Publication Search Results

ID: 157801
Type: article
Authors: de Menezes, Raniere; D'Abrusco, Raffaele; Massaro, Francesco; Gasparrini, Dario; Nemmen, Rodrigo
Abstract: Associating γ-ray sources to their low-energy counterparts is one of the major challenges of modern γ-ray astronomy. In the context of the Fourth Fermi Large Area Telescope Source Catalog (4FGL), the associations rely mainly on parameters such as apparent magnitude, integrated flux, and angular separation between the γ-ray source and its low-energy candidate counterpart. In this work, we propose a new use of the likelihood ratio (LR) and a complementary supervised learning technique to associate γ-ray blazars in 4FGL, based only on spectral parameters such as the γ-ray photon index, mid-infrared colors, and radio-loudness. In the LR approach, we crossmatch the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer Blazar-Like Radio-Loud Sources catalog with 4FGL and compare the resulting candidate counterparts with the sources listed in the γ-ray blazar locus to compute an association probability (AP) for 1138 counterparts. In the supervised learning approach, we train a random forest algorithm with 869 high-confidence blazar associations and 711 fake associations and then compute an AP for 1311 candidate counterparts. A list with all 4FGL blazar candidates of uncertain type associated by our method is provided to guide future optical spectroscopic follow-up observations.

ID: 151855
Type: article
Authors: D'Abrusco, Raffaele; Álvarez Crespo, Nuria; Massaro, Francesco; Campana, Riccardo; Chavushyan, Vahram; Landoni, Marco; La Franca, Fabio; Masetti, Nicola; Milisavljevic, Dan; Paggi, Alessandro; Ricci, Federica; Smith, Howard A.
Abstract: We present two catalogs of radio-loud candidate blazars whose Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mid-infrared colors are selected to be consistent with the colors of confirmed γ-ray-emitting blazars. The first catalog is the improved and expanded release of the WISE Blazar-like Radio-Loud Sources (WIBRaLS) catalog presented by D'Abrusco et al. It includes sources detected in all four WISE filters, spatially cross-matched with radio sources in one of three radio surveys and radio-loud based on their q ₂₂ spectral parameter. WIBRaLS2 includes 9541 sources classified as BL Lacs, flat-spectrum radio quasars, or mixed candidates based on their WISE colors. The second catalog, called KDEBLLACS, based on a new selection technique, contains 5579 candidate BL Lacs extracted from the population of WISE sources detected in the first three WISE passbands ([3.4], [4.6], and [12]) only, whose mid-infrared colors are similar to those of confirmed, γ-ray BL Lacs. Members of KDBLLACS are also required to have a radio counterpart and be radio-loud based on the parameter q ₁₂, defined similarly to the q ₂₂ used for the WIBRaLS2. We describe the properties of these catalogs and compare them with the largest samples of confirmed and candidate blazars in the literature. We cross-match the two new catalogs with the most recent catalogs of γ-ray sources detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. Since spectroscopic observations of candidate blazars from the first WIBRaLS catalog within the uncertainty regions of γ-ray unassociated sources confirmed that ∼90% of these candidates are blazars, we anticipate that these new catalogs will again play an important role in the identification of the γ-ray sky.

