We model the time variability of {approx}9000 spectroscopically confirmed quasars in SDSS Stripe 82 as a damped random walk (DRW). Using 2.7 million photometric measurements collected over 10 yr, we ...confirm the results of Kelly et al. and Kozlowski et al. that this model can explain quasar light curves at an impressive fidelity level (0.01-0.02 mag). The DRW model provides a simple, fast (O(N) for N data points), and powerful statistical description of quasar light curves by a characteristic timescale ({tau}) and an asymptotic rms variability on long timescales (SF{sub {infinity}}). We searched for correlations between these two variability parameters and physical parameters such as luminosity and black hole mass, and rest-frame wavelength. Our analysis shows SF{sub {infinity}} to increase with decreasing luminosity and rest-frame wavelength as observed previously, and without a correlation with redshift. We find a correlation between SF{sub {infinity}} and black hole mass with a power-law index of 0.18 {+-} 0.03, independent of the anti-correlation with luminosity. We find that {tau} increases with increasing wavelength with a power-law index of 0.17, remains nearly constant with redshift and luminosity, and increases with increasing black hole mass with a power-law index of 0.21 {+-} 0.07. The amplitude of variability is anti-correlated with the Eddington ratio, which suggests a scenario where optical fluctuations are tied to variations in the accretion rate. However, we find an additional dependence on luminosity and/or black hole mass that cannot be explained by the trend with Eddington ratio. The radio-loudest quasars have systematically larger variability amplitudes by about 30%, when corrected for the other observed trends, while the distribution of their characteristic timescale is indistinguishable from that of the full sample. We do not detect any statistically robust differences in the characteristic timescale and variability amplitude between the full sample and the small subsample of quasars detected by ROSAT. Our results provide a simple quantitative framework for generating mock quasar light curves, such as currently used in LSST image simulations.
We use Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 5 (DR5) u, g, r, i, z photometry to study Milky Way halo substructure in the area around the north Galactic cap. A simple color cut (g - r < 0.4) ...reveals the tidal stream of the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy, as well as a number of other stellar structures in the field. Two branches (A and B) of the Sagittarius stream are clearly visible in an RGB composite image created from three magnitude slices, and there is also evidence for a still more distant wrap behind the A branch. A comparison of these data with numerical models suggests that the shape of the Galactic dark halo is close to spherical.
The properties of the host galaxies of a well-defined sample of 2215 radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGN) with redshifts 0.03 < z < 0.3, defined from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), are ...investigated. These are predominantly low radio-luminosity sources, with 1.4-GHz luminosities in the range 1023–1025 W Hz−1. The fraction of galaxies that host radio-loud AGN with L1.4 GHz > 1023W Hz−1 is a strong function of stellar mass, rising from nearly zero below a stellar mass of 1010M⊙ to more than 30 per cent at stellar masses of 5 × 1011M⊙. In contrast to the integrated Oiii luminosity density from emission-line AGN, which is mainly produced by black holes with masses below 108M⊙, the integrated radio luminosity density comes from the most massive black holes in the Universe. The integral radio luminosity function is derived in six ranges of stellar and black hole masses. Its shape is very similar in all of these ranges and can be well fitted by a broken power law. Its normalization varies strongly with mass, as M2.5* or M1.6BH; this scaling only begins to break down when the predicted radio-loud fraction exceeds 20–30 per cent. There is no correlation between radio and emission-line luminosities for the radio-loud AGN in the sample and the probability that a galaxy of given mass is radio loud is independent of whether it is optically classified as an AGN. The host galaxies of the radio-loud AGN have properties similar to those of ordinary galaxies of the same mass, with a tendency for radio-loud AGN to be found in larger galaxies and in richer environments. The host galaxies of radio-loud AGN with emission lines match those of their radio-quiet counterparts. All of these findings support the conclusion that the optical AGN and low radio-luminosity AGN phenomena are independent and are triggered by different physical mechanisms. Intriguingly, the dependence on black hole mass of the radio-loud AGN fraction mirrors that of the rate at which gas cools from the hot atmospheres of elliptical galaxies. It is speculated that gas cooling provides a natural explanation for the origin of the radio-loud AGN activity, and it is argued that AGN heating could plausibly balance the cooling of the gas over time.
