On the relativistic beaming and orientation effects in core-dominated quasars

In this paper, we investigate the relativistic beaming effects in a well-defined sample of core-dominated quasars using the correlation between the relative prominence of the core with respect to the extended emission (defined as the ratio of core-to lobe-flux density measured in the rest frame of the source) and the projected linear size as an indicator of relativistic beaming and source orientation. Based on the orientation-dependent relativistic beaming and unification paradigm for high luminosity sources in which the Fanaroff-Riley class-II radio galaxies form the unbeamed parent population of both the lobe- and core-dominated quasars which are expected to lie at successively smaller angles to the line of sight, we find that the flows in the cores of these core-dominated quasars are highly relativistic, with optimum bulk Lorentz factor,γ _opt∼ 6–16, and also highly anisotropic, with an average viewing angle, ∼ 9°–16°. Furthermore, the largest boosting occurs within a critical cone angle of ≈ 4°–10°.     

Relativistic Beaming and Orientation Effects in Lobe-Dominated Quasars

We examine a simple statistical consequence of relativistic beaming model using the core-to-lobe flux density ratio (R) and projected linear size (D) as orientation indicators. It is shown that the observed R-D intercept for the 3CRR source sample provides values of the bulk Lorentz factor () which are consistent with the beaming scenario. The result also shows that if the lobe-dominated quasars are to be unified with the core-dominated quasars, they should be oriented at a median angle, _{_med} 40° with respect to the line of sight, but if with powerful radio galaxies, then _{_med} 24°. Application of this result to the quasar-galaxy unification scheme using the observed angular size-redshift relation shows that the scheme is consistent with the observed data.     

Doppler boosting, superluminal motion, and the kinematics of AGN jets

We discuss results from a decade long program to study the fine-scale structure and the kinematics of relativistic AGN jets with the aim of better understanding the acceleration and collimation of the relativistic plasma forming AGN jets. From the observed distribution of brightness temperature, apparent velocity, flux density, time variability, and apparent luminosity, the intrinsic properties of the jets including Lorentz factor, luminosity, orientation, and brightness temperature are discussed. Special attention is given to the jet in M87, which has been studied over a wide range of wavelengths and which, due to its proximity, is observed with excellent spatial resolution. Most radio jets appear quite linear, but we also observe curved non-linear jets and non-radial motions. Sometimes, different features in a given jet appear to follow the same curved path but there is evidence for ballistic trajectories as well. The data are best fit with a distribution of Lorentz factors extending up to γ∼30 and intrinsic luminosity up to ∼10²⁶ W Hz⁻¹. In general, gamma-ray quasars may have somewhat larger Lorentz factors than non gamma-ray quasars. Initially the observed brightness temperature near the base of the jet extend up to ∼5×10¹³ K which is well in excess of the inverse Compton limit and corresponds to a large excess of particle energy over magnetic energy. However, more typically, the observed brightness temperatures are ∼2×10¹¹ K, i.e., closer to equipartition.     

Linear size–extended radio luminosity (D–P E ) correlation in BL Lacertae objects: evidence for large scale beaming?

In this paper, we use the distributions of projected linear size (D), core- (P _C ) and extended- (P _E ) radio luminosities, to investigate a consequence of relativistic beaming and radio source orientation scenario for low-luminosity extragalactic radio sources. In this scenario, BL Lacertae objects (BL Lacs) are believed to be Fanaroff-Riley type I (FR I) radio galaxies, but with radio axes aligned close to the line of sight. At this orientation, the core emission is greatly enhanced by relativistic Doppler boosting and linear size foreshortened due to geometrical projection. A simple outcome of this scenario is that the extended luminosity is expected to be orientation invariant, but a D–P _C correlation is envisaged. Results show that both the relative core dominance (R) and linear size are strongly correlated with extended luminosity (r≥ 0.7). Using the R-distribution and R–P _E anti-correlation, we show that the difference in radio core-dominance between FR I radio galaxies and X-ray selected BL Lacs can be accounted for by a bulk Lorentz factor γ～5–13 and viewing angle ?～5–15^°, which can be understood in terms of the scenario, with relativistic beaming persisting at largest scales.     

Relativistic beaming in the central components of double radio quasars

Using a large sample of 78 well-observed double quasars, we have investigated several consequences of the relativistic beaming model. In this model the ratio of the strengths of the central component and outer lobes of a double source depends on whether the jet axis lies close to or away from the line of sight, If this is the actual situation, the fraction of emission from the core,f _c, may be used as a statistical measure of the orientation of the source and should be correlated with other source parameters which also depend on the inclination of the jet axis to the line of sight. We findf _c to be anticorrelated with the overall projected linear size of the extended emission but to exhibit a positive correlation with both the observed degree of misalignment from a collinear double structure, and the ratio of separations of the outer hotspots from the central component. As might be expected from these relationships, we also find sources of smaller projected linear sizes to appear more misaligned and the degree of misalignment to be correlated with the ratio of separations of the outer hotspots. All these correlations are consistent with the predictions of the relativistic beaming model.     

