Very Large Array Observations of Radio-Selected Dumbbell Galaxies
Abstract
An unbiased sample of radio sources associated with optical dumbbell galaxies is presented. This sample has been assembled to study the relationship between the radio and optical properties of radio-loud dumbbell galaxies. The radio sources were selected from the Parkes, B2 and 3C catalogues. High-quality radio data already exist for a number of the sources in our sample, but those sources without good data have been observed with the very large array at 20 or 6 cm. These new observations are described here and radio images are presented. Analysis of both the radio structure of the sources and their radio luminosity has been carried out, and a comparison is made with the properties of a complete sample of radio sources associated with single galaxies. Radio sources associated with dumbbell galaxies are found on average to have more distorted structures than sources associated with single galaxies, demonstrating the influence of the dumbbell dynamics in shaping the large-scale structure of the radio sources. It is shown that in the range 10^24^-10^26^ W Hz^-1 at 408 MHz the radio luminosity function of dumbbell systems is flatter than that of single-galaxy radio sources, indicating that a close companion may trigger a radio source in the main galaxy, or alternatively increase the luminosity of an existing radio source.
- Publication:
-
The Astronomical Journal
- Pub Date:
- December 1991
- DOI:
- 10.1086/116018
- Bibcode:
- 1991AJ....102.1960P
- Keywords:
-
- Extragalactic Radio Sources;
- Galactic Clusters;
- Radio Galaxies;
- Galactic Structure;
- Gravitational Lenses;
- Very Large Array (Vla);
- Astrophysics;
- RADIO SOURCES: GALAXIES