Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer Research Articles

Sample and Statistical Analysis on NEOWISE Variability of ATLASGAL Sources

This study focuses on the analysis of mid-infrared variability in a sample of high-mass young stellar objects (YSOs) associated with the cataloged sources from the APEX Telescope Large Area Survey of the Galaxy (ATLASGAL). The Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer Reactivation Mission (NEOWISE) database was used to explore the long-term mid-infrared variability of these high-mass YSOs at a half-year scale. After matching with NEOWISE photometric measurements, a total of 2230 ATLASGAL sources were selected for the variability analysis, out of which 717 were identified as variables. The derived proportions of variables at different evolutionary stages show that the variability rate of high-mass YSOs is highest during the YSO stage and decreases with evolution toward the H ii region stage, resembling the behavior of low-mass YSOs. The variables can be classified into six types based on their light curves, divided into two categories: secular (linear, sin, sin+linear) and stochastic variables (burst, drop, and irregular). The magnitude–color variations observed in ∼160 secular variables can be mainly divided into “bluer when brighter/redder when dimming” and “redder when brighter/bluer when dimming,” likely originating from changes in accretion rate or the effect of extinction due to obscuration. Moreover, several episodic accretion candidates were selected for further observational studies.

Revisiting the Dust Torus Size–Luminosity Relation Based on a Uniform Reverberation-mapping Analysis

We investigate the torus size–luminosity relation of Type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) based on the reverberation-mapping analysis using the light curves of the optical continuum and the IR continuum obtained with the W1 and W2 bands of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer survey. The final sample consists of 446 and 416 AGNs, respectively, for W1- and W2-band light curves, covering a large dynamic range of bolometric luminosity from 1043.4 to 1047.6 erg s−1, which show reliable lag measurements based on our quality assessment analysis. After correcting for the accretion disk contamination in the observed IR flux, we constrain the torus size (R dust) and AGN bolometric luminosity (L bol) relationship with the best-fit slope of 0.39 (0.33) for the W1 (W2) band, which is shallower than expected from the dust radiation equilibrium model. By combining the previous K-band lag measurements, we find that the measured torus size depends on the observed wavelength of the dust radiation, as R dust,K : R dust,W1: R dust,W2 = 1.0:1.5:1.8 (R dust ∝ λ 0.80) at L bol = 1046 erg s−1, confirming a stratified structure of the torus, where wavelength-dependent emissions originate from distinct regions of the torus. By investigating the deviation from the best-fit torus size–luminosity relation, we find a moderate correlation between the offset from the R dust–L bol relation and Eddington ratio. This suggests a possible influence of the Eddington ratio on the observed flattening of the R dust–L bol relationship.

The Massive and Distant Clusters of WISE Survey 2: Equatorial First Data Release

The Massive and Distant Clusters of WISE Survey 2 (MaDCoWS2) is a new survey designed as the successor of the original MaDCoWS survey. MaDCoWS2 improves upon its predecessor by using deeper optical and infrared data and a more powerful detection algorithm (PZWav). As input to the search, we use grz photometry from the DECam Legacy Survey (DECaLS) in combination with W1 and W2 photometry from the CatWISE2020 catalog to derive the photometric redshifts with full redshift probability distribution functions for Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)-selected galaxies. Cluster candidates are then detected using the PZWav algorithm to find three-dimensional galaxy overdensities from the sky positions and photometric redshifts. This paper provides the first MaDCoWS2 data release, covering 1461 (1838 without masking) deg2 centered on the Hyper-SuprimeCam Subaru Strategic Program equatorial fields. Within this region, we derive a catalog of 22,970 galaxy cluster candidates detected at a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) > 5. These clusters span the redshift range 0.1 < z < 2, including 1312 candidates at z > 1.5. We compare MaDCoWS2 to six existing catalogs in the area. We rediscover 60%–92% of the clusters in these surveys at S/N > 5. The medians of the absolute redshift offset are <0.02 relative to these surveys, while the standard deviations are less than 0.06. The median offsets between the detection position from MaDCoWS2 and other surveys are less than 0.25 Mpc. We quantify the relation between S/N and gas mass, total mass, luminosity, and richness from other surveys using a redshift-dependent power law relation. We find that the S/N-richness relation exhibits the lowest scatter.

