arXiv subjects

Eric J. Hooper

Publications and source records attributed to Eric J. Hooper.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

DRAGNs in the Forest: Identifying Artifacts with Random Forest Models in the VLASS DRAGNs Catalog

The Quick Look data products from the Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS) contain widespread imaging artifacts arising from the simplified imaging algorithm used in their production. The catalog of double radio sources associated with active galactic nuclei (DRAGNs) found in the VLASS first epoch Quick Look release using the DRAGNhunter algorithm suffers from contamination from these artifacts. These sources contain two or three individual components, each of which can be an artifact. We train random forest models to classify these DRAGNs based on the number of artifacts they contain, ranging from zero to three artifacts. We optimize our models and mitigate the class imbalance of our dataset with judicious training set selection, and the best of our models achieves a weighted F1 score of $97.01\%^{+1.12\%}_{-1.32\%}$. Using our classifications, we produce a catalog of VLASS DRAGNs from which an estimated 99.3% complete catalog of 97.7% artifact-free sources can be extracted.

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arXiv2025

Evidence For A Correlation Between Astrophysical Neutrinos and Radio Flares

We use data from the first two epochs of the Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS) and the IceCube Neutrino Observatory to search for evidence of a correlation between radio variability and the detection of astrophysical neutrinos. We find an excess number of associations between flaring radio sources and neutrinos that were detected between the first and second VLASS observations at $>2\sigma$ confidence. This excess is consistent with radio flares contributing $\sim13\,\%$ of the astrophysical neutrinos observed by IceCube. Notably $>80\,\%$ of the radio flares associated with neutrinos are not detected at either $\gamma$-ray or X-ray wavelengths, highlighting the importance of radio observations for identifying potential electromagnetic counterparts to astrophysical neutrinos. No excess in the number of associations between the wider radio-variable population and the IceCube neutrinos is seen when no time constraint is placed on the neutrino detection. We predict that data from future VLASS epochs will see an excess number of associations between radio flares and neutrinos at the $>3\sigma$ level, and expected improvements to the positional constraints on the neutrinos may increase that confidence to $>5\sigma$, should our results be representative.

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arXiv2025

A Census of Variable Radio Sources at $3\,$GHz

A wide range of phenomena, from explosive transients to active galactic nuclei, exhibit variability at radio wavelengths on timescales of a few years. Characterizing the rate and scale of variability in the radio sky can provide keen insights into dynamic processes in the Universe, such as accretion mechanics, jet propagation, and stellar evolution. We use data from the first two epochs of the Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS) to conduct a census of the variable radio sky. Approximately $3,600$ compact sources are found to significantly vary in brightness during the $\sim2.5\,$ years between observations. In this work we focus on sources that are detected in both VLASS epochs, but estimate there may be $>10,000$ additional variable radio sources in VLASS that are only detected in either the first or second epoch. For objects detected in both epochs whose mean flux density across the two epochs, $\mu_{S}$, is brighter than $20\,$mJy, $5\,$% show brightness variations $>30\,$%, rising to $9\,$% at $\mu_{S}>300\,$mJy. We analyze the redshift distributions, infrared colors, and $\gamma$-ray properties of the variable radio sources, finding that most have multiwavelength characteristics that are consistent with blazars and quasars. Blazars in particular are found to be overrepresented among the variable radio sources, and the largest absolute changes in flux density are produced by blazars. The largest fractional changes in brightness are exhibited by galactic sources. We discuss our results, including some of the more interesting and extreme examples of variable radio sources identified, as well as future research directions.

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arXiv2023

The Discovery of 63 Giant Radio Galaxies in the FIRST Survey

Giant Radio Galaxies (GRGs) are Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) with radio emission that extends over projected sizes $>0.7\,$Mpc. The large angular sizes associated with GRGs complicate their identification in radio survey images using traditional source finders. In this Note, we use DRAGNhunter, an algorithm designed to find double-lobed radio galaxies, to search for GRGs in the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty cm survey (FIRST). Radio and optical images of identified candidates are visually inspected to confirm their authenticity, resulting in the discovery of $63$ previously unreported GRGs.

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arXiv2023

A Quick Look at the 3GHz Radio Sky. II. Hunting for DRAGNs in the VLA Sky Survey

Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) can often be identified in radio images as two lobes, sometimes connected to a core by a radio jet. This multi-component morphology unfortunately creates difficulties for source-finders, leading to components that are a) separate parts of a wider whole, and b) offset from the multiwavelength cross identification of the host galaxy. In this work we define an algorithm, \textsc{DRAGNhunter}, for identifying Double Radio Sources associated with Active Galactic Nuclei (DRAGNs) from component catalog data in the first epoch \textit{Quick Look} images of the high resolution ($\approx 3''$ beam size) Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS). We use \textsc{DRAGNhunter} to construct a catalog of $>17,000$ DRAGNs in VLASS for which contamination from spurious sources is estimated at $\approx 11\,\%$. A `high-fidelity' sample consisting of $90\,\%$ of our catalog is identified for which contamination is $<3\,\%$. Host galaxies are found for $\approx 13,000$ DRAGNs as well as for an additional $234,000$ single-component radio sources. Using these data we explore the properties of our DRAGNs, finding them to be typically consistent with Fanaroff-Riley class II sources and allowing us to report the discovery of $31$ new giant radio galaxies identified using VLASS.

