Search

Context. According to radiative models, radio galaxies may produce gamma-ray emission from the first stages of their evolution. However, very few such galaxies have been detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) so far. Aims. NGC 3894 is a nearby (z = 0.0108) object that belongs to the class of compact symmetric objects (CSOs, i.e., the most compact and youngest radio galaxies), which is associated with a gamma-ray counterpart in the Fourth Fermi-LAT source catalog. Here we present a study of the source in the gamma-ray and radio bands aimed at investigating its high-energy emission and assess its young nature. Methods. We analyzed 10.8 years of Fermi-LAT data between 100 MeV and 300 GeV and determined the spectral and variability characteristics of the source. Multi-epoch very long baseline array (VLBA) observations between 5 and 15 GHz over a period of 35 years were used to study the radio morphology of NGC 3894 and its evolution. Results. NGC 3894 is detected in gamma-rays with a significance >9 sigma over the full period, and no significant variability has been observed in the gamma-ray flux on a yearly time-scale. The spectrum is modeled with a flat power law ($\Gamma$ = 2.0$\pm$0.1) and a flux on the order of 2.2 $\times$ 10$^{-9}$ ph cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$. For the first time, the VLBA data allow us to constrain with high precision the apparent velocity of the jet and counter-jet side to be $\beta_{\mathrm{app,NW}}$ = 0.132$\pm$0.004 and $\beta_{\mathrm{app,SE}}$ = 0.065$\pm$0.003, respectively. Conclusions. Fermi-LAT and VLBA results favor the youth scenario for the inner structure of this object, with an estimated dynamical age of 59$\pm$5 years. The estimated range of viewing angle (10{\deg} < $\theta$ < 21{\deg}) does not exclude a possible jet-like origin of the gamma-ray emission., Comment: Accepted by A&A on February 28, 2020. 8 pages, 7 figures

We present the analysis of simultaneous multi-frequency Very Large Array (VLA) observations of 57 out of 61 sources from the ``faint'' high frequency peaker (HFP) sample carried out in various epochs. Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data have been used to identify the optical counterpart of each radio source. From the analysis of the multi-epoch spectra we find that 24 sources do not show evidence of spectral variability, while 12 objects do not possess a peaked spectrum anymore at least in one of the observing epochs. Among the remaining 21 sources showing some degree of variability, we find that in 8 objects the spectral properties change consistently with the expectation for a radio source undergoing adiabatic expansion. The comparison between the variability and the optical identification suggests that the majority of radio sources hosted in galaxies likely represent the young radio source population, whereas the majority of those associated with quasars are part of a different population similar to flat-spectrum objects, which possess peaked spectra during short intervals of their life, as found in other samples of high-frequency peaking objects. The analysis of the optical images from the SDSS points out the presence of companions around 6 HFP hosted in galaxies, suggesting that young radio sources resides in groups.

We investigate the spectral characteristics of 51 candidate High Frequency Peakers (HFPs), from the ``bright'' HFP sample, in order to determine the nature of each object, and to obtain a smaller sample of genuine young radio sources. Simultaneous multi-frequency VLA observations carried out at various epochs have been used to detect flux density and spectral shape variability in order to pinpoint contaminant objects, since young radio sources are not expected to be significantly variable on such a short time-scale. From the analysis of the spectral variability we find 13 contaminant objects, 11 quasars, 1 BL Lac, and 1 unidentified object, which we have rejected from the sample of candidate young radio sources. The 6 years elapsed between the first and latest observing run are not enough to detect any substantial evolution of the overall spectrum of genuine, non variable, young radio sources. If we also consider the pc-scale information, we find that the total radio spectrum we observe is the result of the superposition of the spectra of different regions (lobes, hot-spots, core, jets), instead of a single homogeneous radio component. This indicates that the radio source structure plays a relevant role in determining the spectral shape also in the rather common case in which the morphology appears unresolved even on high-resolution scales., Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures; accepted for pubblication in A&A

We present new, simultaneous, multifrequency observations of 45 out of the 55 candidate High Frequency Peakers (HFP) selected by Dallacasa et al. (2000), carried out 3 to 4 years after a first set of observations. Our sub-sample consists of 10 galaxies, 28 stellar objects (``quasars'') and 7 unidentified sources. Both sets of observations are sensitive enough to allow the detection of variability at the 10% level or lower. While galaxies do not show significant variability, most quasars do. Seven of them no longer show the convex spectrum which is the defining property of Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum (GPS)/HFP sources and are interpreted as blazars caught by Dallacasa et al. (2000) during a flare, when a highly self-absorbed component dominated the emission. In general, the variability properties (amplitude, timescales, correlation between peak luminosity and peak frequency of the flaring component) of the quasar sub-sample resemble those of blazars. We thus conclude that most HFP candidates identified with quasars may well be flaring blazars., Comment: 20 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

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.