Setting the Stage for the Search for Life with the Habitable Worlds Observatory: Properties of 164 Promising Planet-survey Targets

The Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics 2020 has recommended that NASA realize a large IR/optical/UV space telescope optimized for high-contrast imaging and spectroscopy of ∼25 exo-Earths and transformative general astrophysics. The NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program (ExEP) has subsequently released a list of 164 nearby (d < 25 pc) targets deemed the most accessible to survey for potentially habitable exoplanets with the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO). We present a catalog of system properties for the 164 ExEP targets, including 1744 abundance measurements for 14 elements from the Hypatia Catalog and 924 photometry measurements spanning from 151.6 nm to 22 μm in the GALEX, Strömgren, Tycho, Gaia, Two Micron All Sky Survey, and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer bandpasses. We independently derive stellar properties for these systems by modeling their spectral energy distributions with Bayesian model averaging. Additionally, by consulting the literature, we identify TESS flare rates for 46 stars, optical variability for 78 stars, and X-ray emission for 46 stars in our sample. We discuss our catalog in the context of planet habitability and draw attention to key gaps in our knowledge where precursor science can help to inform HWO mission design trade studies in the near future. Notably, only 33 of the 164 stars in our sample have reliable space-based UV measurements, and only 40 have a mid-IR measurement. We also find that phosphorus, a bioessential element, has only been measured in 11 of these stars, motivating future abundance surveys. Our catalog is publicly available and we advocate for its use in future studies of promising HWO targets.

Infrared Properties of Carbon Stars in Our Galaxy

We explore the characteristics of carbon stars within our Galaxy through a comprehensive analysis of observational data spanning visual and infrared (IR) bands. Leveraging data sets from IRAS, the Infrared Space Observatory, Akari, the Midcourse Space Experiment, the Two Micron All Sky Survey, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), Gaia DR3, AAVSO, and the SIMBAD object database, we conduct a detailed comparison between the observational data and theoretical models. To facilitate this comparison, we introduce various IR two-color diagrams (2CDs), IR color–magnitude diagrams (CMDs), and spectral energy distributions (SEDs). We find that the CMDs, which utilize the latest distance and extinction data from Gaia DR3 for a substantial number of carbon stars, are very useful for distinguishing carbon-rich asymptotic giant branch (CAGB) stars from extrinsic carbon stars that are not in the AGB phase. To enhance the accuracy of our analysis, we employ theoretical radiative transfer models for dust shells around CAGB stars. These theoretical dust shell models demonstrate a commendable ability to approximate the observations of CAGB stars across various SEDs, 2CDs, and CMDs. We present the infrared properties of known pulsating variables and explore the infrared variability of the sample stars by analyzing WISE photometric data spanning the last 14 years. Additionally, we present a novel catalog of CAGB stars, offering enhanced reliability and a wealth of additional information.

NEOMOD 3: The debiased size distribution of Near Earth Objects

Our previous model (NEOMOD2) for the orbital and absolute magnitude distribution of Near Earth Objects (NEOs) was calibrated on the Catalina Sky Survey observations between 2013 and 2022. Here we extend NEOMOD2 to include visible albedo information from the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer. The debiased albedo distribution of NEOs can be approximated by the sum of two Rayleigh distributions with the scale parameters pV,dark≃0.03 and pV,bright≃0.17. We find evidence for smaller NEOs having (on average) higher albedos than larger NEOs; this is likely a consequence of the size-dependent sampling of different main belt sources. These inferences and the absolute magnitude distribution from NEOMOD2 are used to construct the debiased size distribution of NEOs. We estimate 830±60 NEOs with diameters D>1 km and 20,000±2,000 NEOs with D>140 m. The new model, NEOMOD3, is available via the NEOMOD Simulator — an easy-to-operate code that can be used to generate user-defined samples (orbits, sizes and albedos) from the model.

