We present the second realization of the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF2) at radio wavelengths using nearly 30 years of Very Long Baseline Interferometry observations. ICRF2 contains precise positions of 3414 compact radio astronomical objects and has a positional noise floor of ~40{mu}as and a directional stability of the frame axes of ~10{mu}as. A set of 295 new "defining" sources was selected on the basis of positional stability and the lack of extensive intrinsic source structure. The positional stability of these 295 defining sources and their more uniform sky distribution eliminates the two greatest weaknesses of the first realization of the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF1). Alignment of ICRF2 with the International Celestial Reference System was made using 138 positionally stable sources common to both ICRF2 and ICRF1. The resulting ICRF2 was adopted by the International Astronomical Union as the new fundamental celestial reference frame, replacing ICRF1 as of 2010 January 1.
We use very long baseline interferometry data obtained between mid-1995 and the end of 2002 May together with older data to extend and revise the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF). Revised positions of ICRF candidate and "other" sources, based on inclusion of the additional data, are presented. Positions, in the frame of the ICRF, for an additional 109 new sources are also presented. All but four of the new sources are located north of {delta}=-30{deg}. Positions of the ICRF defining sources remain unchanged. We present a summary of current astrometric and geodetic observing programs and discuss the evolution and future of the ICRF.
The sources SDSS J113126.08-020459.2 and SDSS J110851.04+065901.4 are two double-peaked [OIII] emitting AGN, identified as candidate binary AGNs by optical and near infrared (NIR) observations. We observed the two sources with high resolution Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) using the European VLBI Network at 5GHz, reduced VLA observations at three frequencies available for one of the sources, and used archival HST observations. For the source SDSS J113126.08-020459.2, the VLBI observations detected only one single compact component associated with the eastern NIR nucleus. In SDSS J110851.04+065901.4, the VLBI observations did not detect any compact components, but the VLA observations allowed us to identify a possible compact core in the region of the north-western optical/NIR nucleus. In this source we find kpc-scale extended radio emission that is spatially coincident to the ultraviolet continuum and to the extended emission narrow line region. The UV continuum is significantly obscured since the amount of extended radio emission yields a star formation rate of about 110M_{sun}_/yr, which is an order of magnitude larger than implied by the observed ultraviolet emission. Our analysis confirms the presence of only one AGN in the two candidate binary AGNs.
In 2010 March, the Large Area Telescope on board Fermi revealed a transient gamma-ray source that is positionally coincident with the optical nova in the symbiotic binary, V407 Cyg. This event marked the first discovery of gamma-ray emission from a nova. We aim to obtain resolved radio imaging of the material involved in the nova event, to determine the ejecta geometry and advance velocity directly in the image plane, and to constrain the physical conditions of the system. We observed the source with the European VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry) Network in real time mode, at 1.6 and 5GHz, and the Very Long Baseline Array at 1.6, 5, and 8.4GHz. In total, we observed the source over 16 epochs, starting 20 days after the optical discovery and continuing for over six months. Milliarcsecond-scale radio emission is detected in 10/16 epochs of observations. The source is initially very dim but it later shows a substantial increase in brightness and a resolved shell-like structure 40-90 days after the optical event. The shell has a projected elliptical shape and is asymmetric in brightness and spectral index, being brighter and characterised by a rising spectrum at the south-eastern edge. We determine a projected expansion velocity of ~3500km/s in the initial phase (for an adopted 2.7kpc distance), and ~2100km/s between day 20 and 91. We also found an emitting feature about 350 mas (940AU) to the north-west, advancing at a projected velocity of ~700km/s along the polar axis of the binary. The total flux density in the VLBI images is significantly lower than that previously reported at similar epochs and over much wider angular scales with the VLA. Optical spectra convincingly demonstrated that in 2010 we were viewing V407 Cyg along the equatorial plane and from behind the Mira. Our radio observations image the bipolar flow of the ejecta perpendicular to the orbital plane, where deceleration is much lower than through the equatorial plane probed by the truncated profile of optical emission lines. The separated polar knot at 350 mas and the bipolar flow strictly resemble a similar arrangement seen in Hen 2-104, another symbiotic Mira seen equator-on that went through a large outburst ~5700yrs ago. The observed ~700km/s expansion constrains the launch date of the polar knot around 2004, during the accretion-fed active phase preceding the 2010 nova outburst.
