Hubble Space Telescope Snapshot Survey of 3CR Radio Source Counterparts. II. Radio Galaxies with z > 0.5

Abstract

We present and describe optical counterparts to 46 3CR radio galaxies of redshifts less than 0.1 that were imaged with the Hubble Space Telescope's (HST) WFPC2 camera through the broadband F702W filter as part of the 3CR Snapshot Survey. This is the fifth and last such paper describing the 252 radio galaxies of this R-band survey. At the 01 resolution of the images, a wealth of detail is visible. Approximately 89% of the galaxies are ellipticals, and nearly all reside in groups or clusters of galaxies of various richness and compactness. Nearby elliptical companions of slightly smaller size and mass are common. Dust is prevalent in the cores of the 3C hosts; nearly half of the galaxies possess some type of dust structure, such as irregular dust lanes, filaments, or disks. Besides the well-known dust disks of 3C 264 and 3C 270, we have found five new candidates in 3C 31, 3C 40, 3C 296, 3C 449, and 3C 465, as well as in the central regions of the nearby neighbors of 3C 31 and 3C 465. Our sample includes six confirmed optical synchrotron jets in 3C 15, 3C 66B, 3C 78, 3C 264, 3C 274, and 3C 371, or approximately 13% of the sample. Unresolved nuclei, consistent with the point spread function of WFPC2, are found in 43%-54% of the galaxies and in the majority of galaxies with dust disks and optical jets.