We investigate the astrophysics of radio-emitting star-forming galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and elucidate their statistical properties in the radio band, including luminosity functions, ...redshift distributions, and number counts at sub-mJy flux levels, which will be crucially probed by next-generation radio continuum surveys. Specifically, we exploit the model-independent approach by Mancuso et al. to compute the star formation rate functions, the AGN duty cycles, and the conditional probability of a star-forming galaxy to host an AGN with given bolometric luminosity. Coupling these ingredients with the radio emission properties associated with star formation and nuclear activity, we compute relevant statistics at different radio frequencies and disentangle the relative contribution of star-forming galaxies and AGNs in different radio luminosity, radio flux, and redshift ranges. Finally, we highlight that radio-emitting star-forming galaxies and AGNs are expected to host supermassive black holes accreting with different Eddington ratio distributions and to occupy different loci in the galaxy main-sequence diagrams. These specific predictions are consistent with current data sets but need to be tested with larger statistics via future radio data with multiband coverage on wide areas, as will become routinely achievable with the advent of the Square Kilometre Array and its precursors.
Abstract
Radio emission is a key indicator of star formation activity in galaxies, but the radio luminosity–star formation relation has to date been studied almost exclusively at frequencies of ...1.4 GHz or above. At lower radio frequencies, the effects of thermal radio emission are greatly reduced, and so we would expect the radio emission observed to be completely dominated by synchrotron radiation from supernova-generated cosmic rays. As part of the LOFAR Surveys Key Science project, the Herschel-ATLAS NGP field has been surveyed with LOFAR at an effective frequency of 150 MHz. We select a sample from the MPA-JHU catalogue of Sloan Digital Sky Survey galaxies in this area: the combination of Herschel, optical and mid-infrared data enable us to derive star formation rates (SFRs) for our sources using spectral energy distribution fitting, allowing a detailed study of the low-frequency radio luminosity–star formation relation in the nearby Universe. For those objects selected as star-forming galaxies (SFGs) using optical emission line diagnostics, we find a tight relationship between the 150 MHz radio luminosity (L150) and SFR. Interestingly, we find that a single power-law relationship between L150 and SFR is not a good description of all SFGs: a broken power-law model provides a better fit. This may indicate an additional mechanism for the generation of radio-emitting cosmic rays. Also, at given SFR, the radio luminosity depends on the stellar mass of the galaxy. Objects that were not classified as SFGs have higher 150-MHz radio luminosity than would be expected given their SFR, implying an important role for low-level active galactic nucleus activity.
Abstract
We present a study of the low-frequency radio properties of star-forming (SF) galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGNs) up to redshift z = 2.5. The new spectral window probed by the Low ...Frequency Array (LOFAR) allows us to reconstruct the radio continuum emission from 150 MHz to 1.4 GHz to an unprecedented depth for a radio-selected sample of 1542 galaxies in ∼ 7 deg2 of the LOFAR Boötes field. Using the extensive multiwavelength data set available in Boötes and detailed modelling of the far-infrared to ultraviolet spectral energy distribution (SED), we are able to separate the star formation (N = 758) and the AGN (N = 784) dominated populations. We study the shape of the radio SEDs and their evolution across cosmic time and find significant differences in the spectral curvature between the SF galaxy and AGN populations. While the radio spectra of SF galaxies exhibit a weak but statistically significant flattening, AGN SEDs show a clear trend to become steeper towards lower frequencies. No evolution of the spectral curvature as a function of redshift is found for SF galaxies or AGNs. We investigate the redshift evolution of the infrared–radio correlation for SF galaxies and find that the ratio of total infrared to 1.4-GHz radio luminosities decreases with increasing redshift: q
1.4 GHz = (2.45 ± 0.04) (1 + z)−0.15 ± 0.03. Similarly, q
150 MHz shows a redshift evolution following q
150 GHz = (1.72 ± 0.04) (1 + z)−0.22 ± 0.05. Calibration of the 150 MHz radio luminosity as a star formation rate tracer suggests that a single power-law extrapolation from q
1.4 GHz is not an accurate approximation at all redshifts.
We present the H
I
emission project within the MIGHTEE survey, currently being carried out with the newly commissioned MeerKAT radio telescope. This is one of the first deep, blind, medium-wide ...interferometric surveys for neutral hydrogen (H
I
) ever undertaken, extending our knowledge of H
I
emission to
z
= 0.6. The science goals of this medium-deep, medium-wide survey are extensive, including the evolution of the neutral gas content of galaxies over the past 5 billion years. Simulations predict nearly 3000 galaxies over 0 <
z
< 0.4 will be detected directly in H
I
, with statistical detections extending to
z
= 0.6. The survey allows us to explore H
I
as a function of galaxy environment, with massive groups and galaxy clusters within the survey volume. Additionally, the area is large enough to contain as many as 50 local galaxies with H
I
mass < 10
8
M
⊙
, which allows us to study the low-mass galaxy population. The 20 deg
2
main survey area is centred on fields with exceptional multi-wavelength ancillary data, with photometry ranging from optical through far-infrared wavelengths, supplemented with multiple spectroscopic campaigns. We describe here the survey design and the key science goals. We also show first results from the Early Science observations, including kinematic modelling of individual sources, along with the redshift, H
I
, and stellar mass ranges of the sample to date.
