Files list1, list2, and list3 contain the lists of flat spectrum radio sources with their optical identifications from the APM (Automated Plate Measurement Facility at Cambridge) catalogue. List1 corresponds to the sources which are part of both the complete JVAS++ (a new complete sample constructed with selection criteria similar to those of JVAS -- Jodrell Bank VLA Astrometric Survey: S_5GHz_>200mJy, {alpha}_1.4-5GHz_>-0.5), and with the use of the more accurate GB6 and NVSS surveys) and original JVAS sample, List2 corresponds to sources which are only part of JVAS++, and List3 to sources which are only part of JVAS. The combination of List1 and List2 is a complete sample with S_6cm_>200mJy.
It is expected that the European Space Agency mission Gaia will make possible to determine coordinates in the optical domain of more than 500,000 quasars. In 2006, a radio astrometry project was launched with the overall goal to make comparison of coordinate systems derived from future space-born astrometry instruments with the coordinate system constructed from analysis of the global very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) more robust. Investigation of their rotation, zonal errors, and the non-alignment of the radio and optical positions caused by both radio and optical structures are important for validation of both techniques. In order to support these studies, the densification of the list of compact extragalactic objects that are bright in both radio and optical ranges is desirable. A set of 105 objects from the list of 398 compact extragalactic radio sources with declinations >-10{deg} was observed with the VLBA+EVN with the primary goal of producing their images with milliarcsecond resolution. These sources are brighter than 18 magnitude at V band, and they were previously detected at the European VLBI network. In this paper coordinates of observed sources have been derived with milliarcsecond accuracies from analysis of these VLBI observations following the method of absolute astrometry. The catalog of positions of 105 target sources is presented. The accuracies of sources coordinates are in the range of 0.3 to 7mas, with the median 1.1mas.
Future space-borne astrometry missions, such as Gaia, will be able to determine the optical positions of hundreds of quasars with submilliarcsecond accuracies comparable to those achieved in radio by very long baseline interferometry (VLBI). Comparisons of coordinate systems from space-borne missions and VLBI will be very important, first for investigations of possible systematic errors and second for investigations of possible shifts between centroids of radio and optical emissions in active galactic nuclei. In order to make such a comparison more robust, a program for densification of the grid of radio sources detectable with both VLBI and Gaia was launched in 2006. Program sources are 398 quasars with declinations >-10{deg} that are brighter than 18mag at the V band. The first two observing campaigns were run in 2007-2008. In the third campaign, a set of 291 objects from that list was observed with the VLBA+EVN in 2010-2011 with the primary goal of producing their images with milliarcsecond resolution. In this paper, following the method of absolute astrometry, coordinates of observed sources have been derived with milliarcsecond accuracies from analysis of these observations. The catalog of positions of 295 target sources, estimates of their correlated flux densities at 2.2 and 8.4GHz, and their images are presented. The accuracies of source coordinates are in a range of 2-200mas, with a median of 3.2mas.
We identify optical counterparts, address uncertain identifications and measure previously unknown redshifts of the host galaxies of candidate Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum (GPS) radio sources, and study their stellar populations. Long slit spectroscopy and deep optical imaging in the B, V and R bands, were obtained with the Very Large Telescope.
We investigate whether the correlation between the hard X-ray photon index ({Gamma}) and accretion rate for super-Eddington accreting quasars is different from that for sub-Eddington accreting quasars. We construct a sample of 113 bright quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 14 quasar catalog, with 38 quasars as the super-Eddington subsample and 75 quasars as the sub-Eddington subsample. We derive black hole masses using a simple-epoch virial mass formula based on the H{beta} lines, and we use the standard thin disk model to derive the dimensionless accretion rates (M) for our sample. The X-ray data for these quasars are collected from the Chandra and XMM-Newton archives. We fit the hard X-ray spectra using a single power-law model to obtain {Gamma} values. We find a statistically significant (R_S_=0.43, p=7.75x10^-3^) correlation between {Gamma} and M for the super-Eddington subsample. The {Gamma}-M correlation for the sub-Eddington subsample is also significant, but weaker (R_S_=0.30, p=9.98x10^-3^). Linear regression analysis shows that {Gamma}=(0.34{+/-}0.11)log(M)+(1.71{+/-}0.17) and {Gamma}=(0.09{+/-}0.04)log(M)+(1.93{+/-}0.04) for the super- and sub-Eddington subsamples, respectively. The {Gamma}-M correlations of the two subsamples are different, suggesting different disk-corona connections in these two types of systems. We propose one qualitative explanation of the steeper {Gamma}-M correlation in the super-Eddington regime that involves larger seed photon fluxes received by the compact coronae from the thick disks in super-Eddington accreting quasars.
A number of flat spectrum radio sources have been observed in optical spectroscopy; most of the sources are either classified as BL Lacertae objects or have been described as BL Lac candidates.
