Search

We present multi-frequency and high-resolution studies of a sample of 24 radio transients sources discovered by comparing the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) and Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS) surveys. All of them are characterized by a significant increase in radio flux density over the last two decades.Their convex spectra, small sizes and high brightness temperatures are typical for young gigahertz-peaked spectrum (GPS) radio sources and indicative of an AGN buried in the host galaxy. On the other hand, they are much weaker than the archetypical GPS objects and their parsec-scale radio structures, although indicating the presence of young radio jets, are similar to radio-quiet AGNs like Seyfert and low-ionization nuclear emission-line region (LINER) galaxies. Based on the distribution of these objects in power$-$size ($P - D$) and peak frequency$-$size ($\nu_p - D$) diagrams, we suggest that after stabilizing their radio activity, some of the GHz-peaked radio transients (galaxies and quasars) will develop into radio-intermediate and radio-quiet (RI/RQ) quasars and low-frequency peaked-spectrum (PS) objects. We discuss several possible origins for the transient radio emission in our sources and conclude that changes in the accretion rate combined with low-power radio ejecta are the most probable cause. This is the scenario we also propose for one of our sources, 101841$-$13, which was independently identified as a candidate tidal disruption event (TDE) based on its infrared variability. However, we cannot exclude that 101841$-$13 or other sources in our sample are TDEs., Comment: 38 pages, 14 figures, 6 tables, Accepted for publication in ApJS

We present the pc-scale radio spectra of a representative sample of 13 Palomar-Green radio-quiet quasars, based on our new Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations at 8.4 and 23.6 GHz and our earlier VLBA studies at 1.5 and 5.0 GHz. The radio core emission generally exhibits a flat spectrum at 1.5-5.0 GHz, which indicates a compact optically thick synchrotron source on a scale smaller than the broad-line region (BLR) radius R_BLR ~ 0.01-0.1 pc. The 8.4-23.6 GHz spectral slope remains flat in four objects indicating the inner radius of the radio source R_in < 0.1 R_BLR, and becomes steep in four other objects indicating R_in ~ 0.5 R_BLR. The flat 8.4-23.6 GHz slope sources may be associated with a continuous ejection starting at the accretion disk corona. The steep 8.4-23.6 GHz slope sources may be produced by an interaction of an AGN-driven wind with the BLR gas or a low-power jet extending to the BLR scale. Seven of these eight objects, which have a flat or steep 8.4-23.6 GHz slope, reside at the Eddington ratios L/L_Edd < 0.3, and four of the remaining five objects, where the 8.4-23.6 GHz fluxes are too faint to significantly constrain the slope, reside at L/L_Edd > 0.3. The 8.4-23.6 GHz radio emission in the high L/L_Edd objects may be weak due to more extended emission from a radiation pressure driven wind. Future sub-millimeter observations can further constrain the inward radial extent of the radio emission down to the coronal scale., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ

Does a broad-line region (BLR) wind in radio-quiet (RQ) active galactic nuclei (AGN) extend to pc scales and produce radio emission? We explore the correlations between a pc-scale radio wind and the BLR wind in a sample of 19 RQ Palomar-Green (PG) quasars. The radio wind is defined based on the spectral slope and the compactness of the emission at 1.5-5 GHz, and the BLR wind is defined by the excess blue wing in the C IV emission line profile. The five objects with both radio and BLR wind indicators are found at high Eddington ratios L/L_Edd (> 0.66), and eight of the nine objects with neither radio nor BLR winds reside at low L/L_Edd (< 0.28). This suggests that the BLR wind and the radio wind in RQ AGN are related to a radiation pressure driven wind. Evidence for free-free absorption by AGN photoionized gas, which flattens the spectral slope, is found in two objects. Radio outflows in three low L/L_Edd (0.05-0.12) objects are likely from a low-power jet, as suggested by additional evidence. The presence of a mild equatorial BLR wind in four intermediate L/L_Edd (0.2-0.4) objects can be tested with future spectropolarimetry., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ

