On the optical counterparts of radio transients and variables

Abstract

We investigate the relation between the radio (F_r) and optical (F_o) flux densities of a variety of classes of radio transients and variables, with the aim of analysing whether this information can be used, in the future, to classify such events. Using flux density values between 1-10 GHz and the optical bands V and R, we build a sample with a total of 12,441 F_r and F_o measurements. The sample contains both Galactic objects, such as stellar sources and X-ray binaries, and extragalactic objects, such as gamma-ray bursts and quasars. By directly comparing the two parameters, it is already possible to distinguish between the Galactic and extragalactic populations. Although individual classes are harder to separate from the F_r-F_o parameter space to a high accuracy, and can only provide approximations, the basic approach provides an already useful foundation to develop a more accurate classification technique. In addition, we illustrate how example objects from different classes move in the parameter space as they evolve over time, offering a feature that could be used to reduce the confusion between classes. A small, blind test of the classification performance is also undertaken using a catalogue of FIRST transient and variable sources, to demonstrate the advantages and current limitations of the approach. With more multi-wavelength data becoming available in the future, we discuss other classification techniques which the F_r-F_o method could be combined with and potentially become an important part of an automatic radio transient classification system.

arXiv comment26 pages, 13 figures, 8 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS

References in corpus (165)

• The Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Technical Summary
• Validation of the new Hipparcos reduction
• The ATNF Pulsar Catalogue
• LOFAR: The LOw-Frequency ARray
• SDSS-III: Massive Spectroscopic Surveys of the Distant Universe, the Milky Way Galaxy, and Extra-Solar Planetary Systems
• The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey of SDSS-III
• Composite Quasar Spectra From the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
• The ATNF Pulsar Catalogue
• The Murchison Widefield Array: the Square Kilometre Array Precursor at low radio frequencies
• Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network
• The Palomar Transient Factory: System Overview, Performance and First Results
• The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Catalog V. Seventh Data Release
• The McGill Magnetar Catalog
• Exploring the Optical Transient Sky with the Palomar Transient Factory
• Relativistic ejecta from XRF 060218 and the rate of cosmic explosions
• The Expanded Very Large Array -- a New Telescope for New Science
• The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Catalog IV. Fifth Data Release
• The First Systematic Study of Type Ibc Supernova Multi-band Light Curves
• Science with ASKAP - the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder
• Catalogue of high-mass X-ray binaries in the Galaxy ($4^{th}$ edition)
• An Open Catalog for Supernova Data
• The afterglow and elliptical host galaxy of the short gamma-ray burst GRB 050724
• Rapidly-Evolving and Luminous Transients from Pan-STARRS1
• A catalogue of low-mass X-ray binaries in the Galaxy, LMC, and SMC (Fourth edition)
• Efficient Photometric Selection of Quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: II. ~1,000,000 Quasars from Data Release Six
• A Common Origin for Cosmic Explosions Inferred from Fireball Calorimetry
• Stellar Radio Astronomy. Probing Stellar Atmospheres from Protostars to Giants
• The Distance to SN 1999em in NGC 1637 from the Expanding Photosphere Method
• A Relativistic Type Ibc Supernova Without a Detected Gamma-ray Burst
