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At least 109 records · Page 6

Multicolor surface photometry of powerful radio galaxies. I - Observations and data reduction

The first of a series of papers which explore the optical morphology, photometric properties, and colors of powerful radio galaxies is presented. This paper reports the observations and data reduction process. The surface photometry techniques used in the analysis are described and the calibration of the results is given. The resulting images reveal that a significant fraction of powerful radio galaxies are morphologically distorted and that many of these galaxies have unusual colors. Results for individual objects are discussed.

Smith, Eric P.↗

Surface photometry of radio galaxies. II - Cluster sources

R-band CCD photometric observations are reported for 52 radio galaxies in clusters for which good radio maps are available. Data obtained with the No. 1 0.9-m telescope at KPNO (following the procedures described by Owen and Laing, 1989) are presented in tables and graphs and discussed in detail. Optical and radio luminosity are found to be well correlated in twin-jet, fat-double, narrow-angle-tail, and small-twin-jet sources, all of which are clearly distinguished from the classical doubles as in the scheme of Fanaroff and Riley (1974). It is also shown that the elliptical parent galaxies of the extended radio sources form a one-parameter family with the optical luminosity as the key parameter.

Owen, Frazer N.↗

X-ray observations of 20 3CR radio galaxies and their environs

X-ray observations of 20 3CR radio galaxies using the Imaging Proportional Counter on the Einstein Observatory are reported. Fourteen of the 18 galaxies, plus two sources without optical identification, are detected with soft X-ray luminosities (Lx) ranging from 10 to the 40.9th to 10 to the 44.4th ergs/s. In four of the galaxies there is evidence for extended X-ray structure. Lx is statistically correlated with the radio power of the core, the lobe radio power (especially below 1 GHz), and the steepness of the lobe radio spectrum at high frequencies. The complex interrelations between X-ray luminosities and radio core, radio lobe, optical nuclei, and galaxy clustering are examined; and it is found that a cluster origin of the X-rays provides the best explanation of these effects. Constraints on synchrotron and inverse Compton production of X-rays in radio lobes and on mechanisms of lobe confinement are also discussed.

Feigelson, E. D.↗

Young Stars and Non-Stella Emission in the Aligned Radio Galaxy 3C 256

We present ground-based images of the z=1.824 radio galaxy 3C 256 in the standard BVRIJHK filters and an interference filter centered at 8800 A, a Hubble Space Telescope image in a filter dominated by Ly alpha emission (F336W), and spectra covering rest-frame wavelengths from Ly alpha to [O III} lambda 5007.

Radio Galaxies↗

Automatic Detection and Classification of Radio Galaxy Images by Deep Learning

Abstract Surveys conducted by radio astronomy observatories, such as SKA, MeerKAT, Very Large Array, and ASKAP, have generated massive astronomical images containing radio galaxies (RGs). This generation of massive RG images has imposed strict requirements on the detection and classification of RGs and makes manual classification and detection increasingly difficult, even impossible. Rapid classification and detection of images of different types of RGs help astronomers make full use of the observed astronomical image data for further processing and analysis. The classification of FRI and FRII is relatively easy, and there are more studies and literature on them at present, but FR0 and FRI are similar, so it is difficult to distinguish them. It poses a greater challenge to image processing. At present, deep learning has made breakthrough progress in the field of image analysis and processing and has preliminary applications in astronomical data processing. Compared with classification algorithms that can only classify galaxies, object detection algorithms that can locate and classify RGs simultaneously are preferred. In target detection algorithms, YOLOv5 has outstanding advantages in the classification and positioning of small targets. Therefore, we propose a deep-learning method based on an improved YOLOv5 object detection model that makes full use of multisource data, combining FIRST radio with SDSS optical image data, and realizes the automatic detection of FR0, FRI, and FRII RGs. The innovation of our work is that on the basis of the original YOLOv5 object detection model, we introduce the SE Net attention mechanism, increase the number of preset anchors, adjust the network structure of the feature pyramid, and modify the network structure, thereby allowing our model to demonstrate galaxy classification and position detection effects. Our improved model produces satisfactory results, as evidenced by experiments. Overall, the mean average precision (mAP@0.5) of our improved model on the test set reaches 89.4%, which can determine the position (R.A. and decl.) and automatically detect and classify FR0s, FRIs, and FRIIs. Our work contributes to astronomy because it allows astronomers to locate FR0, FRI, and FRII galaxies in a relatively short time and can be further combined with other astronomically generated data to study the properties of these galaxies. The target detection model can also help astronomers find FR0s, FRIs, and FRIIs in future surveys and build a large-scale star RG catalog. Moreover, our work is also useful for the detection of other types of galaxies.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

