Giant radio quasars: sample and basic properties

TL;DR

This study presents the largest sample of giant radio quasars, analyzes their properties, and compares them with smaller quasars, revealing correlations between radio and optical features and differences in infrared colours.

Contribution

The paper introduces a large new sample of 272 giant radio quasars and provides a comprehensive analysis of their properties compared to smaller quasars.

Findings

Strong correlation between [OIII] luminosity and radio luminosity at 1.4 GHz.

Most extended radio quasars are evolved AGNs with large black holes and low accretion rates.

GRQs have bluer W2-W3 colours, indicating differences in dusty torus structure.

Abstract

We present the largest sample of giant radio quasars (GRQs), which are defined as having a projected linear size greater than 0.7 Mpc. The sample consists of 272 GRQs, of which 174 are new objects discovered through cross-matching the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey 14$^{\rm th}$ Data Release Quasar Catalogue (DR14Q) and confirmed using Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters (FIRST) radio maps. In our analysis we compare the GRQs with 367 smaller, lobe-dominated radio quasars found using our search method, as well as with quasars from the SDSS DR14 Quasar Catalogue, investigating the parameters characterizing their radio emission (i.e. total and core radio luminosity, radio core prominence), optical properties (black hole masses, accretion rates, distribution in Eigenvector 1 plane) and infrared colours. For the GRQs and smaller radio quasars we find a strong correlation between [OIII] luminosity and radio luminosity at 1.4 GHz, indicating a strong connection between radio emission and conditions in the narrow-line region. We spot no significant differences between GRQs and smaller radio quasars, however we show that most extended radio quasars belong to a quasar population of evolved AGNs with large black hole masses and low accretion rates. We also show that GRQs have bluer W2-W3 colours compared to SDSS quasars with FIRST detections, indicating differences in the structure of the dusty torus.