Asteroid families, traditionally defined as clusters of objects in orbital parameter space, often have distinctive optical colors. We show that the separation of family members from background ...interlopers can be improved with the aid of SDSS colors as a qualifier for family membership. Based on an ∼88,000 object subset of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Moving Object Catalog 4 with available proper orbital elements, we define 37 statistically robust asteroid families with at least 100 members (12 families have over 1000 members) using a simple Gaussian distribution model in both orbital and color space. The interloper rejection rate based on colors is typically ∼10% for a given orbital family definition, with four families that can be reliably isolated only with the aid of colors. About 50% of all objects in this data set belong to families, and this fraction varies from about 35% for objects brighter than an
H magnitude of 13 and rises to 60% for objects fainter than this. The fraction of C-type objects in families decreases with increasing
H magnitude for
H
>
13
, while the fraction of S-type objects above this limit remains effectively constant. This suggests that S-type objects require a shorter timescale for equilibrating the background and family size distributions via collisional processing. The size distribution varies significantly among families, and is typically different from size distributions for background populations. The size distributions for 15 families display a well-defined change of slope and can be modeled as a “broken” double power-law. Such “broken” size distributions are twice as likely for S-type familes than for C-type families (73% vs. 36%), and are dominated by dynamically old families. The remaining families with size distributions that can be modeled as a single power law are dominated by young families (<1 Gyr). When size distribution requires a double power-law model, the two slopes are correlated and are steeper for S-type families. No such slope–color correlation is discernible for families whose size distribution follows a single power law. For several very populous families, we find that the size distribution varies with the distance from the core in orbital-color space, such that small objects are more prevalent in the family outskirts. This “size sorting” is consistent with predictions based on the Yarkovsky effect.
The Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS) is a synoptic, all-sky radio sky survey with a unique combination of high angular resolution ( 2 5), sensitivity (a 1 goal of 70 Jy/beam in the coadded data), ...full linear Stokes polarimetry, time domain coverage, and wide bandwidth (2-4 GHz). The first observations began in 2017 September, and observing for the survey will finish in 2024. VLASS will use approximately 5500 hr of time on the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) to cover the whole sky visible to the VLA (decl. > −40°), a total of 33 885 deg 2 . The data will be taken in three epochs to allow the discovery of variable and transient radio sources. The survey is designed to engage radio astronomy experts, multi-wavelength astronomers, and citizen scientists alike. By utilizing an "on the fly" interferometry mode, the observing overheads are much reduced compared to a conventional pointed survey. In this paper, we present the science case and observational strategy for the survey, and also results from early survey observations.
We explore the properties of the submillijansky radio population at 20 cm by applying a newly developed optical color-based method to separate star- forming (SF) from active galactic nucleus (AGN) ...galaxies at intermediate redshifts. Although optical rest-frame colors are used, our separation method is shown to be efficient and not biased against dusty starburst galaxies. This classification method has been calibrated and tested on a local radio- selected optical sample. Given accurate multiband photometry and redshifts, it carries the potential to be generally applicable to any galaxy sample where SF and AGN galaxies are the two dominant populations. In order to quantify the properties of the submillijansky radio population, we have analyzed image2,400 radio sources, detected at 20 cm in the VLA-COSMOS survey; 90% of these have submillijansky flux densities. We classify the objects into (1) star candidates, (2) quasi-stellar objects, (3) AGN, (4) SF, and (5) high-redshift galaxies. We find, for the composition of the submillijansky radio population, that SF galaxies are not the dominant population at submillijansky flux levels, as previously often assumed, but that they make up an approximately constant fraction of 30%-40% in the flux density range of image50 muJy to 0.7 mJy. In summary, based on the entire VLA-COSMOS radio population at 20 cm, we find that the radio population at these flux densities is a mixture of roughly 30%-40% of SF and 50%-60% of AGN galaxies, with a minor contribution (image10%) of QSOs.