The European space astrometry mission Gaia, to be launched by 2012, will construct a dense optical QSO-based celestial reference frame which will need to be linked to the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF; the IAU fundamental frame), with the highest accuracy. However, it has been found that only 10% of the ICRF sources (70 sources) are suitable to establish this link. The remaining sources are not useful either because they are not bright enough at optical wavelengths or because they have significant extended radio emission which precludes reaching the highest astrometric accuracy. In order to improve the accuracy of this alignment, we have developed a program of VLBI observations based on three steps to detect, image and measure astrometric positions of weak extragalactic radio sources, with bright optical counterparts, from a sample of 447 candidate sources. The experiments devoted to VLBI detection, carried out with the European VLBI Network (EVN) in June and October 2007, were very successful, with 398 sources detected at both S- and X-bands. From these, 105 sources were observed in March 2008 with a global VLBI array (EVN and VLBA; Very Long Baseline Array) for imaging their VLBI structures. All sources were successfully imaged in both bands and about 50% (47 sources) were found to be point-like on VLBI scales. These images are available at http://www.obs.u-bordeaux1.fr/BVID/GC030/. VLBI positions of these sources will be measured accurately in future astrometric experiments.
VLBI International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF)
Short Name:
I/251
Date:
21 Oct 2021
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
of the 1998AJ....116..516M paper: A quasi-inertial reference frame is defined based on the radio positions of 212 extragalactic sources distributed over the entire sky. The positional accuracy of these sources is better than about 1mas in both coordinates. The radio positions are based upon a general solution for all applicable dual-frequency 2.3 and 8.4GHz Mark III very long baseline interferometry data available through the middle of 1995, consisting of 1.6 million pairs of group delay and phase delay rate observations. Positions and details are also given for an additional 396 objects that either need further observation or are currently unsuitable for the definition of a high-accuracy reference frame. The final orientation of the frame axes has been obtained by a rotation of the positions into the system of the International Celestial Reference System and is consistent with the FK5 J2000.0 optical system, within the limits of the link accuracy. The resulting International Celestial Reference Frame has been adopted by the International Astronomical Union as the fundamental celestial reference frame, replacing the FK5 optical frame as of 1998 January 1.
We present EVN observations of seven BL Lac objects selected from the RGB sample. To investigate the intrinsic radiation property of BL Lac objects, we estimated the Doppler factor with the VLA or MERLIN core and the total 408MHz luminosity for a sample of 170 BL Lac objects. The intrinsic (comoving) synchrotron peak frequency was then calculated by using the estimated Doppler factor. Assuming a Lorentz factor of 5, the viewing angle of jets was constrained. The high-resolution VLBI images of seven sources all show a core-jet structure. We estimated the proper motions of three sources with the VLBI archive data, and find that the apparent speed increases with the distance of components to the core for all of them.
We present 8.4GHz very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations of 69 southern hemisphere extragalactic sources in the International Celestial Reference Frame. These are the first in a series of observations intended to image all such sources at milliarcsecond resolution in order to determine their continued suitability for reference-frame use based on intrinsic structure. We use the resultant images to calculate a core fraction, that is, the ratio of core flux density to total flux density, for all observed sources. The resulting distribution, with a mean value of 0.83, suggests that most sources are relatively compact. However, just over half the observed sources show significant extended emission in the form of multiple compact components. These sources are probably poorly suited for high-accuracy reference-frame use unless intrinsic structure and potential variability can be taken into account. Our observations represent the first large, comprehensive VLBI imaging survey in the southern hemisphere, significantly extending the existing limited VLBI surveys and, along with some well-known objects, containing many sources that have never been imaged at milliarcsecond resolution. The overlap with Very Long Baseline Array images of sources between 0{deg} and -35{deg} declination helps determine the limits to imaging with the southern hemisphere-accessible telescopes.
We present Very Long Baseline Array observations and a statistical analysis of 5GHz VLBI polarimetry data from 177 sources in the Caltech-Jodrell Bank Flat-Spectrum (CJF) survey. The CJF survey, a complete, flux density-limited sample of 293 extragalactic radio sources, gives us the unique opportunity to compare a broad range of source properties for quasars, galaxies, and BL Lacertae objects. We focus primarily on jet properties, specifically, the correlation between the jet axis angle and the polarization angle in the core and jet. A strong correlation is found for the electric vector polarization angle in the cores of quasars to be perpendicular to the jet axis. Contrary to previous claims, no correlation is found between the jet polarization angle and the jet axis in either quasars or BL Lac objects. With this large, homogeneous sample we are also able to investigate cosmological issues and active galactic nucleus evolution.
A large number (~2 million) of VLBI observations have been reduced in order to re ne the measured coordinates of the observed radio sources. The data reduction was carried out in the OCCAM package using the least squares colocation method. Corrections to the coordinates of 642 objects were derived. The accuracy of the catalog is no worse than 0.2 milliseconds of arc for stable sources.
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