• On Machine-Learned Classification of Variable Stars with Sparse and Noisy Time-Series Data
• Optical and Radio Observations of the Afterglow from GRB990510: Evidence for a Jet
• The Afterglow, Energetics and Host Galaxy of the Short-Hard Gamma-Ray Burst 051221a
• The Sloan Digital Sky Survey quasar catalog: ninth data release
• A 450-day light curve of the radio afterglow of GRB 970508: Fireball calorimetry
• The metamorphosis of Supernova SN2008D/XRF080109: a link between Supernovae and GRBs/Hypernovae
• A Radio-Selected Sample of Gamma Ray Burst Afterglows
• PTF11eon/SN2011dh: Discovery of a Type IIb Supernova From a Compact Progenitor in the Nearby Galaxy M51
• The SDSS Coadd: 275 deg^2 of Deep SDSS Imaging on Stripe 82
• The Parkes multibeam pulsar survey: IV. Discovery of 180 pulsars and parameters for 281 previously known pulsars
• Spectroscopy of the Host Galaxy of the Gamma--Ray Burst 980703
• The first accurate parallax distance to a black hole
• Discovery of the Low-Redshift Optical Afterglow of GRB 011121 and Its Progenitor Supernova 2001ke
• The Radio and X-ray Luminous SN 2003bg and the Circumstellar Density Variations Around Radio Supernovae
• Observations of the Naked-Eye GRB 080319B: Implications of Nature's Brightest Explosion
• Extensive optical and near-infrared observations of the nearby, narrow-lined type Ic SN 2007gr: days 5 to 415
• Automating Discovery and Classification of Transients and Variable Stars in the Synoptic Survey Era
• Orphan GRB radio afterglows: Candidates and constraints on beaming
• Radio and X-Ray Emission as Probes of Type IIP Supernovae and Red Supergiant Mass Loss
• A transient radio jet in an erupting dwarf nova
• The detailed optical light curve of GRB 030329
• Discovery of a Radio Flare from GRB 990123
• Two Type Ic supernovae in low-metallicity, dwarf galaxies: diversity of explosions
• X-ray, Optical, and Radio Observations of the Type II Supernovae 1999em and 1998S
• The Radio Evolution of the Ordinary Type Ic SN 2002ap
• The Caltech-NRAO Stripe 82 Survey (CNSS) Paper I: The Pilot Radio Transient Survey In 50 deg${}^2$
• A Complete Survey of the Transient Radio Sky and Implications for Gamma-Ray Bursts, Supernovae, and other Relativistic Explosions
• The GRB 060218/SN 2006aj event in the context of other Gamma-Ray Burst Supernovae
• A log N(HI) = 22.6 DLA in a dark gamma-ray burst: the environment of GRB 050401
• Spectral and Timing Evolution of the Black Hole X-ray Nova 4U 1543-47 During its 2002 Outburst
• VLT spectroscopy of GRB 990510 and GRB 990712; probing the faint and bright end of the GRB host galaxy population
• Supernova 2002ap - The First Month
• Variable Star Network: World Center for Transient Object Astronomy and Variable Stars
• Modulations in the radio light curve of the Type IIb Supernova 2001ig: Evidence for a Wolf-Rayet binary progenitor?
• SubmilliJansky Transients in Archival Radio Observations
• Very high column density and small reddening towards GRB 020124 at z = 3.20
• The Afterglows, Redshifts, and Properties of Swift Gamma-Ray Bursts
• The Ultimate Light Curve of SN 1998bw/GRB 980425
• SN 2009bb: a Peculiar Broad-Lined Type Ic Supernova
• Multi-Wavelength Observations of GRB 050820A: An Exceptionally Energetic Event Followed from Start to Finish
• Optical Spectropolarimetry of the GRB 020813 Afterglow
• Formation of the compact jets in the black hole GX 339-4
• GRB 011121: A Massive Star Progenitor
• Initial low/hard state, multiple jet ejections and X-ray/radio correlations during the outburst of XTE J1859+226
• A Jet Model for the Afterglow Emission from GRB000301C
• Long Term Radio Monitoring of SN 1993J
• The Faint Optical Afterglow and Host Galaxy of GRB 020124: Implications for the Nature of Dark Gamma-Ray Bursts
• Hypernova Signatures in the Late Rebrightening of GRB 050525A
• Optical and infrared observations of the Type IIP SN2002hh from day 3 to 397
