We cross-identified the ROSAT Bright Source Catalog (RBSC, Cat. <IX/10>) and the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS, Cat. <VIII/65>) to construct the RBSC-NVSS sample of the brightest X-ray sources (>=0.1 counts/s~10^-12^erg/cm^2^/s in the 0.1-2.4keV band) that are also radio sources (S>=2.5mJy at 1.4GHz) in the 7.8sr of extragalactic sky with |b|>15{deg} and {delta}>-40{deg}. The sky density of NVSS sources is low enough that they can be reliably identified with RBSC sources having rms positional uncertainties >=10". We used the more accurate radio positions to make reliable X-ray/radio/optical identifications down to the POSS plate limits. We obtained optical spectra for many of the bright identifications lacking published redshifts. The resulting X-ray/radio sample is unique in its size (1557 objects), composition (a mixture of nearly normal galaxies, Seyfert galaxies, quasars, and clusters), and low average redshift [<z>~0.1]
Variability is one of the extreme observational properties of BL Lacertae objects. AO 0235+164 is a well-studied BL Lac throughout all electromagnetic wavebands. In the present work, we show its optical R-band photometric observations carried out during the period from 2006 November to 2012 December using the Ap6E CCD camera attached to the primary focus of the 70cm meniscus telescope at Abastumani Observatory, Georgia. During our monitoring period, it showed a large variation of {Delta}R=4.88mag (14.19-19.07mag) and a short timescale of {Delta}T_v_=73.5minutes. During the period of 2006 December to 2009 November, we made radio observations of the source using the 25m radio telescope at Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory. By adopting a discrete correlation function to the optical and radio observations we found that the optical variation leads a radio variation of 23.2+/-12.9days.
We use two independent methods to reduce the data of the surveys made with RATAN-600 radio telescope at 7.6cm 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) catalogue contains the right ascensions and fluxes of objects identified with those of the NVSS catalogue in the right-ascension interval 7h<=RA<=17h. We obtain the spectra of the radio sources and determine their spectral indices at 3.94 and 0.5GHz. The spectra are based on the data from all known catalogues 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 catalogue the fluxes are known are known only at two frequencies: 3.94GHz (RCR) and 1.4GHz (NVSS). These are mostly sources with fluxes smaller than 30mJy. About 65% of these sources have flat or inverse spectra (alpha>-0.5). We analyse 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 10-15mJy objects found in the considered right-ascension interval were already included in the decimetre-wave catalogues.
Abstract-Fields of the Planck cosmic-microwave background maps in the regions of radio sources of the RCR (Ratan Cold Refined, Cat. J/other/AstBu/65.42) catalog have been studied. Using measurements from the Planck catalog, calibration curves have been plotted in order to determine the objects' luminosities. The flux densities at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths of 83 objects with normal radio spectra have been estimated for the first time; their spectra have also been constructed, they have been optically identified, and information available in various databases has been collected. A statistical comparison with a sample of sources with steep radio spectra has been carried out. Faint, difficult to characterize microwave sources make an additional contribution to the secondary anisotropy on angular scales <7' An algorithm for selecting candidate objects with the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect has been proposed, based on the use of data on the radio spectral indices and the signal in cosmic-microwave background maps.
Water masers emitting at a radiofrequency of 22GHz are often found in the circumstellar envelopes of evolved stars. We monitored the H_2_O maser emission of a larger sample of evolved stars of different types to study the maser properties as a function of stellar type. We wish to understand the origin and evolution of the H_2_O masers in circumstellar envelopes. In this paper, we take a closer look at R Crt and RT Vir, two nearby (<250pc) semi-regular variable stars. The findings complement our monitoring results for RX Boo and SV Peg, two other semi-regular variable stars that we have discussed in a previous paper. Within the framework of the Medicina/Effelsberg H_2_O maser monitoring programme, we observed the maser emission of R Crt and RT Vir for more than two decades with single-dish telescopes. To get insights into the distribution of maser spots in the circumstellar envelopes at different times, to get an idea of their longevity, and, where possible, to be able to link the phenomena seen in our observations to maser locations within the envelopes, we collected interferometric data for these stars, taken within the same period, from the literature. The H_2_O masers in R Crt and RT Vir exhibit brightness variations on a variety of timescales. We confirm short-time variations of individual features on timescales of months to up to 1.5 years, as seen by previous monitoring programmes. Also decade-long variations of the general brightness level, independent from individual features, were seen in both stars. These long-term variations are attributed to brightness variations occurring independently from each other in selected velocity ranges and they are independent of the optical light curve of the stars. Expected drifts in velocity of individual features are usually masked by the blending of other features with similar velocities. However, in RT Vir, we found the exceptional case of a single feature with a constant velocity over 7.5 years (<0.06km/s/yr). We attribute the long-term brightness variations to the presence of regions with higher-than-average density in the stellar wind and hosting several clouds which emit maser radiation on short timescales. These regions typically need ~20 years to cross the H_2_O maser shell, where the right conditions for exciting H_2_O masers are present. Different clouds contained in such a region all move within a narrow range of velocities, and so does their maser emission. This sometimes gives the impression of longer-living features in single-dish spectra, in spite of the short lifetimes of the individual components that lie at their origin, thus, naturally explaining the longer timescales observed. The constant velocity feature (11km/s) is likely to come from a single maser cloud, which moved through about half of RT Vir's H_2_O maser shell without changing its velocity. From this, we infer that its path was located in the outer part of the H_2_O maser shell, where RT Vir's stellar wind has, apparently, already reached its terminal outflow velocity. This conclusion is independently corroborated by the observation that the highest H_2_O maser outflow velocity in RT Vir approaches the terminal outflow velocity, as given by OH and CO observations. This is generally not observed in other semi-regular variable stars. All four stars in our study are of optical variability type SRb, indicating the absence of periodic large-amplitude variations. Therefore, any likely responses of the maser brightness to variations of the optical emission are masked by the strong short-term maser fluctuations.
