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Register a new userBlazars in the LOFAR Two-Metre Sky Survey First Data Release
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Historically, the blazar population has been poorly understood at low frequencies because survey sensitivity and angular resolution limitations have made it difficult to identify megahertz counterparts. We used the LOFAR Two-Metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) first data release value-added catalogue (LDR1) to study blazars in the low-frequency regime with unprecedented sensitivity and resolution. We identified radio counterparts to all $98$ known sources from the Third textit{Fermi}-LAT Point Source Catalogue (3FGL) or Roma-BZCAT Multi-frequency Catalogue of Blazars ($5^{mathrm{th}}$ edition) that fall within the LDR1 footprint. Only the 3FGL unidentified $gamma$-ray sources (UGS) could not be firmly associated with an LDR1 source; this was due to source confusion. We examined the redshift and radio luminosity distributions of our sample, finding flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) to be more distant and more luminous than BL Lacertae objects (BL Lacs) on average. Blazars are known to have flat spectra in the gigahertz regime but we found this to extend down to $144$ MHz, where the radio spectral index, $alpha$, of our sample is $-0.17 pm 0.14$. For BL Lacs, $alpha = -0.13 pm 0.16$ and for FSRQs, $alpha = -0.15 pm 0.17$. We also investigated the radio-to-$gamma$-ray connection for the $30$ $gamma$-ray-detected sources in our sample. We find Pearsons correlation coefficient is $0.45$ ($p = 0.069$). This tentative correlation and the flatness of the spectral index suggest that the beamed core emission contributes to the low-frequency flux density. We compare our sample distribution with that of the full LDR1 on colour-colour diagrams, and we use this information to identify possible radio counterparts to two of the four UGS within the LDR1 field. We will refine our results as LoTSS continues.
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The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) is an ongoing sensitive, high-resolution 120-168MHz survey of the entire northern sky for which observations are now 20% complete. We present our first full-quality public data release. For this data release 424 square degrees, or 2% of the eventual coverage, in the region of the HETDEX Spring Field (right ascension 10h45m00s to 15h30m00s and declination 45$^circ$00$$00$$ to 57$^circ$00$$00$$) were mapped using a fully automated direction-dependent calibration and imaging pipeline that we developed. A total of 325,694 sources are detected with a signal of at least five times the noise, and the source density is a factor of $sim 10$ higher than the most sensitive existing very wide-area radio-continuum surveys. The median sensitivity is S$_{rm 144 MHz} = 71,mu$Jy beam$^{-1}$ and the point-source completeness is 90% at an integrated flux density of 0.45mJy. The resolution of the images is 6$$ and the positional accuracy is within 0.2$$. This data release consists of a catalogue containing location, flux, and shape estimates together with 58 mosaic images that cover the catalogued area. In this paper we provide an overview of the data release with a focus on the processing of the LOFAR data and the characteristics of the resulting images. In two accompanying papers we provide the radio source associations and deblending and, where possible, the optical identifications of the radio sources together with the photometric redshifts and properties of the host galaxies. These data release papers are published together with a further $sim$20 articles that highlight the scientific potential of LoTSS.
Winged radio sources are a small sub-class of extragalactic radio sources which display a pair of low surface brightness radio lobes, known as `wings aligned at a certain angle with the primary jets. Depending on the location of wings, these galaxies look like X or Z and are known as X-shaped Radio Galaxy (XRG) or Z-shaped Radio Galaxy (ZRG). We report the identification of 33 winged radio sources from the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey First Data Release (LoTSS DR1) out of which 21 sources are identified as X-shaped radio galaxies and 12 as Z-shaped radio galaxies. Optical counterparts are identified for 14 XRGs (67 per cent) and 12 ZRGs (100 per cent). We studied various physical parameters of these sources like spectral index, radio luminosity, and power. The radio spectrum of the majority of XRGs and ZRGs is steep ($alpha_{1400}^{144}>0.5$), which is typical of lobe dominated radio galaxies. The statistical studies are done on the relative size of the major and minor axes and the angle between the major axis and minor axis for XRGs.
