Search for Optical Identifications in the 5C3-Radio Survey III. Spectroscopic Results

52 possible optical identifications (V ≲ 19.5) of 43 radio sources of the ₅C₃ area have been spectroscopically examined by use of objective prism plates from KARL SCHWARZSCHILD Observatory Tautenburg. The aim was to select objects of special interest for further slit spectrographic investigation. Besides 42 probably ordinary stars and 3 galaxies, five quasar spectra have been found, but only one redshift could be determined. Two further objects probably have unusual spectra.     

Search for optical identifications in the 5C3-radio survey I. Observations

In this paper the search for optical identifications in the 5C-radio surveys is continued. Near the positions of 135 radio sources of the 5C3 catalogue all present optical objects up to the plate limit (about B ≈︁ 21) have been measured photometrically in UBVr and astrometrically on plates of the 134/200 cm Schmidt telescope of the Karl Schwarzschild Observatory Tautenburg. A total of 111 candidates for possible optical identifications were found. The number of real identifications will be, of course, much smaller. Among the 111 objects there are: 12 supposed QSO's, 21 galaxies or probable galaxies, 56 stellar objects the greater part of which may be main sequence stars, subdwarfs and white dwarfs, and I object may be the centre of an H II region in the OB-association OB 182. 21 objects near the plate limit could not be classified. A statistical treatment with information on the real rate of identification (it roughly will amount to about 10%) and its reliability will be given in part III.     

Search for Optical Identifications in the 5C3-Radio Survey II. Statistical Treatment and Results

On plates of the large Schmidt-telescope of Karl-Schwarzschild-Observatory Tautenburg, taken by F. BÖRNGEN, 139 radio sources of the ₅C₃ area were inspected for possible identifications with optical objects. The results are published in paper I and in the appendix of the present paper II. A detailed analysis of these objects showed a relatively large number of about 65 real identifications up to the utmost plate limit B ≈ 21^m.7, which corresponds to an identification rate of about 47%. The individual reliability of each possible optical identification is estimated (table 6). Apparently the identified objects (see tables 4 and 6) are galaxies, “blue” and “neutral” quasars, and one H II-region of the Andromeda nebula. It is of great cosmological interest that no “red” quasars could be found.     

Search for optical identifications in the 5C4 radio survey

With the aid of a statistical approach regarding only the nearest optical object to a given radio position we have found identification rates of nearly 30 per cent up to the blue and red limits of the Palomar Sky Survey prints covering the region of the 5C4 radio survey. Roughly 60 per cent of these identifications are blue starlike objects and therefore possible quasar candidates. The remainig identifications are galaxies. Probabilities for the first neighbours to be an optical counterpart and finding charts for highly reliable objects are given.     

Optical and radio studies of radio sources

We present the classification of optical identifications and radio spectra of six radio sources from a complete (in flux density) sample in the declination range 10° to 12°30′ (J2000.0). The observations were carried out with the 6-m Special Astrophysical Observatory telescope (Russia) in the wavelength range 3600–10000 Å, the 2.1-m GHAO telescope (Mexico) in the range 4200–9000 Å, and the RATAN-600 radio telescope in the frequency range 0.97–21.7 GHz. Three of the six objects under study are classified as quasars, one is a BL Lac object, one is an absorption-line radio galaxy, and one is an emission-line radio galaxy. Five objects have flat radio spectra, and one object has a power-law radio spectrum. All of the radio sources identified as quasars or BL Lac objects show variable radio flux densities. The spectra of three objects were separated into extended and compact components.     

Revised identifications in the 5C2 survey

In the present paper revised distances of optical objects from radio sources of the 5C2 survey are given. A statistical investigation of the data is given for blue objects and galaxies by the statistical method of the “first neighbour”. The identification rate on blue plates for both the blue objects and galaxies amounts to about 40% out of the total number of 26 identifications. For every blue object and galaxy which are proposed as an identification the statistical reliability is given.     

Photographic Photometry of Objects near 5C1 Radio Sources

Photographic photometry and objective prism spectroscopy has been performed for most of the objects near 5C1 radio sources brighter than 19^m.6 discussed by NOTNI and FRöHLICH (1975). Updated samples of identification candidates are presented. The mean reliability of the identifications is better than 90% for blue starlike or concentrated objects and 67% for galaxies. In addition, a few bright galactic stars seem to occur among the radio sources.     

High-redshift QSOs in the FIRST survey

In a pilot search for high-redshift radio quasi-stellar objects (QSOs), we have obtained spectra of 55 FIRST sources     with very red     starlike optical identifications. 10 of the candidates are QSOs with redshifts     (four were previously known), six with     . The remaining 45 candidates comprise: one     broad-absorption-line (BAL) QSO; three low-redshift galaxies with narrow emission lines; 18 probable radio galaxies; and 23 M stars (mainly misidentifications). The success rate (high-redshift QSOs / spectroscopically-observed candidates) for this search is 1/2 for     , and 1/9 for     . With an effective search area of 4030 deg², the surface density of high-redshift     QSOs discovered with this technique is 0.0015 deg⁻².     

