The nature of compact radio-loud AGN: a systematic look at the LOFAR AGN population

Abstract

ABSTRACT We investigate the nature of low-luminosity radio-loud active galactic nuclei (RLAGN) selected from the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) first data release (DR1). Using optical, mid-infrared, and radio data, we have conservatively selected 55 radiative AGN candidates from DR1 within the redshift range 0.03 < z < 0.1. We show using high-frequency Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) observations that 10 out of 55 objects show radio emission on scales >1–3 kpc, 42 are compact at the limiting resolution of 0.35 arcsec (taking an upper limit on the projected physical size, this corresponds to less than 1 kpc), and three are undetected. The extended objects display a wide range of radio morphologies: two-jet (5), one-jet (4), and double-lobed (1). We present the radio spectra of all detected radio sources which range from steep to flat/inverted and span the range seen for other compact radio sources such as compact symmetric objects (CSOs), compact steep spectrum (CSS) sources, and gigahertz peaked-spectrum (GPS) sources. Assuming synchrotron self-absorption (SSA) for flat/inverted radio spectrum sources, we predict small physical sizes for compact objects to range between 2 and 53 pc. Alternatively, using free–free absorption (FFA) models, we have estimated the free electron column depth for all compact objects, assuming a homogeneous absorber. We find that these objects do not occupy a special position on the power/linear size (P − D) diagram but some share a region with radio-quiet quasars (RQQs) and the so-called ‘FR0’ sources in terms of radio luminosity and linear size.