Unmasking the history of 3C 293 with LOFAR sub-arcsecond imaging

Abstract

Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) show episodic activity, evident in galaxies that exhibit restarted radio jets. These restarted jets can interact with their environment, leaving signatures on the radio spectral energy distribution. Tracing these signatures requires resolved spectral index measurements over a broad frequency range including low frequencies. We present such a study for the radio galaxy 3C 293. Using the International LOFAR telescope (ILT) we probed spatial scales as fine as ~0.2" at 144 MHz, and to constrain the spectrum we combined these data with Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) and Very Large Array (VLA) archival data. In the inner lobes (~2 kpc), we detect the presence of a spectral turnover that peaks at ~225 MHz and is most likely caused by free-free absorption from the rich surrounding medium. We confirm that these inner lobes are part of a jet-dominated young radio source (spectral age $\lesssim$0.17 Myr), which is strongly interacting with the rich interstellar medium (ISM) of the host galaxy. The outer lobes (~100 kpc) have a spectral index of $\alpha$~0.6-0.8 from 144-4850 MHz with a remarkably uniform spatial distribution and only mild spectral curvature ($\Delta \alpha \lesssim$ 0.2). We propose that intermittent fuelling and jet flow disruptions are powering the mechanisms that keep the spectral index in the outer lobes from steepening and maintain the spatial uniformity of the spectral index. Overall, it appears that 3C 293 has gone through multiple (two to three) epochs of activity. This study adds 3C 293 to the new sub-group of restarted galaxies with short interruption time periods. This is the first time a spatially resolved study simultaneously studies a young source as well as the older outer lobes at such low frequencies. This illustrates the potential of the ILT to expand such studies to a larger sample of radio galaxies.

arXiv commentAccepted for a special issue of A&A on sub-arcsecond imaging with LOFAR

References in corpus (98)