UPCluster-SZ: The Updated Catalog of Galaxy Clusters from the List of Planck Sunyaev–Zel’dovich Sources

We present the updated galaxy cluster catalog of the second Planck catalog of Sunyaev–Zel’dovich sources (PSZ2) through the compilation of the data for clusters and galaxies with spectroscopically measured redshifts in the literature. The original version of PSZ2 comprises 1653 Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (SZ) sources, of which 1203 have been validated as genuine galaxy clusters, while the remaining 450 sources are yet to be validated. To increase the number of genuine clusters in PSZ2, we first update the validations of the cluster candidates and their redshift information using the data compiled for the confirmed clusters and the member galaxies in the literature. We then use the galaxy redshift data in the fields of the remaining cluster candidates by searching for possible member galaxies with measured spectroscopic redshifts around the SZ centroids. In this search process, we classify clusters as strong candidates if they contain more than nine galaxies within a 4500 km s−1 velocity range and within 15′ around the SZ centroids. This process results in the validation of 139 new genuine clusters, the update of redshift information on 399 clusters, and the identification of 10 strong candidates, which increases the number of validated clusters up to 1334 among the 1653 SZ sources. Our updated galaxy cluster catalog will be very useful for studies of galaxy formation and cosmology through a combination with other all-sky surveys including the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and SPHEREx.

The Quasar Catalogue for S-PLUS DR4 (QuCatS) and the estimation of photometric redshifts

ABSTRACT The advent of massive broad-band photometric surveys enabled photometric redshift estimates for unprecedented numbers of galaxies and quasars. These estimates can be improved using better algorithms or by obtaining complementary data such as narrow-band photometry, and broad-band photometry over an extended wavelength range. We investigate the impact of both approaches on photometric redshifts for quasars using data from Southern Photometric Local Universe Survey (S-PLUS) DR4, Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) DR6/7, and the unWISE catalog for the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) in three machine learning methods: Random Forest, Flexible Conditional Density Estimation (FlexCoDE), and Bayesian Mixture Density Network (BMDN). Including narrow-band photometry improves the root-mean-square error by 11 per cent in comparison to a model trained with only broad-band photometry. Narrow-band information only provided an improvement of 3.8 per cent when GALEX and WISE colours were included. Thus, narrow bands play a more important role for objects that do not have GALEX or WISE counterparts, which respectively makes 92 per cent and 25 per cent of S-PLUS data considered here. Nevertheless, the inclusion of narrow-band information provided better estimates of the probability density functions obtained with FlexCoDE and BMDN. We publicly release a value-added catalogue of photometrically selected quasars with the photo-z predictions from all methods studied here. The catalogue provided with this work covers the S-PLUS DR4 area (∼3000 square degrees), containing 645 980, 244 912, 144 991 sources with the probability of being a quasar higher than, 80 per cent, 90 per cent, 95 per cent up to r &amp;lt; 21.3 and good photometry quality in the detection image. More quasar candidates can be retrieved from the S-PLUS data base by considering less restrictive selection criteria.

WTP 10aaauow: discovery of a new FU Ori outburst towards the RCW 49 star-forming region in NEOWISE data

