LeMMINGs VII: 5 GHz, 50 mas e-MERLIN observations of a statistically complete sample of nearby AGN
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2026
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| author | Williams-Baldwin, D. R. A. Baldi, R. D. Beswick, R. J. McHardy, I. M. Carver, E. Clifford, J. Dullo, B. T. Kill, N. Krishnamoorthi, B. Mutie, I. M. Woodcock, O. Argo, M. K. Boorman, P. Brinks, E. Fenech, D. M. Knapen, J. H. Mathur, S. Moldon, J. Muxlow, T. W. B. Pahari, M. Wrigley, N. H. Alberdi, A. Baan, W. Beri, A. Cheng, X. Green, D. A. Healy, J. Kharb, P. Körding, E. Lucatelli, G. Panessa, F. Puig-Subirà, M. Romero-Cañizales, C. Saikia, D. J. Saikia, P. Shankar, F. Sharma, S. Stevens, I. R. Varenius, E. |
| author_facet | Williams-Baldwin, D. R. A. Baldi, R. D. Beswick, R. J. McHardy, I. M. Carver, E. Clifford, J. Dullo, B. T. Kill, N. Krishnamoorthi, B. Mutie, I. M. Woodcock, O. Argo, M. K. Boorman, P. Brinks, E. Fenech, D. M. Knapen, J. H. Mathur, S. Moldon, J. Muxlow, T. W. B. Pahari, M. Wrigley, N. H. Alberdi, A. Baan, W. Beri, A. Cheng, X. Green, D. A. Healy, J. Kharb, P. Körding, E. Lucatelli, G. Panessa, F. Puig-Subirà, M. Romero-Cañizales, C. Saikia, D. J. Saikia, P. Shankar, F. Sharma, S. Stevens, I. R. Varenius, E. |
| contents | We present 5 GHz e-MERLIN radio images at 50 mas resolution of the nuclear regions of the Legacy e-MERLIN Multi-band Imaging of Nearby Galaxies survey (LeMMINGs), the deepest statistically complete radio-band survey of the local Universe (<120 Mpc), consisting of 280 galaxies spanning all morphological and nuclear types. We detect nuclear radio emission above a median 5 sigma threshold of 0.33 mJy beam^-1 in 68 of 280 sources (24 percent), with core luminosities in the range 10^35 to 10^41.9 erg s^-1. The radio emission is attributed to active galactic nuclei, circumnuclear star formation, or, in the case of NGC 3690, a tidal disruption event. The brightest radio nuclei, with brightness temperatures >=10^6 K, reside in optically active galaxies such as LINERs and Seyferts. The detection rate for inactive systems (H II and absorption-line galaxies), which may host low-luminosity active galactic nuclei, is 8 percent. Most detections (78 percent) are compact (<10 pc), while the remaining 22 percent show extended jet-like features up to 380 pc. Compared to the 1.5 GHz LeMMINGs data, the 5 GHz observations provide superior resolution and spatial filtering, resolving out large-scale structures and isolating genuine nuclear emission. Our results suggest that low-luminosity active galactic nuclei are the primary manifestation of black hole activity in the local Universe in the form of compact jets and cores, with a preference for early-type hosts. The two LeMMINGs campaigns indicate that up to 30 percent of the local galaxy population hosts a radio-active nucleus, highlighting the necessity of high-resolution, high-sensitivity imaging for uncovering nuclear emission at the lowest luminosities. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_08562 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | LeMMINGs VII: 5 GHz, 50 mas e-MERLIN observations of a statistically complete sample of nearby AGN Williams-Baldwin, D. R. A. Baldi, R. D. Beswick, R. J. McHardy, I. M. Carver, E. Clifford, J. Dullo, B. T. Kill, N. Krishnamoorthi, B. Mutie, I. M. Woodcock, O. Argo, M. K. Boorman, P. Brinks, E. Fenech, D. M. Knapen, J. H. Mathur, S. Moldon, J. Muxlow, T. W. B. Pahari, M. Wrigley, N. H. Alberdi, A. Baan, W. Beri, A. Cheng, X. Green, D. A. Healy, J. Kharb, P. Körding, E. Lucatelli, G. Panessa, F. Puig-Subirà, M. Romero-Cañizales, C. Saikia, D. J. Saikia, P. Shankar, F. Sharma, S. Stevens, I. R. Varenius, E. Astrophysics of Galaxies High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena We present 5 GHz e-MERLIN radio images at 50 mas resolution of the nuclear regions of the Legacy e-MERLIN Multi-band Imaging of Nearby Galaxies survey (LeMMINGs), the deepest statistically complete radio-band survey of the local Universe (<120 Mpc), consisting of 280 galaxies spanning all morphological and nuclear types. We detect nuclear radio emission above a median 5 sigma threshold of 0.33 mJy beam^-1 in 68 of 280 sources (24 percent), with core luminosities in the range 10^35 to 10^41.9 erg s^-1. The radio emission is attributed to active galactic nuclei, circumnuclear star formation, or, in the case of NGC 3690, a tidal disruption event. The brightest radio nuclei, with brightness temperatures >=10^6 K, reside in optically active galaxies such as LINERs and Seyferts. The detection rate for inactive systems (H II and absorption-line galaxies), which may host low-luminosity active galactic nuclei, is 8 percent. Most detections (78 percent) are compact (<10 pc), while the remaining 22 percent show extended jet-like features up to 380 pc. Compared to the 1.5 GHz LeMMINGs data, the 5 GHz observations provide superior resolution and spatial filtering, resolving out large-scale structures and isolating genuine nuclear emission. Our results suggest that low-luminosity active galactic nuclei are the primary manifestation of black hole activity in the local Universe in the form of compact jets and cores, with a preference for early-type hosts. The two LeMMINGs campaigns indicate that up to 30 percent of the local galaxy population hosts a radio-active nucleus, highlighting the necessity of high-resolution, high-sensitivity imaging for uncovering nuclear emission at the lowest luminosities. |
| title | LeMMINGs VII: 5 GHz, 50 mas e-MERLIN observations of a statistically complete sample of nearby AGN |
| topic | Astrophysics of Galaxies High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.08562 |