We use photometric and spectroscopic infrared observations obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope of 12 radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGN) to investigate the dust geometry. Our approach is to look at the change of the infrared spectral energy distribution (SED) and the strength of the 10 micron silicate feature with jet viewing angle. We find that (i) a combination of three or four blackbodies fits well the infrared SED; (ii) the sources viewed closer to the jet axis appear to have stronger warm (~300 - 800 K) and cold (~150 - 250 K) dust emissions relative to the hot component; and (iii) the silicate features are always in emission and strongly redshifted. We test clumpy torus models and find that (i) they approximate well the mid-infrared part of the SED, but significantly underpredict the fluxes at both near- and far-infrared wavelengths; (ii) they can constrain the dust composition (in our case to that of the standard interstellar medium); (iii) they require relatively large (~10%-20% the speed of light) redward displacements; and (iv) they give robust total mass estimates, but are insensitive to the assumed geometry.
Recent work on the engines of active galactic nuclei jets suggests their power depends strongly and perhaps counter-intuitively on black hole spin. We explore the consequences of this on the radio-loud population of active galactic nuclei and find that the time evolution of the most powerful radio galaxies and radio-loud quasars fits into a picture in which black hole spin varies from retrograde to prograde with respect to the accreting material. Unlike the current view, according to which jet powers decrease in tandem with a global downsizing effect, we argue for a drop in jet power resulting…
We are carrying out a search for all radio loud Active Galactic Nuclei observed with XMM-Newton, including targeted and field sources to perform a multi-wavelength study of these objects. We have cross-correlated the Veron-Cetty & Veron (2010) catalogue with the XMM-Newton Serendipitous Source Catalogue (2XMMi) and found about 4000 matched sources. A literature search provided radio, optical, and X-ray data for 403 sources. Here we summarize the first results of our study.
The origin of the extragalactic gamma-ray background (EGRB) radiation has been a mystery in astrophysics for a long time. Recently the Fermi gamma-ray satellite (Fermi) has revealed that ~22% of the unresolved EGRB would be explained by blazars, which are one population of beamed active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The remaining ~78% of the unresolved EGRB is still unknown. We estimate the contribution of gamma-ray loud radio galaxies, which are misaligned radio loud AGNs recently detected by Fermi, to EGRB using the radio luminosity function of radio-loud AGNs with the correlation between the radi…
There are several lines of evidence that active galactic nuclei (AGN) can be regarded as scaled-up X-ray binaries (XRB). The timescales of the evolutionary phenomena in these two classes are proportional to the black hole (BH) masses. Consequently, unlike in the case of XRBs, the evolution of AGNs is too slow to be followed directly. What could be done, however, is to assign particular types of active galaxies to different evolutionary stages observable in XRBs. We studied such an assignment for three quasars with clear signatures of a recent transition from the radio-loud to the radio-quiet s…
We present the results of a comparison between the optical morphologies of a complete sample of 46 southern 2Jy radio galaxies at intermediate redshifts (0.05<z<0.7) and those of two control samples of quiescent early-type galaxies: 55 ellipticals at redshifts z<0.01 from the Observations of Bright Ellipticals at Yale (OBEY) survey, and 107 early-type galaxies at redshifts 0.2<z<0.7 in the Extended Groth Strip (EGS). Based on these comparisons, we discuss the role of galaxy interactions in the triggering of powerful radio galaxies (PRGs). We find that a significant fraction of quiescent ellipt…
We describe a new technique for constraining the radio loud population of active galactic nuclei at high redshift by measuring the imprint of 21 cm spectral absorption features (the 21 cm forest) on the 21 cm power spectrum. Using semi-numerical simulations of the intergalactic medium and a semi-empirical source population we show that the 21 cm forest dominates a distinctive region of $k$-space, $k \gtrsim 0.5 \text{Mpc}^{-1}$. By simulating foregrounds and noise for current and potential radio arrays, we find that a next generation instrument with a collecting area on the order of $\sim 0.1\…
In the last years, Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) have become more popular than ever. The possibility of using them to produce feedback effects that would help solving some of the still open questions connected to the hierarchical scenario of galaxy formation and evolution, has made them particularly popular among theorists. AGN-driven outflows can have different origin. Here, I will concentrate on the role that the radio-loud phase of nuclear activity (and the presence of radio plasma jets) can play in the evolution of a galaxy. I will focus on two aspects in which radio activity could be impor…
We present high spatial resolution MIR observations for several nearby radio loud active galactic nuclei (RLAGN), which were obtained using the Gemini North and South telescopes. Of the six observed objects, we detected five in the Si-2 (8.7 microns) and Si-6 (12.3 microns) filters, of which two objects show some evidence of low level extended emission surrounding the unresolved nucleus. In Pictor A, we also obtained an image in Qs (18.3 microns) that has a flux of only half that seen in the Spitzer image, suggesting structure on arcsecond scales. We also used the Si-6 (12.3 microns) flux meas…