ABSTRACT Large-amplitude accretion outbursts in young stars are expected to play a central role in protostellar assembly. Outburst identification historically has taken place using optical techniques, but recent, systematic infrared searches are enabling their discovery in heavily dust-obscured regions of the Galactic plane. Here, we present the discovery of Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer transient pipeline (WTP) 10aaauow, a large-amplitude mid-infrared (MIR) outburst identified in a systematic search of NEOWISE data using new image subtraction techniques. The source is located towards the RCW 49 star-forming region, and estimated to be at a distance of ≈4 kpc via Gaia parallax measurement. Concurrent with the MIR brightening, the source underwent a ≳5 mag outburst in the optical and near-infrared (NIR) bands, reaching a peak luminosity of ≈260 L⊙ in 2014–2015, followed by a slow decline over the next 7 yr. Analysis of the pre- and post-outburst spectral energy distributions reveals a pre-outburst stellar photosphere at a temperature of 3600–4000 K, surrounded by a likely two-component dust structure similar to a flat-spectrum or Class I type young stellar object. We present optical and NIR spectroscopy that shows a GK-type spectrum in the optical bands exhibiting complex line profiles in strong absorption features, and evidence for a wind reaching a terminal velocity of ≈400 km s−1. The NIR bands are characterized by a cooler M-type spectrum exhibiting a forest of atomic and molecular features. Alltogether, the spectra demonstrate that WTP 10aaauow is an FU Ori type outburst. Ongoing systematic infrared searches will continue to reveal the extent of this population in the Galactic disc.

Morphological Classification of Infrared Galaxies Based on WISE

This study introduces a novel convolutional neural network, the WISE Galaxy Classification Network (WGC), for classifying spiral and elliptical galaxies using Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) images. WGC attains an accuracy of 89.03%, surpassing the combined use of K-means or SVM with the Color–Color method in more accurately identifying galaxy morphologies. The enhanced variant, WGC_mag, integrates magnitude parameters with image features, further boosting the accuracy to 89.89%. The research also delves into the criteria for galaxy classification, discovering that WGC primarily categorizes dust-rich images as elliptical galaxies, corresponding to their lower star formation rates, and classifies less dusty images as spiral galaxies. The paper explores the consistency and complementarity of WISE infrared images with SDSS optical images in galaxy morphology classification. The SDSS Galaxy Classification Network (SGC), trained on SDSS images, achieved an accuracy of 94.64%. The accuracy reached 99.30% when predictions from SGC and WGC were consistent. Leveraging the complementarity of features in WISE and SDSS images, a novel variant of a classifier, namely the Multi-band Galaxy Morphology Integrated Classifier, has been developed. This classifier elevates the overall prediction accuracy to 95.39%. Lastly, the versatility of WGC was validated in other data sets. On the HyperLEDA data set, the distinction between elliptical galaxies and Sc, Scd and Sd spiral galaxies was most pronounced, achieving an accuracy of 90%, surpassing the classification results of the Galaxy Zoo 2 labeled WISE data set. This research not only demonstrates the effectiveness of WISE images in galaxy morphology classification but also represents an attempt to integrate multi-band astronomical data to enhance understanding of galaxy structures and evolution.

The Awakening of a Blazar at Redshift 2.7 Temporally Coincident with the Arrival of Cospatial Neutrino Event IceCube-201221A

We report on multiwavelength studies of a blazar NVSS J171822+423948, which is identified as the low-energy counterpart of 4FGL J1718.5+4237, the unique γ-ray source known to be cospatial with the IceCube neutrino event IC-201221A. After a 12 yr long quiescent period undetected by Fermi-LAT, γ-ray activities with a tenfold flux increase emerge soon (a few tens of days) after the arrival of the neutrino. Associated optical flares in the Zwicky Transient Facility g, r, and i bands are observed together with elevated Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer infrared fluxes. Synchronized variations suggest that both the γ-ray emission and the neutrino event are connected to the blazar. Furthermore, the optical spectrum reveals emission lines at a redshift z = 2.68 ± 0.01. Thus, it is the first candidate for a neutrino-emitting blazar at the redshift above 2. Discussions of theoretical constraints of neutrino production and comparisons with other candidates are presented.

