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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Christopher Hales
This is the final published version of an article that has been published in its final definitive form by EDP Sciences, 2010.
For re-use rights please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions.
Context. Infrared-faint radio sources (IFRS) are objects that have flux densities of several mJy at 1.4GHz, but that are invisible at 3.6μm when using sensitive Spitzer observations with μJy sensitivities. Their nature is unclear and difficult to investigate since they are only visible in the radio. Aims. High-resolution radio images and comprehensive spectral coverage can yield constraints on the emission mechanisms of IFRS and can give hints to similarities with known objects. Methods. We imaged a sample of 17 IFRS at 4.8GHz and 8.6GHz with the Australia Telescope Compact Array to determine the structures on arcsecond scales. We added radio data from other observing projects and from the literature to obtain broad-band radio spectra. Results. We find that the sources in our sample are either resolved out at the higher frequencies or are compact at resolutions of a few arcsec, which implies that they are smaller than a typical galaxy. The spectra of IFRS are remarkably steep, with a median spectral index of -1.4 and a prominent lack of spectral indices larger than -0.7. We also find that, given the IR non-detections, the ratio of 1.4GHz flux density to 3.6μm flux density is very high, and this puts them into the same regime as high-redshift radio galaxies. Conclusions. The evidence that IFRS are predominantly high-redshift sources driven by active galactic nuclei (AGN) is strong, even though not all IFRS may be caused by the same phenomenon. Compared to the rare and painstakingly collected high-redshift radio galaxies, IFRS appear to be much more abundant, but less luminous, AGN-driven galaxies at similar cosmological distances. © 2010 ESO.
Author(s): Middelberg E, Norris RP, Hales CA, Seymour N, Johnston-Hollitt M, Huynh MT, Lenc E, Mao MY
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Year: 2010
Volume: 526
Issue: 1
Online publication date: 13/12/2010
Date deposited: 30/06/2017
ISSN (print): 0004-6361
ISSN (electronic): 1432-0746
Publisher: EDP Sciences
URL: https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201014926
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201014926
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