X-ray continuum and iron K emission line from the radio galaxy 3C 390.3

X-ray properties of the radio galaxy 3C 390.3 were investigated using the European X-ray Observatory Satellite (EXOSAT) and Ginga satellites. Long-term, large-amplitude X-ray intensity changes were detected over a period extending from 1984 through 1991, and high-quality X-ray spectra were obtained especially with Ginga. The X-ray continuum spectra were described with power-law model with photon slope in the range 1.5-1.8, and the slope flattened as the 2-20 keV luminosity decreased by 40%. There was a first detection of the iron emission line from this source at the 90% confidence level. An upper limit was derived on the thermal X-ray component. X-ray emission mechanisms and possible origins of the long-term variation are discussed.

Inda, M.↗

Beamed and Unbeamed X-ray Emission in FR1 Radio Galaxies

There is good evidence for X-ray emission associated with AGN jets which are relativistically boosted towards the observer. But to what jet radius does such X-ray emission persist? To attempt to answer this question one can look at radio galaxies; their cores are sufficiently X-ray faint that any unbeamed X-ray emission in the vicinity of the central engine must be obscured. The jets of such sources are at unfavourable angles for relativistic boosting, and so their relatively weak X-ray emission must be carefully separated from the plateau of resolved X-ray emission from a hot interstellar, intragroup, or intracluster medium on which they are expected to sit. This paper presents results arguing that jet X-ray emission is generally detected in radio galaxies, even those of low intrinsic power without hot spots. The levels of emission suggest an extrapolated radio to soft X-ray spectral index, alpha(sub tao x) of about 0.85 at parsec to perhaps kiloparsec distances from the cores.

Worrall, Diana M.↗

Stacking Searches for Greater Than 100 MeV Gamma Ray Emission from Radio Galaxies and Seyfert Galaxies

The EGRET telescope on CGRO detected more than sixty sources of high-energy gamma radiation associated with active galactic nuclei (AGN). All but one of those belong to the blazar subclass; the only exception is the nearby radio galaxy Centaurus A. Since there is no obvious reason other than proximity to expect Cen A to be the only non-blazar AGN emitting in high-energy gamma rays, we have utilized the "stacking" technique to search for $>100$-MeV emission from two non-blazar AGN subclasses, radio galaxies and Seyfert galaxies. Maps of gamma-ray counts, exposure, and diffuse background have been created, then co-added in varying numbers based on sorts by redshift, 5-GHZ flux density, and optical brightness, and finally tested for gamma-ray emission. No detection significance greater than $2\sigma$ has been found for any subclass, sorting parameter, or number of objects co-added. Monte Carlo simulations have also been performed, to validate the technique and estimate the significance of the results.

Cillis, A. N.↗

Stellar dynamics of powerful radio galaxies

New data on the stellar dynamics of 20 powerful radio galaxies (PRGs) were collected with the KPNO 4 m using the RC spectrograph and a TI CCD and were combined with similar data in the literature to generate a total sample of 47 PRGs. A detailed investigation of the various PRG subgroups (normal/peculiar optical morphology, and presence/absence of optical emission lines) revealed important distinctions among these groups as well as distinctions between some PRGs and normal elliptical galaxies. It is found that PRGs with peculiar optical morphologies are dynamically peculiar as well: their stellar velocity dispersions are lower than those of both elliptical galaxies and PRGs with normal optical morphologies, and they show evidence for more rotational support. Results suggest that some of the PRGs are the product of a merger of two galaxies, at least one of which was a disk system.

Smith, Eric P.↗

Extended and compact X-ray emission in powerful radio galaxies

We report ROSAT X-ray observations of two powerful radio galaxies. 3C 280 provides evidence for a mixture of unresolved and extended emission, with the latter produced by hot plasma of insufficient pressure to confine the radio lobes and insufficient density for a cooling flow to have begun. 3C 220.3 gives only an X-ray upper limit, but one consistent with our interpretation of the X-ray emission from powerful radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in terms of obscured and unobscured components.

Worrall, D. M.↗

Relativistic precessing jets in quasars and radio galaxies - Models to fit high resolution data

The formulation of generalized models tracing the geometry and intensity of the synchrotron emission from precessing, twin, relativistic jets as projected on the plane of the sky is presented. It is shown that neither the shape of the image nor its relative intensities are altered by including the effects of a cosmological redshift and a relative velocity between the source and observer. The models are fitted to the available data for several quasars and radio galaxies and demonstrate the plausibility of the phenomenon. Probable selection effects are considered and diagnostics given for recognizing objects showing this behavior. In the radio galaxies considered, velocities up to about 0.2c and precession periods of 1,000,000 yr are deduced. In the QSOs investigated, velocities of 0.7c and greater are found and periods of order 10,000 yr. In some cases precession cone angles increase with time. Consequences in terms of lifetimes of QSO behavior and binary supermassive objects are discussed.

