The diverse morphologies and evolution of low-luminosity edge-brightened radio galaxies

Clicks: 3
ID: 313787
2026
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score — reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal
Steady

Ranked #757 of 913 articles by views in monthly notices of the royal astronomical society

Most read Least read

Bar heights use a square-root scale. Only the 120 most-read articles are drawn; the journal has 913 in total.

Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet minted

Create a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.

5 SUSD one-off · no wallet required
Abstract
Abstract Fanaroff-Riley class I (FRI) radio galaxies show centre-brightened emission from disrupted lower power jets, while traditionally more luminous class II (FRIIs), are edge-brightened, with relativistic jets terminating in hotspots. Population studies of radio-loud AGN (RLAGN) with low frequency, deep, wide-field surveys have revealed FRII-like radio structures at lower luminosities. We present the first high-resolution morphological investigation of a representative LOFAR-selected sample of low-luminosity FRIIs, to determine whether this new population is physically distinct from traditional high-luminosity FRIIs. Using new 1.5-GHz Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) observations for a sample of 19 low-luminosity FRIIs, from the LOFAR Two Metre Sky Survey Data Release 1 (LoTSS DR1), with luminosities up to three orders of magnitude lower than the typical FR break (L150 = 1026 W Hz−1). We examine the compact features and perform spectral index analysis to identify hotspots, cores and signatures of restarting or remnant activity. We find a higher prevalence of cores and a comparable number of hotspots in the low-luminosity FRII sample compared to a randomly-selected sample of luminous (L150 > 1026 W Hz−1) FRIIs selected from the same parent LOFAR sample. Approximately 32 per cent of low-luminosity FRIIs show restarting or remnant behaviour, while ~32 per cent are active FRIIs with compact hotspots. Our results show that FRII source dynamics occur at low radio luminosities, but reinforce earlier conclusions that the population of low-luminosity edge-brightened RLAGN is highly diverse. Binary morphological classifications should be used cautiously as a first step towards more nuanced investigations of the complexity of jet life cycles and evolution.
Reference Key
openalex_W7160954258 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors B Barkus, J H Croston, B Mingo, M J Hardcastle, G Gürkan, V H Mahatma
Journal monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/mnras/stag894
URL
Keywords Keywords not found

Citations

No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org

No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.