arXiv subjects

Ross J. Turner

Publications and source records attributed to Ross J. Turner.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

RAiSERed: radio continuum redshifts for lobed AGNs

Next-generation radio surveys are expected to detect tens of millions of active galactic nuclei (AGN) with a median redshift of z > 1. Beyond targeted surveys, the vast majority of these objects will not have spectroscopic redshifts, whilst photometric redshifts for high-redshift AGNs are of limited quality, and even then require optical and infrared photometry. We propose a new approach to measure the redshifts of lobed radio galaxies based exclusively on radio-frequency imaging and broadband radio photometry. Specifically, our algorithm uses the lobe flux density, angular size and width, and spectral shape to derive probability density functions for the most likely source redshift based on the Radio AGN in Semi-analytic Environments (RAiSE) dynamical model. The full physically based model explains 70% of the variation in the spectroscopic redshifts of a high-redshift (2 < z < 4) sample of radio AGNs, compared to at most 27% for any one of the observed attributes in isolation. We find that upper bounds on the angular size, as expected for unresolved sources, are sufficient to yield accurate redshift measurements at z > 2. The error in the model upon calibration using at least nine sources with known spectroscopic redshifts is <14% in redshift (as 1 + z) across all redshifts. We provide python code for the calculation and calibration of our radio continuum redshifts in an online library.

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arXiv2020

RAiSE X: searching for radio galaxies in X-ray surveys

We model the X-ray surface brightness distribution of emission associated with Fanaroff & Riley type-II radio galaxies. Our approach builds on the RAiSE dynamical model which describes broadband radio-frequency synchrotron evolution of jet-inflated lobes in a wide range of environments. The X-ray version of the model presented here includes: (1) inverse-Compton upscattering of cosmic microwave background radiation; (2) the dynamics of the shocked gas shell and associated bremsstrahlung radiation; and (3) emission from the surrounding ambient medium. We construct X-ray surface brightness maps for a mock catalogue of extended FR-IIs based on the technical characteristics of the eRosita telescope. The integrated X-ray luminosity function at low redshifts ($z\leqslant1$) is found to strongly correlate with the density of the ambient medium in all but the most energetic sources, whilst at high-redshift ($z>1$) the majority of objects are dominated by inverse-Compton lobe emission due to the stronger cosmic microwave background radiation. By inspecting our mock spatial brightness distributions, we conclude that any extended X-ray detection can be attributed to AGN activity at redshifts $z\geqslant1$. We compare the expected detection rates of active and remnant high-redshift radio AGNs for eRosita and LOFAR, and future more sensitive surveys. We find that a factor of ten more remnants can be detected using X-ray wavelengths over radio frequencies at $z>2.2$, increasing to a factor of 100 for redshifts $z>3.1$.

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arXiv2018

Duty-cycle and energetics of remnant radio-loud AGN

Deriving the energetics of remnant and restarted active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is much more challenging than for active sources due to the complexity in accurately determining the time since the nucleus switched-off. I resolve this problem using a new approach that combines spectral ageing and dynamical models to tightly constrain the energetics and duty-cycles of dying sources. Fitting the shape of the integrated radio spectrum yields the fraction of the source age the nucleus is active; this, in addition to the flux density, source size, axis ratio, and properties of the host environment, provides a constraint on dynamical models describing the remnant radio source. This technique is used to derive the intrinsic properties of the well-studied remnant radio source B2 0924+30. This object is found to spend $50^{+14}_{-12}$ Myr in the active phase and a further $28^{+6}_{-5}$ Myr in the quiescent phase, have a jet kinetic power of $3.6^{+3.0}_{-1.7}\times 10^{37}$ W, and a lobe magnetic field strength below equipartition at the $8σ$ level. The integrated spectra of restarted and intermittent radio sources is found to yield a 'steep-shallow' shape when the previous outburst occurred within 100 Myr. The duty-cycle of B2 0924+30 is hence constrained to be $δ< 0.15$ by fitting the shortest time to the previous comparable outburst that does not appreciably modify the remnant spectrum. The time-averaged feedback energy imparted by AGNs into their host galaxy environments can in this manner be quantified.