Alignments in the orientation of radio jets from AGN and their host galaxies

It is well established that active galactic nuclei (AGNs) play an important role in the evolution of galaxies. These AGNs can be linked to the accretion processes onto massive black holes and past merger events in their host galaxies, which may lead to different alignments of the jets with respect to the host galaxies. This paper presents a study of the position angle (PA) differences between radio and optical images of radio-AGNs based on the second data release (DR2) of the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) Two-Meter Sky Survey (LoTSS), the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters Survey (FIRST), the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Legacy Imaging Surveys, and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We assessed PA measurement biases in the data and classified the radio-AGNs based on the radio luminosity and infrared colour from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). This resulted in the largest sample of radio AGNs with reliable radio and optical PA measurements published to date, with a total of 3682 AGNs. The PA difference (dPA) distributions for the radio-AGN sample show a prominent minor-axis alignment tendency. Based on some simple assumptions, we simulated the projection effect to estimate the intrinsic jet--galaxy alignment. The observed dPA distribution can be well described by a two-component jet-alignment model in which one component is more aligned with the minor axis of the host galaxy than the other. The fitting results indicate that the jet alignment is dependent on radio luminosity and the shape of the host galaxies, with the jets being more likely to be aligned with the minor axis of the galaxy for lower radio luminosity and for optically more elongated radio-AGNs. The minor-axis alignment of the entire sample may suggest a coherent accretion model present in most AGN host galaxies, while a considerable number of luminous radio-AGNs with massive host galaxies might have undergone accretion ---according to the chaotic model--- or past merger events.

A serendipitous discovery of H i-rich galaxy groups with MeerKAT

ABSTRACT We report on the serendipitous discovery of 49 H i-rich galaxies in a 2.3 h Open Time observation with MeerKAT. We present their properties including their H i masses, intensity and velocity maps, and spectra. We determine that at least three H i-rich galaxy groups have been detected, potentially as part of a supergroup. Some members of these galaxy groups show clear interaction with each other in their H i emission. We cross-match the detections with PanSTARRS, Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, and Galaxy Evolution Explorer, and obtain stellar masses and star formation rates. One source is found to be a potential OH megamaser, but further follow-up is required to confidently determine this. For six sources with sufficient spatial resolution in H i, we produce rotation curves with BBarolo, generate mass models, and derive a dark matter halo mass. While the number of galaxies detected in this relatively short pointing appears to be at the high end of expectations compared to other MeerKAT observations and group H i mass function studies, this finding highlights the capability of MeerKAT for other serendipitous discoveries, and the potential for many more H i-rich galaxies to be revealed within both existing and upcoming Open Time data sets.

High energy gamma-ray sources in the VVV survey - II. The AGN counterparts

ABSTRACT We identified Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) candidates as counterparts to unidentified gamma-ray sources (UGS) from the Fermi-LAT Fourth Source Catalogue at lower Galactic latitudes. Our methodology is based on the use of near- and mid-infrared photometric data from the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) surveys. The AGN candidates associated with the UGS occupy very different regions from the stars and extragalactic sources in the colour space defined by the VVV and WISE infrared colours. We found 27 near-infrared AGN candidates possibly associated with 14 Fermi-LAT sources using the VVV survey. We also found 2 blazar candidates in the regions of 2 Fermi-LAT sources using WISE data. There is no match between VVV and WISE candidates. We have also examined the Ks light curves of the VVV candidates and applied the fractional variability amplitude (σrms) and the slope of variation in the Ks passband to characterise the near-infrared variability. This analysis shows that more than 85 per cent of the candidates have slopes in the Ks passband &amp;gt;10−4 mag/day and present σrms values consistent with a moderate variability. This is in good agreement with typical results seen from type-1 AGN. The combination of YJHKs colours and Ks variability criteria was useful for AGN selection, including its use in identifying counterparts to Fermi γ-ray sources.

A Reverberation Mapping Study of a Highly Variable Active Galactic Nucleus 6dFGS gJ022550.0-060145

