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Investigation of the double-lobed sources of the Cygnus constellation core

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 September 2021

J. Saponara*
Affiliation:
Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía, CONICET-CICPBA-UNLP, CC5 (1897) Villa Elisa, Prov. de Buenos Aires, Argentina
P. Benaglia
Affiliation:
Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía, CONICET-CICPBA-UNLP, CC5 (1897) Villa Elisa, Prov. de Buenos Aires, Argentina
I. Andruchow
Affiliation:
Facultad de Cs. Astronómicas y Geofísicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata Instituto de Astrofísica de La Plata (UNLP - CONICET, CCT La Plata)
C. H. Ishwara-Chandra
Affiliation:
National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Pune University Campus, Pune, 411007, India
H. T. Intema
Affiliation:
International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Niels Bohrweg 2, 2333 CA Leiden, the Netherlands
*
*Author for correspondence: J. Saponara, E-mail: Juliana.saponara@gmail.com
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Abstract

We present a collection of double-lobed sources towards a $20\,\mathrm{deg}^2$ area of the Cygnus region at the northern sky, observed at 325 and 610 MHz with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope. The 10$^{\prime\prime}$ resolution achieved at 325 MHz is 5.5 times better than previous studies, while at 610 MHz, these are the first results ever of such a large area, mapped with 6$^{\prime\prime}$ angular resolution. After a thorough visual inspection of the images at the two bands, we found 43 double-lobed source candidates, proposed as such due to the presence of 2 bright peaks, within a few arcminutes apart, joined by a bridge or a central nucleus. All but two are presented here as a double-lobed candidates for the first time. Thirty nine of the candidates were covered at both bands, and we provide the spectral index information for them. We have searched for positional coincidences between the detected sources/components and other objects from the literature, along the electromagnetic spectrum. Twenty-three candidates possess radio counterpart(s), 12 present infrared counterparts, and 1 showed an overlapping X-ray source. We analysed each candidate considering morphology, counterparts, and spectral indices. Out of the 43 candidates, 37 show characteristics compatible with an extragalactic nature, 2 of probably Galactic origin, 3 remain as dubious cases, though with feature(s) compatible with an extragalactic nature, and the remaining one, evidence of physically unrelated components. The median spectral index of the 40 putative extragalactic sources is $-1.0$. Their celestial surface density at 610 MHz resulted in $1.9\,\mathrm{per\ deg}^2$, across a region lying at the Galactic plane.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Astronomical Society of Australia
Figure 0

Figure 1. Observed area of the Cygnus constellation marked with a black dashed contour box, over the identified stellar associations Cygnus OB2 and Cygnus OB8 as well as Cygnus OB9. The blue dots are the double-lobed sources presented in this paper, with ID numbers as in Table 1.

Figure 1

Table 1. Position, integrated flux density and spectral index of double-lobed sources components, and total spectral index. Nu: nucleus, G: geometric centre, B: bridge. $SC_{610\,{\rm MHz}}$ refers to the integrated flux density obtained from the 610 MHz image convolved to the 325 MHz beam.

Figure 2

Table 2. Integrated flux density of NVSS counterparts, and spectral indices.

Figure 3

Figure 2. Layout of the observed double-lobed sources in Galactic coordinates, with their spectral indices represented with colours, according to the scale at the right.

Figure 4

Figure 3. Number of candidates with spectral index information, as a function of their total spectral index ($\alpha_{\rm T}$) between 325 MHz and 610 MHz, for the 39 double-lobed detected at both frequency bands with the GMRT (in blue), and for the sources #42, #43 between 610 MHz and 1400 MHz (in orange).

Figure 5

Figure 4. Distribution of sizes of the 43 double-lobed candidates. The extension of the sources ranged from $\sim$ 25 arcsec up to $\sim$ 375 arcsec ($\sim$ 7 arcmins).

Figure 6

Figure 5. Radio colour-colour diagram. The spectral indices of the detected double-lobed sources between 325 and 610 MHz versus the spectral indices between 1400 and 610 MHz. The solid and dashed lines mark the constant spectral index at both radio colours and the adopted errors of 0.1. The sources with $\alpha_{1400}^{610}<<-1.5$ are considered to be ultra-steep spectrum sources.