A search for steep low-frequency radio spectra among quasars and clusters of galaxies

Using published flux densitiesS at low frequenciesv, radio spectra were constructed for 3C, 4C, and 4CT radio sources in Abell clusters of galaxies, radio galaxies outside Abell clusters, and quasars with known redshifts. About half the sources in rich Abell clusters (richness classesR>-2) have steep spectra between 38 and 178 MHz with spectral indices ₃₈ ¹⁷⁸ > whereSv ^–. However, radio galaxies outside clusters have values of ₃₈ ¹⁷⁸ 1.2, and no steep spectra were found among 170 quasars. The radio sources in rich clusters are probably confined by intergalactic gas, and the steep spectra develop over a period of 10⁹ yr as relativistic electrons lose energy. The absence of steep spectra among quasars does not necessarily mean that quasars never occur in rich clusters of galaxies, since quasars are probably being observed only in their early high-luminosity phases. The possibility that some quasar events occur in the nuclei of the dominant cD galaxies in clusters is discussed, but quasar events may occur in more than one type of galaxy.     

Structural asymmetries, relativistic beaming and orientation effects in Lobe-Dominated Quasars

We have examined statistically, structural asymmetries and simple relativistic beaming/source orientation in a sample of Lobe-Dominated Quasars (LDQs) using the source size D as orientation parameter; relative core strength R as beaming parameter; arm-length ratio Q, apparent flux ratio R ^?, and bending angle Φ as asymmetric parameters. Our result for Q>1.5, based on the median value data is inconsistent with beaming scenario, where we expect stronger negative correlation for more asymmetric sources, between our beaming parameter R and orientation parameter D than for less asymmetric sources Q≤1.5. This observation indicates that structural asymmetries may depend more on intrinsic factors than beaming. Our kinematic asymmetric model of extra galactic radio sources suggests that larger (possibly older) sources are less asymmetric, which may be interpreted to be indicative of other factors other than beaming as responsible for the observed asymmetries in radio sources.     

The radio–optical correlation in steep-spectrum quasars

Using complete samples of steep-spectrum quasars, we present evidence for a correlation between radio and optical luminosity which is not caused by selection effects, nor caused by an orientation dependence (such as relativistic beaming), nor a by-product of cosmic evolution. We argue that this rules out models of jet formation in which there are no parameters in common with the production of the optical continuum. This is arguably the most direct evidence to date for a close link between accretion on to a black hole and the fuelling of relativistic jets. The correlation also provides a natural explanation for the presence of aligned optical/radio structures in only the most radio-luminous high-redshift galaxies.     

High-redshift Faranoff–Riley type II radio galaxies: X-ray properties of the cores

We present an extensive X-ray spectral analysis of the cores of 19 Faranoff–Riley type II sources in the redshift range 0.5 < z < 1.0 which were selected to be matched in isotropic radio power. The sample consists of 10 radio galaxies (RGs) and nine quasars. We compare our results with the expectations from a unification model that ascribes the difference between these two types of sources to the viewing angle to the line of sight, beaming and the presence of a dust and gas torus. We find that the spectrum of all the quasars can be fitted with a single power law, and that the spectral index flattens with decreasing angle to the line of sight. We interpret this as the effect of increasingly dominant inverse Compton X-ray emission, beamed such that the jet emission outshines other core components. For up to 70 per cent of the RGs we detect intrinsic absorption; their core spectra are best fitted with an unabsorbed steep power law of average spectral index Γ= 2.1 and an absorbed power law of spectral index Γ= 1.6, which is flatter than that observed for radio-quiet quasars (RQQs). We further conclude that the presence of a jet affects the spectral properties of absorbed nuclear emission in active galactic nuclei. In RGs, any steep-spectrum component of nuclear X-ray emission, similar to that seen in RQQs, must be masked by a jet or by jet-related emission.     

Evolution of Quasar Host Galaxies

Near-IR images, obtained at the ESO-VLT during excellent seeing conditions, of a sample of 17 radio-loud and radio-quiet quasars in the redshift range 1 < z < 2 are presented. The host galaxies of both types of quasars appear to follow the expected trend in luminosity of massive ellipticals undergoing simple passive evolution. We find a systematic difference by a factor ∼2 in the host luminosity between RLQs and RQQs that does not change significantly from z = 2 to the present epoch. Quasar hosts appear thus to be already well formed at z ∼ 2 and similar to massive inactive spheroids. These findings are in disagreement with the predictions of models for the joint formation and evolution of galaxies and active nuclei based on the hierarchical structure formation scenario.     