We present the first paper in a series detailing the results of ^13^CO observations of a ~1{deg}^2^ region of the giant molecular cloud (GMC) complex associated with the HII region RCW 106. The ^13^CO observations are also the first stage of a multi-molecular line study of the same region. These observations were amongst the first made using the new on-the-fly mapping capability of the Australia Telescope National Facility Mopra Telescope. In the configuration used, the instrument provided a full width at half-maximum (FWHM) beam size of 33arcsec and a velocity resolution of 0.17km/s. The gas emission takes the form of a string of knots, oriented along an axis that extends from the north-west (NW) to the south-east (SE) of the field of the observations, and which is surrounded by a more extended, diffuse emission. We analyse the 2D integrated ^13^CO emission using the CLUMPFIND algorithm and identify 61 clumps. We compare the gas data in the GMC with the dust data provided by 21um Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) and 1.2mm Swedish European Southern Observatory Submillimetre Telescope (SEST) images that we both regridded to the cell spacing of the Mopra data and smoothed to the same resolution.
Here we report observations of the two lowest inversion transitions of ammonia (NH_3_) with the 70-m Tidbinbilla radio telescope. The aim of the observations is to determine the kinetic temperatures in the dense clumps of the G333 giant molecular cloud associated with RCW 106 and to examine the effect that accurate measures of temperature have on the calculation of derived quantities such as mass. This project is part of a larger investigation to understand the time-scales and evolutionary sequence associated with high-mass star formation, particularly its earliest stages. Assuming that the initial chemical composition of a giant molecular cloud is uniform, any abundance variations within will be due to evolutionary state. We have identified 63 clumps using SEST Imaging Bolometer Array 1.2-mm dust continuum maps and have calculated gas temperatures for most (78 per cent) of these dense clumps. After using Spitzer Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire 8.0{mu}m emission to separate the sample into infrared (IR)-bright and IR-faint clumps, we use statistical tests to examine whether our classification shows different populations in terms of mass and temperature.
We present an analysis of the relation between the star formation rate (SFR) and mass of dense gas in Galactic clumps and nearby galaxies. Using the bolometric luminosity as a measure of SFR and the molecular line luminosity of HCO^+^ (3-2) as a measure of dense gas mass, we find that the relation between SFR and Mdense is approximately linear. This is similar to published results derived using HCN (1-0) as a dense gas tracer.
The Red MSX Source (RMS) survey has identified a sample of ~1200 massive young stellar objects (MYSOs), compact and ultra-compact HII regions from a sample of ~2000 MSX and Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) colour-selected sources. We have used the 100-m Green Bank Telescope to search for 22-24GHz water maser and ammonia (1,1), (2,2) and (3,3) emission towards ~600 RMS sources located within the northern Galactic plane. We have identified 308 H_2_O masers which corresponds to an overall detection rate of ~50 per cent. We find no significant difference in the detection rate for HII regions and MYSOs which would suggest that the conditions required to produce maser emission are equally likely in both phases. Comparing the detection rates as a function of luminosity, we find the H_2_O detection rate has a positive dependence on the source luminosity, with the detection rate increasing with increasing luminosity.
As part of our program to map the large-scale distribution of galaxies behind the Milky Way, we used the Parkes 210 ft (64m) radio telescope for pointed HI observations of a sample of low surface-brightness (due to heavy obscuration) spiral galaxies selected from the deep optical Zone of Avoidance (ZOA) galaxy catalog in the Hydra/Antlia region (Kraan-Korteweg, 2000, Cat. <J/A+AS/141/123>). Searching a simultaneous velocity range of either 300 to 5500km/s or 300 to 10500km/s to an rms level of typically 2-4mJy resulted in detections in 61 of the 139 pointings, leading to a total of 66 detections (an additional detection was made in a reference position, and two other pointings revealed two and four independent signals respectively). Except for 2 strong HI emitters identified in the shallow Zone of Avoidance HI survey (Henning et al., 2000AJ....119.2686H), all HI detections are new.
