VLBA Imaging Polarimetry of Active Galactic Nuclei - An Automated Approach

Abstract

We present full polarization Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations at 5 GHz and 15 GHz of 24 compact active galactic nuclei (AGN). These sources were observed as part of a pilot project to demonstrate the feasibility of conducting a large VLBI survey to further our understanding of the physical properties and temporal evolution of AGN jets. The sample is drawn from the Cosmic Lens All-Sky Survey (CLASS) where it overlaps with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey at declinations north of 15 degrees. There are 2100 CLASS sources brighter than 50 mJy at 8.4 GHz, of which we have chosen 24 for this pilot study. All 24 sources were detected and imaged at 5 GHz with a typical dynamic range of 500:1, and 21 of 24 sources were detected and imaged at 15 GHz. Linear polarization was detected in 8 sources at both 5 and 15 GHz, allowing for the creation of Faraday rotation measure (RM) images. The core RMs for the sample were found to have an average absolute value of 390 +/- 100 rad/m^2. We also present the discovery of a new Compact Symmetric Object, J08553+5751. All data were processed automatically using pipelines created or adapted for the survey.

arXiv comment25 pages, 3 figures, 4 tables, accepted to the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series Full resolution figures and more available from http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/~gtaylor/VIPS

References in corpus (18)

• The Second Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
• The Third Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
• The Cosmic Lens All-Sky Survey: I. Source selection and observations
• The VLBA Calibrator Survey - VCS1
• Limits on Cosmological Models From Radio-Selected Gravitational Lenses
• Dating COINS: Kinematic Ages for Compact Symmetric Objects
• The Identification of EGRET Sources with Flat-Spectrum Radio Sources
• On the Location of the Acceleration and Emission Sites in Gamma-Ray Blazars
• A View through Faraday's Fog 2: Parsec Scale Rotation Measures in 40 AGN
• The Gamma-Ray Blazar Content of the Northern Sky
• The COINS Sample - VLBA Identifications of Compact Symmetric Objects
• Analysis of 6cm VLBI polarization observations of a complete sample of northern BL Lacertae Objects
• A View through Faraday's fog: Parsec scale rotation measures in AGN
• An Empirical Algorithm for Broad-band Photometric Redshifts of Quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
• Time Variable Faraday Rotation Measures of 3C-273 and 3C-279
• VLBI Polarimetry of 177 Sources from the Caltech-Jodrell Bank Flat-spectrum Survey
• The Duty-cycle of Gamma-ray Blazars: a New Approach, New Results
• Identifying Compact Symmetric Objects in the Southern Sky

Cited by in corpus (25)

• A Compact Supermassive Binary Black Hole System
• Compact steep-spectrum and peaked-spectrum radio sources
• The VLBA Imaging and Polarimetry Survey at 5 GHz
• SBS 0846+513: a new gamma-ray emitting Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 galaxy
• Kiloparsec-scale Radio Structures in Narrow-line Seyfert 1 Galaxies
• Detection of the 2175Å~ extinction feature and 21-cm absorption in two MgII systems at z~1.3
• Compact Symmetric Objects and Supermassive Binary Black Holes in the VLBA Imaging and Polarimetry Survey
• Contemporaneous VLBA 5 GHz Observations of LAT-Detected Blazars
• A complete sample of 21-cm absorbers at z~1.3: Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope Survey Using MgII Systems
• Precise absolute astrometry from the VLBA imaging and polarimetry survey at 5 GHz
• Characteristics of EGRET Blazars in the VLBA Imaging and Polarimetry Survey (VIPS)
• The catalogue of positions of optically bright extragalactic radio sources OBRS-2
• The catalogue of positions of optically bright extragalactic radio sources OBRS-1
• Flat-spectrum symmetric objects with ~1 kpc sizes I. The candidates
• The unusual multiwavelength properties of the gamma-ray source PMNJ1603-4904
• A compiled catalog of rotation measures of radio point sources
• Wide-Field Imaging and Polarimetry for the Biggest and Brightest in the 20GHz Southern Sky
• Lorentz factor distribution of blazars from the optical Fundamental plane of black hole activity
• A shrinking Compact Symmetric Object: J11584+2450?
• Parsec-scale HI absorption structure in a low-redshift galaxy seen against a Compact Symmetric Object
• Faint Radio Sources in the NOAO Bootes Field. VLBA Imaging and Optical Identifications
• A Statistical Description of AGN Jet Evolution from the VLBA Imaging and Polarimetry Survey (VIPS)
• Identifying Compact Symmetric Objects from the VLBA Imaging and Polarization Survey
• J16021+3326: New Multi-Frequency Observations of a Complex Source
• Simulations and Observations of the Microwave Universe