Optical identifications of radio sources in the 5C areas

Results from optical identifications in the areas 5C1, 5C2, and 5C3 are summarized and compared. The identification rate is the same in all three areas within the statistical and systematic accuracy. No red quasars seem to exist; there may be a possible new group of bright starlike identifications. Galaxies deviate appreciably from their radio barycenter while quasars do not.     

Radio imaging of the Subaru/XMM–Newton Deep Field – I. The 100-μJy catalogue, optical identifications, and the nature of the faint radio source population

We describe deep radio imaging at 1.4 GHz of the 1.3-deg² Subaru/ XMM–Newton Deep Field (SXDF), made with the Very Large Array in B and C configurations. We present a radio map of the entire field, and a catalogue of 505 sources covering 0.8 deg² to a peak flux density limit of 100 μJy. Robust optical identifications are provided for 90 per cent of the sources, and suggested identifications are presented for all but 14 (of which seven are optically blank, and seven are close to bright contaminating objects). We show that the optical properties of the radio sources do not change with flux density, suggesting that active galactic nuclei (AGN) continue to contribute significantly at faint flux densities. We test this assertion by cross-correlating our radio catalogue with the X-ray source catalogue and conclude that radio-quiet AGN become a significant population at flux densities below 300 μJy, and may dominate the population responsible for the flattening of the radio source counts if a significant fraction of them are Compton-thick.     

Radio galaxies with signatures of merging from the list of giant radio galaxy candidates based on NVSS data

Eight radio sources with signatures of interacting galaxies have been detected within the framework of the project aimed at expanding the list of giant radio galaxies based on NVSS data. The objects have a nontrivial structure in the radio band: four sources exhibit an S-shape, three sources exhibit an X-shape typical of sources at the final stage of radio galaxy merging, and one radio galaxy has a double nucleus. Using the CATS, NED, and SkyView databases, we have made the optical and radio identifications of these objects and constructed their continuum radio spectra.     

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.     

On the Real Number of Objects in the Tautenburg Catalogues of Blue Objects Suspected as Quasistellar (QSO)

The results of the U, B, V photometries of W. BRONKALLA and N. RICHTER near the north galactic pole are discussed. In these photometries which have been carried out on the same Tautenburg Schmidt plates the share of blue objects suspected as quasistellar (QSO) has been determined by total photometry of all starlike objects in selected partly overlapping test fields. The results of both photometries agree very well. The position of the blue objects of the Tautenburg catalogues and BRONKALLA's photometry in the two-colour diagram is compared with the two-colour diagram of QSO's published by C. BARBIERI and M. CAPPACIOLI . In both cases 65 per cent of the objects are placed on the right-hand side and 35 per cent on the left-hand side (region of white dwarfs) of the black-body line. Therefore, it is no longer admissible to qualify in a photometric statistics of blue objects all those objects as white dwarfs which are situated on the left-hand side of the black-body line in the two-colour plot. This result is confirmed by the discussion of the number-magnitude relation of these objects. Clustering of blue objects and their connection with clusters of galaxies are discussed. Using results from A. SANDAGE and E. M. BURBIDGE and our own results one can conclude that more than 60 per cent of Tautenburg blue objects must be QSO's. For further spectroscopic and proper motion investigations it is proposed to prefer the objects placed on the left-hand side of the black-body line in order to obtain the real share of white dwarfs in this group of objects suspected to be quasistellar.     

Optical identification of QSOs with flat radio spectrum

Preliminary results of a program to identify optically a sample of flat spectrum radio sources are described. The identifications are based only on positional coincidences, and have yielded at least one object with a very high redshift.Paper presented at the IAU Third Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting, held in Kyoto, Japan, between 30 September–6 October, 1984.     

Identification of newly discovered radio-emitting X-ray sources: results from spectroscopy

We present optical identifications for a sample of 20 previously unknown X-ray/radio sources that are present both in the source catalogue of ROSAT PSPC pointed observations ( ROSAT SRC) and in the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS). The optical spectroscopy was carried out with the 2.1-m telescope at San Pedro Martir (Mexico) during 1995 April and September. We have identified 15 active galactic nuclei [including 12 broad-emission-line (FWHM >1000 km s⁻¹) objects, one bona fide BL Lac, one BL Lac candidate and one narrow-line (FWHM < 1000 km s⁻¹) radio galaxy] and five radio galaxies. We derive the X-ray fluxes and luminosities by analysing the PSPC exposures, and show the radio morphology from the NVSS maps.  We find that the correlation between the monochromatic X-ray luminosity at 2 keV and the core radio luminosity at 5 GHz for the radio galaxies in our sample follows that found for the 3CR radio galaxies, suggesting a possible nuclear origin for the X-ray emission in these sources. This correlation is weaker in the case of broad-line objects, indicating the presence of another (unbeamed) mechanism for the X-ray emission only weakly related to the radio emission.     