Abstract
The relative positions of the high and low surface brightness regions of radio-loud active galaxies in the 3CR sample were found by Fanaroff and Riley to be correlated with their luminosity. ...We revisit this canonical relationship with a sample of 5805 extended radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGN) from the LOFAR Two-Metre Sky Survey (LoTSS), compiling the most complete data set of radio-galaxy morphological information obtained to date. We demonstrate that, for this sample, radio luminosity does not reliably predict whether a source is edge-brightened (FRII) or centre-brightened (FRI). We highlight a large population of low-luminosity FRIIs, extending three orders of magnitude below the traditional FR break, and demonstrate that their host galaxies are on average systematically fainter than those of high-luminosity FRIIs and of FRIs matched in luminosity. This result supports the jet power/environment paradigm for the FR break: low-power jets may remain undisrupted and form hotspots in lower mass hosts. We also find substantial populations that appear physically distinct from the traditional FR classes, including candidate restarting sources and ‘hybrids’. We identify 459 bent-tailed sources, which we find to have a significantly higher SDSS cluster association fraction (at z < 0.4) than the general radio-galaxy population, similar to the results of previous work. The complexity of the LoTSS faint, extended radio sources not only demonstrates the need for caution in the automated classification and interpretation of extended sources in modern radio surveys, but also reveals the wealth of morphological information such surveys will provide and its value for advancing our physical understanding of radio-loud AGN.
Based on ALMA Band 3 observations of the CO(2→1) line transition, we report the discovery of three new gas-rich (
M
H
2
∼ 1.5 − 4.8 × 10
10
M
⊙
) galaxies in an overdense region at
z
= 1.7 that ...already contains eight spectroscopically confirmed members. This leads to a total of 11 confirmed overdensity members within a projected distance of ∼1.15 Mpc and in a redshift range of Δ
z
= 0.012. Under simple assumptions, we estimate that the system has a total mass of ≥3 − 6 × 10
13
M
⊙
, and show that it will likely evolve into a ≳10
14
M
⊙
cluster at
z
= 0. The overdensity includes a powerful Compton-thick Fanaroff-Riley type II (FRII) radio galaxy, around which we discovered a large molecular gas reservoir (
M
H
2
∼ 2 × 10
11
M
⊙
). We fit the FRII resolved CO emission with a 2D Gaussian model with a major (minor) axis of ∼27 (∼17) kpc, which is a factor of ∼3 larger than the optical rest-frame emission. Under the assumption of a simple edge-on disk morphology, we find that the galaxy interstellar medium produces a column density toward the nucleus of ∼5.5 × 10
23
cm
−2
. A dense interstellar medium like this may then contribute significantly to the total nuclear obscuration measured in the X-rays (
N
H, X
∼ 1.5 × 10
24
cm
−2
) in addition to a small, paresec-scale absorber around the central engine. The velocity map of this source unveils a rotational motion of the gas that is perpendicular to the radio jets. All ALMA sources have a dust-reddened counterpart in deep
Hubble
Space Telescope images (bands
i
,
z
,
H
), while we do not detect any molecular gas reservoir around the known UV-bright, star-forming members discovered by MUSE. This highlights the capability of ALMA of tracing gas-rich members of the overdensity. For the MUSE sources, we derive 3
σ
upper limits to the molecular gas mass of
M
H
2
≤ 2.8 − 4.8 × 10
10
M
⊙
. We derive star formation rates in the range ∼5 − 100
M
⊙
yr
−1
for the three new ALMA sources. The FRII is located at the center of the projected spatial distribution of the structure members, and its velocity offset from the peak of the redshift distribution is well within the velocity dispersion of the structure. All this, coupled with the large amount of gas around the FRII, its stellar mass of ∼3 × 10
11
M
⊙
, star formation rate of ∼200 − 600
M
⊙
yr
−1
, and powerful radio-to-X-ray emission, suggests that this source is the likely progenitor of the future brightest cluster galaxy.
Aims. We aim to study the far-infrared radio correlation (FIRC) at 150 MHz in the local Universe (at a median redshift ⟨z⟩∼0.05) and improve the use of the rest-frame 150 MHz luminosity, L150, as a ...star-formation rate (SFR) tracer, which is unaffected by dust extinction. Methods. We cross-match the 60 μm selected Revised IRAS Faint Source Survey Redshift (RIFSCz) catalogue and the 150 MHz selected LOFAR value-added source catalogue in the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) Spring Field. We estimate L150 for the cross-matched sources and compare it with the total infrared (IR) luminosity, LIR, and various SFR tracers. Results. We find a tight linear correlation between log L150 and log LIR for star-forming galaxies, with a slope of 1.37. The median qIR value (defined as the logarithm of the LIR to L150 ratio) and its rms scatter of our main sample are 2.14 and 0.34, respectively. We also find that log L150 correlates tightly with the logarithm of SFR derived from three different tracers, i.e., SFRHα based on the Hα line luminosity, SFR60 based on the rest-frame 60 μm luminosity and SFRIR based on LIR, with a scatter of 0.3 dex. Our best-fit relations between L150 and these SFR tracers are, log L150 (L⊙) = 1.35(±0.06) × log SFRHα (M⊙ yr−1) + 3.20(±0.06), log L150 (L⊙) = 1.31(±0.05) × log SFR60 (M⊙ yr−1) + 3.14(±0.06), and log L150 (L⊙) = 1.37 (±0.05) × log SFRIR (M⊙ yr−1) + 3.09(±0.05), which show excellent agreement with each other.
