We obtained spectra of 60 red, star-like objects (m_E_<18.8) identified with FIRST radio sources, S_1.4GHz_>1mJy. Eight are quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) with redshift z>3.6. Combined with our earlier pilot search, our sample of 121 candidates yields a total of 18 z>3.6 QSOs (10 of these with z>4.0). 8 per cent of candidates with S_1.4GHz_<10mJy and 37 per cent of candidates with S_1.4GHz_>10mJy are QSOs with z>3.6. The surface density of m_E_<18.8, S_1.4GHz_>1mJy, z>4 QSOs is 0.003deg^-2^. This is currently the only well-defined sample of radio-loud QSOs at z~4 selected independently of radio spectral index. The QSOs are highly luminous in the optical (eight have M_B_<28, q_0_=0.5, H_0_=50km/s/Mpc). The SEDs are as varied as those seen in optical searches for high-redshift QSOs, but the fraction of objects with weak (strongly self-absorbed) Ly emission is marginally higher (3 out of 18) than for high-redshift QSOs from SDSS (5 out of 96).
We present the radio luminosity function (LF) of flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQ), using the largest and most complete sample to date. Cross-matching between the FIRST 20cm and GB6 6cm radio surveys, we find 638 flat-spectrum radio sources above 220mJy at 1.4GHz; of these, 327 are classified and verified using optical spectroscopy data, mainly from Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 12. We also considered flat-spectrum radio sources that lack both literature references and optical spectroscopy, and we identified 12 out of the 43 such sources to potentially be FSRQs, using their WISE colors. From the fully identified sample of 242 FSRQs, we derived the radio LF and cosmic evolution of blazars at 1.4GHz, finding good agreement with previous work at 5GHz. The number density of FSRQs increases dramatically to a redshift of z~2 and then declines for higher redshifts. Furthermore, the redshift at which the quasar density peaks is clearly dependent on luminosity, with more luminous sources peaking at higher redshifts. The approximate best-fit LF for a luminosity-dependent evolutionary model is a broken power-law with slopes ~0.7 and ~1.7 below and above the break luminosity, logL_1.4_~43.8erg/s, respectively.
The Australia Telescope Hubble Deep Field-South (ATHDF-S) survey of the Hubble Deep Field-South (HDF-S) reaches sensitivities of ~10uJy at 1.4, 2.5, 5.2, and 8.7GHz, making the ATHDF-S one of the deepest surveys ever performed with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). Here, we present the optical identifications of the ATHDF-S radio sources using data from the literature. We find that ~66% of the radio sources have optical counterparts to I=23.5mag. Deep Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging of the area identifies a further 12% of radio sources. We present new spectroscopic observations for 98 of the radio sources and supplement these spectroscopic redshifts with photometric ones calculated from five-band optical imaging.
Radio & optical observations of supernova SN2020oi
Short Name:
J/ApJ/903/132
Date:
15 Mar 2022
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
We report the discovery and panchromatic follow-up observations of the young Type Ic supernova (SNIc) SN2020oi in M100, a grand-design spiral galaxy at a mere distance of 14Mpc. We followed up with observations at radio, X-ray, and optical wavelengths from only a few days to several months after explosion. The optical behavior of the supernova is similar to those of other normal SNeIc. The event was not detected in the X-ray band but our radio observations revealed a bright mJy source (L_{nu}_~1.2x10^27^erg/s/Hz). Given the relatively small number of stripped envelope SNe for which radio emission is detectable, we used this opportunity to perform a detailed analysis of the comprehensive radio data set we obtained. The radio-emitting electrons initially experience a phase of inverse Compton cooling, which leads to steepening of the spectral index of the radio emission. Our analysis of the cooling frequency points to a large deviation from equipartition at the level of {epsilon}_e_/{epsilon}_B_>~200, similar to a few other cases of stripped envelope SNe. Our modeling of the radio data suggests that the shock wave driven by the SN ejecta into the circumstellar matter (CSM) is moving at ~3x10^4^km/s. Assuming a constant mass loss from the stellar progenitor, we find that the mass-loss rate is M~1.4x10^-4^M{sun}/yr for an assumed wind velocity of 1000km/s. The temporal evolution of the radio emission suggests a radial CSM density structure steeper than the standard r-2.
We study the correlations between the VLBA (Very Long Baseline Array) radio emission at 15GHz, extended emission at 151MHz, and optical nuclear emission at 5100{AA} for a complete sample of 135 compact jets. We use the partial Kendall's tau correlation analysis to check the link between radio properties of parsec-scale jets and optical nuclear luminosities of host active galactic nuclei (AGN).
New high-resolution maps with the IRAM interferometer of the redshifted C+ 158um line and the 0.98mm dust continuum of HDF850.1 at z=5.185 show the source to have a blueshifted northern component and a redshifted southern component, with a projected separation of 0.3", or 2kpc. We interpret these components as primordial galaxies that are merging to form a larger galaxy.
Random forests method to discover high-redshift QSOs
Short Name:
J/AJ/162/72
Date:
14 Mar 2022 07:01:17
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
We present a method of selecting quasars up to redshift ~6 with random forests, a supervised machine-learning method, applied to Pan-STARRS1 and WISE data. We find that, thanks to the increasing set of known quasars, we can assemble a training set that enables supervised machine-learning algorithms to become a competitive alternative to other methods up to this redshift. We present a candidate set for the redshift range 4.8-6.3, which includes the region around z=5.5 where selecting quasars is difficult due to their photometric similarity to red and brown dwarfs. We demonstrate that, under our survey restrictions, we can reach a high completeness (66%{+/-}7% below redshift 5.6/83_-9_^+6^% above redshift 5.6) while maintaining a high selection efficiency (78_-8_^+10^%/94_-8_^+5^% ). Our selection efficiency is estimated via a novel method based on the different distributions of quasars and contaminants on the sky. The final catalog of 515 candidates includes 225 known quasars. We predict the candidate catalog to contain additional 148_-33_^+41^ new quasars below redshift 5.6 and 45_-8_^+5^ above, and we make the catalog publicly available. Spectroscopic follow-up observations of 37 candidates led us to discover 20 new high redshift quasars (18 at 4.6<~z<~5.5, 2z~5.7). These observations are consistent with our predictions on efficiency. We argue that random forests can lead to higher completeness because our candidate set contains a number of objects that would be rejected by common color cuts, including one of the newly discovered redshift 5.7 quasars.
Elements heavier than iron are produced through neutron-capture processes in the different phases of stellar evolution. Asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars are believed to be mainly responsible for elements that form through the slow neutron-capture process, while the elements created in the rapid neutron-capture process have production sites that are less understood. Knowledge of abundance ratios as functions of metallicity can lead to insight into the origin and evolution of our Galaxy and its stellar populations. We aim to trace the chemical evolution of the neutron-capture elements Sr, Zr, La, Ce, Nd, Sm, and Eu in the Milky Way stellar disk. This will allow us to constrain the formation sites of these elements, as well as to probe the evolution of the Galactic thin and thick disks. Using spectra of high resolution (42000<=R<=65000) and high signal-to-noise (S/N>=200) obtained with the MIKE and the FEROS spectrographs, we determine Sr, Zr, La, Ce, Nd, Sm, and Eu abundances for a sample of 593 F and G dwarf stars in the solar neighborhood. The abundance analysis is based on spectral synthesis using one-dimensional, plane-parallel, local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) model stellar atmospheres calculated with the MARCS 2012 code.