Infrared-faint radio sources (IFRSs) are a rare class of object which are relatively bright at radio wavelengths but very faint at infrared and optical wavelengths. Here we present sensitive near-infrared observations of a sample of these sources taken as part of the Spitzer Extragalactic Representative Volume Survey (SERVS). Nearly all the IFRSs are undetected at a level of ~ 1 μ$Jy in these new deep observations, and even the detections are consistent with confusion with unrelated galaxies. A stacked image implies that the median flux density is $S_{3.6μm} ~ 0.2$ μ$Jy or less, giving extreme…
We present the results from the first large (>100 source) 3.5 mm polarimetric survey of radio loud active galactic nuclei (AGN). The I, Q, U, and V Stokes parameter observations were performed with the XPOL polarimeter at the IRAM 30m Telescope. Our sample consists of 145 flat-radio-spectrum AGN with declination >-30 deg. (J2000.0) and flux density >~1Jy at 86GHz, as measured at the IRAM 30 m Telescope from 1978 to 1994. We detected linear and circular polarization (above 3 sigma levels of ~1.6%, and ~0.3%) for 76%, and 6% of the sample, respectively. We find a clear excess in degree of linear…
We present a detailed investigation of the near-to-far infrared (IR) spectral energy distribution (SED) of a large sample of Spitzer-observed active galactic nuclei (AGN). We fitted the spectra of 51 narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s) and 64 broad line Seyfert 1 galaxies (BLS1s) using a three component model: a clumpy torus, a dusty narrow line region (NLR) and hot pure-graphite dust located in the outer part of the broad line region (BLR). The fitting is performed on star formation (SF) subtracted SEDs using SF templates that take into account the entire range of possible host galaxy prop…
We report the discovery with Fermi/LAT of gamma-ray emission from three radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies: PKS 1502+036 (z=0.409), 1H 0323+342 (z=0.061) and PKS 2004-447 (z=0.24). In addition to PMN J0948+0022 (z=0.585), the first source of this type to be detected in gamma rays, they may form an emerging new class of gamma-ray active galactic nuclei (AGN). These findings can have strong implications on our knowledge about relativistic jets and the unified model of AGN.
Locating the exact point of origin of the core radiation in active galactic nuclei (AGN) would represent important progress in our understanding of physical processes in the central engine of these objects. However, due to our inability to resolve the region containing both the central compact object and the jet base, this has so far been difficult. Here, using an analysis in which the lack of resolution does not play a significant role, we demonstrate that it may be impossible even in most radio loud sources for more than a small percentage of the core radiation at radio wavelengths to come f…
We fitted the optical to mid-infrared (MIR) spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of ~15000 type-I, 0.75<z<2, active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in an attempt to constrain the properties of the physical component responsible for the rest-frame near-infrared (NIR) emission. We combine optical spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and MIR photometry from the preliminary data release of the Wide Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). The sample spans a large range of AGN properties: luminosity, black hole mass, and accretion rate. Our model has two components: a UV-optical continuum source and ver…
A sublimation process governs the innermost region of the dusty torus of active galactic nuclei. However, the observed inner radius of the torus is systematically smaller than the expected radius by a factor of ~ 1/3. We show that the anisotropy of the emission from accretion disks resolves this conflict naturally and quantitatively. An accretion disk emits lesser radiation in the direction closer to its equatorial plane (i.e., to the torus). We find that the anisotropy makes the torus inner region closer to the central black hole and concave. Moreover, the innermost edge of the torus may conn…
We examine the relationship between star formation and AGN activity by constructing matched samples of local ($0<z<0.6$) radio-loud and radio-quiet AGN in the $\textit{Herschel}$-ATLAS fields. Radio-loud AGN are classified as high-excitation and low-excitation radio galaxies (HERGs, LERGs) using their emission lines and $\textit{WISE}$ 22-$μ$m luminosity. AGN accretion and jet powers in these active galaxies are traced by [OIII] emission-line and radio luminosity, respectively. Star formation rates (SFRs) and specific star formation rates (SSFRs) were derived using $\textit{Herschel}$ 250-$μ$m…
We analyse the motion of single optically thick clouds in the potential of a central mass under the influence of an anisotropic radiation field ~|cos(θ)|, a model applicable to the inner region of active galactic nuclei. Resulting orbits are analytically soluble for constant cloud column densities. All stable orbits are closed, although they have non-trivial shapes. Furthermore, there exists a stability criterion in the form of a critical inclination, which depends on the luminosity of the central source and the column density of the cloud.
