SAGAN -- III: New insights into giant radio quasars

TL;DR

This study compiles a comprehensive catalogue of giant radio quasars (GRQs) and compares their properties with smaller radio quasars (SRQs), revealing similarities and differences in their physical characteristics and suggesting a growth model for these objects.

Contribution

The paper introduces a new catalogue of 10 newly identified FR-II giant radio quasars and provides a systematic comparative analysis of GRQs and SRQs using optical and radio data.

Findings

GRQs and SRQs have similar spectral index and black hole mass distributions.

SRQs exhibit higher radio core power, core dominance, and jet kinetic power than GRQs.

GRQs have higher black hole mass and Eddington ratio compared to giant radio galaxies.

Abstract

Giant radio quasars (GRQs) are radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs), propelling megaparsec-scale jets. In order to understand GRQs and their properties, we have compiled all known GRQs ("the GRQ catalogue"), and a subset of small (size <700 kpc) radio quasars (SRQs) from the literature. In this process, we have found 10 new FR-II GRQs, in the redshift range of 0.66 < z < 1.72, which we include in the GRQ catalogue. Using the above samples, we have carried out a systematic comparative study of GRQs and SRQs, using optical and radio data. Our results show that the GRQs and SRQs statistically have similar spectral index and black hole mass distributions. However, SRQs have higher radio core power, core dominance factor, total radio power, jet kinetic power and Eddington ratio compared to GRQs. On the other hand, when compared to giant radio galaxies (GRGs), GRQs have higher black hole mass and Eddington ratio. The high core dominance factor of SRQs is an indicator of them lying closer to the line of sight than GRQs. We also find a correlation of the accretion disc luminosity with the radio core and jet power of GRQs, which provides evidence for disc-jet coupling. Lastly, we find the distributions of Eddington ratios of GRGs and GRQs to be bi-modal, similar to that found in small radio galaxies (SRGs) and SRQs, which indicate that size is not strongly dependent on the accretion state. Using all of these, we provide a basic model for the growth of SRQs to GRQs.