We apply the V/Vm test to a subsample of compact steep-spectrum sources from a complete sample of radio sources selected at 2.7 GHz. We find that the <V/Vm> has a value intermediate between those found for samples of extended steep-spectrum sources and those of compact flat-spectrum sources. If the sample is split into two further classes of sources having more steep and less steep spectra, the <V/Vm> values for these then tally roughly with those found for the extended steep-spectrum and compact flat-spectrum classes of sources. Implications of this result are discussed.
Compact steep-spectrum (CSS) and peaked spectrum (PS) radio sources are compact, powerful radio sources. The multi-frequency observational properties and current theories are reviewed with emphasis on developments since the earlier review of ODea (1998). There are three main hypotheses for the nature of PS and CSS sources. (1) The PS sources might be very young radio galaxies which will evolve into CSS sources on their way to becoming large radio galaxies. (2) The PS and CSS sources might be compact because they are confined (and enhanced in radio power) by interaction with dense gas in their environments. (3) Alternately, the PS sources might be transient or intermittent sources. Each of these hypotheses may apply to individual objects. The relative number in each population will have significant implications for the radio galaxy paradigm. Proper motion studies over long time baselines have helped determine hotspot speeds for over three dozen sources and establish that these are young objects. Multifrequency polarization observations have demonstrated that many CSS/PS sources are embedded in a dense interstellar medium and vigorously interacting with it. The detection of emission line gas aligned with the radio source, and blue-shifted HI absorption and [OIII] emission lines indicates that AGN feedback is present in these objects -- possibly driven by the radio source. CSS/PS sources with evidence of episodic AGN over a large range of time-scales have been discussed. The review closes with a discussion of open questions and prospects for the future.
Compact steep spectrum (CSS) and GHz-peaked spectrum (GPS) radio sources represent a large fraction of the extragalactic objects in flux density-limited samples. They are compact, powerful radio sources whose synchrotron peak frequency ranges between a few hundred MHz to several GHz. CSS and GPS radio sources are currently interpreted as objects in which the radio emission is in an early evolutionary stage. In this contribution I review the radio properties and the physical characteristics of this class of radio sources, and the interplay between their radio emission and the ambient medium of the host galaxy.
We present Very Long Baseline Interferometry observations of a faint and low-luminosity ($L_{rm 1.4 GHz} < 10^{27}~mbox{W Hz}^{-1}$) Gigahertz-Peaked Spectrum (GPS) and Compact Steep Spectrum (CSS) sample. We select eight sources from deep radio observations that have radio spectra characteristic of a GPS or CSS source and an angular size of $theta lesssim 2$ arcsec, and detect six of them with the Australian Long Baseline Array. We determine their linear sizes, and model their radio spectra using Synchrotron Self Absorption (SSA) and Free Free Absorption (FFA) models. We derive statistical model ages, based on a fitted scaling relation, and spectral ages, based on the radio spectrum, which are generally consistent with the hypothesis that GPS and CSS sources are young and evolving. We resolve the morphology of one CSS source with a radio luminosity of $10^{25}~mbox{W Hz}^{-1}$, and find what appear to be two hotspots spanning 1.7 kpc. We find that our sources follow the turnover-linear size relation, and that both homogenous SSA and an inhomogeneous FFA model can account for the spectra with observable turnovers. All but one of the FFA models do not require a spectral break to account for the radio spectrum, while all but one of the alternative SSA and power law models do require a spectral break to account for the radio spectrum. We conclude that our low-luminosity sample is similar to brighter samples in terms of their spectral shape, turnover frequencies, linear sizes, and ages, but cannot test for a difference in morphology.
I will review some of the developments in studies of the host galaxy properties of Compact Steep Spectrum (CSS) and GigaHertz-Peaked Spectrum (GPS) radio sources. In contrast to previous reviews structured around observational technique, I will discuss the host galaxy properties in terms of morphology, stellar content and warm gas properties and discuss how compact, young radio-loud AGN are key objects for understanding galaxy evolution.
We study the collimation of radio jets in the high-luminosity Fanaroff-Riley class II sources by examining the dependence of the sizes of hotspots and knots in the radio jets on the overall size of the objects for a sample of compact steep-spectrum or CSS and larger-sized objects. The objects span a wide range in overall size from about 50 pc to nearly 1 Mpc. The mean size of the hotspots increases with the source size during the CSS phase, which is typically taken to be about 20 kpc, and the relationship flattens for the larger sources. The sizes of the knots in the compact as well as the larger sources are consistent with this trend. We discuss possible implications of these trends. We find that the hotspot closer to the nucleus or core component tends to be more compact for the most asymmetric objects where the ratio of separations of the hotspots from the nucleus, r_d > 2. These highly asymmetric sources are invariably CSS objects, and their location in the hotspot size ratio - separation ratio diagram is possibly due to their evolution in an asymmetric environment. We also suggest that some soures, especially of lower luminosity, exhibit an asymmetry in the collimation of the oppositely-directed radio jets.
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