ABSTRACT
We examine the distribution of radio emission from ∼42 000 quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, as measured in the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS). We present a model of the radio ...luminosity distribution of the quasars that assumes that every quasar displays a superposition of two sources of radio emission: active galactic nuclei (jets) and star formation. Our two-component model provides an excellent match to the observed radio flux density distributions across a wide range of redshifts and quasar optical luminosities; this suggests that the jet-launching mechanism operates in all quasars but with different powering efficiency. The wide distribution of jet powers allows for a smooth transition between the ‘radio-quiet’ and ‘radio-loud’ quasar regimes, without need for any explicit bimodality. The best-fitting model parameters indicate that the star formation rate of quasar host galaxies correlates strongly with quasar luminosity and also increases with redshift at least out to z ∼ 2. For a model where star formation rate scales as $L_{\rm bol}^{\alpha } (1+z)^{\beta }$, we find α = 0.47 ± 0.01 and β = 1.61 ± 0.05, in agreement with far-infrared studies. Quasars contribute ≈0.15 per cent of the cosmic star formation rate density at z = 0.5, rising to 0.4 per cent by z ∼ 2. The typical radio jet power is seen to increase with both increasing optical luminosity and black hole mass independently, but does not vary with redshift, suggesting intrinsic properties govern the production of the radio jets. We discuss the implications of these results for the triggering of quasar activity and the launching of jets.
ABSTRACT
This is the first of a series of papers based on sensitive 610 MHz observations of the ELAIS N1 field, using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope. We describe the observations, processing and ...source catalogue extraction from a deep image with area of 1.86 deg2 and minimum noise of ∼7.1 μJy beam−1. We compile a catalogue of 4290 sources with flux densities in the range of 28.9 μJy– 0.503 Jy and derive the Euclidean-normalized differential source counts for sources with flux densities brighter than $\rm {35.5\, \mu Jy}$. Our counts show a flattening at 610 MHz flux densities below 1 mJy. Below the break the counts are higher than previous observations at this frequency, but generally consistent with recent models of the low-frequency source population. The radio catalogue is cross-matched against multiwavelength data leading to identifications for 92 per cent and reliable redshifts for 72 per cent of our sample, with 19 per cent of the redshifts based on spectroscopy. For the sources with redshifts, we use radio and X-ray luminosity, optical spectroscopy and mid-infrared colours to search for evidence of the presence of an active galactic nucleus (AGN). We compare our identifications to predictions of the flux density distributions of star-forming galaxies (SFGs) and AGN, and find a good agreement assuming the majority of the sources without redshifts are SFGs. We derive spectral index distributions for a sub-sample. The majority of the sources are steep spectra, with a median spectral index that steepens with frequency: $\mathrm{\alpha ^{610}_{325}\, =\, -0.80\, \pm \, 0.29}$, $\mathrm{\alpha ^{610}_{1400}\, =\, -0.83\, \pm \, 0.31}$, and $\mathrm{\alpha ^{610}_{5000}\, =\, -1.12\, \pm \, 0.15}$.
ABSTRACT
Giant radio galaxies (GRGs) are radio galaxies that have projected linear extents of more than 700 kpc or 1 Mpc, depending on definition. We have carried out a careful visual inspection in ...search of GRGs of the Boötes LOw-Frequency ARray Deep Field image at 150 MHz. We identified 74 GRGs with a projected size larger than 0.7 Mpc of which 38 are larger than 1 Mpc. The resulting GRG sky density is about 2.8 (1.43) GRGs per square degree for GRGs with linear size larger than 0.7 (1) Mpc. We studied their radio properties and the accretion state of the host galaxies using deep optical and infrared survey data and determined flux densities for these GRGs from available survey images at both 54 MHz and 1.4 GHz to obtain integrated radio spectral indices. We show the location of the GRGs in the P–D diagram. The accretion mode on to the central black holes of the GRG hosts is radiatively inefficient suggesting that the central engines are not undergoing massive accretion at the time of the emission. Interestingly, 14 out of 35 GRGs for which optical spectra are available show a moderate star-formation rate (10–100 $\rm M_{\odot }\,yr^{-1}$). Based on the number density of optical galaxies taken from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument survey DR9 photometric redshift catalogue, we found no significant differences between the environments of GRGs and other radio galaxies, at least for redshift up to z = 0.7.
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