We present the optical and infrared identifications of the 266 radio sources detected at 20cm with the Very Large Array in the Chandra Deep Field-South. Using deep i-band Advanced Camera for Surveys, R-band Wide Field Imager, K-band SOFI NTT, K-band ISAAC VLT and Spitzer imaging data, we are able to find reliable counterparts for 254 (~95%) VLA sources. Twelve radio sources remain unidentified, and three of them are "empty fields". Using literature and our own data we are able to assign redshifts to 186 (~70%) radio sources: 108 are spectroscopic redshifts and 78 are reliable photometric redshifts. Based on the rest-frame colors and morphological distributions of the host galaxies, we find evidences for a change in the submillijansky radio source population: (1) above ~0.08mJy early-type galaxies are dominating and (2) at flux densities below ~0.08mJy, starburst galaxies become dominant.
We observed 60 fields towards 57 Abell and one Zwicky cluster of galaxies using the Very Large Array (VLA) with scaled arrays at 1.5 and 4.9 GHz. The source catalogue contains radio and optical parameters for 994 sources up to a lower flux limit of 1.0 mJy at 1.5 GHz and comprises a complete sample above 2.5 mJy. The combined sky area within the half-power circle on the maps is 3.5x10^-3^ sr, and the cluster fields are distributed between +35 deg and -30 deg declination. The source catalogue list positions, angular size, spectral index and optical identification, magnitude and morphology, if available.
We report 20 and 6cm VLA deep observations of the CDF-S including the Extended CDF-S. We discuss the radio properties of 266 cataloged radio sources, of which 198 are above a 20cm completeness level reaching down to 43uJy at the center of the field. Survey observations made at 6cm over a more limited region cover the original CDF-S to a comparable level of sensitivity as the 20cm observations. Of 266 cataloged radio sources, 52 have X-ray counterparts in the CDF-S and a further 37 have counterparts in the E-CDF-S area not covered by the 1Ms exposure. Using a wide range of material, we have found optical or infrared counterparts for 254 radio sources, of which 186 have either spectroscopic or photometric redshifts. Three radio sources have no apparent counterpart at any other wavelength. Measurements of the 20cm radio flux density at the position of each CDF-S X-ray source detected a further 30 radio sources above a conservative 3{sigma} detection limit. X-ray and submillimeter observations have been traditionally used as a measure of AGN and star formation activity, respectively. These new observations probe the faint end of both the star formation and radio galaxy/AGN population, as well as the connection between the formation and evolution of stars and SMBHs.
We have conducted a deep survey (rms noise ~=17{mu}Jy) with the Very Large Array (VLA) at 1.4GHz, with a resolution of 6arcsec, of a 1{deg}^2^ region included in the VIRMOS VLT Deep Survey. In the same field we already have multiband photometry down to I_AB_=25, and spectroscopic observations will be obtained during the VIRMOS VLT survey. The homogeneous sensitivity over the whole field has allowed to derive a complete sample of 1054 radio sources (5{sigma} limit). We give a detailed description of the data reduction and of the analysis of the radio observations, with particular care to the effects of clean bias and bandwidth smearing, and of the methods used to obtain the catalogue of radio sources. To estimate the effect of the resolution bias on our observations we have modelled the effective angular-size distribution of the sources in our sample and we have used this distribution to simulate a sample of radio sources. Finally we present the radio count distribution down to 0.08mJy derived from the catalogue. Our counts are in good agreement with the best fit derived from earlier surveys, and are about 50% higher than the counts in the HDF. The radio count distribution clearly shows, with extremely good statistics, the change in the slope for the sub-mJy radio sources.
The canonical methods for gravitational wave detection are ground- and space- based laser interferometry, pulsar timing, and polarization of the cosmic microwave background. But as has been suggested by numerous investigators, astrometry offers an additional path to gravitational wave detection. Gravitational waves deflect light rays of extragalactic objects, creating apparent proper motions in a quadrupolar (and higher-order modes) pattern. Astrometry of extragalactic radio sources is sensitive to gravitational waves with frequencies between roughly 10^-18^ and 10^-8^Hz (H_0_ and 1/3yr^-1^), overlapping and bridging the pulsar timing and CMB polarization regimes. We present a methodology for astrometric gravitational wave detection in the presence of large intrinsic uncorrelated proper motions (i.e., radio jets). We obtain 95% confidence limits on the stochastic gravitational wave background using 711 radio sources, {Omega}_GW_<0.0064, and using 508 radio sources combined with the first Gaia data release: {Omega}_GW_<0.011. These limits probe gravitational wave frequencies 6x10^-18^Hz<~f<~1x10^-9^Hz. Using a WISE-Gaia catalog of 567721 AGN, we predict a limit expected from Gaia alone of {Omega}_GW_<0.0006, which is significantly higher than was originally forecast. Incidentally, we detect and report on 22 new examples of optical superluminal motion with redshifts 0.13-3.89.