• The complete spectrum of the neutron star X-ray binary 4U0614+091
• High-resolution VLA Imaging of SDSS Stripe 82 at 1.4 GHz
• The Radio and X-ray Luminous Type Ibc Supernova 2003L
• Optical and near-infrared observations of the GRB020405 afterglow
• The extraordinarily bright optical afterglow of GRB 991208 and its host galaxy
• A comprehensive study of GRB 070125, a most energetic gamma ray burst
• An Early & Comprehensive Millimeter and Centimeter Wave and X-ray Study of Supernova 2011dh: A Non-Equipartition Blastwave Expanding into A Massive Stellar Wind
• The Discovery and Broad-band Follow-up of the Transient Afterglow of GRB 980703
• The correlated optical and radio variability of BL Lacertae. WEBT data analysis 1994-2005
• The Discovery of the Radio Afterglow From the Optically Dim Gamma-Ray Burst of March 29, 1998
• A Revised View of the Transient Radio Sky
• The Enigmatic Radio Afterglow of GRB 991216
• A VLA search for 5 GHz radio transients and variables at low Galactic latitudes
• Optical and Near Infrared Monitoring of the Black-Hole X-ray Binary GX 339-4 During 2002-2010
• X-ray Nova XTE J1550-564: RXTE Spectral Observations
• Variable and Transient Radio Sources in the FIRST Survey
• The 2002 Outburst of the Black-Hole X-ray Binary 4U 1543-47: Optical and Infrared Light Curves
• The long-lasting activity of 3C 454.3. GASP-WEBT and satellite observations in 2008-2010
• Multi-Wavelength Properties of the Type IIb SN 2008ax
• SN2011hs: a Fast and Faint Type IIb Supernova from a Supergiant Progenitor
• The variability timescales and brightness temperatures of radio flares from stars to supermassive black holes
• The optical afterglow and host galaxy of GRB000926
• SN 2003bg: The First Type IIb Hypernova
• Radio and X-ray Observations of the Type Ic SN 2007gr Reveal an Ordinary, Non-relativistic Explosion
• The 1997 hard state outburst of the X-ray transient GS 1354-64 / BW Cir
• LOFAR MSSS: Detection of a low-frequency radio transient in 400 hrs of monitoring of the North Celestial Pole
• Radio Observations Reveal Unusual Circumstellar Environments for Some Type Ibc Supernova Progenitors
• GRB 071003: Broadband Follow-up Observations of a Very Bright Gamma-Ray Burst in a Galactic Halo
• The Near Infrared and Multiwavelength Afterglow of GRB 000301c
• iPTF14yb: The First Discovery of a GRB Afterglow Independent of a High-Energy Trigger
• Optical, ultraviolet, and infrared observations of isolated neutron stars
• Type IIP Supernova SN 2004et: A Multi-Wavelength Study in X-Ray, Optical and Radio
• GRB 090313 and the Origin of Optical Peaks in GRB Light Curves: Implications for Lorentz Factors and Radio Flares
• Detection of the radial velocity curve of the B5-A0 supergiant companion star of Cir X-1?
• First Results from Pan-STARRS1: Faint, High Proper Motion White Dwarfs in the Medium-Deep Fields
• SN 2007bg: The Complex Circumstellar Environment Around One of the Most Radio-Luminous Broad-Lined Type Ic Supernovae
• The Broadband Afterglow of GRB980703
• Radio Emission from SN 1988Z and Very Massive Star Evolution
• Multicolor observations of the afterglow of the short/hard GRB 050724
• Low-resolution VLT spectroscopy of GRBs 991216, 011211 and 021211
• Infrared and Optical Observations of GRB 030115 and its Extremely Red Host Galaxy: Implications for Dark Bursts
• GRB 000418: A Hidden Jet Revealed?
• Multi-wavelength observations of the energetic GRB 080810: detailed mapping of the broadband spectral evolution
• The Unusually Long Duration Gamma-ray Burst GRB 000911
• The redshift determination of GRB 990506 and GRB 000418 with the Echellete Spectrograph Imager on Keck
• GRO J1655-40: Early Stages of the 2005 Outburst
• Transient radio emisison from SAX J1808.4-3658
• A Radio Flare from GRB 020405: Evidence for a Uniform Medium Around a Massive Stellar Progenitor
