The Two Mini-lobes of the CSO OQ208—— VLBI Observations at 5 GHz and 8.4 GHz

We present the results of VLBI observations at 5 GHz and 8.4 GHz of the compact symmetric object (CSO) OQ208. Images taken on four epochs at 5GHz and one at 8.4GHz show that the parsec radio structure of the source consists of two mini-lobes, both of them are resolved into two hot-spots. We note that the component D is stronger than the component C in the south-west region at 5 GHz, indicating that component D is less free-free absorbed than C at low frequency. On the basis of the separation of components A and D, a proper motion of 0.032±0.02 mas yr~(-1) between the two mini-lobes is estimated. This value is about half the previous estimates based on the separation of components A and C with 8.4 GHz VLBI data. The reason for the decrease in the expansion velocity is discussed.     

RC J0105+0501: A radio galaxy with redshift z≈3.5

We study the radio galaxy RC J0105+0501 by using observations with RATAN-600, VLA, and 6-m Special Astrophysical Observatory telescope. The radio source has a structure resembling the FRII type and the spectral index α=1.23; it is identified with a faint galaxy of $22\mathop .\limits^m 8$ in R _c . The optical object is $1\mathop .\limits^m 5$ brighter in V than it is in B and has an extended structure, which we interpret as intense Lyα line emission with redshift z≈3.5 and a continuum depression in the adjacent short-wavelength region. Based on BVR _c I _c photometry, we also estimated the age of the stellar population of the radio galaxy.     

Log N — log S of radio sources at 10 GHz with flat spectra

A logN — logS relation at 10 GHz is constructed for sources with the flat spectra 0.5 (flux densitySv ^–) from observations at NRO, MPIfR and others. Based on the source distribution on log (Luminosity) volume plane we obtain an epoch-depending luminosity function which explains the above relation.Paper presented at the IAU Third Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting, held in Kyoto, Japan, between 30 September–6 October, 1984.Nobeyama Radio Observatory, a branch of the Tokyo Astronomical Observatory, University of Tokyo, is a facility open for general use by researchers in the field of astronomy and astrophysics.     

Simultaneous observation of whistlers and emissions during a geomagnetically quiet period at low latitude

A unique night-time natural electromagnetic disturbances in the VLF/ELF range received during a magnetically quite period at a low latitude Indian ground station, Jammu (geomag. lat. 19°26′ N, L=1.17) has been reported. During the routine observation of VLF waves at Jammu, whistlers and different types of VLF/ELF emissions such as whistlers of varying dispersion confined to a small band limited frequency range, hisslers, pulsing hiss, discrete chorus emissions of rising and falling tones with multiple bands, oscillating tone discrete emission, whistler-triggered hook and discrete chorus risers emissions, etc. have been observed simultaneously during the quiet period on a single night. Such type of unique simultaneous observations has never been reported from any of the low latitude ground stations and this is the first observation of its kind. The results are discussed in the light of recorded features of whistlers and emissions. Generation and propagation mechanism are discussed briefly. Plasma parameters are further derived from the dispersion analysis of nighttime whistlers and emissions recorded simultaneously during magnetically quiet periods.     

Fermi/LAT observations of lobe-dominant radio galaxy 3C 207 and possible radiation region of γ-rays

3 C 207 is a lobe-dominant radio galaxy with a one sided jet and bright knots, spanning a kpcMpc scale, which have been resolved in the radio, optical and X-ray bands. This target was confirmed as a γ-ray emitter with Fermi/LAT, but it is uncertain whether the γ-ray emission region is the core or knots due to the low spatial resolution of Fermi/LAT. We present an analysis of its Fermi/LAT data acquired during the past 9 years. Different from the radio and optical emission from the core, it is found that theγ-ray emission is steady without detection of flux variation at over a 2σ confidence level. This likely implies that the γ-ray emission is from its knots. We collect the radio, optical and X-ray data of knot-A,the closest knot from the core at 1.4′′, and compile its spectral energy distribution(SED). Although the single-zone synchrotron+SSC+IC/CMB model that assumes knot-A is at rest can reproduce the SED in the radio-optical-X-ray band, the predicted γ-ray flux is lower than the LAT observations and the derived magnetic field strength deviates from the equipartition condition by 3 orders of magnitude. Assuming that knot-A is moving relativistically, its SED from radio to γ-ray bands would be represented well with the single-zone synchrotron+SSC+IC/CMB model under the equipartition condition. These results likely suggest that the γ-ray emission may be from knot-A via the IC/CMB process and the knot should have relativistical motion. The jet power derived from our model parameters is also roughly consistent with the kinetic power estimated with radio data.     

Radio properties of the Shapley Concentration — II. J1324–3138: a remnant of a radio galaxy in the Abell cluster A3556?