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arXiv2017

RAiSE II: resolved spectral evolution in radio AGN

The active galactic nuclei (AGN) lobe radio luminosities modelled in hydrodynamical simulations and most analytical models do not address the redistribution of the electron energies due to adiabatic expansion, synchrotron radiation and inverse-Compton scattering of CMB photons. We present a synchrotron emissivity model for resolved sources which includes a full treatment of the loss mechanisms spatially across the lobe, and apply it to a dynamical radio source model with known pressure and volume expansion rates. The bulk flow and dispersion of discrete electron packets is represented by tracer fields in hydrodynamical simulations; we show that the mixing of different aged electrons strongly effects the spectrum at each point of the radio map in high-powered FR-II sources. The inclusion of this mixing leads to a factor of a few discrepancy between the spectral age measured using impulsive injection models (e.g. JP model) and the dynamical age. The observable properties of radio sources are predicted to be strongly frequency dependent: FR-II lobes are expected to appear more elongated at higher frequencies, while jetted FR-I sources appear less extended. The emerging FR0 class of radio sources, comprising gigahertz peaked and compact steep spectrum sources, can potentially be explained by a population of low-powered FR-Is. The extended emission from such sources is shown to be undetectable for objects within a few orders of magnitude of the survey detection limit and to not contribute to the curvature of the radio SED.

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arXiv2017

RAiSE III: 3C radio AGN energetics and composition

Kinetic jet power estimates based exclusively on observed monochromatic radio luminosities are highly uncertain due to confounding variables and a lack of knowledge about some aspects of the physics of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We propose a new methodology to calculate the jet powers of the largest, most powerful radio sources based on combinations of their size, lobe luminosity and shape of their radio spectrum; this approach avoids the uncertainties encountered by previous relationships. The outputs of our model are calibrated using hydrodynamical simulations and tested against independent X-ray inverse-Compton measurements. The jet powers and lobe magnetic field strengths of radio sources are found to be recovered using solely the lobe luminosity and spectral curvature, enabling the intrinsic properties of unresolved high-redshift sources to be inferred. By contrast, the radio source ages cannot be estimated without knowledge of the lobe volumes. The monochromatic lobe luminosity alone is incapable of accurately estimating the jet power or source age without knowledge of the lobe magnetic field strength and size respectively. We find that, on average, the lobes of the 3C radio sources have magnetic field strengths approximately a factor three lower than the equipartition value, inconsistent with equal energy in the particles and the fields at the 5$σ$ level. The particle content of 3C radio lobes is discussed in the context of complementary observations; we do not find evidence favouring an energetically-dominant proton population.

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arXiv2015

The Energetics and Lifetimes of Local Radio Active Galactic Nuclei

We present a model describing the evolution of Fanaroff-Riley type I and II radio AGN, and the transition between these classes. We quantify galaxy environments using a semi-analytic galaxy formation model, and apply our model to a volume-limited low redshift ($0.03 \leqslant z \leqslant 0.1$) sample of observed AGN to determine the distribution of jet powers and active lifetimes at the present epoch. Radio sources in massive galaxies are found to remain active for longer, spend less time in the quiescent phase, and inject more energy into their hosts than their less massive counterparts. The jet power is independent of the host stellar mass within uncertainties, consistent with maintenance-mode AGN feedback paradigm. The environments of these AGN are in or close to long-term heating-cooling balance. We also examine the properties of high- and low-excitation radio galaxy sub-populations. The HERGs are younger than LERGs by an order of magnitude, whilst their jet powers are greater by a factor of four. The Eddington-scaled accretion rates and jet production efficiencies of these populations are consistent with LERGs being powered by radiatively inefficient advection dominated accretion flows (ADAFs), while HERGs are fed by a radiatively efficient accretion mechanism.

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