• The Radio Afterglow From GRB 980519: A Test of the Jet and Circumstellar Models
• The optical counterpart of SAX J1808.4-3658, the transient bursting millisecond X-ray pulsar
• GRB 090902B: afterglow observations and implications
• The 2011 Outburst of Recurrent Nova T Pyx: Radio Observations Reveal the Ejecta Mass and Hint at Complex Mass Loss
• The Bright Gamma-Ray Burst 991208 - Tight Constraints on Afterglow Models from Observations of the Early-Time Radio Evolution
• Long-term variability of high-mass X-ray binaries. I.Photometry
• A faint optical flash in dust-obscured GRB 080603A - implications for GRB prompt emission mechanisms
• A unified supernova catalogue
• Afterglow rebrightenings as a signature of a long-lasting central engine activity? The emblematic case of GRB 100814A
• Optical and NIR Observations of the Afterglow of GRB 020813
• The Photometric Classification Server for Pan-STARRS1
• Radio and X-ray Observations of PSR B0540-69
• SN 2007uy - metamorphosis of an aspheric Type Ib explosion
• Radio Emission from SN 1994I in NGC 5194 (M 51) - The Best Studied Type Ib/c Radio Supernova
• Long duration radio transients lacking optical counterparts are possibly Galactic Neutron Stars
• The Rapidly Flaring Afterglow of the Very Bright and Energetic GRB 070125
• The Recurrent Nova T Pyx: Distance and Remnant Geometry from Light Echoes
• Double radio peak and non-thermal collimated ejecta in RS Ophiuchi following the 2006 outburst
• X-ray Nova XTE J1550-564: Optical Observations
• Automatic classification of time-variable X-ray sources
• The nature of supernovae 2010O and 2010P in Arp 299 - II. Radio emission
• The optical counterpart of XTE J0929-314, the third transient millisecond X-ray pulsar
• Monitoring of the prompt radio emission from the unusual supernova 2004dj in NGC2403
• Wind, jet, hybrid corona and hard X-ray flares: multiwavelength evolution of GRO J1655-40 during the 2005 outburst rise
• Detailed Radio View on Two Stellar Explosions and Their Host Galaxy: XRF080109/SN2008D and SN2007uy in NGC2770
• The Distances of the Galactic Novae
• Continued Radio Monitoring of the Gamma Ray Burst 991208
• EVLA Nova Project Observations of the Classical Nova V1723 Aquilae
• Swift Observations of GRB 050603: An afterglow with a steep late time decay slope
• Distances of CVs and related objects derived from Gaia Data Release 1
• ASGARD: A Large Survey for Slow Galactic Radio Transients. I. Overview and First Results
• Radio observations of GRB 100418a: Test of an energy injection model explaining long-lasting GRB afterglows
• A Modeling of the Super-Eddington Luminosity in Nova Outbursts: V1974 Cygni
• GRB 970228 and GRB 980329 and the Nature of Their Host Galaxie
• Transient Astrophysics with the Square Kilometre Array
• Optical and Radio observations of the bright GRB010222 afterglow: evidence for rapid synchrotron cooling?
• A search for optical bursts from the rotating radio transient J1819-1458 with ULTRACAM
• A search for optical bursts from RRAT J1819-1458: II. Simultaneous ULTRACAM-Lovell Telescope observations
• On the use of variability time-scales as an early classifier of radio transients and variables

Cited by in corpus (8)

• 21 new long-term variables in the GX 339-4 field: two years of MeerKAT monitoring
• Classification of Multiwavelength Transients with Machine Learning
• Search and identification of transient and variable radio sources using MeerKAT observations: a case study on the MAXI J1820+070 field
• Bursts from Space: MeerKAT - The first citizen science project dedicated to commensal radio transients
• Commensal Transient Searches in Eight Short Gamma Ray Burst Fields
• The ASKAP Variables and Slow Transients (VAST) Pilot Survey
• Detecting intermediate mass black holes in midiquasars with current and future surveys
• The stellar population in the SARAO MeerKAT Galactic Plane Survey