We report the XMM-Newton discovery of the first Compton-thick obscured AGN in a Broad Line Radio Galaxy, the Gigahertz Peaked-Spectrum source Mkn668 (OQ+208). The remarkably flat 2-10 keV X-ray spectrum (observed photon index, \Gamma ~ 0.7), alongside with a prominent iron K-alpha fluorescent emission line, is a clear signature of a Compton-reflection dominated spectrum. Mkn688 represents a remarkable example of discrepancy between X-ray spectral properties and optical classification, as its optical spectrum is characterized by broad and asymmetric Balmer lines. The obscuring matter is constrained to be located within the radio hotspots, in turn separated by about 10 pc. If the jets are piercing their way through a Compton-thick medium pervading the nuclear environment, one could be largely underestimating the radio activity dynamical age determined from the observed hotspot recession velocity. The soft X-ray spectrum is dominated by a much steeper component, which may be due to nuclear continuum electron scattering, or inverse Compton of the - remarkably large - far infrared emission. Soft X-rays are suppressed by a further Compton-thin (N_H ~ 10^21/cm/cm) absorbing system, that we identify with matter responsible for free-free absorption of the radio lobes.

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+313, 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 six out of ten sources show intrinsic absorption at a level which may be sufficient to confine the GPS source.

On the basis of the different radio properties (especially different radio morphologies) between GPS galaxies and GPS quasars, I suggest that GPS galaxies are a more homogeneous class mainly consisting of compact symmetric objects, while the majority of GPS quasars are an intrinsically different type of radio source, similar to the common flat spectrum radio sources. For CSS radio sources the difference between galaxies and quasars is less evident. This is interpreted as a bias correlated with size: samples of smaller objects are more likely to be contaminated by unrelated objects. This is consistent also with the high percentage of blazar/quasar objects present in a sample of the even smaller HFP radio sources.

VLBA observations at 18 cm are presented for 28 Compact Steep-spectrum radio Sources (CSSs) from the B3-VLA CSS sample. These sources were unresolved in previous VLA observations at high frequencies or their brightness distribution was dominated by an unresolved steep spectrum component. More than half of them also showed a low frequency turnover in their radio spectrum. The VLBA images display in most cases a compact symmetric structure. Only in a minority of cases complex morphologies are present., 11 pages, many low resolution figures, A&A accepted. A higher quality g-zipped postscript file can be found at http://www.ira.cnr.it/~ddallaca/h3442.ps.gz

We present the results of a VLBI study of a complete sample of Compact Symmetric Objects (CSO) or CSO candidates, which are currently thought to be the progenitors of the extended powerful extragalactic radio sources. The objects presented here are a subsample of the complete sample of bright GHz-Peaked-Spectrum radio sources selected by Stanghellini et al. (1998 , A&A 131, 303).

Here we present preliminary work on two samples of radio sources having convex radio spectra peaking at frequencies higher than a few GHz (High Frequency Peakers or HFPs). The samples have been selected by a comparison between the Green Bank survey at 4.9 GHz and the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) at 1.4 GHz. We briefly discuss our very short simultaneous multifrequency VLA observations, aimed to remove flat-spectrum variable sources from the lists, and therefore produce two samples of genuine HFP sources.

Preliminary results on BeppoSAX LECS and MECS observations of BL Lacertae objects selected from the 1 Jy sample are presented. All sources of the LBL type, that is, characterized by a peak in their multifrequency spectra at infrared/optical energies, seem to show a relatively flat ( α x ∼ 0.7 – 0.8) X-ray spectrum. This is in agreement with the supposed dominance of inverse Compton emission in the X-ray band of these sources.

