Extended optical line emitting gas in powerful radio galaxies - What is the radio emission-line connection?

Abstract

The results of the emission-line and radio imaging survey of radio galaxies presented in Baum et al. (1988) and Baum and Heckman (1989) are used here to look for statistical evidence of energetic and spatial relationships between the extended emission-line gas and the radio source in powerful radio galaxies. It is found that radio luminosity correlates with the optical narrow emission-line luminosity over roughly four orders of magnitude in line luminosity and five in radio luminosity. The total emission-line luminosity of the powerful radio galaxies in the sample is roughly half of the luminosity of the associated radio source. There is a better correlation between the radio and narrow-line luminosity than between the radio and the total emission-line luminosities in radio galaxies. Statistical evidence is found for a spatial relationship between the very extended emission-line gas and the radio source. 88 references.