The Combined NVSS-FIRST Galaxies (CoNFIG) sample - I. Sample definition, classification and evolution

The CoNFIG (Combined NVSS-FIRST Galaxies) sample is a new sample of 274 bright radio sources at 1.4 GHz. It was defined by selecting all sources with S_1.4GHz >= 1.3 Jy from the NRAO Very Large Array (VLA) Sky Survey (NVSS) in the north field of the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty centimetres (FIRST) survey. New radio observations obtained with the VLA for 31 of the sources are presented. The sample has complete Fanaroff-Riley (FRI)/FRII morphology identification; optical identifications and redshifts are available for 80 and 89 per cent of the sample, respectively, yielding a mean redshift of ~0.71. One of the goals of this survey is to get better definitions of luminosity distributions and source counts of FRI/FRII sources separately, in order to determine the evolution of the luminosity function for each type of source. We present a preliminary analysis, showing that these data are an important step towards examining various evolutionary schemes for these objects and to confirm or correct the dual population unified scheme for radio active galactic nuclei (AGN). Improving our understanding of radio galaxy evolution will give better insight into the role of AGN feedback in galaxy formation.