ID: 154630
Type: article
Authors: de Menezes, Raniere; Peña-Herazo, Harold A.; Marchesini, Ezequiel J.; D'Abrusco, Raffaele; Masetti, Nicola; Nemmen, Rodrigo; Massaro, Francesco; Ricci, Federica; Landoni, Marco; Paggi, Alessandro; Smith, Howard A.
Abstract: Context. Over the last decade more than five thousand γ-ray sources have been detected by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) onboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Given the positional uncertainty of the telescope, nearly 30% of these sources remain without an obvious counterpart at lower energies. This has motivated the release of new catalogs of γ-ray counterpart candidates and several follow up campaigns in the last decade.
Aims: Recently, two new catalogs of blazar candidates were released. These are the improved and expanded version of the WISE Blazar-Like Radio-Loud Sources (WIBRaLS2) catalog and the Kernel Density Estimation selected candidate BL Lacs (KDEBLLACS) catalog, both selecting blazar-like sources based on their infrared colors from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). In this work we characterize these two catalogs, clarifying the true nature of their sources based on their optical spectra from SDSS data release 15, thus testing their efficiency in selecting true blazars.
Methods: We first selected all WIBRaLS2 and KDEBLLACS sources with available optical spectra in the footprint of Sloan Digital Sky Survey data release 15. We then analyzed these spectra to verify the nature of each selected candidate and to measure the fraction of the catalogs composed by spectroscopically confirmed blazars. Finally, we evaluated the impact of selection effects, especially those related to optical colors of WIBRaLS2/KDEBLLACS sources and their optical magnitude distributions.
Results: We found that at least ̃30% of each catalog is made up of confirmed blazars, with quasars being the major contaminants in the case of WIBRaLS2 (≈58%) and normal galaxies in the case of KDEBLLACS (≈38.2%). The spectral analysis also allowed us to identify the nature of 11 blazar candidates of uncertain type (BCUs) from the Fermi-LAT fourth Point Source Catalog (4FGL) and to find 25 new BL Lac objects.

ID: 142327
Type: article
Authors: Massaro, Francesco; Marchesini, E. J.; D'Abrusco, R.; Masetti, N.; Andruchow, I.; Smith, Howard A.
Abstract: The existence of "radio-weak BL Lac objects" (RWBLs) has been an open question, and has remained unsolved since the discovery that quasars could be radio-quiet or radio-loud. Recently, several groups identified RWBL candidates, mostly found while searching for low-energy counterparts of the unidentified or unassociated gamma-ray sources listed in the Fermi catalogs. Confirming RWBLs is a challenging task since they could be confused with white dwarfs (WDs) or weak emission line quasars (WELQs) when there are not sufficient data to precisely draw their broadband spectral energy distribution, and their classification is mainly based on a featureless optical spectra. Motivated by the recent discovery that Fermi BL Lacs appear to have very peculiar mid-IR emission, we show that it is possible to distinguish between WDs, WELQs, and BL Lacs using the [3.4]–[4.6]–[12] μm color–color plot built using the WISE magnitudes when the optical spectrum is available. On the basis of this analysis, we identify WISE J064459.38+603131 and WISE J141046.00+740511.2 as the first two genuine RWBLs, both potentially associated with Fermi sources. Finally, to strengthen our identification of these objects as true RWBLs, we present multifrequency observations for these two candidates to show that their spectral behavior is indeed consistent with that of the BL Lac population.

ID: 139166
Type: article
Authors: Álvarez Crespo, N.; Masetti, N.; Ricci, F.; Landoni, M.; Patiño-Álvarez, V.; Massaro, Francesco; D'Abrusco, R.; Paggi, A.; Chavushyan, V.; Jiménez-Bailón, E.; Torrealba, J.; Latronico, L.; La Franca, F.; Smith, Howard A.; Tosti, G.
Abstract: The extragalactic γ-ray sky is dominated by emission from blazars, a peculiar class of active galactic nuclei. Many of the γ-ray sources included in the Fermi-Large Area Telescope Third Source catalog (3FGL) are classified as blazar candidates of uncertain type (BCUs) because there are no optical spectra available in the literature to confirm their nature. In 2013, we started a spectroscopic campaign to look for the optical counterparts of the BCUs and of the unidentified γ-ray sources to confirm their blazar nature. Whenever possible we also determine their redshifts. Here, we present the results of the observations carried out in the northern hemisphere in 2013 and 2014 at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo, Kitt Peak National Observatory, and Observatorio Astronómico Nacional in San Pedro Mártir. In this paper, we describe the optical spectra of 25 sources. We confirmed that all of the 15 BCUs observed in our campaign and included in our sample are blazars and we estimated the redshifts for three of them. In addition, we present the spectra for three sources classified as BL Lacs in the literature but with no optical spectra available to date. We found that one of them is a quasar (QSO) at a redshift of z = 0.208 and the other two are BL Lacs. Moreover, we also present seven new spectra for known blazars listed in the Roma-BZCAT that have an uncertain redshift or are classified as BL Lac candidates. We found that one of them, 5BZB J0724+2621, is a "changing look" blazar. According to the spectrum available in the literature, it was classified as a BL Lac, but in our observation we clearly detected a broad emission line that led us to classify this source as a QSO at z = 1.17.