Several lines of evidence indicate that Cheko, a small lake close to the epicentre of the 1908 Tunguska Event (TE), fills a crater left behind by a fragment of the Tunguska Cosmic Body that impacted the ground downrange of the main explosion. It is thought that over 80 million trees were flattened or burnt as a consequence of the TE. However, a small number of trees in the devastated area survived the explosion and recorded in their growth-ring patterns the environmental changes that followed this event. Some of those trees were found around Lake Cheko, similar to 10 km NW of the inferred TE epicentre. We analysed new data from the floor of Lake Cheko, including seismic-reflection profiles, side-scan sonar and video images, as well as dendrochronological evidence in tree samples collected along the shores, to test the hypothesis of a 1908 formation of the lake.

Global VLBI observations at 5 GHz have been performed to study the source morphology in 10 compact steep-spectrum (CSS) sources selected from the Peacock & Wall catalogue with the aim of finding asymmetric structures produced by the interaction with the ambient medium. The combination of these data and earlier 1.7-GHz observations allows the study of the spectral index distribution across the source structure and the unambiguous determination of the nature of each component. In seven sources we detected the core component with a flat or inverted spectrum. In six sources the radio emission has a two-sided morphology and comes mainly from steep-spectrum extended structures, like lobes, jets, and hotspots. Only one source, 0319+121, has a one-sided core-jet structure. In three out of the six sources with a two-sided structure the flux density arising from the lobes is asymmetric, and the brightest lobe is the one closest to the core, suggesting that the jets are expanding in an inhomogeneous ambient medium which may influence the source growth. The interaction between the jet and the environment may slow down the source expansion and enhance the luminosity due to severe radiative losses, likely producing an excess of CSS radio sources in flux density limited samples. The lobes of the other three asymmetric sources have a brighter-when-farther behaviour, in agreement with what is expected by projection and relativistic effects. Simultaneous VLA observations carried out to investigate the polarization properties of the targets detected significant polarized emission (~5.5%) only from the quasar 0319+121., 17 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present new rest frame UV and visible observations of 22 high-redshift (1 < z < 2.5) 3C radio galaxies and QSOs obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope's (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) instrument. Using a custom data reduction strategy in order to assure the removal of cosmic rays, persistence signal, and other data artifacts, we have produced high-quality science-ready images of the targets and their local environments. We observe targets with regions of UV emission suggestive of active star formation. In addition, several targets exhibit highly distorted host galaxy morphologies in the rest frame visible images. Photometric analyses reveals that brighter QSOs tend to be generally redder than their dimmer counterparts. Using emission line fluxes from the literature, we estimate that emission line contamination is relatively small in the rest frame UV images for the QSOs. Using archival VLA data, we have also created radio map overlays for each of our targets, allowing for analysis of the optical and radio axes alignment., 25 pages, 54 figures; Accepted for publication in ApJS

Giga-Hertz Peaked Spectrum (GPS) and Compact Steep Spectrum (CSS) sources have compact radio morphologies (

Aims. A long timeline kinematic study of the archetypal CSO OQ 208 sheds light on the physical properties of the most compact radio sources. Methods. Archival data from the VLBA at 15 GHz over a time span of 13.6 yr are used to investigate the kinematics of the radio source. The flux density monitoring data obtained at the Michigan 26-meter radio telescope are also used as supplementary information. Results. At 8.4 and 15 GHz, the two lobes are resolved into two sub-components, identified as hotspots. A knotty jet is linked with the NE hotspot and traces back toward the geometric center. The core is too weak to be detected. Significant flux density variation is found in the primary hotspots with the maximum level of 62% (NE1) and 19% (SW1). The peak in the flux density of NE1 leads that of SW1 by approximately 5.00 yr, suggesting that the northeast lobe is advancing and the southwest lobe is receding. This light travel difference indicates a radial distance difference between the two hotspots of 1.53 pc, which indicates an inclination angle of about 80.8 degree between the radio jet and the line of sight. The angular separation rate between NE1 and SW1 is 0.027 mas/yr (or 0.133 c). The inner jet knot moves at 0.047 mas/yr (or 0.230 c), about 3.5 times the hotspot advancing speed. Conclusions. The large viewing angle and the modest jet speed suggest a mildly relativistic jet. The jet axis is close to the plane of the sky. The separation rate and the distance between the two primary hotspots result in a kinematic age of 255$\pm$17 yr, confirming that OQ 208 is indeed a young radio source. In addition to the hotspot advancing motions, sideways motions provide evidence that the lobes are obstructed by the external interstellar medium., Comment: accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysics; Typos are corrected according to Editor's comments; Figures are replotted to enlarge label size; contents are not changed