The supermassive black holes ($M_{\rm BH} \sim 10^{6}$$-$$10^{10}~M_\odot$) that power luminous active galactic nuclei (AGNs), i.e., quasars, generally show a correlation between thermal disk emission in the ultraviolet (UV) and coronal emission in hard X-rays. In contrast, some "massive" black holes (mBHs; $M_{\rm BH} \sim 10^{5}$$-$$10^{6}~M_\odot$) in low-mass galaxies present curious X-ray properties with coronal radiative output up to 100$\times$ weaker than expected. To examine this issue, we present a pilot study incorporating Very Large Array radio observations of a sample of 18 high-accretion-rate (Eddington ratios $L_{\rm bol}/L_{\rm Edd} > 0.1$), mBH-powered AGNs ($M_{\rm BH} \sim 10^{6}~M_\odot$) with Chandra X-ray coverage. Empirical correlations previously revealed in samples of radio-quiet, high-Eddington AGNs indicate that the radio$-$X-ray luminosity ratio, $L_{\rm R}/L_{\rm X}$, is approximately constant. Through multiwavelength analysis, we instead find that the X-ray-weaker mBHs in our sample tend toward larger values of $L_{\rm R}/L_{\rm X}$ even though they remain radio-quiet per their optical$-$UV properties. This trend results in a tentative but highly intriguing correlation between $L_{\rm R}/L_{\rm X}$ and X-ray weakness, which we argue is consistent with a scenario in which X-rays may be preferentially obscured from our line of sight by a "slim" accretion disk. We compare this observation to weak emission-line quasars (AGNs with exceptionally weak broad-line emission and a significant X-ray-weak fraction) and conclude by suggesting that our results may offer a new observational signature for finding high-accretion-rate AGNs., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 26 pages, 8 figures, 6 tables

We present analysis of a homogeneous, optically selected, volume-limited ($0.2

We present radio spectra spanning $0.1 - 10$ GHz for the sample of heavily obscured luminous quasars with extremely red mid-infrared-optical colors and compact radio emission. The spectra are constructed from targeted 10 GHz observations and archival radio survey data, which together yield $6-11$ flux density measurements for each object. Our suite of Python tools for modeling the radio spectra is publicly available on Github. Our primary result is that most (61%) of the sample have peaked or curved radio spectra and many (36%) could be classified as Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum (GPS) sources. This indicates compact emission regions likely arising from recently triggered radio jets. Assuming synchrotron self-absorption (SSA) generates the peaks, we infer compact source sizes ($3 - 100$ pc) with strong magnetic fields ($6 - 100$ mG) and young ages ($30 - 10^4$ years). Conversely, free-free absorption (FFA) could also create peaks due to the high column densities associated with the deeply embedded nature of the sample. However, we find no correlations between the existence or frequency of the peaks and any parameters of the MIR emission. The high-frequency spectral indices are steep ($\alpha \approx -1$) and correlate, weakly, with the ratio of MIR photon energy density to magnetic energy density, suggesting that the spectral steepening could arise from inverse Compton scattering off the intense MIR photon field. This study provides a foundation for combining multi-frequency and mixed-resolution radio survey data for understanding the impact of young radio jets on the ISM and star formation rates of their host galaxies., Comment: 48 pages, 17 figures, published in Astrophysical Journal