ID: 140790
Type: article
Authors: Álvarez Crespo, N.; Massaro, Francesco; D'Abrusco, Raffaele; Landoni, M.; Masetti, N.; Chavushyan, V.; Jiménez-Bailón, E.; La Franca, F.; Milisavljevic, D.; Paggi, A.; Patiño-Álvarez, V.; Ricci, F.; Smith, Howard A.
Abstract: Despite the fact that blazars constitute the rarest class among active galactic nuclei (AGNs) they are the largest known population of associated γ-ray sources. Many of the γ-ray objects listed in the Fermi-Large Area Telescope Third Source catalog (3FGL) are classified as blazar candidates of uncertain type (BCUs), either because they show multifrequency behavior similar to blazars but lacking optical spectra in the literature, or because the quality of such spectra is too low to confirm their nature. Here we select, out of 585 BCUs in the 3FGL, 42 BCUs which we identify as probable blazars by their WISE infrared colors and which also have optical spectra that are available in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and/or Six-Degree Field Galaxy Survey Database (6dFGS). We confirm the blazar nature of all of the sources. We furthermore conclude that 28 of them are BL Lacs, 8 are radio-loud quasars with flat radio spectrum and 6 are BL Lac whose emission is dominated by their host galaxy.

ID: 139638
Type: article
Authors: Álvarez Crespo, N.; Massaro, Francesco; Milisavljevic, D.; Landoni, M.; Chavushyan, V.; Patiño-Álvarez, V.; Masetti, N.; Jiménez-Bailón, E.; Strader, J.; Chomiuk, L.; Katagiri, H.; Kagaya, M.; Cheung, C. C.; Paggi, A.; D'Abrusco, Raffaele; Ricci, F.; La Franca, F.; Smith, Howard A.; Tosti, G.
Abstract: Blazars, one of the most extreme classes of active galaxies, constitute so far the largest known population of γ-ray sources, and their number is continuously growing in the Fermi catalogs. However, in the latest release of the Fermi catalog there is still a large fraction of sources that are classified as blazar candidates of uncertain type (BCUs) for which optical spectroscopic observations are necessary to confirm their nature and their associations. In addition, about one-third of the γ-ray point sources listed in the Third Fermi-LAT Source Catalog (3FGL) are still unassociated and lacking an assigned lower-energy counterpart. Since 2012 we have been carrying out an optical spectroscopic campaign to observe blazar candidates to confirm their nature. In this paper, the sixth of the series, we present optical spectroscopic observations for 30 γ-ray blazar candidates from different observing programs we carried out with the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo, William Herschel Telescope, Observatorio Astronómico Nacional, Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope, and Magellan Telescopes. We found that 21 out of 30 sources investigated are BL Lac objects, while the remaining targets are classified as flat-spectrum radio quasars showing the typical broad emission lines of normal quasi-stellar objects. We conclude that our selection of γ-ray blazar candidates based on their multifrequency properties continues to be a successful way to discover potential low-energy counterparts of the Fermi unidentified gamma-ray sources and to confirm the nature of BCUs.