Compact steep-spectrum radio sources and giga-hertz peaked spectrum radio sources (CSS/GPS) are generally considered to be mostly young radio sources. In recent years we studied at many wavelengths a sample of these objects selected from the B3-VLA catalog: the B3-VLA CSS sample. Only ~ 60 % of the sources were optically identified. We aim to increase the number of optical identifications and study the properties of the host galaxies of young radio sources. We cross-correlated the CSS B3-VLA sample with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), DR7, and complemented the SDSS photometry with available GALEX (DR 4/5 and 6) and near-IR data from UKIRT and 2MASS. We obtained new identifications and photometric redshifts for eight faint galaxies and for one quasar and two quasar candidates. Overall we have 27 galaxies with SDSS photometry in five bands, for which we derived the ultraviolet-optical spectral energy distribution (UV-O-SED). We extended our investigation to additional CSS/GPS selected from the literature. Most of the galaxies show an excess of ultra-violet (UV) radiation compared with the UV-O-SED of local radio-quiet ellipticals. We found a strong dependence of the UV excess on redshift and analyzed it assuming that it is generated either from the nucleus (hidden quasar) or from a young stellar population (YSP). We also compare the UV-O-SEDs of our CSS/GPS sources with those of a selection of large size (LSO) powerful radio sources from the literature. If the major process of the UV excess is caused by a YSP, our conclusion is that it is the result of the merger process that also triggered the onset of the radio source with some time delay. We do not see evidence for a major contribution from a YSP triggered by the radio sources itself., Comment: 38 pages, 21 figures, 6 tables. Accepted for publication on A&A

We present a sample of sources with convex radio spectra peaking at frequencies above a few GHz, known as "High Frequency Peakers" (HFPs). A "bright" sample with a flux density limit of 300 mJy at 5 GHz has been presented by Dallacasa et al. (2000). Here we present the "faint" sample with flux density between 50 and 300 mJy at 5GHz, restricted to the area around the North Galactic Cap, where the FIRST catalogue is available. The candidates have been observed with the VLA at several frequencies ranging from 1.4 to 22 GHz, in order to derive a simultaneous radio spectrum. The final list of confirmed HFP sources consists of 61 objects., 3 pages. Accepted for publication in Astronomische Nachrichten

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., 15 pages, 3 figures, ApJ accepted

Aims.We constrain the spectral ages for two very asymmetric Compact Symmetric Objects (CSO) from the B3-VLA-CSS sample, and we investigate the role of the ambient medium potentially able to influence the individual source evolution. Methods: . Multi-frequency VLBA observations have been carried out to study the distribution of the break frequency of the spectra across different regions of each source. Results: . From the analysis of synchrotron spectra and assuming an equipartition magnetic field, we find radiative ages of about 5×103 and 5×104 years for B0147+400 and B0840+424, respectively. The derived individual hot-spot advance speed is in the range between 0.03c and 0.3c, in agreement with kinematic studies carried out on other CSOs. The very asymmetric morphology found in both sources is likely related to an inhomogeneous ambient medium in which the sources are growing, rather than to different intrinsic hot-spot pressures on the two sides.

We propose a morphological classification based on the parsec scale structure of fifty-one High Frequency Peakers (HFPs) from the ``bright'' HFP sample. VLBA images at two adjacent frequencies (chosen among 8.4, 15.3, 22.2 and 43.2 GHz) have been used to investigate the morphological properties of the HFPs in the optically thin part of their spectrum. We confirm that there is quite a clear distinction between the pc-scale radio structure of galaxies and quasars: the 78% of the galaxies show a ``Double/Triple'' morphology, typical of Compact Symmetric Objects (CSOs), while the 87% of the quasars are characterised by Core-Jet or unresolved structure. This suggests that most HFP candidates identified with quasars are likely blazar objects in which a flaring self-absorbed component at the jet base was outshining the remainder of the source at the time of the selection based on the spectral shape. Among the sources classified as CSOs or candidates it is possible to find extremely young radio sources with ages of about 100 years or even less., 21 pages, 8 figures; accepted for pubblication in A&A. Paper version with full resolution images is available at http://www.ira.inaf.it/~ddallaca/orienti.ps

