The Quasar Feedback Survey: Revealing the importance of sensitive radio imaging for AGN identification deeper into the radio-quiet regime

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Njeri, Ann, Harrison, Chris M., Kharb, Preeti, Alexander, David M., Mainieri, Vincenzo, Circosta, Chiara, Fawcett, Victoria A., Kakkad, Darshan, Mukherjee, Dipanjan, Molyneux, Stephen, Sasikumar, Silpa
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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author Njeri, Ann
Harrison, Chris M.
Kharb, Preeti
Alexander, David M.
Mainieri, Vincenzo
Circosta, Chiara
Fawcett, Victoria A.
Kakkad, Darshan
Mukherjee, Dipanjan
Molyneux, Stephen
Sasikumar, Silpa
author_facet Njeri, Ann
Harrison, Chris M.
Kharb, Preeti
Alexander, David M.
Mainieri, Vincenzo
Circosta, Chiara
Fawcett, Victoria A.
Kakkad, Darshan
Mukherjee, Dipanjan
Molyneux, Stephen
Sasikumar, Silpa
contents We present new sub-arcsecond ($\sim$0.3-1 arcsec; $\sim$1--3\,kpc) VLA imaging at 1.4\,GHz and 6\,GHz of 29 optically-selected, [O~{\sc iii}] luminous ($L_{\rm [O III]}$ > 10$^{42.1}$\,erg\,s$^{-1}$), $z<0.2$ quasars drawn from the expanded Quasar Feedback Survey (QFeedS; with $L_\mathrm{1.4\,GHz} = 10^{22.6}$--10$^{26.3}$\,W\,Hz$^{-1}$). These 29 new objects occupy the low end of the radio-power distribution ($L_\mathrm{1.4\,GHz}$=$10^{22.63}$--10$^{23.45}$\,W\,Hz$^{-1}$) in the QFeedS sample and are nominally `radio quiet'. Despite this, we find widespread evidence of AGN-driven synchrotron activity. Nearly $\sim 31\,$per\,cent exhibit resolved radio structures on $\sim$0.1--20\,kpc scales consistent with compact jets or wind-driven outflows, and $\sim 90\,$per\,cent display steep spectra ($α\lesssim -1$) indicative of optically thin synchrotron emission. Combining morphology, spectral index and brightness-temperature diagnostics, at least $\sim38\,$per\,cent of the sample show clear AGN signatures that cannot be explained by star formation alone. These constitute the first results from the expanded QFeedS (now 71 quasars spanning $\approx 4$ dex in radio power) and demonstrate that compact, low-power jets and AGN shocks are common deep inside the radio-quiet regime. A thorough understanding of feedback processes from quasars, deep into the `radio-quiet' regime, will be obtained by connecting these high resolution radio observations with multi-wavelength observations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_09218
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Quasar Feedback Survey: Revealing the importance of sensitive radio imaging for AGN identification deeper into the radio-quiet regime
Njeri, Ann
Harrison, Chris M.
Kharb, Preeti
Alexander, David M.
Mainieri, Vincenzo
Circosta, Chiara
Fawcett, Victoria A.
Kakkad, Darshan
Mukherjee, Dipanjan
Molyneux, Stephen
Sasikumar, Silpa
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We present new sub-arcsecond ($\sim$0.3-1 arcsec; $\sim$1--3\,kpc) VLA imaging at 1.4\,GHz and 6\,GHz of 29 optically-selected, [O~{\sc iii}] luminous ($L_{\rm [O III]}$ > 10$^{42.1}$\,erg\,s$^{-1}$), $z<0.2$ quasars drawn from the expanded Quasar Feedback Survey (QFeedS; with $L_\mathrm{1.4\,GHz} = 10^{22.6}$--10$^{26.3}$\,W\,Hz$^{-1}$). These 29 new objects occupy the low end of the radio-power distribution ($L_\mathrm{1.4\,GHz}$=$10^{22.63}$--10$^{23.45}$\,W\,Hz$^{-1}$) in the QFeedS sample and are nominally `radio quiet'. Despite this, we find widespread evidence of AGN-driven synchrotron activity. Nearly $\sim 31\,$per\,cent exhibit resolved radio structures on $\sim$0.1--20\,kpc scales consistent with compact jets or wind-driven outflows, and $\sim 90\,$per\,cent display steep spectra ($α\lesssim -1$) indicative of optically thin synchrotron emission. Combining morphology, spectral index and brightness-temperature diagnostics, at least $\sim38\,$per\,cent of the sample show clear AGN signatures that cannot be explained by star formation alone. These constitute the first results from the expanded QFeedS (now 71 quasars spanning $\approx 4$ dex in radio power) and demonstrate that compact, low-power jets and AGN shocks are common deep inside the radio-quiet regime. A thorough understanding of feedback processes from quasars, deep into the `radio-quiet' regime, will be obtained by connecting these high resolution radio observations with multi-wavelength observations.
title The Quasar Feedback Survey: Revealing the importance of sensitive radio imaging for AGN identification deeper into the radio-quiet regime
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.09218