ID: 139787
Type: article
Authors: Dasadia, Sarthak; Sun, Ming; Morandi, Andrea; Sarazin, Craig; Clarke, Tracy; Nulsen, Paul; Massaro, Francesco; Roediger, Elke; Harris, Dan; Forman, Bill
Abstract: We present a 66 ks Chandra X-ray observation of the galaxy cluster RXJ0334.2-0111. This deep observation revealed a unique bow shock system associated with a wide angle tail (WAT) radio galaxy and several intriguing substructures. The temperature across the bow shock jumps by a factor of ~1.5 (from 4.1 to 6.2 keV), and is consistent with the Mach number M = 1.6_{-0.3}^{+0.5}. A second inner surface brightness edge is a cold front that marks the border between infalling subcluster cool core and the intracluster medium of the main cluster. The temperature across the cold front increases from 1.3_{-0.8}^{+0.3} to 6.2_{-0.6}^{+0.6} keV. We find an overpressurized region ~250 kpc east of the cold front that is named `the eastern extension (EE)'. The

ID: 139644
Type: article
Authors: Giroletti, M.; Massaro, Francesco; D'Abrusco, Raffaele; Lico, R.; Burlon, D.; Hurley-Walker, N.; Johnston-Hollitt, M.; Morgan, J.; Pavlidou, V.; Bell, M.; Bernardi, G.; Bhat, R.; Bowman, J. D.; Briggs, F.; Cappallo, R. J.; Corey, B. E.; Deshpande, A. A.; Ewall-Rice, A.; Emrich, D.; Gaensler, B. M.; Goeke, R.; Greenhill, L. J.; Hazelton, B. J.; Hindson, L.; Kaplan, D. L.; Kasper, J. C.; Kratzenberg, E.; Feng, L.; Jacobs, D.; Kudryavtseva, N.; Lenc, E.; Lonsdale, C. J.; Lynch, M. J.; McKinley, B.; McWhirter, S. R.; Mitchell, D. A.; Morales, M. F.; Morgan, E.; Oberoi, D.; Offringa, A. R.; Ord, S. M.; Pindor, B.; Prabu, T.; Procopio, P.; Riding, J.; Rogers, A. E. E.; Roshi, A.; Udaya Shankar, N.; Srivani, K. S.; Subrahmanyan, R.; Tingay, S. J.; Waterson, M.; Wayth, R. B.; Webster, R. L.; Whitney, A. R.; Williams, A.; Williams, C. L.
Abstract: Context. Low-frequency radio arrays are opening a new window for the study of the sky, both to study new phenomena and to better characterize known source classes. Being flat-spectrum sources, blazars are so far poorly studied at low radio frequencies.
Aims: We characterize the spectral properties of the blazar population at low radio frequency, compare the radio and high-energy properties of the gamma-ray blazar population, and search for radio counterparts of unidentified gamma-ray sources.
Methods: We cross-correlated the 6100 deg² Murchison Widefield Array Commissioning Survey catalogue with the Roma blazar catalogue, the third catalogue of active galactic nuclei detected by Fermi-LAT, and the unidentified members of the entire third catalogue of gamma-ray sources detected by Fermi-LAT. When available, we also added high-frequency radio data from the Australia Telescope 20 GHz catalogue.
Results: We find low-frequency counterparts for 186 out of 517 (36%) blazars, 79 out of 174 (45%) gamma-ray blazars, and 8 out of 73 (11%) gamma-ray blazar candidates. The mean low-frequency (120-180 MHz) blazar spectral index is ⟨α_low⟩ = 0.57 ± 0.02: blazar spectra are flatter than the rest of the population of low-frequency sources, but are steeper than at ~GHz frequencies. Low-frequency radio flux density and gamma-ray energy flux display a mildly significant and broadly scattered correlation. Ten unidentified gamma-ray sources have a (probably fortuitous) positional match with low radio frequency sources.
Conclusions: Low-frequency radio astronomy provides important information about sources with a flat radio spectrum and high energy. However, the relatively low sensitivity of the present surveys still misses a significant fraction of these objects. Upcoming deeper surveys, such as the GaLactic and Extragalactic All-Sky MWA (GLEAM) survey, will provide further insight into this population. Tables 5-7 are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/588/A141