Polarization of radio cores and the unified scheme

In the unified scheme for high-luminosity radio galaxies and quasars, the core-dominated quasars are seen at small angles to the line of sight and the lobe-dominated quasars at intermediate angles, while the radio galaxies lie close to the plane of the sky. In radio galaxies, the quasar nucleus is hidden from our view by a putative torus. Such a scenario should also affect the observed polarization properties of the cores, with the core-dominated quasars, lobe-dominated quasars and radio galaxies having progressively lower core polarization at a given frequency and higher rotation measure because of Faraday effects. In this paper, we report that the core polarization of weak-cored quasars has a median value of less than about 0.4 per cent and is indeed much smaller than for core-dominated quasars, where the median value is about 2.5 per cent. We suggest that this might be a result of the depolarization caused by the edge of the obscuring torus or disc. We also examine the relative orientation of the core-polarization E -vector at λ6 cm and the radio axis for the weak-cored quasars. The sample is small but does not show the significant trend reported earlier for cores of moderate strength. This could also be the result of Faraday rotation by the material in the edge of the torus or disc. These results are consistent with the basic ideas of the unified scheme.     

The radio source Z0254+43: z = 4.067

In January 2005 spectral observations of the radio source Z0254+43 were made on the BTA at the Special Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAN) and its red shift was found to be z=4.057. The BVRI magnitudes were found to be 22.68, 21.19, 19.94, and 19.23, respectively. Photometric observations in December 2005 on the Zeiss-1000 at the SAO revealed no significant variation in the optical emission from this object over that year. We can discuss its variability on an hourly time scale with some caution. The variability of the flux from Z0254+43 was observed from 1990–2005 on the RATAN-600 over a wide range of frequencies. It turns out that the amplitude of the variability is minimal at a frequency of ∼8 GHz. A model for the variability has been constructed which yields an estimate of ∼28° for the orientation of the jet of Z0254+43 to the line of sight. The luminosity of Z0254+43 in the optical range is ∼2·10²⁶ W/Hz and in the radio frequency range, ∼2·1027 W/Hz. __________ Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 49, No. 2, pp. 209–220 (May 2006).     

Radio continuum and far-infrared emission from the galaxies in the Eridanus group

The Eridanus galaxies follow the well-known radio—FIR correlation. The majority (70%) of these galaxies have their star formation rates below that of the Milky Way. The galaxies that have a significant excess of radio emission are identified as low luminosity AGNs based on their radio morphologies obtained from the GMRT observations. There are no powerful AGNs (L _20cm > 10²³ W Hz⁻¹) in the group. The two most far-infrared and radio luminous galaxies in the group have optical and HI morphologies suggestive of recent tidal interactions. The Eridanus group also has two far-infrared luminous but radio-deficient galaxies. It is believed that these galaxies are observed within a few Myr of the onset of an intense star formation episode after being quiescent for at least a 100 Myr. The upper end of the radio luminosity distribution of the Eridanus galaxies (L _20cm ∼ 10²² W Hz⁻¹) is consistent with that of the field galaxies, other groups, and late-type galaxies in nearby clusters.     

Examination of the Association between Quasars and Abell Clusters on All Sky

Using the Hewitt-Burbidge QSO Catalogue (1993) and all-sky catalogue of Abell clusters (ACO, 1989) at the region |b| > 40^° we analyze the cross correlation function and find anti-correlation between them at angular separations 3^° < θ < 10^° , which is mainly caused by optical-selected QSOs, rather than radio-selected QSOs. There is no such anti-correlation between QSOs and Abell clusters at smaller separations θ < 3^°. Considering that this phenomenon may be caused by different characters of the objects, we further estimate the correlation function with various subsamples. We find that the correlation is independent of the redshift of QSOs, but depends upon the type of Abell clusters: for the D ≤ 4 clusters there is an obvious tendency of overdensity of quasars at 0^° < θ < 5^°; around the R ≥ 2 Abell clusters there is about an 18.7% deficit of quasars in the region 3^° < θ < 7^°. K-S Test shows the overdensity or deficit of quasars around different types of clusters cannot be explained by the projection effect of background quasars. We get the enhancement factor of quasar overdensity (for D ≤ 4 clusters) q =1.13, and the extinction magnitude factor of QSO deficiency (for R ≥ 2 clusters) Av= 0.14. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Examples of extreme intraday variability

