The discovery of a typical radio galaxy at z = 4.88

M.J. Jarvis, H. Teimourian, C. Simpson, Daniel Smith, S. Rawlings, D. Bonfield

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

29 Citations (Scopus)
30 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

In this Letter, we report the discovery of a z= 4.88 radio galaxy discovered with a new technique which does not rely on pre-selection of a sample based on radio properties such as steep-spectral index or small angular size. This radio galaxy was discovered in the Elais-N2 field and has a spectral index of α= 0.75 , i.e. not ultra-steep spectrum. It also has a luminosity consistent with being drawn from the break of the radio luminosity function and can therefore be considered as a typical radio galaxy. Using the Spitzer Wide-Area Infrared Extragalactic Survey (SWIRE) data over this field, we find that the host galaxy is consistent with being similarly massive to the lower redshift powerful radio galaxies (∼1–3L★) . However, we note that at z= 4.88, the Hα line is redshifted into the IRAC 3.6 μm filter, and some of the flux in this band may be due to this fact rather than the stellar continuum emission. The discovery of such a distant radio source from our initial spectroscopic observations demonstrates the promise of our survey for finding the most distant radio sources.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)L83-L87
JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume398
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2009

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The discovery of a typical radio galaxy at z = 4.88'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this