A catalog containing milli-arcsecond-accurate positions of 1332 extragalactic radio sources distributed over the northern sky is presented - the Very Long Baseline Array Calibrator Survey (VCS1). The positions have been derived from astrometric analysis of dual-frequency 2.3 and 8.4 GHz VLBA snapshot observations; in a majority of cases, images of the sources are also available. These radio sources are suitable for use in geodetic and astrometric experiments, and as phase-reference calibrators in high-sensitivity astronomical imaging. The VCS1 is the largest high-resolution radio survey ever undertaken and triples the number of sources available to the radio astronomy community for VLBI applications. In addition to the astrometric role, this survey can be used in active galactic nuclei, Galactic, gravitational lens, and cosmological studies.
We propose a morphological classification based on the parsec scale structure of fifty-one High Frequency Peakers (HFPs) from the "bright" HFP sample. VLBA images at two adjacent frequencies (chosen among 8.4, 15.3, 22.2 and 43.2GHz) have been used to investigate the morphological properties of the HFPs in the optically thin part of their spectrum. We confirm that there is quite a clear distinction between the pc-scale radio structure of galaxies and quasars: the 78% of the galaxies show a "Double/Triple" morphology, typical of Compact Symmetric Objects (CSOs), while the 87% of the quasars are characterised by Core-Jet or unresolved structure. This suggests that most HFP candidates identified with quasars are likely blazar objects in which a flaring self-absorbed component at the jet base was outshining the remainder of the source at the time of the selection based on the spectral shape. Among the sources classified as CSOs or candidates it is possible to find extremely young radio sources with ages of about 100 years or even less.
We present the first results of the VLBA Imaging and Polarimetry Survey (VIPS), a 5GHz VLBI survey of 1119 sources with flat radio spectra. Through automated data reduction and imaging routines, we have produced publicly available I, Q, and U images and have detected polarized flux density from 37% of the sources. We have also developed an algorithm to use each source's I image to automatically classify it as a pointlike source, a core jet, a compact symmetric object (CSO) candidate, or a complex source. Using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), we have found no significant trend between optical flux and 5 GHz flux density for any of the source categories.
We report the results of multi-epoch Very Long Baseline Array observations of the 22.2GHz H_2_O maser emission associated with the "water fountain" IRAS 18286-0959. We suggest that this object is the second example of a highly collimated bipolar precessing outflow traced by H_2_O maser emission, the other is W 43A. The detected H_2_O emission peaks are distributed over a velocity range from -50km/s to 150km/s. The spatial distribution of over 70% of the identified maser features is found to be highly collimated along a spiral jet (jet 1) extended southeast to northwest; the remaining features appear to trace another spiral jet (jet 2) with a different orientation. The two jets form a "double-helix" pattern which lies across ~200mas. The maser distribution is reasonably fit by a model consisting of two bipolar precessing jets. The three-dimensional velocities of jet 1 and jet 2 are derived to be 138km/s and 99km/s, respectively. The precession period of jet 1 is about 56 years. For jet 2, three possible models are tested and they give different values for the kinematic parameters. We propose that the appearance of two jets is the result of a single driving source with significant proper motion.
The European space astrometry mission Gaia will construct a dense optical QSO-based celestial reference frame. For consistency between optical and radio positions, it will be important to align the Gaia and VLBI frames with the highest possible accuracy. It has been found that only 70 (10%) of the sources from the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF) are suitable for establishing this link, 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 situation, we have initiated a VLBI survey dedicated to finding additional suitable radio sources for aligning the two frames. The sample consists of 447 optically- bright (magnitude <=18) extragalactic radio sources, typically 20 times weaker than the ICRF sources, which have been selected by cross-correlating an optical quasar catalog with the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS, Cat. VIII/65). This paper presents the observing strategy to detect, image, and measure accurate radio positions for these sources. It also provides results on the VLBI detectability of the sources, as derived from initial observations with the European VLBI Network in June and October 2007. Based on these observations, a high detection rate of 89% is found, which is promising for the continuation of this project. This high VLBI detection rate for sources from the NVSS catalog is probably due to the selection process, suggesting that optically-bright quasars have compact radio structures.
