Color-Redshift Relations and Photometric Redshift Estimations of Quasars in Large Sky Surveys

With a recently constructed composite quasar spectrum and the X2 minimization technique, we describe a general method for estimating the photometric redshifts of a large sample of quasars by deriving theoretical color-redshift relations and comparing the theoretical colors with the observed ones. We estimated the photometric redshifts from the 5-band SDSS photometric data of 18678 quasars in the first major data release of SDSS and compared them with their spectroscopic redshifts. The difference is less than 0.1 for 47% of the quasars and less than 0.2 for 68%. Based on the calculation of the theoretical color-color diagrams of stars, galaxies and quasars both on the SDSS system and on the BATC system, we expect that we would be able to select candidates of high redshift quasars more efficaciously with the latter than with the former, provided the BATC survey can detect objects with magnitudes fainter than 21.     

Statistical Tests of the Unification Scheme for High Luminosity Double Radio Sources

We have carried out some statistical tests of relativistic beaming and radio source orientation scenarios using the core dominance parameter Rand linear size D of a recent sample of double-lobed quasars and radio galaxies as orientation indicators. Our results show that the maximum Doppler boosting occurs within a cone angle of ∼ 13^°corresponding to an optimum Lorentz factor of ∼ 5. On the average, quasar cores appear to be boosted by a factor of ∼ 10 relative to those of radio galaxies. In general, we found that quasars lie at closer angles to the line of sight than radio galaxies with median values of 28^° and 51^°respectively, implying a relative foreshortening factor of ∼ 2. These results are consistent with the simple relativistic beaming and orientation-based unification hypotheses in which quasars are the beamed counterparts of powerful radio galaxies which form the isotropic parent population. The results show a strong evidence that orientation of source axis with respect to the line of sight is a crucial parameter in the classification schemes for radio sources. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Characteristics of clockwise and counterclockwise spiral galaxies

We compared measurements of 126 501 spiral galaxies to test whether the photometry of galaxies that rotate clockwise is different from the photometry of galaxies that rotate counterclockwise for the purpose of testing whether there is a link between photometry and spin direction of galaxies. The rotation directionality of the galaxies was determined by converting the galaxy image to its radial intensity plot, and then the galaxies in each 30° RA sector were separated into clockwise and counterclockwise rotating galaxies. The mean and standard deviation of SDSS DR7 photometric attributes of clockwise and counterclockwise rotating galaxies were then compared. The results show no significant difference between galaxies that rotate clockwise and galaxies that rotate counterclockwise. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

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 two-color CCD survey of the North Celestial Cap: I. The method

We describe technical aspects of an astrometric and photometric survey of the North Celestial Cap (NCC), from the Pole (δ=90°) to δ=80°, in support of the TAUVEX mission. This region, at galactic latitudes from ∼17° to ∼37°, has poor coverage in modern CCD-based surveys. The observations are performed with the Wise Observatory one-meter reflector and with a new mosaic CCD camera (LAIWO) that images in the Johnson–Cousins R and I bands a one-square-degree field with sub-arcsec pixels. The images are treated using IRAF and SExtractor to produce a final catalogue of sources. The astrometry, based on the USNO-A2.0 catalogue, is good to ∼1 arcsec and the photometry is good to ∼0.1 mag for point sources brighter than R=20.0 or I=19.1 mag. The limiting magnitudes of the survey, defined at photometric errors smaller than 0.15 mag, are 20.6 mag (R) and 19.6 (I). We separate stars from non-stellar objects based on the object shapes in the R and I bands, attempting to reproduce the SDSS star/galaxy dichotomy. The completeness test indicates that the catalogue is complete to the limiting magnitudes.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">BVRI</Emphasis> CCD-photometry of comparison stars in the neighborhoods of galaxies with active nuclei. III

Observations with a matrix photometer are reported. The stellar magnitudes in the BVRcIc bands are estimated for 80 comparison stars in the neighborhoods of 10 galaxies with active nuclei: 2 Seyfert galaxies, 4 quasars, and 4 BL Lac objects. The stellar magnitudes of the observed stars range from 11 to 19^m.5. For stars with magnitudes of 14–15^m the typical photometric errors are 0^m.011, 0^m.008, 0^m.006, and 0^m.007 in the B, V, R, and I bands, respectively. The BVRI magnitudes for most of these stars were not known previously. 14′ × 14′ finding charts for these stars are included. These results can be used for differential BVRI photometry of active galactic nuclei. __________ Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 50, No. 1, pp. 57–72 (February 2007).     