We use LCOGT observations (MJD 59434−59600) with a total exposure time of ≃50 hr and a median cadence of 0.5 day to measure the interband time delays (with respect to u) in the g, r, and i continua of a highly variable active galactic nucleus (AGN), 6dFGS gJ022550.0-060145. We also calculate the expected time delays of the X-ray reprocessing of a static Shakura–Sunyaev disk according to the source's luminosity and virial black hole mass; the two parameters are measured from the optical spectrum of our spectroscopic observation via the Lijiang 2.4 m telescope. It is found that the ratio of the measured time delays to the predicted ones is 2.6−1.3+1.3 . With optical light curves (MJD 53650–59880) from our new LCOGT and archival Zwicky Transient Facility, Pan-STARRS, Catalina Sky Survey, and ATLAS observations, and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) data (MJD 55214−59055), we also measured time delays between WISE W1/W2 and the optical emission. W1 and W2 have time delays (with respect to V), 9.6−1.6+2.9×102 days and 1.18−0.10+0.13×103 days in the rest frame, respectively; hence, the dusty torus of 6dFGS gJ022550.0-060145 should be compact. The time delays of the W1 and W2 bands are higher than the dusty torus size–luminosity relationship of Lyu et al. By comparing the infrared and optical variability amplitude, we find that the dust-covering factors of the W1 and W2 emission regions are 0.7 and 0.6, respectively. Future broad emission-line reverberation mapping of this target and the results of this work enable us to determine the sizes of the AGN main components simultaneously.

Physical Properties of Hyperluminous, Dust-obscured Quasars at z ∼ 3: Multiwavelength Spectral Energy Distribution Analysis and Cold Gas Content Revealed by ALMA

We present a UV to millimeter spectral energy distribution (SED) analysis of 16 hyperluminous, dust-obscured quasars at z ∼ 3, selected by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. We aim to investigate the physical properties of these quasars, with a focus on their molecular gas content. We decompose the SEDs into three components: stellar, cold dust, and active galactic nucleus (AGN). By doing so, we are able to derive and analyze the relevant properties of each component. We determine the molecular gas mass from CO line emission based on Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations. By including ALMA observations in the multiwavelength SED analysis, we derive the molecular gas fractions, gas depletion timescales, and star formation efficiencies (SFEs). Their sample median and 16th–84th quartile ranges are fgas∼0.33−0.17+0.33 , t depl ∼ 39−28+85 Myr, and SFE ∼ 297−195+659 K km s−1 pc−2, respectively. Compared to main-sequence galaxies, they have lower molecular gas content and higher SFEs, similar to quasars in the literature. This suggests that the gas in these quasars is rapidly depleted, likely as the result of intense starburst activity and AGN feedback. The observed correlations between these properties and the AGN luminosities further support this scenario. Additionally, we infer the black hole to stellar mass ratio and black hole mass growth rate, which indicate significant central black hole mass assembly over short timescales. Our results are consistent with the scenario that our sample represents a short transition phase toward unobscured quasars.

Recognizing Blazars Using Radio Morphology from the VLA Sky Survey

Blazars are radio-loud active galactic nuclei whose jets have a very small angle to our line of sight. Observationally, the radio emissions are mostly compact or compact-core with a one-sided jet. With 2.″5 resolution at 3 GHz, the Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS) enables us to resolve the structure of some blazar candidates in the sky north of decl. −40°. We introduce an algorithm to classify radio sources as either blazar-like or non-blazar-like based on their morphology in the VLASS images. We apply our algorithm to three existing catalogs, including one of the known blazars (Roma-BzCAT) and two blazar candidates identified by Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer colors and radio emission (WIBRaLS, KDEBLLACS). We show that in all three catalogs, there are objects with morphologies inconsistent with being blazars. Considering all the catalogs, more than 12% of the candidates are unlikely to be blazars, based on this analysis. Notably, we show that 3% of the Roma-BzCAT confirmed blazars could be a misclassification based on their VLASS morphology. The resulting table with all sources and their radio morphological classification is available online.