We present results of the ATCA IDV Survey of southern extragalactic radio sources. We discuss briefly the properties of the 22 new intraday variable sources discovered in the Survey. The follow-up observations of a few extreme examples of strong intraday variability are presented. We find that the characteristics of the total flux density fluctuations at different wavelengths are consistent with intersteller scintillations (ISS) of the microarcsecondsize soorten components. However, the scintillating components of a few extreme IDVs are characterized by the brightness temperatures far exceeding the T _B=10¹² K limit. The relativistic beaming invoked in such sources would require Doppler factors up to as high as δ∼ 10³. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The peaks and gaps in the redshift distributions of active galactic nuclei and quasars

The distributionsf(z) of the redshifts for active galaxies (Seyfert galaxies, radio galaxies, and quasars) have been studied. Some statistically-significant maxima and minima are observed in the distributionsf(z) for these objects. The significance of peaks and gaps increases for the brighter objects, for which the samples are more complete. The clustering of the Seyfert galaxies is significantly different from that of the nearby normal galaxies. The distributionf(z) for the radio galaxies is similar to the analogous distribution for the galaxy clusters. Three of the five peaks in the distributionf(z) for the radio quasars may be caused by the selection effects. Two peaks within the intervalsz (0.5, 0.7) and (1.0, 1.1) are probably real. The corresponding scales of the QSO clustering along the line-of-sight are about 100h ^–1 Mpc (h is the Hubble constant in the units of 75 km s^–1 Mpc^–1). The possibility of some global quasi-periodical cycles for the processes of activity is discussed. The period of a cycle for the Seyfert and radio galaxies is about 1×10⁸ years that corresponds to the distances of about 30h ^–1 Mpc between the shells.     

On the physical conditions in AGN optical jets

The energy budget of all known optical jets is discussed. It is found that to power the extended radio lobes of radio galaxies, the jet bulk motion on kpc scales must be relativistic, on average. Based on various constraints, a “most probable” region centered around Γ_bulk∼7.5 and θ∼20° is found. Because of the consequent relativistic beaming, the rest frame magnetic field is lower and electron lifetimes longer. Combining the effects of time dilation and lower emission rate, the electron diffusion length becomes fully consistent with the deprojected jet length, without the need for reacceleration.     

Polar-ring galaxies: New candidates and statistics

We present the results of our observational study of two candidates for polar-ring galaxies (PRGs). Both objects, A2330-3751 and SDSS J000911.57-003654.7, are giant edge-on galaxies with large-scale structures resembling polar rings observed along their minor axes. The optical diameter of the putative ring reaches 60 kpc in A2330-3751 and 18 kpc in SDSS J000911.57-003654.7. To estimate the space density of PRGs, we have constructed their luminosity function in the range of B-band absolute magnitudes from −17_· ^m 5 to −21_· ^m 5. We have found that ∼10⁻³ of the nearby galaxies exhibit polar structures. Polar rings around early-type (E/S0) galaxies are encountered approximately a factor of 3 more frequently than those around spiral ones. According to our estimates, ∼20–30 PRGs in which large-scale rings are seen almost face-on must be observed among relatively bright galaxies (B ≤ 15 ^m ).     

A high galactic latitude HI 21 cm-line absorption survey using the GMRT: I. Observations and spectra

We have used the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (GMRT) to measure the Galactic HI 21-cm line absorption towards 102 extragalactic radio continuum sources, located at high (|b| > 15°) Galactic latitudes. The Declination coverage of the present survey is δ}> - 45°. With a mean rms optical depth of ∼ 0.003, this is the most sensitive Galactic HI 21-cm line absorption survey to date. To supplement the absorption data, we have extracted the HI 21-cm line emission profiles towards these 102 lines of sight from the Leiden Dwingeloo Survey of Galactic neutral hydrogen. We have carried out a Gaussian fitting analysis to identify the discrete absorption and emission components in these profiles. In this paper, we present the spectra and the components. A subsequent paper will discuss the interpretation of these results.     

The angular size-redshift relation and the unified scheme for radio-loud quasars

The unified scheme in which the observed differences in the radio properties of the two classes of radio-loud quasars; the core- and lobe-dominated quasars (CDQs and LDQs) arise because they are seen at different angles to the line of sight has been investigated using the observed median angular size-redshift (-z) relation for two well defined samples. It is shown that the median angular size of LDQs exceeded that of CDQs by a factor of3 in any given redshift bin. This is qualitatively in agreement with the unified scheme in which the radio axes of CDQs are closer to the line of sight than those of LDQs.