Galactic black hole binaries produce powerful outflows with emit over almost the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Here, we report the first detection with the Herschel observatory of a variable far-infrared source associated with the compact jets of
the black hole transient GX 339-4 during the decay of its recent 2010-2011 outburst, after the transition to the hard state. We also outline the results of very sensitive radio observations conducted with the Australia Telescope Compact Array, along with a series of near-infrared, optical (OIR) and X-ray observations, allowing for the first time the re-ignition of the compact jets to be observed over a wide range of wavelengths. The compact jets first turn on at radio frequencies with an optically thin spectrum that later evolves to optically thick synchrotron emission. An OIR reflare is observed about ten days after the onset of radio and hard X-ray emission, likely reflecting the necessary time to build up enough density, as well as to have acceleration (e.g. through shocks) along an extended region in the jets. The Herschel measurements are consistent with an extrapolation of the radio inverted power-law spectrum, but they highlight a more complex radio to OIR spectral energy distribution for the jets.
This paper introduces a new program to find high-redshift radio galaxies in the southern hemisphere through ultra-steep spectrum (USS) selection. We define a sample of 234 USS radio sources with spectral indices alpha_408^843 < -1.0 and flux densitie
s S_408 > 200 mJy in a region of 0.35 sr, chosen by cross-correlating the revised 408 MHz Molonglo Reference Catalogue, the 843 MHz Sydney University Molonglo Sky Survey and the 1400 MHz NRAO VLA Sky Survey in the overlap region -40 deg < delta < -30 deg. We present Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) high-resolution 1384 and 2368 MHz radio data for each source, which we use to analyse the morphological, spectral index and polarization properties of our sample. We find that 85 per cent of the sources have observed-frame spectral energy distributions that are straight over the frequency range 408-2368 MHz, and that, on average, sources with smaller angular sizes have slightly steeper spectral indices and lower fractional linear polarization. Fractional polarization is anti-correlated with flux density at both 1400 and 2368 MHz. We also use the ATCA data to determine observed-frame Faraday rotation measures for half of the sample.