We have performed a search over 3440 deg$^2$ of Epoch 1 (2017-2019) of the Very Large Array Sky Survey to identify unobscured quasars in the optical ($0.2 < z < 3.2$) and obscured active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the infrared that have brightened dramatically in the radio over the past one to two decades. These sources would have been previously classified as "radio-quiet" quasars based on upper limits from the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty Centimeters survey (1993-2011), but they are now consistent with "radio-loud" quasars ($L_{\rm 3\,GHz} = 10^{40 - 42} \,\, {\rm erg} \,{\rm s}^{-1}$). A quasi-simultaneous, multiband ($\sim1-18$ GHz) follow-up study of 14 sources with the VLA has revealed compact sources ($<0.1^{\prime \prime}$ or $<1$ kpc) with peaked radio spectral shapes. The high-amplitude variability over decadal timescales at 1.5 GHz (100% to $>$2500%), but roughly steady fluxes over a few months at 3 GHz, are inconsistent with extrinsic variability due to propagation effects, thus favoring an intrinsic origin. We conclude that our sources are powerful quasars hosting compact/young jets. This challenges the generally accepted idea that "radio-loudness" is a property of the quasar/AGN population that remains fixed on human timescales. Our study suggests that frequent episodes of short-lived AGN jets that do not necessarily grow to large scales may be common at high redshift. We speculate that intermittent but powerful jets on subgalactic scales could interact with the interstellar medium, possibly driving feedback capable of influencing galaxy evolution., Comment: 28 pages, 9 figures, accepted to ApJ

We present new sub-arcsecond-resolution Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) imaging at 10 GHz of 155 ultra-luminous ($L_{\rm bol}\sim10^{11.7-14.2} L_\odot$) and heavily obscured quasars with redshifts $z \sim0.4-3$. The sample was selected to have extremely red mid-infrared (MIR)-optical color ratios based on data from Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) along with a detection of bright, unresolved radio emission from the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) or Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters (FIRST) Survey. Our high-resolution VLA observations have revealed that the majority of the sources in our sample (93 out of 155) are compact on angular scales $<0.2^{\prime \prime}$ ($\leq 1.7$ kpc at $z \sim2$). The radio luminosities, linear extents, and lobe pressures of our sources are similar to young radio active galactic nuclei (AGN; e.g., Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum, GPS, and Compact Steep Spectrum, CSS, sources), but their space density is considerably lower. Application of a simple adiabatic lobe expansion model suggests relatively young dynamical ages ($\sim10^{4-7}$ years), relatively high ambient ISM densities ($\sim1-10^4$ cm$^{-3}$), and modest lobe expansion speeds ($\sim30-10,000$ km s$^{-1}$). Thus, we find our sources to be consistent with a population of newly triggered, young jets caught in a unique evolutionary stage in which they still reside within the dense gas reservoirs of their hosts. Based on their radio luminosity function and dynamical ages, we estimate only $\sim20\%$ of classical large scale FRI/II radio galaxies could have evolved directly from these objects. We speculate that the WISE-NVSS sources might first become GPS or CSS sources, of which some might ultimately evolve into larger radio galaxies., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 38 pages, 14 figures, 6 tables

Most of the stars today reside in galactic spheroids, whose properties are tightly tied to the supermassive black holes (MBHs) at their centers, implying that the accretion activity onto MBHs leaves a lasting imprint on the evolution of their host galaxies. Despite the importance of this so-called MBH-galaxy co-evolution, the physical mechanisms responsible for driving this relationship - such as the dominant mode of energetic feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGN) - remain a poorly understand aspect of galaxy assembly. A key challenge for identifying and characterizing AGN during the peak epoch of galaxy assembly and beyond is the presence of large columns of gas and dust, which fuels the growth of their MBHs but effectively obscures them from view in optical and X-ray studies. The high sensitivity of the ngVLA will capture emission from AGN in an extinction-free manner out to $z \sim 6$ and beyond. At lower-redshifts ($z \sim 2$), the high angular resolution of the ngVLA will enable spatially-resolved studies capable of localizing the sites of actively growing MBHs within their host galaxies during the peak epoch of cosmic assembly., Comment: To be published in the ASP Monograph Series, "Science with a Next-Generation VLA", ed. E. J. Murphy (ASP, San Francisco, CA)

