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Register a new userA Multi-wavelength Analysis of the Faint Radio Sky (COSMOS-XS): the Nature of the Ultra-faint Radio Population
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Ultra-deep radio surveys are an invaluable probe of dust-obscured star formation, but require a clear understanding of the relative contribution from radio AGN to be used to their fullest potential. We study the composition of the $mu$Jy radio population detected in the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array COSMOS-XS survey based on a sample of 1540 sources detected at 3 GHz over an area of $sim350text{arcmin}^2$. This ultra-deep survey consists of a single pointing in the well-studied COSMOS field at both 3 and 10 GHz and reaches RMS-sensitivities of $0.53$ and $0.41mu$Jy beam$^{-1}$, respectively. We find multi-wavelength counterparts for $97%$ of radio sources, based on a combination of near-UV/optical to sub-mm data, and through a stacking analysis at optical/near-infrared wavelengths we further show that the sources lacking such counterparts are likely to be high-redshift in nature (typical $zsim4-5$). Utilizing the multi-wavelength data over COSMOS, we identify AGN through a variety of diagnostics and find these to make up $23.2pm1.3%$ of our sample, with the remainder constituting uncontaminated star-forming galaxies. However, more than half of the AGN exhibit radio emission consistent with originating from star-formation, with only $8.8pm0.8%$ of radio sources showing a clear excess in radio luminosity. At flux densities of $sim30mu$Jy at 3 GHz, the fraction of star-formation powered sources reaches $sim90%$, and this fraction is consistent with unity at even lower flux densities. Overall, our findings imply that ultra-deep radio surveys such as COSMOS-XS constitute a highly effective means of obtaining clean samples of star-formation powered radio sources.
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We present ultra-deep, matched-resolution Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) observations at 10 and $3$ GHz in the COSMOS field: the COSMOS-XS survey. The final 10 and $3$ GHz images cover $sim16rm{arcmin}^{2}$ and $sim180rm{arcmin}^{2}$ and reach median rms values of $0.41murm{Jy,beam}^{-1}$ and $0.53murm{Jy,beam}^{-1}$, respectively. Both images have an angular resolution of $sim 2.0$. To fully account for the spectral shape and resolution variations across the broad bands, we image all data with a multi-scale, multi-frequency synthesis algorithm. We present source catalogs for the 10 and $3$ GHz image with 91 and 1498 sources, respectively, above a peak brightness threshold of $5sigma$. We present source counts with completeness corrections included that are computed via Monte Carlo simulations. Our corrected radio counts at $3$ GHz with direct detections down to $sim2.8mu$Jy are consistent within the uncertainties with other results at 3 and 1.4 GHz, but extend to fainter flux densities than previous direct detections. The ultra-faint $3$ GHz number counts are found to exceed the counts predicted by the semi-empirical radio sky simulations developed in the framework of the SKA Simulated Skies project, consistent with previous P(D) analyses. Our measured source counts suggest a steeper luminosity function evolution for these faint star-forming sources. The semi-empirical Tiered Radio Extragalactic Continuum Simulation (T-RECS) predicts this steeper evolution and is in better agreement with our results. The $10$ GHz radio number counts also agree with the counts predicted by the T-RECS simulation within the expected variations from cosmic variance. In summary, the multi-band, matched-resolution COSMOS-XS survey in the well-studied COSMOS field provides a high-resolution view of the ultra-faint radio sky that can help guide next generation radio facilities.
We study the faint radio population using wide-field very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations of 2865 known radio sources in the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) field. The main objective of the project was to determine where active galactic nuclei (AGN) are present. The combination of number of sources, sensitivity, angular resolution and area covered by this project are unprecedented. We have detected 468 radio sources, expected to be AGNs, with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) at 1.4 GHz. This is, to date, the largest sample assembled of VLBI detected sources in the sub-mJy regime. The input sample was taken from previous observations with the Very Large Array (VLA). We present the catalogue with additional multiwavelength information. We find a detection fraction of 20%, considering only those sources from the input catalogue which were in principle detectable with the VLBA (2361). As a function of redshift, we see no evolution of the detection fraction over the redshift range 0.5<z<3. In addition, we find that faint radio sources typically have a greater fraction of their radio luminosity in a compact core: ~70% of the sub-mJy sources detected with the VLBA have more than half of their total radio luminosity in a VLBI-scale component, whereas this is true for only ~30% of the sources that are brighter than 10 mJy. This suggests that fainter radio sources differ intrinsically from brighter ones. Across our entire sample, we find the predominant morphological classification of the host galaxies of the VLBA detected sources to be early type (57%), although this varies with redshift and at z>1.5 we find that spiral galaxies become the most prevalent (48%). We demonstrate that wide-field VLBI observations, together with new calibration methods such as multi-source self-calibration and mosaicing, result in information which is difficult or impossible to obtain otherwise.
A complete, flux density limited sample of 96 faint ($> 0.5$ mJy) radio sources is selected from the 10C survey at 15.7 GHz in the Lockman Hole. We have matched this sample to a range of multi-wavelength catalogues, including SERVS, SWIRE, UKIDSS and optical data; multi-wavelength counterparts are found for 80 of the 96 sources and spectroscopic redshifts are available for 24 sources. Photometric reshifts are estimated for the sources with multi-wavelength data available; the median redshift of the sample is 0.91 with an interquartile range of 0.84. Radio-to-optical ratios show that at least 94 per cent of the sample are radio loud, indicating that the 10C sample is dominated by radio galaxies. This is in contrast to samples selected at lower frequencies, where radio-quiet AGN and starforming galaxies are present in significant numbers at these flux density levels. All six radio-quiet sources have rising radio spectra, suggesting that they are dominated by AGN emission. These results confirm the conclusions of Paper I that the faint, flat-spectrum sources which are found to dominate the 10C sample below $sim 1$ mJy are the cores of radio galaxies. The properties of the 10C sample are compared to the SKADS Simulated Skies; a population of low-redshift starforming galaxies predicted by the simulation is not found in the observed sample.
Radio astronomy has changed. For years it studied relatively rare sources, which emit mostly non-thermal radiation across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, i.e. radio quasars and radio galaxies. Now it is reaching such faint flux densities that it detects mainly star-forming galaxies and the more common radio-quiet active galactic nuclei. These sources make up the bulk of the extragalactic sky, which has been studied for decades in the infrared, optical, and X-ray bands. I follow the transformation of radio astronomy by reviewing the main components of the radio sky at the bright and faint ends, the issue of their proper classification, their number counts, luminosity functions, and evolution. The overall big picture astrophysical implications of these results, and their relevance for a number of hot topics in extragalactic astronomy, are also discussed. The future prospects of the faint radio sky are very bright, as we will soon be flooded with survey data. This review should be useful to all extragalactic astronomers, irrespective of their favourite electromagnetic band(s), and even stellar astronomers might find it somewhat gratifying.
The up-turn in Euclidean normalised source counts below 1mJy at 1.4GHz is well established in many deep radio surveys. There are strong reasons, observationally and theoretically, to believe that this up-turn is due to strong evolution of the starforming population up to z=2. However this hypothesis needs further confirmation spectroscopically and the examples in the literature are sparse. Theoretically the up-turn is well modelled by the evolution of the local radio starforming population and is consistent with the up-turn seen in recent mid-infrared source counts at 15um (ISOCAM) and 24um (Spitzer) and the tight correlation of the radio and MIR Luminosities of starforming galaxies.
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