5,329 research outputs found
The B3-Vla CSS sample. III: Evn & Merlin images at 18 cm
EVN and MERLIN observations at 18 cm are presented for 18 Compact
Steep--spectrum radio Sources (CSSs) from the B3-VLA CSS sample. These sources
were marginally resolved in previous VLA A-configuration observations at 4.9
and 8.4 GHz or had peculiar morphologies, two of them looking like core-jets.
The MERLIN images basically confirm the VLA structures at 8.4 GHz while the EVN
and/or the combined images reveal several additional details.Comment: 17 pages, many low resoltion figures, A&A accepted. A higher
resolution gzipped postscript file can be found at
http://www.ira.cnr.it/~ddallaca/h3443.ps.g
Synchrotron Spectra and Ages of Compact Steep Spectrum Radio Sources
The high-frequency integrated spectra of Compact Steep Spectrum (CSS) sources
show breaks with a moderate spectral steepening well fitted by continuous
injection synchrotron spectra. In lobe-dominated CSS sources the radiative ages
deduced by the synchrotron theory are in the range of up to 0.1 Myears, if
equipartition magnetic fields are assumed. These radiative ages are well
correlated with the source size indicating that the CSS sources are young. In
order to maintain the frustration scenario, in which the sources' lifetimes are
about 10 Myears, their equipartition magnetic field would be systematically
decreased by a factor of more than 20. To complete the sample used in this
work, we conducted observations at 230 GHz with the IRAM 30-m telescope of
those sources which did not have such high-frequency observations up to now.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in Astron. &
Astrophys.; typos corrected; gzipped postscript version also available at:
http://multivac.jb.man.ac.uk:8000/ceres/papers/papers.html
http://gladia.astro.rug.nl:8000/ceres/papers/papers.htm
Extended emission around GPS radio sources
Extended radio emission detected around a sample of GHz Peaked Spectrum (GPS)
radio sources is discussed. Evidence for extended emission which is related to
the GPS source is found in 6 objects out of 33. Three objects are associated
with quasars with core-jet pc-scale morphology, and three are identified with
galaxies with symmetric (CSO) radio morphology. We conclude that the core-jet
GPS quasars are likely to be beamed objects with a continuous supply of energy
from the core to the kpc scale. It is also possible that low surface brightness
extended radio emission is present in other GPS quasars but the emission is
below our detection limit due to the high redshifts of the objects. On the
other hand, the CSO/galaxies with extended large scale emission may be
rejuvenated sources where the extended emission is the relic of previous
activity. In general, the presence of large scale emission associated with GPS
galaxies is uncommon, suggesting that in the context of the recurrent activity
model, the time scale between subsequent bursts is in general longer than the
radiative lifetime of the radio emission from the earlier activity.Comment: 18 paged, 18 figures, accepted for publication on A&
Constraining the evolution of young radio-loud AGN
GPS and CSS radio sources are the objects of choice to investigate the
evolution of young radio-loud AGN. Previous investigations, mainly based on
number counts and source size distributions, indicate that GPS/CSS sources
decrease significantly in radio power when evolving into old, extended objects.
We suggest this is preceded by a period of increase in radio luminosity, which
lasts as long as the radio source is confined within the core-radius of its
host galaxy. We have selected a sample of nearby compact radio sources,
unbiased by radio spectrum, to determine their radio luminosity function, size
distribution, dynamical ages, and emission line properties in a complete and
homogeneous way. First results indicate that the large majority of objects
(>80%) exhibit classical GPS/CSS radio spectra, and show structures consistent
with the being compact double, or compact symmetric objects. This sample
provides and ideal basis to further test and constrain possible evolution
scenarios, and to investigate the relation between radio spectra and
morphologies, orientation and Doppler boosting in samples of young radio-loud
AGN, in an unbiased way.Comment: LaTeX, 8 pages, 3 figs: Accepted by Publications of the Astronomical
Society of Australia, as part of the proceedings of the 3rd GPS/CSS workshop,
eds. T. Tzioumis et a
Two-sided radio emission in ON231 (W Comae)
Recent radio images of the BL Lac object ON231 (W Com, 1219+285) show
remarkable new features in the source structure compared to those previously
published. The images were obtained from observations made with the European
VLBI Network plus MERLIN at 1.6 GHz and 5 GHz after the exceptional optical
outburst occurred in Spring 1998. The up-to-date B band historic light curve of
ON231 is also presented together with the R band luminosity evolution in the
period 1994--1999. We identify the source core in the radio images with the
brightest component having the flattest spectrum. A consequence of this
assumption is the existence of a two--sided emission in ON231 not detected in
previous VLBI images. A further new feature is a large bend in the jet at about
10 mas from the core. The emission extends for about 20 mas after the bend,
which might be due to strong interaction with the environment surrounding the
nucleus. We suggest some possible interpretations to relate the changes in the
source structure with the optical and radio flux density variation in the frame
of the unification model.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure
Optical identifications of High Frequency Peakers
We present CCD observations of 13 objects from a complete sample of 55 bright
High Frequency Peaker (HFP) radio sources, and provide optical identification
for 12 of them. Images in R and V filters have been used to derive some
additional information concerning the host of the radio source. Three hosts are
likely to be galaxies, one resulted slightly extended, while the remaining 8
are likely distant quasars. Based on these identifications and those available
in the literature, we find that the fraction of quasars in our HFP sample is
significantly higher than in samples of Compact Steep-Spectrum and GHz-Peaked
Spectrum radio sources.Comment: 7 pages, A&A accepte
VLBI images at 327 MHz of compact steep spectrum and GHz-peaked spectrum sources from the 3C and PW samples
We present results on global very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations at 327 MHz of 18 compact steep-spectrum (CSS) and GHz-peaked spectrum (GPS) radio sources from the 3C and the Peacock & Wall catalogues. About 80 per cent of the sources have a 'double/triple' structure. The radio emission at 327 MHz is dominated by steep-spectrum extended structures, while compact regions become predominant at higher frequencies. As a consequence, we could unambiguously detect the core region only in three sources, likely due to self-absorption affecting its emission at this low frequency. Despite their low surface brightness, lobes store the majority of the source energy budget, whose correct estimate is a key ingredient in tackling the radio source evolution. Low-frequency VLBI observations able to disentangle the lobe emission from that of other regions are therefore the best way to infer the energetics of these objects. Dynamical ages estimated from energy budget arguments provide values between 2 Ă— 103 and 5 Ă— 104 yr, in agreement with the radiative ages estimated from the fit of the integrated synchrotron spectrum, further supporting the youth of these objects. A discrepancy between radiative and dynamical ages is observed in a few sources where the integrated spectrum is dominated by hotspots. In this case the radiative age likely represents the time spent by the particles in these regions, rather than the source age
The lives of FR I radio galaxies
After a brief introduction to the morphological properties of FRI radio
sources, we discuss the possibility that FRI jets are relativistic at their
bases and decelerate quickly to non-relativistic velocities. From two-frequency
data we determine spectral index distributions and consequently the ages of FRI
sources. We show that in the large majority of cases synchrotron theory
provides unambiguous and plausible answers; in a few objects re-acceleration of
electrons may be needed. The derived ages are of the order 10^7-10^8 years, 2-4
times larger than the ages inferred from dynamical arguments and a factor 5-10
larger than the ages of FRII sources. The linear sizes of FRI and FRII sources
make it unlikely that many FRII's evolve into FRI's. A brief discussion is
given of the possibility that radio sources go through different cycles of
activity.Comment: 19 pages, including 13 figures, to appear in `Life Cycles of Radio
Galaxies', ed. J. Biretta et al., New Astronomy Review
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