No Arabic abstract
We have produced sensitive, high-resolution radio maps of 12 SMGs in the Lockman Hole using combined MERLIN and VLA data at a frequency of 1.4 GHz. Integrating for 350hr yielded an r.m.s. noise of 6.0 uJy/beam and a resolution of 0.2-0.5. For the first time, wide-field data from the two arrays have been combined in the (u,v) plane and the bandwidth smearing response of the VLA data has been removed. All of the SMGs are detected in our maps as well as sources comprising a non-submm luminous control sample. We find evidence that SMGs are more extended than the general uJy radio population and that therefore, unlike in local ULIRGs, the starburst component of the radio emission is extended and not confined to the galactic nucleus. For the eight sources with redshifts we measure linear sizes between 1 and 8 kpc with a median of 5 kpc. Therefore, they are in general larger than local ULIRGs which may support an early-stage merger scenario for the starburst trigger. X-rays betray AGN in six of the 33 sources in the combined sample. All but one of these are in the control sample, suggesting a lower incidence of AGN amongst the submm-luminous galaxies which is, in turn, consistent with increased X-ray absorption in these dust-obscured starbursts. Only one of our sources is resolved into multiple, distinct components with our high-resolution data. Finally, compared to a previous study of faint radio sources in the GOODS-N field we find systematically smaller source sizes and no evidence for a tail extending to ~4. Possible reasons for this are discussed.
We present the results of Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) observations to study the properties of FR0 radio galaxies, the compact radio sources associated with early-type galaxies which represent the bulk of the local radio-loud AGN population. We obtained A-array observations at 1.5, 4.5, and 7.5 GHz for 18 FR0s from the FR0CAT sample: these are sources at $z<0.05$, unresolved in the FIRST images and spectroscopically classified as low excitation galaxies (LEG). Although we reach an angular resolution of $sim$0.3 arcsec, the majority of the 18 FR0s is still unresolved. Only four objects show extended emission. Six have steep radio spectra, 11 are flat cores, while one shows an inverted spectrum. We find that 1) the ratio between core and total emission in FR0s is $sim$30 times higher than in FRI and 2) FR0s share the same properties with FRIs from the nuclear and host point of view. FR0s differ from FRIs only for the paucity of extended radio emission. Different scenarios were investigated: 1) the possibility that all FR0s are young sources eventually evolving into extended sources is ruled out by the distribution of radio sizes; 2) similarly, a time-dependent scenario, where a variation of accretion or jet launching prevents the formation of large-scales radio structures, appears to be rather implausible due to the large abundance of sub-kpc objects 3) a scenario in which FR0s are produced by mildly relativistic jets is consistent with the data but requires observations of a larger sample to be properly tested.
High-resolution radio observations of nearby starburst galaxies have shown that the distribution of their radio emission consists of a compact (<150 pc), high surface brightness, central radio source immersed in a low surface brightness circumnuclear halo. This radio structure is similar to that detected in bright Seyferts galaxies like NGC 7469 or Mrk 331, which display clear circumnuclear rings. While the compact, centrally located radio emission in these starbursts might be generated by a point-like source (AGN), or by the combined effect of multiple radio supernovae and supernova remnants (e.g., the evolved nuclear starburst in Arp~220), it seems well established that the circumnuclear regions of those objects host an ongoing burst of star-formation (e.g., NGC 7469; Colina et al. 2001, Alberdi et al. 2006). Therefore, high-resolution radio observations of Luminous Infra-Red Galaxies (LIRGs) in our local universe are a powerful tool to probe the dominant dust heating mechanism in their nuclear and circumnuclear regions. In this contribution, we show results obtained from VLA-A, MERLIN, and EVN (VLBI) radio observations of the galaxies NGC 7469 (D~70 Mpc) and IRAS 18293-3413 (D ~ 79 Mpc), where two extremely bright radio supernovae have been found. High-resolution studies of these and other LIRGs would allow us to determine the core-collapse supernova rate in them, as well as their star-formation rate.
We present the results of a comprehensive Spitzer survey of 70 radio galaxies across 1<z<5.2. Using IRAC, IRS and MIPS imaging we determine the rest-frame AGN contribution to the stellar emission peak at 1.6um. The stellar luminosities are found to be consistent with that of a giant elliptical with a stellar mass of 10^11-12Msun. The mean stellar mass remains constant at ~10^11.5Msun up to z=3 indicating that the upper end of the mass function is already in place by this redshift. The mid-IR luminosities imply bolometric IR luminosities that would classify all sources as ULIRGs. The mid-IR to radio luminosity generally correlate implying a common origin for these emissions. The ratio is higher than that found for lower redshift, ie z<1, radio galaxies.
High redshift radio galaxies (HzRGs) are key targets for studies of the formation and evolution of massive galaxies. The role of dust in these processes is uncertain. We have therefore observed the dust continuum emission from a sample of z > 3 radio galaxies with the SCUBA bolometer array. We confirm and strengthen earlier results, that HzRGs are massive starforming systems and that submillimeter detection rate appears to be primarily a strong function of redshift. We also observed HzRG-candidates which have sofar eluded spectroscopic redshift determination. Four of these have been detected, and provide evidence that they may be extremely obscured radio galaxies, possibly in an early stage of their evolution.
The study of the content, distribution and kinematics of interstellar gas is a key to understand the origin and maintenance of both starburst and nuclear (AGN) activity in galaxies. The processes involved in AGN fueling encompass a wide range of scales, both spatial and temporal, which have to be studied. Probing the gas flow from the outer disk down to the central engine of an AGN host, requires the use of specific tracers of the interstellar medium adapted to follow the change of phase of the gas as a function of radius. Current mm-interferometers can provide a sharp view of the distribution and kinematics of molecular gas in the circumnuclear disks of galaxies through extensive CO line mapping. As such, CO maps are an essential tool to study AGN feeding mechanisms in the local universe. This is the scientific driver of the NUclei of GAlaxies (NUGA) survey, whose latest results are here reviewed. On the other hand, the use of specific molecular tracers of the dense gas phase can probe the feedback influence of activity on the chemistry and energy balance/redistribution in the interstellar medium of nearby galaxies. Millimeter interferometers are able to unveil the strong chemical differentiation present in the molecular gas disks of nearby starbursts and AGNs. Nearby active galaxies can be used as local templates to address the study of more distant galaxies where both star formation and AGN activity are deeply embedded.