Wide-field LOFAR imaging of the field around the double-double radio galaxy B1834+620 A fresh view on a restarted AGN and doubeltjes
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2015
Context. The existence of double-double radio galaxies (DDRGs) is evidence for recurrent jet activity in active galactic nuclei (AGN), as expected from standard accretion models. A detailed study of these rare sources provides new perspectives for investigating the AGN duty cycle, AGN-galaxy feedback, and accretion mechanisms. Large catalogues of radio sources, on the other hand, provide statistical information about the evolution of the radio-loud AGN population out to high redshifts. Aims. Using wide-field imaging with the LOFAR telescope, we study both a well-known DDRG as well as a large number of radio sources in the field of view. Methods. We present a high resolution image of the DDRG B1834 + 620 obtained at 144MHz using LOFAR commissioning data. Our image covers about 100 square degrees and contains over 1000 sources. Results. The four components of the DDRG B1834 + 620 have been resolved for the first time at 144 MHz. Inner lobes were found to point towards the direction of the outer lobes, unlike standard FR II sources. Polarized emission was detected at + 60 rad m(-2) in the northern outer lobe. The high spatial resolution allows the identification of a large number of small double-lobed radio sources; roughly 10% of all sources in the field are doubles with a separation smaller than 1'. Conclusions. The spectral fit of the four components is consistent with a scenario in which the outer lobes are still active or the jets recently switched off, while emission of the inner lobes is the result of a mix-up of new and old jet activity. From the presence of the newly extended features in the inner lobes of the DDRG, we can infer that the mechanism responsible for their formation is the bow shock that is driven by the newly launched jet. We find that the density of the small doubles exceeds the density of FR II sources with similar properties at 1.4 GHz, but this difference becomes smaller for low flux densities. Finally, we show that the significant challenges of wide-field imaging (e.g., time and frequency variation of the beam, directional dependent calibration errors) can be solved using LOFAR commissioning data, thus demonstrating the potential of the full LOFAR telescope to discover millions of powerful AGN at redshift z similar to 1.
instrumentation: interferometers
techniques: interferometric
galaxies: active
radiation
Författare
E. Orru
Radboud Universiteit
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
S. van Velzen
Radboud Universiteit
Johns Hopkins University
R. F. Pizzo
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
S. Yatawatta
Kapteyn Astronomical Institute
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
R. Paladino
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
Universita di Bologna
M. Iacobelli
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
M. Murgia
INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari
H. Falcke
Max-Planck Institut für Radioastronomie
Radboud Universiteit
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
R. Morganti
Kapteyn Astronomical Institute
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
A. G. de Bruyn
Kapteyn Astronomical Institute
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
C. Ferrari
Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (UNS)
J. Anderson
Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ)
A. Bonafede
Universität Hamburg
D. Mulcahy
University of Manchester
A. Asgekar
Shell Technology Center
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
I. M. Avruch
Kapteyn Astronomical Institute
Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON)
R. Beck
Max-Planck Institut für Radioastronomie
M. E. Bell
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
I. van Bemmel
Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
M. J. Bentum
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
Universiteit Twente
G. Bernardi
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
P. Best
University of Edinburgh
F. Breitling
Leibniz-Institut Für Astrophysik Potsdam
J. W. Broderick
University of Southampton
M. Brüggen
Universität Hamburg
H. R. Butcher
Australian National University
B. Ciardi
Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik
John Conway
Chalmers, Rymd- och geovetenskap, Onsala rymdobservatorium
A. Corstanje
Radboud Universiteit
E. de Geus
SmarterVision BV
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
A. Deller
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
S. Duscha
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
J. Eisloffel
Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg
D. Engels
Hamburger Sternwarte
W. Frieswijk
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
M. A. Garrett
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
Universiteit Leiden
J. Griessmeier
Universite d'Orleans
A. W. Gunst
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
J. P. Hamaker
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
G. Heald
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
M. Hoeft
Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg
A. J. van der Horst
George Washington University
H. Intema
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Universiteit Leiden
E. Juette
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
J. Kohler
Max-Planck Institut für Radioastronomie
V. I. Kondratiev
Radboud Universiteit
Astro Space Center of Lebedev Physical Institute
M. Kuniyoshi
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
G. Kuper
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
M. Loose
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
P. Maat
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
G. Mann
Leibniz-Institut Für Astrophysik Potsdam
S. Markoff
Universiteit Van Amsterdam
R. McFadden
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
D. McKay-Bukowski
Oulun Yliopisto
STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
G. Miley
Universiteit Leiden
J. Moldon
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
G. Molenaar
Universiteit Van Amsterdam
H. Munk
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
A. Nelles
Radboud Universiteit
H. Paas
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
M. Pandey-Pommier
Observatoire de Lyon
V. N. Pandey
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
G. Pietka
University of Oxford
A. G. Polatidis
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
W. Reich
Max-Planck Institut für Radioastronomie
H. Rottgering
Universiteit Leiden
A. Rowlinson
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
A. Scaife
University of Manchester
A. Schoenmakers
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
D. Schwarz
Universität Bielefeld
M. Serylak
University of Oxford
A. Shulevski
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
Kapteyn Astronomical Institute
O. Smirnov
Rhodes University
Square Kilometre Array, South Africa
M. Steinmetz
Leibniz-Institut Für Astrophysik Potsdam
A. Stewart
University of Oxford
J. Swinbank
Universiteit Van Amsterdam
M. Tagger
Universite d'Orleans
C. Tasse
Observatoire de Paris-Meudon
S. Thoudam
Radboud Universiteit
M. C. Toribio
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
R. Vermeulen
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
C. Vocks
Leibniz-Institut Für Astrophysik Potsdam
R. J. van Weeren
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Ramj Wijers
Universiteit Van Amsterdam
M. W. Wise
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
Universiteit Van Amsterdam
O. Wucknitz
Max-Planck Institut für Radioastronomie
Astronomy and Astrophysics
0004-6361 (ISSN) 1432-0746 (eISSN)
Vol. 584 A112Ämneskategorier
Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi
Infrastruktur
Onsala rymdobservatorium
DOI
10.1051/0004-6361/201526501