Anisotropy of the space orientation of radio sources. I: The catalog

A catalog of extended extragalactic radio sources consisting of 10461 objects is compiled based on the list of radio sources of the FIRST survey. A total of 1801 objects are identified with galaxies and quasars of the SDSS survey and the Veron-Veron catalog. The distribution of position angles of the axes of radio sources from the catalog is determined, and the probability that this distribution is equiprobable is shown to be less than 10⁻⁷. This result implies that at Z equal to or smaller than 0.5, the spatial orientation of the axes of radio sources is anisotropic at a statistically significant level.     

A photometric study of the field around the candidate recoiling/binary black hole SDSS J092712.65+294344.0

We present a photometric far-ultraviolet (FUV) to K _s-band study of the field around quasar SDSS J092712.65+294344.0. The SDSS spectrum of this object shows various emission lines with two distinct redshifts, at   z = 0.699  and 0.712. Because of this peculiar spectroscopic feature, this source has been proposed as a candidate recoiling or binary black hole. A third alternative model involves two galaxies moving in the centre of a rich galaxy cluster. Here, we present a study addressing the possible presence of such a rich cluster of galaxies in the SDSS J092712.65+294344.0 field. We observed the  3.6 × 2.6  arcmin² field in the K _s band and matched the near-infrared data with the FUV and near-ultraviolet images in the Galaxy Evolution Explorer archive and the ugriz observations in the SDSS. From various colour–colour diagrams, we were able to classify the nature of 32 sources, only 6–11 of which have colours consistent with galaxies at   z ≈ 0.7  . We compare these numbers with the surface density of galaxies, stars and quasars and the expectations for typical galaxy clusters both at low and high redshift. Our study shows that the galaxy cluster scenario is in clear disagreement with the new observations.     

Magnetic fields of active galactic nuclei and quasars from the SDSS catalog

We analyze the spectropolarimetric observations of 12 candidates for quasars from the spectroscopic database of the SDSS Catalog. The magnetic fields of these objects are estimated in the context of a theory that includes the Faraday rotation of the polarization plane on the mean free path of a photon in the outflow from an accretion disk. As a result, we have determined the column density in the outflow, N _H ∼ 6 × 10²³ cm⁻², and the radial, B ∼ 1 G, and toroidal, B ∼ 600 G, magnetic fields.     

Method for analyzing the spatial distribution of galaxies on gigaparsec scales. II. Application to a grid of the HUDF-FDF-COSMOS-HDF surveys

The initial principles of a method for analyzing the spatial distribution of visible matter in the universe with structures on size scales of thousands of Mpc are discussed. This method is based on analyzing the distribution N(z) of the photometric redshifts of galaxies in deep fields using large bins Δ z=0.1–0.3. Fluctuations in the numbers of galaxies in these bins in terms of redshifts are caused by Poisson noise, correlated structures, and systematic errors in estimating photo-z. This method involves covering a sufficiently large region of the celestial sphere with a grid of deep multi-band surveys with a cell size on the order of 10o×10o, with deep fields of size ∼10'×10' observed with 3-10 meter telescopes at its nodes. The distribution of the photometric redshifts of the galaxies within each deep field will yield information on the radial extent of superlarge structures, while comparing the radial distributions in neighboring fields will yield information on the tangential extent of these structures. A necessary element of this method is an analysis of possible distortions in the radial distributions of the galaxies associated with the technique for evaluating the photometric redshifts.     

Measuring the Probabilistic Photometric Redshifts of X-ray Quasars Based on the Quantile Regression of Ensembles of Decision Trees

We present empirical machine learning algorithms for measuring the probabilistic photometric redshifts (photo-z) of X-ray quasars based on the quantile regression of ensembles of decision trees. Relying on the data of present-day photometric sky surveys (e.g., SDSS, GALEX, WISE, UKIDSS, 2MASS, FIRST), the proposed methods allow one to make high-quality photo-z point predictions for extragalactic objects, to estimate the confidence intervals, and to reconstruct the full probability distribution functions for all predictions. The quality of photo-z predictions has been tested on samples of X-ray quasars from the 1RASS and 3XMM DR7 surveys, which have spectroscopic redshift measurements in the SDSS DR14Q catalog. The proposed approaches have shown the following accuracy (the metrics are the normalized median absolute deviation σNMAD and the percentage of outliers n_>0.15): σ_NMAD, n_>0.15 = 0.043, 12% (SDSS + WISE), 0.037, 8% (SDSS + WISE + GALEX) and 0.032, 8.6% (SDSS + WISE + GALEX + UKIDSS) on the RASS sample; σ_NMAD, n_>0.15 = 0.054, 13% (SDSS + WISE), 0.045, 7.6% (SDSS + WISE + GALEX), and 0.037, 6.6% (SDSS + WISE + GALEX + UKIDSS) on the 3XMM sample. The presented photo-z algorithms will become an important tool for analyzing the multi-wavelength data on X-ray quasars in the forthcoming Spectrum–Roentgen–Gamma sky survey.     