In this paper we present a detailed study of the radio galaxy J1324–3138, located at a projected distance of 2 arcmin from the centre of the Abell cluster of galaxies A3556, belonging to the core of the Shapley Concentration, at an average redshift of z  = 0.05. We have observed J1324–3138 over a wide range of frequencies: at 327 MHz (VLA), 843 MHz (MOST), and at 1376, 2382, 4790 and 8640 MHz (ATCA).   Our analysis suggests that J1324–3138 is a remnant of a tailed radio galaxy, in which the nuclear engine has switched off and the radio source is now at a late stage of its evolution, confined by the intracluster gas. The radio galaxy is not in pressure equilibrium with the external medium, as is often found for extended radio sources in clusters of galaxies. We favour the hypothesis that the lack of observed polarized radio emission in the source is a result of Faraday rotation by a foreground screen, i.e. the source is seen through a dense cluster gas, characterized by a random magnetic field.   An implication of the head–tail nature of the source is that J1324–3138 is moving away from the core of A3556 and that, possibly, a major merging event between the core of A3556 and the subgroup hosting J1324–3138 has already taken place.     

First observation of 628 CO2 isotopologue band at 3.3 μm in the atmosphere of Venus by solar occultation from Venus Express

The new ESA Venus Express orbiter is the first mission applying the probing technique of solar and stellar occultation to the atmosphere of Venus, with the SPICAV/SOIR instrument. SOIR is a new type of spectrometer used for solar occultations in the range 2.2-4.3 μm. Thanks to a high spectral resolving power R∼15,000-20,000 (unprecedented in planetary space exploration), a new gaseous absorption band was soon detected in the atmospheric transmission spectra around 2982 cm⁻¹, showing a structure resembling an unresolved Q branch and a number of isolated lines with a regular wave number pattern. This absorption could not be matched to any species contained in HITRAN or GEISA databases, but was found very similar to an absorption pattern observed by a US team in the spectrum of solar light reflected by the ground of Mars [Villanueva, G.L., Mumma, M.J., Novak, R.E., Hewagama, T., 2008. Icarus 195 (1), 34-44]. This team then suggested to us that the absorption was due to an uncatalogued transition of the ¹⁶O¹²C¹⁸O molecule. The possible existence of this band was soon confirmed from theoretical considerations by Perevalov and Tashkun. Some SOIR observations of the atmospheric transmission are presented around 2982 cm⁻¹, and rough calculations of line strengths of the Q branch are produced, based on the isotopic ratio measured earlier in the lower atmosphere of Venus. This discovery emphasizes the role of isotopologues of CO₂ (as well as H₂O and HDO) as important greenhouse gases in the atmosphere of Venus.     

A systematic cross-search for radio/infrared counterparts of XMM-<Emphasis Type="Italic">Newton</Emphasis> sources

We present a catalog of cross-correlated radio, infrared and X-ray sources using a very restrictive selection criteria with an IDL-based code developed by us. The significance of the observed coincidences was evaluated through Monte Carlo simulations of synthetic sources following a well-tested protocol. We found 3320 coincident radio/X-ray sources with a high statistical significance characterized by the sum of error-weighted coordinate differences. For 997 of them, 2MASS counterparts were found. The percentage of chance coincidences is less than 1%. X-ray hardness ratios of well-known populations of objects were used to provide a crude representation of their X-ray spectrum and to make a preliminary diagnosis of the possible nature of unidentified X-ray sources. The results support the fact that the X-ray sky is largely dominated by Active Galactic Nuclei at high galactic latitudes (|b|≥10°). At low galactic latitudes (|b|≤10°) most of unidentified X-ray sources (∼94%) lie at |b|≤2°. This result suggests that most of the unidentified sources found toward the Milky Way plane are galactic objects. Well-known and unidentified sources were classified in different tables with their corresponding radio/infrared and X-ray properties. These tables are intended as a useful tool for researchers interested in particular identifications.     

RATAN-600 7.6-cm deep sky strip surveys at the declination of the SS433 source during the 1980–1999 period. Data reduction and the catalog of radio sources in the right-ascension interval 7h ≤ R.A. < 17h

We use two independent methods to reduce the data of the surveys made with RATAN-600 radio telescope at 7.6 cm in 1988–1999 at the declination of the SS433 source. We also reprocess the data of the “Cold” survey (1980–1981). The resulting RCR (RATAN COLD REFINED) catalog contains the right ascensions and fluxes of objects identified with those of the NVSS catalog in the right-ascension interval 7 ^h ≤ R.A. < 17 ^h . We obtain the spectra of the radio sources and determine their spectral indices at 3.94 and 0.5 GHz. The spectra are based on the data from all known catalogs available from the CATS, Vizier, and NED databases, and the flux estimates inferred from the maps of the VLSS and GB6 surveys. For 245 of the 550 objects of the RCR catalog the fluxes are known at two frequencies only: 3.94 GHz (RCR) and 1.4 GHz (NVSS). These are mostly sources with fluxes smaller than 30mJy. About 65% of these sources have flat or inverse spectra (α > −0.5). We analyze the reliability of the results obtained for the entire list of objects and construct the histograms of the spectral indices and fluxes of the sources. Our main conclusion is that all 10–15 mJy objects found in the considered right-ascension interval were already included in the decimeter-wave catalogs.