ID: 140728
Type: article
Authors: Maselli, A.; Massaro, Francesco; Cusumano, G.; La Parola, V.; Harris, D. E.; Paggi, A.; Liuzzo, E.; Tremblay, Grant R.; Baum, S. A.; O'Dea, C. P.
Abstract: We have investigated a group of unassociated radio sources included in the Third Cambridge Catalogue (3CR) to increase the multifrequency information on them and possibly obtain an identification. We have carried out an observational campaign with the Swift satellite to observe with the Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) and the X-Ray Telescope (XRT) the field of view of 21 bright NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) sources within the positional uncertainty region of the 3CR sources. Furthermore, we have searched in the recent AllWISE Source Catalogue for infrared sources matching the position of these NVSS sources. We have detected significant emission in the soft X-ray band for nine of the investigated NVSS sources. To all of them, and in four cases with no soft X-ray association, we have associated a Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer infrared counterpart. Eight of these infrared candidates have not been proposed earlier in the literature. In the five remaining cases our candidate matches one among a few optical candidates suggested for the same 3CR source in previous studies. No source has been detected in the UVOT filters at the position of the NVSS objects, confirming the scenario that all of them are heavily obscured. With this in mind, a spectroscopic campaign, preferably in the infrared band, will be necessary to establish the nature of the sources that we have finally identified.

ID: 142014
Type: article
Authors: Massaro, Francesco; Álvarez Crespo, N.; D'Abrusco, Raffaele; Landoni, M.; Masetti, N.; Ricci, F.; Milisavljevic, D.; Paggi, A.; Chavushyan, V.; Jiménez-Bailón, E.; Patiño-Álvarez, V.; Strader, J.; Chomiuk, L.; La Franca, F.; Smith, Howard A.; Tosti, G.
Abstract: We recently developed a procedure to recognize γ-ray blazar candidates within the positional uncertainty regions of the unidentified/unassociated γ-ray sources (UGSs). Such procedure was based on the discovery that Fermi blazars show peculiar infrared colors. However, to confirm the real nature of the selected candidates, optical spectroscopic data are necessary. Thus, we performed an extensive archival search for spectra available in the literature in parallel with an optical spectroscopic campaign aimed to reveal and confirm the nature of the selected γ-ray blazar candidates. Here, we first search for optical spectra of a selected sample of γ-ray blazar candidates that can be potential counterparts of UGSs using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS DR12). This search enables us to update the archival search carried out to date. We also describe the state-of-art and the future perspectives of our campaign to discover previously unknown γ-ray blazars.

ID: 140742
Type: article
Authors: Massaro, Francesco; D'Abrusco, Raffaele
Abstract: Using data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) all-sky survey, we discovered that the nonthermal infrared (IR) emission of blazars, the largest known population of extragalactic γ-ray sources, has peculiar spectral properties. In this work, we confirm and strengthen our previous analyses using the latest available releases of both the WISE and the Fermi source catalogs. We also show that there is a tight correlation between the mid-IR colors and the γ-ray spectral index of Fermi blazars. We name this correlation the infrared-γ-ray connection. We discuss how this connection links both the emitted powers and the spectral shapes of particles accelerated in jets arising from blazars over 10 decades in energy. Based on this evidence, we argue that the infrared-γ-ray connection is stronger than the well-known radio-γ-ray connection.

ID: 136437
Type: article
Authors: Landoni, M.; Massaro, Francesco; Paggi, A.; D'Abrusco, R.; Milisavljevic, D.; Masetti, N.; Smith, H. A.; Tosti, G.; Chomiuk, L.; Strader, J.; Cheung, C. C.
Abstract: We report the results of our exploratory program carried out with the southern Astrophysical Research telescope aimed at associating counterparts and establishing the nature of the Fermi Unidentified γ-ray Sources (UGSs). We selected the optical counterparts of six UGSs from the Fermi catalog on the basis of our recently discovered tight connection between infrared and γ-ray emission found for the γ-ray blazars detected by the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer in its all-sky survey. We perform for the first time a spectroscopic study of the low-energy counterparts of the Fermi UGSs, in the optical band, confirming the blazar-like nature of the whole sample. We also present new spectroscopic observations of six active galaxies of uncertain type associated with Fermi sources which appear to be BL Lac objects. Finally, we report the spectra collected for six known γ-ray blazars belonging to the Roma BZCAT that were obtained to establish their nature or better estimate their redshifts. Two interesting cases of high redshift and extremely luminous BL Lac objects (z ≥ 1.18 and z ≥ 1.02, based on the detection of Mg ii intervening systems) are also discussed. Based on observations obtained at the southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) telescope, which is a joint project of the Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia, e Inovação (MCTI) da República Federativa do Brasil, the U.S. National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), and Michigan State University (MSU).