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arXiv2018

The WIYN One Degree Imager in 2018: An Extended 30-Detector Focal Plane

We report on the upgraded One Degree Imager (ODI) at the WIYN 3.5 meter telescope at the Kitt Peak Observatory after the focal plane was expanded by an additional seventeen detectors in spring 2015. The now thirty Orthogonal Transfer Array CCD detectors provide a total field of view of 40' x 48' on the sky. The newly added detectors underwent a design revision to mitigate reduced charge transfer efficiency under low light conditions. We discuss the performance of the focal plane and challenges in the photometric calibration of the wide field of view, helped by the addition of telescope baffles. In a parallel project, we upgraded the instrument's three filter arm mechanisms, where a degrading worm-gear mechanism was replaced by a chain drive that is operating faster and with high reliability. Three more filters, a u' band and two narrow band filters were added to the instrument's complement, with two additional narrow band filters currently in procurement (including an H-alpha filter). We review the lessons learned during nearly three years of operating the instrument in the observatory environment and discuss infrastructure upgrades that were driven by ODI's needs.

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arXiv2012

HexPak and GradPak: variable-pitch dual-head IFUs for the WIYN 3.5m Telescope Bench Spectrograph

We describe the design, construction, and expected performance of two new fiber integral field units (IFUs) --- HexPak and GradPak --- for the WIYN 3.5m Telescope Nasmyth focus and Bench Spectrograph. These are the first IFUs to provide formatted fiber integral field spectroscopy with simultaneous sampling of varying angular scales. HexPak and GradPak are in a single cable with a dual-head design, permitting easy switching between the two different IFU heads on the telescope without changing the spectrograph feed: the two heads feed a variable-width double-slit. Each IFU head is comprised of a fixed arrangement of fibers with a range of fiber diameters. The layout and diameters of the fibers within each array are scientifically-driven for observations of galaxies: HexPak is designed to observe face-on spiral or spheroidal galaxies while GradPak is optimized for edge-on studies of galaxy disks. HexPak is a hexagonal array of 2.9 arcsec fibers subtending a 40.9 arcsec diameter, with a high-resolution circular core of 0.94 arcsec fibers subtending 6 arcsec diameter. GradPak is a 39 by 55 arcsec rectangular array with rows of fibers of increasing diameter from angular scales of 1.9 arcsec to 5.6 arcsec across the array. The variable pitch of these IFU heads allows for adequate sampling of light profile gradients while maintaining the photon limit at different scales.

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arXiv2006

G515, Revisited. I. Stellar Populations And Evidence Of Nuclear Activity In A Luminous "E+A" Galaxy

We present multiwavelength observations of the very luminous "E+A" galaxy known as G515 (J152426.55+080906.7), including deep K_s imaging, spatially resolved H-alpha spectroscopy, and radio observations. The data, together with detailed spectral synthesis of the galaxy's integrated stellar population, show that G515 is a ~1 Gyr old post-merger, post-starburst galaxy. We detect no Balmer line emission in the galaxy, although there is a small amount of [NII]6548,6583A emission. The galaxy's H I mass has a 2-sigma upper limit of 1.0 * 10^9 solar masses. IRAS detections in the 60-micron and 100-micron bands indicate a far infrared luminosity of ~5.8 * 10^10 solar luminosities. A small amount (~3 mJy) of radio continuum flux, which appears to be variable, has been detected. The data suggest that G515 may have once been an ultraluminous infrared galaxy, and may harbor a weak, dust-obscured active nucleus.

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arXiv2000

Infrared Properties of High Redshift and X-ray Selected AGN Samples

The NASA/ISO Key Project on active galactic nuclei (AGN) seeks to better understand the broad-band spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of these sources from radio to X-rays, with particular emphasis on infrared properties. The ISO sample includes a wide variety of AGN types and spans a large redshift range. Two subsamples are considered herein: 8 high-redshift (1 < z < 4.7) quasars; and 22 hard X-ray selected sources. The X-ray selected AGN show a wide range of IR continuum shapes, extending to cooler colors than the optical/radio sample of Elvis et al. (1994). Where a far-IR turnover is clearly observed, the slopes are < 2.5 in all but one case so that non-thermal emission remains a possibility. The highest redshift quasars show extremely strong, hot IR continua requiring ~ 100 solar masses of 500 - 1000 Kelvin dust with ~ 100 times weaker optical emission. Possible explanations for these unusual properties include: reflection of the optical light from material above/below a torus; strong obscuration of the optical continuum; or an intrinsic deficit of optical emission.

