Searching for misaligned active galactic nuclei among blazar candidates in the Fourth Fermi-LAT catalog

TL;DR

This paper identifies seven new misaligned active galactic nuclei (MAGN) candidates among uncertain blazar sources detected by Fermi-LAT, using radio morphology analysis to improve understanding of gamma-ray emitters.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel radio morphology-based method to identify MAGN candidates among uncertain blazar sources in the Fermi-LAT catalog.

Findings

Seven new MAGN candidates identified

Candidates exhibit features consistent with misaligned jets

Method enhances detection of gamma-ray emitting MAGN

Abstract

Radio-loud sources with blazar-like properties, but having a jet that does not directly point in the direction of the observer are among the most interesting classes of gamma-ray emitters. These sources are known as Misaligned Active Galactic Nuclei (MAGN). Understanding MAGN properties is useful to improve the knowledge of blazar energetics. We searched for new MAGN candidates among the remaining blazars of uncertain type detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) using a methodology based on characterizing their radio morphology. We identified seven new candidates associated with gamma-ray sources. Their features are consistent with a source with a misaligned relativistic jet consistent with the definition of MAGN.