm-optical-X-ray outburst with the GeV activity suggests a co-spatiality of the events, allowing, for the first time, the localization of the gamma-ray dissipative zone in a FRII jet. We argue that the GeV photons of 3C 111 are produced in a compact region confined within 0.1 pc and at a distance of about 0.3 pc from the black hole.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. ApJL in pres

    X-ray emission from GPS/CSS sources

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    The high spatial resolution of the Chandra X-ray Observatory allows us to study the environment of GPS/CSS sources to within an arcsec of the strong compact core. We present the discovery of X-ray jets in two GPS quasars, PKS1127-145 and B2 0738+393, indicating that X-ray emission associated with the relativistic plasma is present at large distances from the GPS nucleus. We also discuss first results from Chandra observations of our GPS/CSS sample. We find that 6 out of 10 sources show intrinsic absorption at a level which may be sufficient to confine the GPS source.Comment: contribution to the Third Workshop on CSS/GPS Radio Sources, Kerastari, Greece, May 2002. Published in PASA, 2003 vol 20, p.11

    EVN observations of candidate Compact Symmetric Objects

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    We present pc-scale images of ten Compact Symmetric Objects (CSO) candidates observed with the European VLBI network (EVN). Five radio sources have been observed at 1.6 GHz, and five more at 2.3/8.4 GHz, the latter subsample with the inclusion in the VLBI array of 3 antennae normally used for geodesy. These objects were selected from existing samples of GHz Peaked Spectrum (GPS) radio sources with the purpose to find and/or confirm the CSO classification. These new VLBI observations allow us to confirm the classification of two CSO candidates, and to find a few new ones. The association of GPS radio galaxies with a CSO morphology is strengthened by our findings, and this result suggests an efficient way to increase the number of known CSOs by means of VLBI observations of compact radio galaxies showing a convex radio spectrum.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication on A&

    Radio Lobes of Pictor A: an X-ray spatially resolved Study

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    A new XMM observation has made possible a detailed study of both lobes of the radio galaxy Pictor A. Their X-ray emission is of non thermal origin and due to Inverse Compton scattering of the microwave background photons by relativistic electrons in the lobes, as previously found. In both lobes, the equipartition magnetic field (Beq) is bigger than the Inverse Compton value (Bic), calculated from the radio and X-ray flux ratio. The Beq/Bic ratio never gets below 2, in spite of the large number of reasonable assumptions tested to calculate Beq, suggesting a lobe energetic dominated by particles. The X-ray data quality is good enough to allow a spatially resolved analysis. Our study shows that Bic varies through the lobes. It appears to increase behind the hot spots. On the contrary, a rather uniform distribution of the particles is observed. As a consequence, the radio flux density variation along the lobes appears to be mainly driven by magnetic field changes.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, ApJ accepte

    A Search for Molecular Gas in GHz Peaked Spectrum Radio Sources

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    We present searches for molecular gas (CO, OH, CS, and Ammonia) in six GHz Peaked Spectrum (GPS) radio sources. We do not detect gas in any source and place upper limits on the mass of molecular gas which are generally in the range 1E9 to a few times 1E10 solar masses. These limits are consistent with the following interpretations: (1) GPS sources do not require very dense gas in their hosts, and (2) The GPS sources are unlikely to be confined by dense gas and will evolve to become larger radio sources

    Prospect for VLBI Network Extension: the First Results of an Ad-hoc S2 Array Experiments

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    The Canadian S2 system gives a chance for Russian and some other radio telescopes in the world to be involved into international VLBI programs. Brief descriptions of previous S2 experiments and future possibilities are presented

    The Sardinia Radio Telescope . From a technological project to a radio observatory

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    Context. The Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT) is the new 64 m dish operated by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF). Its active surface, comprised of 1008 separate aluminium panels supported by electromechanical actuators, will allow us to observe at frequencies of up to 116 GHz. At the moment, three receivers, one per focal position, have been installed and tested: a 7-beam K-band receiver, a mono-feed C-band receiver, and a coaxial dual-feed L/P band receiver. The SRT was officially opened in September 2013, upon completion of its technical commissioning phase. In this paper, we provide an overview of the main science drivers for the SRT, describe the main outcomes from the scientific commissioning of the telescope, and discuss a set of observations demonstrating the scientific capabilities of the SRT. Aims: The scientific commissioning phase, carried out in the 2012-2015 period, proceeded in stages following the implementation and/or fine-tuning of advanced subsystems such as the active surface, the derotator, new releases of the acquisition software, etc. One of the main objectives of scientific commissioning was the identification of deficiencies in the instrumentation and/or in the telescope subsystems for further optimization. As a result, the overall telescope performance has been significantly improved. Methods: As part of the scientific commissioning activities, different observing modes were tested and validated, and the first astronomical observations were carried out to demonstrate the science capabilities of the SRT. In addition, we developed astronomer-oriented software tools to support future observers on site. In the following, we refer to the overall scientific commissioning and software development activities as astronomical validation. Results: The astronomical validation activities were prioritized based on technical readiness and scientific impact. The highest priority was to make the SRT available for joint observations as part of European networks. As a result, the SRT started to participate (in shared-risk mode) in European VLBI Network (EVN) and Large European Array for Pulsars (LEAP) observing sessions in early 2014. The validation of single-dish operations for the suite of SRT first light receivers and backends continued in the following year, and was concluded with the first call for shared-risk early-science observations issued at the end of 2015. As discussed in the paper, the SRT capabilities were tested (and optimized when possible) for several different observing modes: imaging, spectroscopy, pulsar timing, and transients
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