A sample of 2712 radio-luminous galaxies is defined from the second data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) by cross-comparing the main spectroscopic galaxy sample with two radio surveys: ...the National Radio Astronomy Observatories (NRAO) Very Large Array (VLA) Sky Survey (NVSS) and the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty centimeters (FIRST) survey. The comparison is carried out in a multistage process and makes optimal use of both radio surveys by exploiting the sensitivity of the NVSS to extended and multicomponent radio sources in addition to the high angular resolution of the FIRST images. A radio source sample with 95 per cent completeness and 98.9 per cent reliability is achieved, far better than would be possible for this sample if only one of the surveys was used. The radio source sample is then divided into two classes: radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGN) and galaxies in which the radio emission is dominated by star formation. The division is based on the location of a galaxy in the plane of 4000-Å break strength versus radio luminosity per unit stellar mass and provides a sample of 2215 radio-loud AGN and 497 star-forming galaxies brighter than 5 mJy at 1.4 GHz. A full catalogue of positions and radio properties is provided for these sources. The local radio luminosity function is then derived both for radio-loud AGN and for star-forming galaxies and is found to be in agreement with previous studies. By using the radio to far-infrared (FIR) correlation, the radio luminosity function of star-forming galaxies is also compared to the luminosity function derived in the FIR. It is found to agree well at high luminosities but less so at lower luminosities, confirming that the linearity of the radio to FIR correlation breaks down below about 1022 W Hz−1 at 1.4 GHz.
We develop a method for separating quasars from other variable point sources using Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Stripe 82 light-curve data for ~ 10,000 variable objects. To statistically describe ...quasar variability, we use a damped random walk model parametrized by a damping timescale, Delta *t, and an asymptotic amplitude (structure function), SF{infinity}. With the aid of an SDSS spectroscopically confirmed quasar sample, we demonstrate that variability selection in typical extragalactic fields with low stellar density can deliver complete samples with reasonable purity (or efficiency, E). Compared to a selection method based solely on the slope of the structure function, the inclusion of the Delta *t information boosts E from 60% to 75% while maintaining a highly complete sample (98%) even in the absence of color information. For a completeness of C = 90%, E is boosted from 80% to 85%. Conversely, C improves from 90% to 97% while maintaining E = 80% when imposing a lower limit on Delta *t. With the aid of color selection, the purity can be further boosted to 96%, with C = 93%. Hence, selection methods based on variability will play an important role in the selection of quasars with data provided by upcoming large sky surveys, such as Pan-STARRS and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). For a typical (simulated) LSST cadence over 10 years and a photometric accuracy of 0.03 mag (achieved at i 22), C is expected to be 88% for a simple sample selection criterion of Delta *t>100 days. In summary, given an adequate survey cadence, photometric variability provides an even better method than color selection for separating quasars from stars.
A patch of sky in the SDSS Stripe 82 was observed at 1.6 GHz with Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) using the European VLBI Network (EVN). The data were correlated at the EVN software ...correlator at JIVE (SFXC). There are fifteen known mJy/sub-mJy radio sources in the target field defined by the primary beam size of a typical 30-m class EVN radio telescope. The source of particular interest is a recently identified high-redshift radio quasar: J222843.54+011032.2 (J2228+0110) at redshift z = 5.95. Our aim was to investigate the milli-arcsecond (mas) scale properties of all the VLBI-detectable sources within this primary beam area with a diameter of 20′. The source J2228+0110 was detected with VLBI with a brightness temperature Tb > 108 K, supporting the active galactic nucleus (AGN) origin of its radio emission, which is conclusive evidence that the source is a radio quasar. In addition, two other target sources were also detected, one of them with no redshift information. Their brightness temperature values (Tb > 107 K) measured with VLBI suggest a non-thermal synchrotron radiation origin for their radio emission. The detection rate of 20% is broadly consistent with other wide-field VLBI experiments carried out recently. We also derived the accurate equatorial coordinates of the three detected sources using the phase-referencing technique. This experiment is an early attempt of a wide-field science project with SFXC, paving the way for the EVN to conduct a large-scale VLBI survey in the multiple-phase-centre mode.
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