Blaue Objekte in der Umgebung von M31 II. Häufigkeitsverteilung und Statistik

This paper presents a statistical investigation of 999 blue objects [U(–B) 0.00, limiting magnitude U = 20, B = 21], the majority of which is newly discovered on M31-plates (predominantly taken by F. Börngen ) of the large Schmidt telescope of the Karl Schwarzschild Observatory Tautenburg. A list of the objects is given elsewhere [G. A. RICHTER (1973)].For “very blue objects” [(U – B) -0.40] the number per square degree brighter than magnitude B is as follows: log N_B = 0.72 B -13.1 (starlike objects), log N_B = 0.63 B -12.0 (diffuse and probably diffuse objects). This confirms the results of other authors: log N_B increases more rapidly than in the case of constant density (0.6); there are about 10 QSOs brighter than B = 20 per square degree. A detailed discussion concerning the optical identification of discrete radio sources will soon be given.     

Optical identification of six hard X-ray sources from the INTEGRAL and SWIFT all-sky surveys

We present results of optical identifications of six hard X-ray sources from the INTEGRAL and Swift all-sky surveys (IGR J03249+4041, SWIFT J1449.5+8602, SWIFT J1542.0-1410, IGR J17009+3559, IGR J18151-1052, IGR J18538-0102). Our optical observations were performed in 2009–2011 with the 6-m BTA telescope (Special Astrophysical Observatory, Nizhnii Arkhyz, Russia) and the 1.5-m RTT-150 telescope (Turkish National Observatory, Antalya, Turkey). The optical spectra obtained for each of the program sources have allowed us to establish the nature of the objects and to measure their redshifts from the positions of emission and absorption lines. Five sources are shown to be extragalactic—four of them are identified with Seyfert 1 or 2 galaxies and the fifth source belongs to the class of X-ray-bright, optically normal galaxies (XBONGs). The sixth object (IGR J18151-1052) is located in our Galaxy and is an X-ray binary (XRB), a suspected cataclysmic variable. Apart from the optical spectra, we provide the X-ray spectra for five sources in the 0.6–10 keV energy band obtained from XRT/Swift data.     

Luminosity Functions of Quasars and Seyfert Galaxies

The optical luminosities of extragalactic objects with broad emission lines, i.e. quasi-stellar radio sources, radio quiet quasi-stellar objects and Seyfert galaxies are compared. At high luminosities (M < - 23) we find no difference in the form of the optical luminosity function for radio quiet and radio emitting objects; at low luminosities this function is growing steeply only for radio quiet objects, whereas for objects with higher radio indices it remains nearly constant below M = - 22. This may possibly be interpreted as indicating a division between the optically bright “quasars” and the less luminous objects. The quasars with the highest radio index show only a small scatter in optical luminosities and thus yield a well defined Hubble relation.     

A study of optically featureless objects from the EC Survey: searching for new southern BL Lac objects

In an attempt to discover new southern BL Lac objects, 14 optically featureless objects from the Edinburgh–Cape Survey were selected. Optical polarimetry and spectroscopy, radio and IR observations were carried out in order to improve their classifications. The 14 objects were examined according to special criteria that are described. Their UBV and JHK colour–colour distributions, spectrograms, radio observations and visible-region polarimetry were utilized to conclude that the selected objects are not BL Lacs. Most of them are apparently not extragalactic objects. It is suggested that four of the 14 candidates are DC white dwarfs, one is a QSO, three are DA white dwarfs or sdB subdwarfs, one is a cataclysmic variable, one is a DAO/sdO and another is possibly a DA+dM binary (composite system with a 'primary' hot white dwarf and a 'secondary' M-type main-sequence dwarf) or a cataclysmic variable. One object is likely to be a subdwarf, while two remain unclassifiable.     

Optical and near-infrared imaging of faint Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum sources

A sample of 47 faint Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum (GPS) radio sources selected from the Westerbork Northern Sky Survey (WENSS) has been imaged in the optical and near-infrared, resulting in an identification fraction of 87 per cent. The R  −  I R  −  K colours of the faint optical counterparts are as expected for passively evolving elliptical galaxies, assuming that they follow the R -band Hubble diagram as determined for radio-bright GPS galaxies. We find evidence that the radio spectral properties of the GPS quasars are different from those of GPS galaxies. The observed distribution of radio spectral peak frequencies for GPS sources optically identified with bright stellar objects (presumably quasars) is shifted compared with GPS sources identified with faint or extended optical objects (presumably galaxies), in the sense that a GPS quasar is likely to have a higher peak frequency than a GPS galaxy. This means that the true peak frequency distribution is different for the GPS galaxies and quasars, because the sample selection effects are independent of optical identification. The correlation between peak frequency and redshift that has been suggested for bright sources has not been found in this sample; no correlation exists between R magnitude (and therefore redshift) and peak frequency for the GPS galaxies. We therefore believe that the claimed correlation is actually caused by the dependence of the peak frequency on optical host, because the GPS galaxies are generally at lower redshifts than the quasars. The difference in the peak frequency distributions of the GPS galaxies and quasars is further evidence against the hypothesis that they form a single class of object.