Quaia, the Gaia-unWISE Quasar Catalog: An All-sky Spectroscopic Quasar Sample

We present a new, all-sky quasar catalog, Quaia, that samples the largest comoving volume of any existing spectroscopic quasar sample. The catalog draws on the 6,649,162 quasar candidates identified by the Gaia mission that have redshift estimates from the space observatory’s low-resolution blue photometer/red photometer spectra. This initial sample is highly homogeneous and complete, but has low purity, and 18% of even the bright (G < 20.0) confirmed quasars have discrepant redshift estimates (∣Δz/(1 + z)∣ > 0.2) compared to those from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). In this work, we combine the Gaia candidates with unWISE infrared data (based on the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer survey) to construct a catalog useful for cosmological and astrophysical quasar studies. We apply cuts based on proper motions and colors, reducing the number of contaminants by approximately four times. We improve the redshifts by training a k-Nearest Neighbor model on SDSS redshifts, and achieve estimates on the G < 20.0 sample with only 6% (10%) catastrophic errors with ∣Δz/(1 + z)∣ > 0.2 (0.1), a reduction of approximately three times (approximately two times) compared to the Gaia redshifts. The final catalog has 1,295,502 quasars with G < 20.5, and 755,850 candidates in an even cleaner G < 20.0 sample, with accompanying rigorous selection function models. We compare Quaia to existing quasar catalogs, showing that its large effective volume makes it a highly competitive sample for cosmological large-scale structure analyses. The catalog is publicly available at 10.5281/zenodo.10403370.

The Remarkable Predictive Power of Infrared Data of Blazars

Blazars are the brightest and most abundant persistent sources in the extragalactic γ-ray sky. Due to their significance, they are often observed across various energy bands, where the data of which can be used to explore potential correlations between emission at different energies, yielding valuable insights into the emission processes of their powerful jets. In this study we utilized IR data at 3.4 and 4.6 μm from the Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer Reactivation Mission, spanning 8 yr of observations, X-ray data from the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory collected throughout the satellite’s lifetime, and 12 years of γ-ray measurements from the Fermi Large Area Telescope’s all-sky survey. Our analysis reveals that the IR spectral slope reliably predicts the peak frequency and maximum intensity of the synchrotron component of blazar spectral energy distributions, provided it is uncontaminated by radiation unrelated to the jet. A notable correlation between the IR and γ-ray fluxes was observed, with the BL Lacertae subclass of blazars displaying a strong correlation coefficient of r = 0.80. IR band variability is more pronounced in flat spectrum radio quasars than in BL Lacertae objects, with mean fractional variability values of 0.65 and 0.35, respectively. We also observed that the synchrotron peak intensity of intermediate-high-energy-peaked objects can forecast their detectability at very high γ-ray energies. We used this predicting power to identify objects in current catalogs that could meet the detection threshold of the Cerenkov Telescope Array extragalactic survey, which should encompass approximately 180 blazars.

An Excess of Active Galactic Nuclei Triggered by Galaxy Mergers in MaNGA Galaxies of Stellar Mass ∼1011 M ⊙

To facilitate new studies of galaxy-merger-driven fueling of active galactic nuclei (AGNs), we present a catalog of 387 AGNs that we have identified in the final population of over 10,000 z < 0.15 galaxies observed by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-IV (SDSS-IV) integral field spectroscopy survey Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA). We selected the AGNs via mid-infrared Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer colors, Swift/Burst Alert Telescope ultra-hard X-ray detections, NRAO Very Large Array Sky Survey and Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty centimeters radio observations, and broad emission lines in SDSS spectra. By combining the MaNGA AGN catalog with a new SDSS catalog of galaxy mergers that were identified based on a suite of hydrodynamical simulations of merging galaxies, we study the link between galaxy mergers and nuclear activity for AGNs above a limiting bolometric luminosity of 1044.4 erg s−1. We find an excess of AGNs in mergers, relative to nonmergers, for galaxies with stellar mass ∼1011 M ⊙, where the AGN excess is somewhat stronger in major mergers than in minor mergers. Further, when we combine minor and major mergers and sort by merger stage, we find that the highest AGN excess occurs in post-coalescence mergers in the highest-mass galaxies. However, we find no evidence of a correlation between galaxy mergers and AGN luminosity or accretion rate. In summary, while galaxy mergers overall do appear to trigger or enhance AGN activity more than nonmergers, they do not seem to induce higher levels of accretion or higher luminosities. We provide the MaNGA AGN Catalog and the MaNGA Galaxy Merger Catalog for the community here.