The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) will map the complete Northern sky and provide an excellent opportunity to study the distribution and evolution of the large-scale structure of the Universe. We study the completeness of the LoTSS first data release (DR1) and find a point-source completeness of 99 % above flux densities of 0.8 mJy and define a suite of quality cuts. We determine the count-in-cell statistics and differential source counts statistic and measure the angular two-point correlation function of the LoTSS radio sources. The counts-in-cell statistic reveals that the distribution of radio sources cannot be described by a spatial Poisson process. Instead, a good fit is provided by a compound Poisson distribution. The differential source counts are in good agreement with previous findings in deep fields at low radio frequencies and with simulated catalogues from the SKA design study sky and the Tiered Radio Extragalactic Continuum Simulation. The angular two-point correlation is $<10^{-2}$ at angular scales $> 1$ deg. Restricting the value added source catalogue to low-noise regions and a flux density threshold of 2 mJy provides our most reliable estimate of the angular two-point correlation. For smaller flux density thresholds systematic issues are identified, most likely related to the flux density calibration of the individual pointings. Based on the distribution of photometric redshifts of LoTSS sources and the Planck 2018 best-fit cosmological model, the theoretically predicted angular two-point correlation between 0.1 deg and 6 deg agrees with the measured clustering for a subsample of radio sources with redshift information. We find agreement with the expectation of large-scale statistical isotropy of the radio sky at the per cent level. The angular two-point correlation agrees well with the expectation of the cosmological standard model. (abbreviated)
The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) is a deep 120-168 MHz imaging survey that will eventually cover the entire Northern sky. Each of the 3170 pointings will be observed for 8 hrs, which, at most declinations, is sufficient to produce ~5arcsec resolution images with a sensitivity of ~0.1mJy/beam and accomplish the main scientific aims of the survey which are to explore the formation and evolution of massive black holes, galaxies, clusters of galaxies and large-scale structure. Due to the compact core and long baselines of LOFAR, the images provide excellent sensitivity to both highly extended and compact emission. For legacy value, the data are archived at high spectral and time resolution to facilitate subarcsecond imaging and spectral line studies. In this paper we provide an overview of the LoTSS. We outline the survey strategy, the observational status, the current calibration techniques, a preliminary data release, and the anticipated scientific impact. The preliminary images that we have released were created using a fully-automated but direction-independent calibration strategy and are significantly more sensitive than those produced by any existing large-area low-frequency survey. In excess of 44,000 sources are detected in the images that have a resolution of 25arcsec, typical noise levels of less than 0.5 mJy/beam, and cover an area of over 350 square degrees in the region of the HETDEX Spring Field (right ascension 10h45m00s to 15h30m00s and declination 45d00m00s to 57d00m00s).
The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) is ongoing and plans to map the complete Northern sky in the future. The source catalogue from the public LoTSS first data release covers 1% of the sky and is known to show some correlated noise or fluctuations of the flux density calibration over a few degree scale. Due to its unique and excellent design, observations from LOFAR are expected to be an excellent opportunity to study the distribution and evolution of the large-scale structure of the Universe in the future. We explore the LoTSS DR1 to understand the survey systematics and data quality of its very first data release. We produce catalog mocks to determine error estimates and with our detailed and careful analysis, we successfully recover the angular clustering statistics of LoTSS galaxies, which fits the $Lambda$CDM cosmology reasonably well. We employ a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) based Bayesian analysis and recover the best galaxy biasing scheme for LoTSS galaxies and also constrain the radial distribution of LoTSS DR1. After masking some noisy and uneven patches and with reasonable flux cuts, the LOFAR survey appears qualified for large-scale cosmological studies. The upcoming data releases from LOFAR are expected to be deeper and wider, thus will be more suitable for drawing cosmological implications.
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