Figure 7

Figure A1. GMRT images of the double-lobed sources at 610 MHz (colour scale) and 325 MHz (contours). The contour levels and colour scale interval for each source are as follows: #1-J201255+404423: $-2.5$, 2.5, 3, 15, 27, 60, and 90, in units of $\sigma (=0.18\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [1.6, 20]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #2-J201418+412931: $-2.5$, 2.5, 3, 15, 27, 60, and 90, in units of $\sigma (=0.45\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [3, 13]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$.#3-J201512+410457: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 9, 15, 21, and 41, in units of $\sigma (=0.45\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [4, 11]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$.#4-J201739+421243: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 9, 21, and 27, in units of $\sigma (=0.2\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1};\ [0.4, 4]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$.#5-J201758+403100: $-2.5$, 2.5, 15, 27, 30, 45, 55, and 100, in units of $\sigma (=0.6\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.6, 17]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$.#6-J201828+402714: $-2.5$, 2.5, 3, 15, 27, 60, and 90, in units of $\sigma (=0.18\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [6, 21]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #7-J201847+401230: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 9, 11, and 21, in units of $\sigma (=1.7\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [6, 21]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #8-J201910+425136: $-2.5$, 2.5, 3, 6, 9, 15, 21, and 30, in units of $\sigma (=0.7\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.7, 9]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #9-J202058+444050: $-2.5$, 2.5, 3, 15, 27, 60, and 90, in units of $\sigma (=0.15\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.7, 9]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. The synthesised beams are shown at the bottom left corner of each image. NVSS detections are marked with a 45$^{\prime\prime}$ diameter circle and labelled as ‘1.4 GHz’. For the x factor of the bottom right corner, see text.

Figure 8

Figure A2. GMRT images of the double-lobed sources at 610 MHz (colour scale) and 325 MHz (contours). The contour levels and colour scale interval for each source are as follows: #10-J202151+423847: $-2.5$, 2.5, 3, and 5, in units of $\sigma (=1\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.3, 1]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #11-J202209+415033: $-2.5$, 2.5, 3, 5, and 15, in units of $\sigma (=1\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.4, 3.9]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #12-J202218+411728: $-2.5$, 2.5, 10, and 30, in units of $\sigma (=0.1\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.5, 3.8]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #13-J202222+425409: $-2.5$, 2.5, 9, 15, 25, and 85, in units of $\sigma (=0.87\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.3, 6.1]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #14-J202315+430252: $-2.5$, 2.5, 9, 15, and 25, in units of $\sigma (=0.27\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.3, 7.9]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #15-J202359+435525: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 9, 15, 21, and 27, in units of $\sigma (=0.12\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.4, 4.2]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #16-J202403+413611: $-2.5$, 2.5, 15, 25, 35, 45, and 55, in units of $\sigma (=0.2\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.4, 4.2]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #17-J202413+432220: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 15, 21, and 30, in units of $\sigma (=0.2\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1};\ [1, 4.4]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. $\#$18-J202422+425722: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 15, and 21, in units of $\sigma (=0.27\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [6, 21]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. The synthesised beams are shown at the bottom left corner of each image. NVSS detections are marked with a 45$^{\prime\prime}$ diameter circle and labelled as ‘1.4 GHz’. WISE and 2MASS sources are marked and labelled as well. For the x factor of the bottom right corner, see text.

Figure 9

Figure A3. GMRT images of the double-lobed sources at 610 MHz (colour scale) and 325 MHz (contours). The contour levels and colour scale interval for each source are as follows: #19-J202448+435956: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 10, and 27, in units of $\sigma(=0.12\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.3, 2.6]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #20-J202625+442048: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 25, 35, 75, and 135, in units of $\sigma(=0.15\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});[0.3, 2]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #21-J202632+412942: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 10, 15, 25, and 35, in units of $\sigma(=1\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.3, 0.6]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #22-J202645+431435: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 9, 15, 21, and 27, in units of $\sigma(=0.18\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.2, 0.7]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #23-J202710+421113: $-2.5$, 2.5, 3, 5, 15, and 35, in units of $\sigma(=0.36\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.3, 3.9]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #24-J202755+423215: $-2.5$, 2.5, 30, 50, 130, and 310, in units of $\sigma(=0.2\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.3, 3.9]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #25-J202817+442114: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 10, 15, 35, and 85, in units of $\sigma(=0.16\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.8, 1]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #26-J202859+402141: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 9, 15, 21, and 27, in units of $\sigma(=0.4\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.6, 1.8]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #27-J202919+441341 $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 9, 15, 21, and 27, in units of $\sigma(=0.3\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.4, 2]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. The synthesised beams are shown at the bottom left corner of each image. NVSS and WSRT detections are marked and labelled as ‘1.4 GHz’ and ‘327 MHz’. WISE and 2MASS sources are marked and labelled as well. For the x factor of the bottom right corner, see text.