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&A

We have made a 30 ksec Chandra observation of the redshift z=0.63 GPS quasar B2 0738+313. We detected X-ray emission from the core and have discovered a 200 kpc (projected on the sky) X-ray jet. The X-ray jet is narrow and curves, following the extended radio structure to the south of the quasar, and ending with a hot spot at the southernmost part of the radio lobe. The jet has a knot at ~13 arcsec away from the core. The knot emission is consistent with the X-rays being created by the inverse Compton scattering of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons and requires jet bulk Lorentz factors of a few (Gamma_{bulk} ~ 5-7). We discuss the emission mechanisms that may be responsible for the jet emission. We present new VLA data of the core and jet, and discuss the relation between the extended radio and X-ray emission. Extended emission observed in several GPS sources has been interpreted as a signature of the source past activity, while the GPS source is young and newly expanded. We argue that B2~0738+313 may be an example of a new class of radio sources similar to the FRII radio galaxies in their high jet bulk velocities, but with the powerful GPS-like nucleus. B2 0738+313 also has two damped Lyman-alpha systems along the line of sight, at z_{abs} = 0.0912 and 0.2212. We discuss the possible connection between the X-ray absorption (7.2+/-0.9 e20 cm(-2)) detected in the ACIS spectrum and these two intervening absorbers. We also investigate an extended structure within the central 10 arcsec of the core in the relation to structure seen in the optical., Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures. Paper accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

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.gz

Several blazars, and BL Lac objects in particular, show a misalignment between the jet orientation on parsec and kiloparsec scales. Some authors (i.e. Conway & Murphy, 1993) have attempted to explain this behaviour invoking helical jets for misalignment angles around 90$\degr$, showing how in this case there are interesting implications for the understanding of the medium into which the jet is expanding. By comparing sensitive VLA observations (Cassaro et al., 1999) with images available in the literature for the BL Lac objects from the 1-Jy Sample (Stickel et al., 1991), it is clear that there is a wide range of misalignments between the initial jet direction and the kpc-scale jet, when detected. We have carried out VLBI observations of these BL Lac objects, in order to investigate the spatial evolution of the radio jets from few tens to hundreds of mas, and to search for helical jets in this class of sources. We present here the first dataset obtained from EVN+MERLIN observations at 5 GHz for seven objects. From these observations we never have a clear detection of helical jets, we only have a possible signature of their presence in 2 objects. In only one of the sources with a misalignment angle around 90$\degr$ the presence of helical jets can be ruled out. This implies that it is not possible to invoke helical jets to explain the morphology of all the sources showing a misalignment of about 90$\degr$ between the parsec and the kiloparsec scale jets., 12 pages, 9 figures, latex, accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysics

In this paper we present the results of a 4-year (1996 - 1999) radio flux density monitoring program for a sample of X- and $\gamma$-ray loud blazars. Our program started in January 1996 and was carried out on monthly basis at the frequencies of 5 GHz and 8.4 GHz with the 32-m antennas located in Medicina (Bologna, Italy) and Noto (Siracusa, Italy). 22 GHz data collected in Medicina from January 1996 to June 1997 will also be presented. The sample of selected sources comprises most radio loud blazars with $\delta \ge -10^{\circ}$ characterised by emission in the X- and $\gamma$-ray regimes, and target sources for the BeppoSAX X-ray mission. All sources in the sample, except J1653+397 (MKN 501), are variable during the four years of our monitoring program. We classified the type of variability in each source by means of a structure function analysis. We also computed th$\alpha_{5}^{8.4}$ for all epochs with nearly simultaneous observations ate spectral index and found that $\alpha_{5}^{8.4}$ starts flattening at the very beginning o f a radio flare, or flux density increase., Comment: 12 pages, 3 tables and 1 figure, in press on A&A