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arXiv1999

The ISO/NASA Key Project on AGN Spectral Energy Distributions (Characteristics of the ISO Data)

The U.S. ISO Key Project on quasar spectral energy distributions seeks to better understand the very broad-band emission features of quasars from radio to X-rays. A key element of this project is observations of 72 quasars with the ISOPHOT instrument at 8 bands, from 5 to 200 microns. The sample was chosen to span a wide range of redshifts and quasar types. This paper presents an overview of the analysis and reduction techniques, as well as general trends within the data set (comparisons with IRAS fluxes, uncertainties as a function of background sky brightness, and an analysis of vignetting corrections in chopped observing mode). A more detailed look at a few objects in the sample is presented in Wilkes et al. 1999, astro-ph/9902084.

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arXiv1999

The Far-infrared Continuum of Quasars

ISO provides a key new far-infrared window through which to observe the multi-wavelength spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of quasars and active galactic nuclei (AGN). It allows us, for the first time, to observe a substantial fraction of the quasar population in the far-IR, and to obtain simultaneous, multi-wavelength observations from 5--200 microns. With these data we can study the behavior of the IR continuum in comparison with expectations from competing thermal and non-thermal models. A key to determining which mechanism dominates, is the measurement of the peak wavelength of the emission and the shape of the far-IR--mm turnover. Turnovers which are steeper than frequency^2.5 indicate thermal dust emission in the far-IR. Preliminary results from our ISO data show broad, fairly smooth, IR continuum emission with far-IR turnovers generally too steep to be explained by non-thermal synchrotron emission. Assuming thermal emission throughout leads to a wide inferred temperature range of 50-1000 K. The hotter material, often called the AGN component, probably originates in dust close to and heated by the central source, e.g. the ubiquitous molecular torus. The cooler emission is too strong to be due purely to cool, host galaxy dust, and so indicates either the presence of a starburst in addition to the AGN or AGN-heated dust covering a wider range of temperatures than present in the standard, optically thick torus models.

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arXiv1997

HST Imaging of z > 0.4 Quasar Host Galaxies Selected by Quasar Radio and Optical Properties

A sample of 16 quasars selected from the Large Bright Quasar Survey in the redshift range 0.4 < z < 0.5 has been imaged in the R band with the Planetary Camera on the WFPC2 instrument of the Hubble Space Telescope. The host galaxy magnitudes are mostly similar to or brighter than L*, and the host luminosity is positively correlated with the luminosity of the quasar nuclear component. There is no distinction in host galaxy magnitude between radio-loud and radio-quiet quasars, assuming they are all of the same galaxy type. Many of the host galaxies in the sample have small axial ratios, which may indicate that they are inclined disk systems. Alternatively, this elongated appearance may be due to bars or other distinctive morphological features which are visible while the bulk of the underlying lower surface brightness components of the host galaxy are not.

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arXiv1996

The Radio Properties of Optically Selected Quasars. III. Comparison Between Optical and X-Ray Selected Samples

A sample of 103 quasars from the Large Bright Quasar Survey (LBQS) has been observed with the VLA at 8.4 GHz to study the evolution of the radio luminosity distribution and its dependence on absolute magnitude. Radio data from pointed observations are now available for 359 of the 1055 LBQS quasars. The radio-loud fraction is constant at ~10% over the absolute magnitude range -28 <= MB <= -23, and it rises to ~20% (log R > 1) or ~35% (log L > 25) at the brightest absolute magnitudes in the sample. This nearly flat distribution differs markedly from those of the optically selected Palomar-Green (PG) Bright Quasar Survey and the X-ray selected Extended Medium Sensitivity Survey (EMSS), both of which have lower radio-loud fractions for absolute magnitudes fainter than MB = -24 and higher fractions at brighter magnitudes. The reason for the high radio-loud fraction at bright absolute magnitudes in the PG, compared to the LBQS and other optically selected quasar surveys, is unknown. The trend of increasing radio-loud fraction with absolute magnitude in the EMSS is due at least in part to a correlation between X-ray and radio luminosity. Combining the LBQS data with radio studies of high-redshift quasars leads to the conclusion that the radio-loud fraction in optically selected quasars does not appear to evolve significantly, aside from a modest increase at z ~1, from z = 0.2 to redshifts approaching 5, a result that is contrary to previous studies which found a decrease in radio-loud fraction with increasing redshift by comparing the low-z fraction in the PG to higher redshift samples.

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