We present the first results from our on-going Australia Telescope Compact Array survey of CO(1-0) in ALMA-identified submillimetre galaxies in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South. Strong detections of CO(1-0) emission from two submillimetre galaxies, ALESS 122.1 (z = 2.0232) and ALESS 67.1 (z = 2.1230), were obtained. We estimate gas masses of M_gas ~ 1.3 \times 10^{11} M_odot and M_gas ~ 1.0 \times 10^{11} M_\odot for ALESS 122.1 and ALESS 67.1, respectively, adopting alpha_CO = 1.0. Dynamical mass estimates from the kinematics of the CO(1-0) line yields M_dyn (sin i)^2 = 2.1 +- 1.1 \times 10^{11} M_odot and (3.2 +- 0.9) \times 10^{11} M_\odot for ALESS 122.1 and ALESS 67.1, respectively. This is consistent with the total baryonic mass estimates of these two systems. We examine star formation efficiency using the L_FIR versus L'_CO(1-0) relation for samples of local ULIRGs and LIRGs, and more distant star-forming galaxies, with CO(1-0) detections. We find some evidence of a shallower slope for ULIRGs and SMGs compared to less luminous systems, but a larger sample is required for definite conclusions. We determine gas-to-dust ratios of 170 +- 30 and 140 +- 30 for ALESS 122.1 and ALESS 67.1, respectively, showing ALESS 122.1 has an unusually large gas reservoir. By combining the 38.1 GHz continuum detection of ALESS 122.1 with 1.4 and 5.5 GHz data, we estimate that the free-free contribution to radio emission at 38.1 GHz is 34 +- 17 microJy, yielding a star formation rate (1400 +- 700 M_\odot yr^{-1}) consistent with that from the infrared luminosity., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

We discuss 6 GHz JVLA observations covering a volume-limited sample of 178 low redshift ($0.2 < z < 0.3$) optically selected QSOs. Our 176 radio detections fall into two clear categories: (1) About $20$\% are radio-loud QSOs (RLQs) having spectral luminosities $L_6 \gtrsim 10^{\,23.2} \mathrm{~W~Hz}^{-1}$ primarily generated in the active galactic nucleus (AGN) responsible for the excess optical luminosity that defines a \emph{bona fide} QSO. (2) The radio-quiet QSOs (RQQs) have $10^{\,21} \lesssim L_6 \lesssim 10^{\,23.2} \mathrm{~W~Hz}^{-1}$ and radio sizes $\lesssim 10 \mathrm{~kpc}$, and we suggest that the bulk of their radio emission is powered by star formation in their host galaxies. "Radio silent" QSOs ($L_6 \lesssim 10^{\,21} \mathrm{~W~Hz}^{-1}$) are rare, so most RQQ host galaxies form stars faster than the Milky Way; they are not "red and dead" ellipticals. Earlier radio observations did not have the luminosity sensitivity $L_6 \lesssim 10^{\,21} \mathrm{~W~Hz}^{-1}$ needed to distinguish between such RLQs and RQQs. Strong, generally double-sided, radio emission spanning $\gg 10 \mathrm{~kpc}$ was found associated with 13 of the 18 RLQ cores having peak flux densities $S_\mathrm{p} > 5 \mathrm{~mJy~beam}^{-1}$ ($log(L) \gtrsim 24$). The radio luminosity function of optically selected QSOs and the extended radio emission associated with RLQs are both inconsistent with simple "unified" models that invoke relativistic beaming from randomly oriented QSOs to explain the difference between RLQs and RQQs. Some intrinsic property of the AGNs or their host galaxies must also determine whether or not a QSO appears radio loud., Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Supplements

We have detected in ALMA observations CO J = 6 - 5 emission from the nucleus of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068. The low-velocity (up to +/- 70 km/s relative to systemic) CO emission resolves into a 12x7 pc structure, roughly aligned with the nuclear radio source. Higher-velocity emission (up to +/- 400 km/s) is consistent with a bipolar outflow in a direction nearly perpendicular (roughly 80 degrees) to the nuclear disk. The position-velocity diagram shows that in addition to the outflow, the velocity field may also contain rotation about the disk axis. These observations provide compelling evidence in support of the disk-wind scenario for the AGN obscuring torus., Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. 6 pages, 3 figures