Figure 10

Figure A4. GMRT images of the double-lobed sources at 610 MHz (colour scale) and 325 MHz (contours). The contour levels and colour scale interval for each source are as follows: #28-J202943+425122: $-2.5$, 2.5, 9, 15, 27 in units of $\sigma(=0.2\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.4, 1]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #29-J203201+413730: $-2.5$, 2.5, 9, 15, 27, 57, 87, 107, and 150, in units of $\sigma(=0.2\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.4, 1]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #30-J203323+412720: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 27, 40, and 100, in units of $\sigma(=0.35\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.6, 5]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #31-J203345+404015: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 9, 15, 21, 55, and 75, in units of $\sigma(=0.4\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.5, 5]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #32-J203402+420615: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 9, 15, 21, and 27, in units of $\sigma(=0.53\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.4, 10]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #33-J203413+403349: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 9, 15, 21, and 27, in units of $\sigma(=0.53\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.4, 10]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #34-J203425+404605: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 9, 15, 21, and 27, in units of $\sigma(=0.53\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.3, 2.8]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #35-J203431+413037: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 9, 15, 21, 35, and 55, in units of $\sigma(=0.2\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.4, 14]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #36-J203431+403332: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 9, 15, 21, and 27, in units of $\sigma(=0.53\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [0.2, 0.7]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. The synthesised beams are shown at the bottom left corner of each image. NVSS and WSRT beams detection are marked with a circles and labelled as ‘1.4 GHz’ and ‘1.4GHz-WSRT’. WISE and 2MASS position errors are marked with circles and labelled as well. For the x factor of the bottom right corner, see text.

Figure 11

Figure A5. GMRT images of the double-lobed sources at 610 MHz (colour scale) and 325 MHz (contours). The contour levels and colour scale interval for each source are as follows: #37-J203529+403201: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 9, 15, 21, and 27, in units of $\sigma(=0.7\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [1, 8]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #38-J203556+421744: $-2.5$, 2.5, 10, 20, 30, 120, 200, 300, and 500, in units of $\sigma(=9\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [3, 237]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. #39-J203720+405941: $-2.5$, 2.5, and 5, in units of $\sigma(=0.2\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1});\ [2, 7]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$. The synthesised beams are shown at the bottom left corner of each image. NVSS beam detection is marked with a circle and labelled as ‘1.4 GHz’ while the X-ray detection is shown with a red circle. For the x factor of the bottom right corner, see text.

Figure 12

Figure A6. GMRT images of the double-lobed sources at 610 MHz (colour scale). NVSS beam detection is marked with a circle and labelled as ‘1.4 GHz’. WISE and 2MASS position errors are marked with circles and labelled as well. The sources and colour scale interval represented are: $\# $40-J201836+430018: [0.4, 5] $\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$; #41-J201841+431844: [0.2, 1.6] $\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$; #42-J202220+450835: $[0.4, 5.8]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$; #43-J203755+401328: $[0.4, 5.8]\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$.

Figure 13

Figure B1. Spectral index (left) and error maps (right) of J201739+421252 (#4, first row), J201758+403100 (#5, second row), J202359+435525 (#15, third row), and J203345+404015 (#31, fourth row) sources. The synthesised beam is shown at the bottom left corner of each image.

Figure 14

Figure C1. GMRT contours at 610 MHz (red) and 325 MHz (blue) overlaid on WISE (W1-band)/2MASS (3.4$\mu$m) infrared images. The contour levels at 325 MHz are the same shown in Figures A1-A6. The contour levels at 610 MHz are: #10-J202151+423847: $-2.5$, 2.5, 3, and 5, in units of $\sigma(=0.13\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$). #15-J202352+435525: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 9, 15, 21, and 27, in units of $\sigma(=0.1\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$). #16-J202403+413611: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, and 15, in units of $\sigma(=0.15\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$). #21-J202632+412942: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 10, 15, 25, and 35, in units of $\sigma(=0.1\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$). #22-J202645+431435: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 9, and 15, in units of $\sigma(=0.1\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$). #24-J202755+423215: $-2.5$, 2.5, 30, 50, and 130, in units of $\sigma(=0.1\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$). #26-J202859+402141: $-2.5$, 2.5, 9, 15, 21, and 27, in units of $\sigma(=0.1\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$). #31-J203345+404015: $-2.5$, 2.5, 9, 15, 21, and 27, in units of $\sigma(=0.2\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$). #32-J203402+420615: $-2.5$, 2.5, 9, 15, 21, and 27, in units of $\sigma(=0.1\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$). The synthesised beams are shown at the bottom left corner of each image.

Figure 15

Figure C2. GMRT contours at 610 MHz (red) and 325 MHz (blue) overlaid on WISE/2MASS infrared images. The contour levels at 325 MHz are the same shown in Figures A1-A6. The contour levels at 610 MHz are: #35-J203431+413037: $-2.5$, 2.5, 9, 15, 21, 35, and 55, in units of $\sigma(=0.12\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$). #40-J201836+430018: $-2.5$, 2.5, 10, and 20, in units of $\sigma(=0.5\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$). #42-J203431+413035: $-2.5$, 2.5, 5, 9, 15, 21, 35, 55, and 85, in units of $\sigma(=0.15\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$). The synthesised beams are shown at the bottom left corner of each image.