ATLBS Extended Source Sample: The evolution in radio source morphology with flux density

TL;DR

This study analyzes a new sample of faint extended radio sources from the ATLBS survey, revealing diverse morphologies, high-redshift giant sources, and evidence for episodic activity in radio galaxy evolution.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed morphological analysis of a flux-limited sample of faint radio sources, including the discovery of high-redshift giant radio galaxies and restarted sources.

Findings

Almost equal fractions of FR-I and FR-II sources at low flux densities.

Detection of giant radio sources at z>1, indicating their prevalence at high redshifts.

Identification of a significant number of restarted and dying radio galaxies.

Abstract

Based on the ATLBS survey we present a sample of extended radio sources and derive morphological properties of faint radio sources. 119 radio galaxies form the ATLBS-Extended Source Sample (ATLBS-ESS) consisting of all sources exceeding 30" in extent and integrated flux densities exceeding 1 mJy. We give structural details along with information on galaxy identifications and source classifications. The ATLBS-ESS, unlike samples with higher flux-density limits, has almost equal fractions of FR-I and FR-II radio galaxies with a large fraction of the FR-I population exhibiting 3C31-type structures. Significant asymmetry in lobe extents appears to be a common occurrence in the ATLBS-ESS FR-I sources compared to FR-II sources. We present a sample of 22 FR-Is at z>0.5 with good structural information. The detection of several giant radio sources, with size exceeding 0.7 Mpc, at z>1 suggests that giant radio sources are not less common at high redshifts. The ESS also includes a sample of 28 restarted radio galaxies. The relative abundance of dying and restarting sources is indicative of a model where radio sources undergo episodic activity in which an active phase is followed by a brief dying phase that terminates with restarting of the central activity; in any massive elliptical a few such activity cycles wherein adjacent events blend may constitute the lifetime of a radio source and such bursts of blended activity cycles may be repeated over the age of the host. The ATLBS-ESS includes a 2-Mpc giant radio galaxy with the lowest surface brightness lobes known to date.