Gower, A. C.↗

Multicolor surface photometry of powerful radio galaxies. II - Morphology and stellar content

Results on the morphology, photometric structure, and colors of 72 powerful radio galaxies (PRGs) are presented. It is found that galaxy interactions and mergers play an important role in the PRG phenomenon. Over 50 percent of the sample galaxies display optical morphological deviations from elliptical symmetry at high levels of surface brightness. About 20 percent of the galaxies have a second nucleus less than 10 kpc in projection from the main nucleus. The fraction of PRGs in a common envelope with neighboring galaxies is even larger. Surface brightness profiles for galaxies with weak or no emission lines are typically shallower in slope than normal radio-quiet elliptical galaxies, but similar to the brightest cluster galaxies. Surface brightness profiles for strong emission (SE) galaxies are more diverse in form. The SE PRGs have unusually blue average colors relative to giant elliptical galaxies. These colors are spatially extended and not merely due to light from a bright nucleus or extended emission-line gas.

Smith, Eric P.↗

The Ly-alpha/H-alpha ratio in high-redshift radio galaxies

The first spectroscopic detection of H-alpha emission from radio galaxies at z greater than 2 are presented. Strong H-alpha emission is detected at z = 2.429 in B3 0731 + 438, and H-alpha is directed at z = 2.428 in 0406 - 244 at a significant level of greater than 6 sigma. The resulting Ly-alpha/H-alpha ratios for 0731 + 438 and 0406 - 244 are 3.9 and 3.2 with 3 sigma uncertainties of 1.5 for each. A range of possible extinctions is derived depending on the reddening-free Ly-alpha/H-alpha ratio assumed and the extinction curve employed. The most important result of this study is the demonstration that the Ly-alpha/H-alpha ratio in distant galaxies can now be measured with relative ease.

Mccarthy, Patrick J.↗

Observational constraints on bending the wide-angle tailed radio galaxy 1919+479

A wide range of new observations of the wide-angle tailed radio galaxy 1919+479 and its environs are presented. Multifrequency and multiconfiguration VLA observations are described, ranging in resolution from 0.7 arcsec to 40 arcsec. Distributions of source structures at different scale sizes, spectral indices, and polarizations are presented. Wide-field photographic and CCD imaging data are presented along with a review of the measured galaxy redshifts in the field. A newly reprocessed Einstein IPC X-ray image of the cluster is shown, and the X-ray emission's relationship to the radio morphology is described. The radio, optical, and X-ray data are used to constrain the cD galaxy dynamics and models for bending the radio structure. In particular, the possible role of jet collisions with clouds in the intracluster medium is considered. The applicability of cloud collision models to wide-angle tails in general is considered.

Burns, J. O.↗

Multiband observations of Cygnus A: A study of pressure balance in the core of a powerful radio galaxy

Cygnus A is a powerful double radio source associated with a giant elliptical galaxy at the center of a poor cluster of galaxies. The radio source also sits within the core radius of a dense, cooling flow, x ray emitting cluster gas. Optical spectroscopy and narrow band imaging have revealed copious amounts of narrow line emission from the inner 20 kpc of the associated galaxy. Researchers assume H sub o = 75 km sec (-1) Mpc(-1). Discussed here are the pressures in the three components of the Interstellar Medium (ISM) (i.e., the radio, x ray, and line emitting fluids) within a radius of about 15 kpc of the active nucleus of the Cygnus A galaxy.

Carilli, Chris↗

Emergence of double-peaked emission lines in the broad-line radio galaxy Pictor A

A new optical spectrum of the nearby broad-line radio galaxy (BLRG) Pictor A reveals a prominent double-peaked component of the Balmer lines which does not appear in any historical spectra of this object. Carried out with the hope of obtaining exactly such a result, this observation is a key to the interpretation of double-peaked emitters. If bolsters our previous conclusion that there is a set of additional properties which are associated with the rare class of double-peaked emitters, namely F-R II radio morphology, strong low-ionization forbidden lines, weak UV continuum, and flat far-infrared spectrum. Furthermore, the low-velocity, 'ordinary' broad Balmer lines in Pictor A remained relatively unchanged as the new twin peaks appeared, which justifies the practice of applying models that fit only the double peaks and not the low-velocity components that are often present in spectra of this type. We discuss the relative merits of accretion-disk models and other models for double-peaked emission lines in the light of this new observation.

Halpern, Jules P.↗