GMRT detection of a New Wide-Angle Tail (WAT) radio source associated with the galaxy PGC 1519010

We report the serendipitous detection of a Wide-Angle Tail (WAT) radio galaxy at 240 and 610 MHz, using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). This WAT is hosted by a cD galaxy PGC 1519010 whose photometric redshift given in the SDSS DR6 catalogue is close to the spectroscopic redshifts (0.105, 0.106 and 0.107) of three galaxies found within 4′ of the cD. Using the SDSS DR6, we have identified a total of 37 galaxies within 15′ of the cD, whose photometric redshifts are between 0.08 and 0.14. This strongly suggests that the cD is associated with a group of galaxies whose conspicuous feature is a north-south chain of galaxies (filament) extending to at least 2.6 Mpc. The ROSAT all-sky survey shows a faint, diffuse X-ray source in this direction, which probably marks the hot intracluster gas in the potential well of this group. We combine the radio structural information for this WAT with the galaxy clustering in that region to check its overall consistency with the models of WAT formation. The bending of the jet before and after its disruption forming the radio plume, are found to be correlated in this WAT, as seen from the contrasting morphological patterns on the two sides of the core. Probable constraints imposed by this on the models of WAT formation are pointed out. We also briefly report on the other interesting radio sources found in the proximity of the WAT. These include a highly asymmetric double radio source and an ultra-steep spectrum radio source for which no optical counterpart is detected in the SDSS.     

Selection,Statistics and Photometry of Compact Galaxies with Different Instrumental Equipment,Part II. The Cluster Abell 1775

In continuation of part I of our investigation a field of 0.8 near the galactic north pole is investigated with two large photographic telescopes of very different optical constants. The field contains the cluster Abell 1775. Statistics and photometry confirm the results of part I. The fraction of optical compact galaxies up to the identification magnitude 18^m9 (B) is found to be more than 30% of the total number of cluster galaxies. The data for a secondary photometric sequence, which had to be determined for the photometry of the galaxies, are presented.     

Study of the galaxy DDO 68: New evidence for its youth

DDO 68 (UGC 5340) is the second most metal-poor star-forming galaxy (12 + log(O/H) = 7.14). Its peculiar optical morphology and its HI distribution and kinematics are indicative of a merger origin. We use the u, g, r, and i photometry based on the SDSS images of DDO 68 to estimate its stellar population ages. The Hα images of DDO 68 were used to select several representative regions without nebular emission. The derived colors were analyzed by comparison with the PEGASE2 evolutionary tracks for various star formation (SF) scenarios, including the two extreme cases: (i) an instantaneous starburst and (ii) continuous SF with a constant rate. The (u − g) and (g − r) colors for all of the selected regions are consistent with the scenario of several “instantaneous” SF episodes with ages between ∼0.05 and ∼1 Gyr. The total mass of the visible stars in DDO 68 was estimated by comparing the colors and fluxes of the observed stellar subsystems with PEGASE2 models to be ∼2.4 × 10⁷ M _⊙. This accounts for ∼6% of the total baryonic mass of the galaxy. All of the available data are consistent with the fact that DDO 68 is a very rare candidate for young galaxies. The bulk of its stars were formed during the recent (with the first encounter ∼1 Gyr ago) merger of two very gas-rich disks. DDO 68 is closest in its properties to cosmologically young low-mass galaxies. This article was submitted by the authors in English.     

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.     

Catalog of candidates for quasars at 3 &lt; <Emphasis Type="Italic">z</Emphasis> &lt; 5.5 selected among X-Ray sources from the 3XMM-DR4 survey of the XMM-Newton observatory