We have observed 28 sources selected from the 1Jy sample of BL Lac objects (Stickel et al. 1991) with the Very Large Array (VLA) in A, B and D configurations at 1.36, 1.66 and 4.85 GHz, and/or with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) at 1.40 GHz. In this paper we present high sensitivity images at arcsecond resolution of the 18 objects showing extended structure in our images, and of another source from the FIRST (Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-cm) survey (Becker et al. 1995). In general our high sensitivity images reveal an amount of extended emission larger than previously reported. In some objects the luminosity of the extended structure is comparable with that of FR~II radio sources. A future paper will be devoted to the interpretation of these results., 12 pages, 35 figures, to appear on A&A Supp. Ser., postscript file with figures included available at http://www.ira.noto.cnr.it/staff/carlo/ds1030.ps.gz

The broad-line radio galaxy 3C111, characterized by a Fanaroff-Riley II (FRII) radio morphology, is one of the sources of the misaligned active galactic nucleus sample, consisting of radio galaxies and steep spectrum radio quasars, recently detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). Our analysis of the 24 month γ-ray light curve shows that 3C111 was only occasionally detected at high energies. It was bright at the end of 2008 and faint, below the Fermi-LAT sensitivity threshold, for the rest of the time. A multifrequency campaign of 3C111, ongoing in the same period, revealed an increase of the millimeter, optical, and X-ray fluxes in 2008 September-November, interpreted by Chatterjee etal. as due to the passage of a superluminal knot through the jet core. The temporal coincidence of the millimeter-optical-X-ray outburst with the GeV activity suggests a cospatiality of the events, allowing, for the first time, the localization of the γ-ray dissipative zone in an FRII jet. We argue that the GeV photons of 3C111 are produced in a compact region confined within 0.1 pc and at a distance of about 0.3 pc from the black hole. © 2012. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved..

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.

Twenty-eight GHz-peaked-spectrum (GPS) radio sources, mainly radio galaxies, have been imaged in the r and i optical bands in order to study the host galaxies and investigate the importance of galaxy-galaxy interactions in leading to the formation of this class of compact radio source. Here we present the observational results, while a subsequent paper will be devoted to the analysis and discussion. We find new identifications for seven objects previously classified as empty fields and one object misidentified with a Galactic star. This reduces the fraction of empty fields in the 1991 O'Dea, Baum, and Stanghellini sample to only ∼ 8 %. We find and confirm that disturbed optical morphologies are a common characteristic of GPS radio galaxies

VLA radio observations and optical imaging and spectroscopy of the Einstein radio ring 0218+357 are presented. The ring is detected at 22.4 GHz and shows a basically similar structure at 5, 15, and 22.4 GHz. The B component has varied and was about 15 percent brighter in the 8.4 GHz data than in the data of Patnaik et al. (1992). The ring is highly polarized. A weak jetlike feature extending out roughly 2 arcsec to the southeast of component A is detected at 6 cm. The source has amorphous radio structure extending out to about 11 arcsec from the core. For an adopted redshift of 0.68, the extended radio emission is very powerful. The optical spectrum is rather red and shows no strong features. A redshift of about 0.68 is obtained. The identification is a faint compact m(r) about 20 galaxy which extends to about 4.5 arcsec (about 27 kpc). As much as 50 percent of the total light may be due to a central AGN. The observed double core and ring may be produced by an off-center radio core with extended radio structure.

The astrophysical implications of recent radio and optical observations of the powerful compact gigahertz peaked-spectrum (GPS) radio sources are discussed. Some tentative conclusions are presented and a scenario based on the existing data is suggested. It is argued that the spectrum is due to synchrotron self-absorption, which is assumed as the basis for the present inferences from the radio spectral shape. The finding that some GPS sources have a very narrow spectral shape is consistent with the hypothesis that there is a narrow range of size scales which dominate the radio luminosity. The highly inverted LF radio spectrum is consistent with the hypothesis that the radio source is tightly confined. The conclusion that the radio polarization of these sources is systematically low is consistent either with a very tangled magnetic field or very large Faraday rotation measures. It is suggested that GPS radio sources are formed when the radio plasma is confined on the scale of the narrow-line region by an unusually dense and clumpy ISM. The existing optical spectroscopic results are also consistent with the existence of a dense and dusty nuclear ISM.

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&A