ID: 136600
Type: article
Authors: Maselli, A.; Massaro, Francesco; D'Abrusco, Raffaele; Cusumano, G.; La Parola, V.; Segreto, A.; Tosti, G.
Abstract: Blazars are radio-loud active galactic nuclei well known for their non thermal emission spanning a wide range of frequencies. The Roma-BZCAT is, to date, the most comprehensive list of these sources. We performed the cross-match of several catalogs obtained from recent surveys at different frequencies to search for new blazars. We cross-matched the 1st Swift XRT Point Source catalog with the spectroscopic sample of the 9th Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Then, we performed further cross-matches with the catalogs corresponding to the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty cm survey and to the AllWISE Data release, focusing on sources with infrared colors similar to those of confirmed γ-ray blazars included in the Second Fermi-LAT catalog. As a result, we obtained a preliminary list of objects with all the elements needed for a proper blazar classification according to the prescriptions of the Roma-BZCAT. We carefully investigated additional properties such as their morphology and the slope of their spectral energy distribution in the radio domain, the features shown in their optical spectrum, and the luminosity in the soft X rays to exclude generic active galactic nuclei and focus on authentic blazar-like sources. At the end of our screening we obtained a list of 15 objects with firmly established blazar properties.

ID: 135629
Type: article
Authors: Massaro, Francesco; D'Abrusco, Raffaele; Landoni, M.; Paggi, A.; Masetti, N.; Giroletti, M.; Otí-Floranes, H.; Chavushyan, V.; Jiménez-Bailón, E.; Patiño-Álvarez, V.; Digel, S. W.; Smith, Howard A.; Tosti, G.
Abstract: The Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) First Source Catalog (1FGL) was released in 2010 February and the Fermi-LAT 2-Year Source Catalog (2FGL) appeared in 2012 April, based on data from 24 months of operation. Since they were released, many follow up observations of unidentified γ-ray sources have been performed and new procedures for associating γ-ray sources with potential counterparts at other wavelengths have been developed. Here we review and characterize all of the associations as published in the 1FGL and 2FGL catalogs on the basis of multifrequency archival observations. In particular, we located 177 spectra for the low-energy counterparts that were not listed in the previous Fermi catalogs, and in addition we present new spectroscopic observations of eight γ-ray blazar candidates. Based on our investigations, we introduce a new counterpart category of "candidate associations" and propose a refined classification for the candidate low-energy counterparts of the Fermi sources. We compare the 1FGL-assigned counterparts with those listed in 2FGL to determine which unassociated sources became associated in later releases of the Fermi catalogs. We also search for potential counterparts to all of the remaining unassociated Fermi sources. Finally, we prepare a refined and merged list of all of the associations of 1FGL plus 2FGL that includes 2219 unique Fermi objects. This is the most comprehensive and systematic study of all the associations collected for the γ-ray sources available to date. We conclude that 80% of the Fermi sources have at least one known plausible γ-ray emitter within their positional uncertainty regions.

ID: 140471
Type: article
Authors: Massaro, Francesco; Harris, D. E.; Liuzzo, E.; Orienti, M.; Paladino, R.; Paggi, A.; Tremblay, Grant R.; Wilkes, B. J.; Kuraszkiewicz, J.; Baum, S. A.; O'Dea, C. P.
Abstract: As part of our program to build a complete radio and X-ray database of all Third Cambridge catalog extragalactic radio sources, we present an analysis of 93 sources for which Chandra archival data are available. Most of these sources have already been published. Here we provide a uniform re-analysis and present nuclear X-ray fluxes and X-ray emission associated with radio jet knots and hotspots using both publicly available radio images and new radio images that have been constructed from data available in the Very Large Array archive. For about 1/3 of the sources in the selected sample, a comparison between the Chandra and radio observations was not reported in the literature: we find X-ray detections of 2 new radio jet knots and 17 hotspots. We also report the X-ray detection of extended emission from the intergalactic medium for 15 galaxy clusters.