We have compiled a catalog of 903 candidates for type 1 quasars at redshifts 3 < z < 5.5 selected among the X-ray sources of the “serendipitous” XMM-Newton survey presented in the 3XMMDR4 catalog (the median X-ray flux is ≈5 × 10^?15 erg s^?1 cm^?2 in the 0.5–2 keV energy band) and located at high Galactic latitudes |b| > 20° in Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) fields with a total area of about 300 deg². Photometric SDSS data as well infrared 2MASS and WISE data were used to select the objects. We selected the point sources from the photometric SDSS catalog with a magnitude error δ _mz′ < 0.2 and a color i′ ? z′ < 0.6 (to first eliminate the M-type stars). For the selected sources, we have calculated the dependences χ²(z) for various spectral templates from the library that we compiled for these purposes using the EAZY software. Based on these data, we have rejected the objects whose spectral energy distributions are better described by the templates of stars at z = 0 and obtained a sample of quasars with photometric redshift estimates 2.75 < z _phot < 5.5. The selection completeness of known quasars at z _spec > 3 in the investigated fields is shown to be about 80%. The normalized median absolute deviation (Δz = |z _spec ? z _phot|) is σ _Δz /(1+z _spec) = 0.07, while the outlier fraction is η = 9% when Δz/(1 + z _спек.) > 0.2. The number of objects per unit area in our sample exceeds the number of quasars in the spectroscopic SDSS sample at the same redshifts approximately by a factor of 1.5. The subsequent spectroscopic testing of the redshifts of our selected candidates for quasars at 3 < z < 5.5 will allow the purity of this sample to be estimated more accurately.     

Identification and properties of host galaxies of RCR radio sources

FIRST and NVSS radio maps are used to cross identify the radio sources of the RCR catalog, which is based on observational data obtained in several runs of the “Cold” survey, with the SDSS and DPOSS digital optical sky surveys and the 2MASS, LAS UKIDSS, and WISE infrared surveys. Digital images in various filters and the coadded gri-band SDSS images, red and infrared DPOSS images, JHK-band UKIDSS images, and JHK-band 2MASS images are analyzed for the sources with no optical candidates found in the above catalogs. Our choice of optical candidates was based on the data on the structure of the radio source, its photometry, and spectroscopy (where available). We found reliable identifications for 86% of the radio sources; possible counterparts for 8% of the sources, and failed to find any optical counterparts for 6% of the sources because their host objects proved to be fainter than the limiting magnitude of the corresponding surveys. A little over half of all the identifications proved to be galaxies; about one quarter were quasars, and the types of the remaining objects were difficult to determine because of their faintness. A relation between the luminosity and the radioloudness index was derived and used to estimate the 1.4 and 3.94 GHz luminosities for the sources with unknown redshifts. We found 3% and 60% of all the RCR radio sources to be FRI-type objects (L ? 10²⁴ W/Hz at 1.4 GHz) and powerful FRII-type galaxies (L ? 10^26.5 W/Hz), respectively, whereas the rest are sources including objects of the FRI, FRII, and mixed FRI-FRII types. Unlike quasars, galaxies show a trend of decreasing luminosity with decreasing flux density. Note that identification would be quite problematic without the software and resources of the virtual observatory.     

Photometric Properties of Clusters of Galaxies

We present CCD photometry of 16 Abell clusters and one cluster candidate found in POSS-II field 861. The images were taken at the 0.9 m Telescope at Cerro Tololo, in the g, r and i filters of the Gunn–Thuan system. We tested the idea proposed by Garilli et al. (1996) that there is a population of unusually red galaxies which could be associated with either the field or clusters. Garilli et al. (1996) suggest that these galaxies have anomalously red colours, but we find that these objects are all near the limiting magnitude of the images (20^m<r<22^m) and have colours that are consistent with those expected for stars or field galaxies at z∼0.7. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

BVRI CCD-Photometry of Comparison Stars in the Neighborhoods of Galaxies with Active Nuclei. II

Results are presented from CCD BVRI-observations of 145 comparison stars in the neighborhoods of 14 Seyfert galaxies, 3 quasars, and 5 BL Lac objects with right ascensions of 12 to 24 hours. The magnitudes of the observed stars ranged from V=11 to V=17. The typical photometric error for stars brighter V=14 is 0^m.01. The B, V, Rc, and Ic magnitudes of most of these stars were not known previously. 14′ x 14′ finding charts are provided. These results can be used for differential photometry of the nuclei of active galaxies in the B, V, Rc, and Ic bands.__________Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 365–379 (August 2005).     

Do disk galaxies with abnormally low mass-to-light ratios exist?

We have performed photometric B, V, and R observations of nine disk galaxies that presumably have abnormally low total mass-to-light (M/L) ratios for given color indices. Our data on surface photometry are used to analyze the possible causes of anomalous M/L estimates. In many cases, these can be the result of errors in photometry or rotational velocity determination but can also reflect the real peculiarities of the stellar composition of galaxies. Comparison of the photometric and dynamical disk mass estimates obtained by analyzing the rotational velocities shows that low M/L values for a given color index are probably real for some of the galaxies. This is primarily true of NGC 4826 (Sab), NGC 5347 (Sab), and NGC 6814 (Sb). The small number of such galaxies suggests that the stellar initial mass function is universal. However, a small fraction of galaxies probably may have a non-typical mass function “depleted” in low-mass stars. Such galaxies require a more careful study.