The feedback by active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is significant for the formation and evolution of galaxies. It has been realized that the radiative pressure feedback could be an efficient mechanism due to the existence of dust. In this Letter, we discuss the effect of anisotropic radiative pressure, which is inevitable if the UV/optical emission arises from an accretion disk. The distribution of dusty gas should be also anisotropic due to the influence of the anisotropic disk radiation, i.e. the dust in the face-on direction of an accretion disk can be blown out relatively more easily, whereas t…
The Fermi gamma-ray satellite has recently detected gamma-ray emissions from radio galaxy cores. From these samples, we first examine the correlation between the luminosities at 5 GHz, L_{5GHz}, and at 0.1-10 GeV, L_{gamma}, of these gamma-ray loud radio galaxies. We find that the correlation is significant with L_{gamma} \propto L_{5GHz}^{1.16} based on a partial correlation analysis. Using this correlation and the radio luminosity function (RLF) of radio galaxies, we further explore the contribution of gamma-ray loud radio galaxies to the unresolved extragalactic gamma-ray background (EGRB).…
Dust plays a central role in the unification theory of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). However, little is known about the nature (e.g., size, composition) of the dust which forms a torus around the AGN. In this Letter we report a systematic exploration of the optical extinction (A_V) and the silicate absorption optical depth (Δ\tau9.7) of 110 type 2 AGNs. We derive A_V from the Balmer decrement based on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data, and Δ\tau9.7 from the Spitzer/Infrared Spectrograph data. We find that with a mean ratio of A_V/Δ\tau9.7 ~ 5.5, the optical-to-silicate extinction ratios of th…
The dusty clumpy torus surrounds the central black hole (BH) and the accretion disk in active galactic nuclei, and governs the growth of super-massive BHs via gas fueling towards the central engine. Near-infrared (NIR) monitoring observations have revealed that the torus inner radius is determined by the dust sublimation process. However, the observed radii are systematically smaller than the theoretical predictions by a factor of three. We take into account the anisotropic illumination by the central accretion disk to the torus, and calculate the innermost structure of the torus and the NIR t…
Radio-loud Active Galactic Nuclei at z~2-4 are typically located in dense environments and their host galaxies are among the most massive systems at those redshifts, providing key insights for galaxy evolution. Finding radio-loud quasars at the highest accessible redshifts (z~6) is important to study their properties and environments at even earlier cosmic time. They would also serve as background sources for radio surveys intended to study the intergalactic medium beyond the epoch of reionization in HI 21 cm absorption. Currently, only five radio-loud ($R=f_{ν,5{\rm GHz}}/f_{ν,4400Å}>10$) qua…
We recently argued (Meyer 2011) that the collective properties of radio loud active galactic nuclei point to the existence of two families of sources, one of powerful sources with single velocity jets and one of weaker jets with significant velocity gradients in the radiating plasma. These families also correspond to different accretion modes and therefore different thermal and emission line intrinsic properties: powerful sources have radiatively efficient accretion disks, while in weak sources accretion must be radiatively inefficient. Here, after we briefly review of our recent work, we pres…
Distant powerful radio-loud active galactic nuclei (RLAGN) tend to reside in dense environments and are commonly found in proto-clusters at z > 1.3. We examine whether this occurs because RLAGN are hosted by massive galaxies, which preferentially reside in rich environments. We compare the environments of powerful RLAGN at 1.3 < z < 3.2 from the CARLA survey to a sample of radio-quiet galaxies matched in mass and redshift. We find the environments of RLAGN are significantly denser than those of radio-quiet galaxies, implying that not more than 50% of massive galaxies in this epoch can host pow…
