Selecting and Modelling Remnant AGNs with Limited Spectral Coverage

Abstract

Quantifying the energetics and lifetimes of remnant radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is much more challenging than for active sources due to the added complexity of accurately determining the time since the central black hole switched off. Independent spectral modelling of remnant lobes enables the derivation of the remnant ratio, $R_{\mathrm{rem}}$, (i.e. `off-time/source age'), thus reducing this complexity back to that of active sources however, the requirement of high-frequency ($\gtrsim 5$GHz) coverage makes the application of this technique over large-area radio surveys difficult. In this work we propose a new method, which relies on the observed brightness of backflow of Fanaroff-Riley type~II lobes, combined with the \emph{Radio AGN in Semi-Analytic Environments} (RAiSE) code, to measure the duration of the remnant phase. Sensitive radio observations of the remnant radio galaxy J2253-34 are obtained to provide a robust comparison of this technique with the canonical spectral analysis and modelling methods. We find that the remnant lifetimes modelled by each method are consistent; spectral modelling yields $R_{\mathrm{rem}}=0.23\pm 0.02$, compared to $R_{\mathrm{rem}}=0.26\pm 0.02$ from our new method. We examine the viability of applying our proposed technique to low-frequency radio surveys using mock radio source populations, and examine whether the technique is sensitive to any intrinsic properties of radio AGNs. Our results show that the technique can be used to robustly classify active and remnant populations, with the most confident predictions for the remnant ratio, and thus off-time, in the longest-lived radio sources ($>50$Myr) and those at higher redshifts ($z>0.1$).

arXiv comment20 pages, 9 figures, 8 tables. Accepted for publication to MNRAS

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• Probing particle acceleration in Abell 2256: from to 16 MHz to gamma rays
• Relighting the fire in Hickson Compact Group (HCG) 15: magnetised fossil plasma revealed by the SKA Pathfinders & Precursors
• The Multi-Epoch Jet Outbursts in Abell 496: synchrotron ageing and buoyant X-ray cavities draped by warm gas filaments