• LOFAR: The LOw-Frequency ARray
• Overview of the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys
• WSClean: an implementation of a fast, generic wide-field imager for radio astronomy
• The GMRT 150 MHz All-sky Radio Survey: First Alternative Data Release TGSS ADR1
• The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey - I. Survey Description and Preliminary Data Release
• The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey - II. First data release
• An Accurate Flux Density Scale from 1 to 50 GHz
• A morphological algorithm for improving radio-frequency interference detection
• Ionospheric Calibration of Low Frequency Radio Interferometric Observations using the Peeling Scheme: I. Method Description and First Results
• An optimized algorithm for multi-scale wideband deconvolution of radio astronomical images
• An X-ray study of magnetic field strengths and particle content in FRII radio sources
• Radio galaxies with a `double-double' morphology: I - Analysis of the radio properties and evidence for interrupted activity in active galactic nuclei
• A broadband flux scale for low frequency radio telescopes
• LOFAR facet calibration
• Relativistic jet feedback III: feedback on gas disks
• LOFAR 150-MHz observations of the Boötes field: Catalogue and Source Counts
• The LOFAR Two Meter Sky Survey: Deep Fields, I -- Direction-dependent calibration and imaging
• Compact steep-spectrum and peaked-spectrum radio sources
• Systematic effects in LOFAR data: A unified calibration strategy
• Numerical modelling of the lobes of radio galaxies in cluster environments
• Jet-Powered Molecular Hydrogen Emission from Radio Galaxies
• Magnetic field strengths in the hotspots and lobes of three powerful FRII radio sources
• A simulation-based analytic model of radio galaxies
• LOFAR observations of galaxy clusters in HETDEX
• Spectral ageing in the lobes of FR-II radio galaxies: New methods of analysis for broadband radio data
• VLBA Absorption Imaging of Ionized Gas Associated with the Accretion Disk in NGC 1275
• In search of dying radio sources in the local universe
• Fast outflow of neutral hydrogen in the radio galaxy 3C293
• Extended emission around GPS radio sources
• A jet-induced outflow of warm gas in 3C 293
• Discovery of a spiral-host episodic radio-galaxy
• Centaurus A: multiple outbursts or bursting bubble?
• Spectral ageing in the lobes of cluster-centre FR-II radio galaxies
• Molecular Gas and Nuclear Activity in Radio Galaxies Detected by IRAS
• Search and modelling of remnant radio galaxies in the LOFAR Lockman Hole field
• Broadband Spectral Modeling of the Extreme Gigahertz-Peaked Spectrum Radio Source PKS B0008-421
• Sub-arcsecond imaging with the International LOFAR Telescope I. Foundational calibration strategy and pipeline
• The location and impact of jet-driven outflows of cold gas: the case of 3C293
• A multifrequency study of giant radio sources-II. Spectral ageing analysis of the lobes of selected sources
• The Dense Plasma Torus Around the Nucleus of an Active Galaxy NGC 1052
• Molecular Gas in 3C 293: The First Detection of CO Emission and Absorption in an F-R II Radio Galaxy
• LBCS: the LOFAR Long-Baseline Calibrator Survey
• A Chandra detection of diffuse hard X-ray emission associated with the lobes of the radio galaxy 3C 452
• Magnetic field strengths in the hot spots of 3C33 and 3C111
• Remnant radio-loud AGN in the Herschel-ATLAS field
• RAiSE III: 3C radio AGN energetics and composition
• The duty cycle of radio galaxies revealed by LOFAR: remnant and restarted radio source populations in the Lockman Hole
• Three episodes of jet activity in the FRII radio galaxy B0925+420
• ATLBS Extended Source Sample: The evolution in radio source morphology with flux density
• Chandra Observations of 3C Radio Sources with z<0.3: Nuclei, Diffuse Emission, Jets and Hotspots
• The life cycle of radio galaxies in the LOFAR Lockman Hole field
• Are young radio sources in equipartition?
• Recurrent radio emission and gas supply: the case of the radio galaxy B2 0258+35
• On the jet speeds of classical double radio sources
• Subarcsecond international LOFAR radio images of Arp 220 at 150 MHz: A kpc-scale star forming disk surrounding nuclei with shocked outflows
• High resolution imaging of the radio continuum and neutral gas in the inner kiloparsec of the radio galaxy 3C293
• Jet-driven outflows of ionised gas in the nearby radio galaxy 3C293
• Subarcsecond international LOFAR radio images of the M82 nucleus at 118 MHz and 154 MHz
• Optical and radio properties of extragalactic radio sources with recurrent jet activity
• Episodic radio galaxies J0116$-$4722 and J1158+2621: can we constrain the quiescent phase of nuclear activity?
• VLBI observations of the CORALZ sample: young radio sources at low redshift
• Duty cycle of the radio galaxy B2 0258+35
• Jet-ISM Interaction in the Radio Galaxy 3C293: Jet-driven Shocks Heat ISM to Power X-ray and Molecular H2 emission
• Collimation of extragalactic radio jets in compact steep spectrum and larger sources
• Radio spectral properties and jet duty cycle in the restarted radio galaxy 3C388
• Jet Speeds in Wide Angle Tailed Radio Galaxies
• The Jet and Circumnuclear Environment of 3C 293
• The LOFAR long baseline snapshot calibrator survey
• Multiwavelength evidence of the physical processes in radio jets
• Wide-field LOFAR imaging of the field around the double-double radio galaxy B1834+620: A fresh view on a restarted AGN and doubeltjes
• J021659-044920: a relic giant radio galaxy at z ~ 1.3
• Sub-arcsecond imaging with the International LOFAR Telescope: II. Completion of the LOFAR Long-Baseline Calibrator Survey
• Investigating the spectral age problem with powerful radio galaxies
• In the Shadow of the Accretion Disk: Higher Resolution Imaging of the Central Parsec in NGC 4261
• The dynamics of the giant radio galaxy 3C 457
• Remnant Radio Galaxies Discovered in a Multi-frequency Survey
• LOFAR VLBI Studies at 55 MHz of 4C 43.15, a z=2.4 Radio Galaxy
• The best of both worlds: Combining LOFAR and Apertif to derive resolved radio spectral index images
• The Dynamic Age of Centaurus A
• The jet/wind outflow in Centaurus A: a local laboratory for AGN feedback
• A radio study of the double-double radio galaxy 3C293
• An X-ray survey of the 2Jy sample. II: X-ray emission from extended structures
• Dynamical analysis of the complex radio structure in 3C 293: Clues on a rapid jet realignment in X-shaped radio galaxies
• The giant lobes of Centaurus A observed at 118 MHz with the Murchison Widefield Array
• Fueling the central engine of radio galaxies. III. Molecular gas and star formation efficiency of 3C 293
• A low-frequency study of recently identified double-double radio galaxies
• The parsec-scale HI outflows in powerful radio galaxies
• Discovery of a new, 2.2 Mpc Giant Radio Galaxy at a redshift of 0.57
• Synchrotron Spectra and Ages of Compact Steep Spectrum Radio Sources
• Induced Compton Scattering in Gigahertz Peak Spectrum Sources
• Sub-arcsecond imaging of Arp\,299-A at 150 MHz with LOFAR: Evidence for a starburst-driven outflow
• 4C02.27: a quasar with episodic activity?
• J1216+0709 : A radio galaxy with three episodes of AGN jet activity
• LOFAR observations of 4C+19.44. On the discovery of low frequency spectral curvature in relativistic jet knots
• The LOFAR view of NGC 3998, a sputtering AGN
• Multifrequency study of a double-double radio galaxy J0028+0035
• LOFAR Measures the Hotspot Advance Speed of the High-Redshift Blazar S5 0836+710
• Restarted activity in the 3C328 radio galaxy

Cited by in corpus (14)

• Identifying active galactic nuclei via brightness temperature with sub-arcsecond International LOFAR Telescope observations
• Ionised gas outflows over the radio AGN life cycle
• Life cycle of cosmic-ray electrons in the intracluster medium
• The Dynamics and Energetics of Remnant and Restarting RLAGN
• Spatially resolved observations of outflows in the radio loud AGN of UGC 8782
• Search and analysis of giant radio galaxies with associated nuclei (SAGAN) V. Study of giant double-double radio galaxies from LoTSS DR2
• Redshift evolution of the HI detection rate in radio-loud active galactic nuclei
• New filamentary remnant radio emission and duty cycle constraints in the radio galaxy NGC 6086
• Feedback from low-to-moderate luminosity radio-AGN with MaNGA
• Connecting the radio AGN life cycle to feedback: Ionised gas is more disturbed in young radio AGN
• Core prominence as a signature of restarted jet activity in the LOFAR radio-galaxy population
• Jet-driven shocks and turbulence in radio-loud Active Galactic Nuclei observed with JWST MIRI/MRS
• Mapping the emission and spectral properties of the FRI radio galaxy 3C 449 with LOFAR and the VLA
• Combining LOFAR and Apertif Data for Understanding the Life Cycle of Radio Galaxies