The Boolardy Engineering Test Array is a 6 x 12 m dish interferometer and the prototype of the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), equipped with the first generation of ASKAP's phased array feed (PAF) receivers. These facilitate rapid wide-area imaging via the deployment of simultaneous multiple beams within a 30 square degree field of view. By cycling the array through 12 interleaved pointing positions and using 9 digitally formed beams we effectively mimic a traditional 1 hour x 108 pointing survey, covering 150 square degrees over 711 - 1015 MHz in 12 hours of observing time. Three such observations were executed over the course of a week. We verify the full bandwidth continuum imaging performance and stability of the system via self-consistency checks and comparisons to existing radio data. The combined three epoch image has arcminute resolution and a 1-sigma thermal noise level of 375 micro-Jy per beam, although the effective noise is a factor 3 higher due to residual sidelobe confusion. From this we derive a catalogue of 3,722 discrete radio components, using the 35 percent fractional bandwidth to measure in-band spectral indices for 1,037 of them. A search for transient events reveals one significantly variable source within the survey area. The survey covers approximately two-thirds of the Spitzer South Pole Telescope Deep Field. This pilot project demonstrates the viability and potential of using PAFs to rapidly and accurately survey the sky at radio wavelengths., Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures, 4 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present ALMA 870 micron (345 GHz) data for 49 high redshift (0.47

We present observations and analysis of an unusual [C II] emission line in the very luminous QSO SDSS J155426.16+193703.0 at z~4.6. The line is extremely broad (FWHM 735 km/s) and seems to have a flat-topped or double-peaked line profile. A velocity map of the line shows a gradient across the source that indicates large-scale rotation of star-forming gas. Together, the velocity map and line profile suggest the presence of a massive rotating disc with a dynamical mass M_dyn > 5x10^10 M_sun. Using the assumption of a rotating disc origin, we employ an empirical relation between galaxy disc circular velocity and bulge velocity dispersion (sigma) to estimate that sigma > 310 km/s, subject to a correction for the unknown disc inclination. This result implies that this source is consistent with the local M--sigma relation, or offset at most by an order of magnitude in black hole mass. In contrast, the assumption of a bulge origin for the [C II] emission line would lead to a conclusion that the black hole is nearly two orders of magnitude more massive than predicted by the M--sigma relation, similar to previous findings for other high-redshift QSOs. As disc rotation may be a common origin for [C II] emission at high redshifts, these results stress that careful consideration of dynamical origins is required when using observations of this line to derive properties of high-redshift galaxies., Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publications in MNRAS

We present the detection of $^{12}$CO(2-1) in the $z = 4.44$ submillimetre galaxy ALESS65.1 using the Australia Telescope Compact Array. A previous ALMA study of submillimetre galaxies in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South determined the redshift of this optically and near-infrared undetected source through the measurement of [CII] 157.74 $\mu$m emission. Using the luminosity of the $^{12}$CO(2-1) emission we estimate the gas mass to be $M_{\rm gas} \sim 1.7 \times 10^{10}$ ${\rm M}_\odot$. The gas depletion timescale of ALESS65.1 is $\sim$ 25 Myr, similar to other high redshift submillimetre galaxies and consistent with $z > 4$ SMGs being the progenitors of massive "red-and-dead" galaxies at $z > 2$. The ratio of the [CII], $^{12}$CO and far-infrared luminosities implies a strong far-ultraviolet field of $G_0 \sim 10^{3.25}$, which is at the high end of the far-ultraviolet fields seen in local starbursts, but weaker than the far-ultraviolet fields of most nearby ULIRGs. The high ratio of $L_{\rm [CII]}/L_{\rm FIR} = 1.0 \times 10^{-3}$ observed in ALESS65.1, combined with $L_{\rm [CII]}/L_{\rm CO} \sim 2300$, is consistent with ALESS65.1 having more extended regions of intense star formation than local ULIRGs., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS. This article supersedes arXiv:1302.3297