LeMMINGs - II. The e-MERLIN legacy survey of nearby galaxies. The deepest radio view of the Palomar sample on parsec scale

Full list of authors: Baldi, R. D.; Williams, D. R. A.; McHardy, I. M.; Beswick, R. J.; Brinks, E.; Dullo, B. T.; Knapen, J. H.; Argo, M. K.; Aalto, S.; Alberdi, A.; Baan, W. A.; Bendo, G. J.; Corbel, S.; Fenech, D. M.; Gallagher, J. S.; Green, D. A.; Kennicutt, R. C.; Klöckner, H. -R.; Körding, E.; Maccarone, T. J.; Muxlow, T. W. B.; Mundell, C. G.; Panessa, F.; Peck, A. B.; Pérez-Torres, M. A.; Romero-Cañizales, C.; Saikia, P.; Shankar, F.; Spencer, R. E.; Stevens, I. R.; Varenius, E.; Ward, M. J.; Yates, J.; Uttley, P.
We present the second data release of high-resolution (≤0.2 arcsec) 1.5-GHz radio images of 177 nearby galaxies from the Palomar sample, observed with the e-MERLIN array, as part of the Legacy e-MERLIN Multi-band Imaging of Nearby Galaxies Sample (LeMMINGs) survey. Together with the 103 targets of the first LeMMINGs data release, this represents a complete sample of 280 local active (LINER and Seyfert) and inactive galaxies (H ii galaxies and absorption line galaxies, ALG). This large program is the deepest radio survey of the local Universe, ≳1017.6 W Hz-1, regardless of the host and nuclear type: we detect radio emission ≳0.25 mJy beam-1 for 125/280 galaxies (44.6 per cent) with sizes of typically ≲100 pc. Of those 125, 106 targets show a core which coincides within 1.2 arcsec with the optical nucleus. Although we observed mostly cores, around one third of the detected galaxies features jetted morphologies. The detected radio core luminosities of the sample range between ∼1034 and 1040 erg s-1. LINERs and Seyferts are the most luminous sources, whereas H ii galaxies are the least. LINERs show FR I-like core-brightened radio structures while Seyferts reveal the highest fraction of symmetric morphologies. The majority of H ii galaxies have single radio core or complex extended structures, which probably conceal a nuclear starburst and/or a weak active nucleus (seven of them show clear jets). ALGs, which are typically found in evolved ellipticals, although the least numerous, exhibit on average the most luminous radio structures, similar to LINERs. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society.
The authors thank the anonymous referee for his/her helpful comments to improve the manuscript. AA and MAPT acknowledge support from the Spanish MCIU through grant PGC2018-098915-B-C21 and from the State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU through the 'Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa' award for the Instituto de Astrof ' isica de Andalucia (SEV-2017-0709). BTD acknowledges support from a Spanish postdoctoral fellowship 'Ayudas 1265 para la atraccion del talento investigador. Modalidad 2: jovenes investigadores.' funded by Comunidad de Madrid under grant number 2016-T2/TIC-2039. BTD also acknowledges support from grant 'Ayudas para la realizaci on de proyectos de I + D para jovenes doctores 2019.' funded by Comunidad de Madrid and Universidad Complutense de Madrid under grant number PR65/19-22417. JHK acknowledges financial support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 721463 to the SUNDIAL ITN network, from the State Research Agency (AEI-MCINN) of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under the grant 'The structure and evolution of galaxies and their central regions' with reference PID2019-105602GB-I00/10.13039/501100011033, and from IAC project P/300724, financed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, through the State Budget and by the Canary Islands Department of Economy, Knowledge and Employment, through the Regional Budget of the Autonomous Community. JSG thanks the University of Wisconsin-Madison and its Foundation for support of this research through his Rupple Bascom Professorship. FS acknowledges partial support from a Leverhulme Trust Research fellowship. CGM acknowledges support from the University of Bath and Jim and Hiroko Sherwin. e-MERLIN is a National Facility operated by the University of Manchester at Jodrell Bank Observatory on behalf of STFC, part of UK Research and Innovation.