ID: 135651
Type: article
Authors: Massaro, Francesco; Landoni, M.; D'Abrusco, Raffaele; Milisavljevic, D.; Paggi, A.; Masetti, N.; Smith, H. A.; Tosti, G.
Abstract: Context. We recently started a systematic search of low-energy counterparts of the unidentified γ-ray sources (UGSs) listed in the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) First Source Catalog (1FGL) and the Fermi-LAT 2-Year Source Catalog (2FGL).
Aims: The main goal of our investigation is to find active galaxies belonging to the blazar class that lie within the positional uncertainty region of the UGSs and thus could be their potential low-energy counterparts.
Methods: To achieve our aims, we first adopted several procedures based on the peculiar observational properties of blazars in the radio and in the IR. Then we carried out a follow-up spectroscopic campaign in the optical band to verify the nature of the candidates selected as potential counterparts of the UGSs. Here we present the results of the observations carried out in 2013 in the northern hemisphere at Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO). Optical spectroscopy is crucial to confirm the nature of the sources and can be used to estimate their redshifts; it will also allow us to test the robustness of our methods when the whole campaign is completed.
Results: Here we present the optical spectroscopic observations of 39 sources. Within our sample we found that 6 sources are blazars, candidates to be low-energy counterparts of the UGSs listed in the 2FGL. We confirm that an additional 8 sources, previously classified as active galaxies of uncertain type and associated in the 2FGL, are also all BL Lac objects. Moreover, we also present 20 new spectra for known blazars listed in the Multi-frequency Catalogue of Blazars as having an uncertain redshift and/or being classified as BL Lac candidates.
Conclusions: We conclude that our methods for selecting γ-ray blazar candidates allows us to discover new blazars and increase the list of potential low-energy counterparts for the Fermi UGSs.

ID: 136438
Type: article
Authors: Ricci, F.; Massaro, Francesco; Landoni, M.; D'Abrusco, R.; Milisavljevic, D.; Stern, D.; Masetti, N.; Paggi, A.; Smith, Howard A.; Tosti, G.
Abstract: The extragalactic γ-ray sky is dominated by the emission arising from blazars, one of the most peculiar classes of radio-loud active galaxies. Since the launch of Fermi several methods were developed to search for blazars as potential counterparts of unidentified γ-ray sources (UGSs). To confirm the nature of the selected candidates, optical spectroscopic observations are necessary. In 2013 we started a spectroscopic campaign to investigate γ-ray blazar candidates selected according to different procedures. The main goals of our campaign are: (1) to confirm the nature of these candidates, and (2) whenever possible, determine their redshifts. Optical spectroscopic observations will also permit us to verify the robustness of the proposed associations and check for the presence of possible source class contaminants to our counterpart selection. This paper reports the results of observations carried out in 2014 in the northern hemisphere with Kitt Peak National Observatory and in the southern hemisphere with the Southern Astrophysical Research telescopes. We also report three sources observed with the Magellan and Palomar telescopes. Our selection of blazar-like sources that could be potential counterparts of UGSs is based on their peculiar infrared colors and on their combination with radio observations both at high and low frequencies (i.e., above and below ∼1 GHz) in publicly available large radio surveys. We present the optical spectra of 27 objects. We confirm the blazar-like nature of nine sources that appear to be potential low-energy counterparts of UGSs. Then we present new spectroscopic observations of 10 active galaxies of uncertain type associated with Fermi sources, classifying all of them as blazars. In addition, we present the spectra for five known γ-ray blazars with uncertain redshift estimates and three BL Lac candidates that were observed during our campaign. We also report the case for WISE J173052.85‑035247.2, candidate counterpart of the source 2FGL J1730.6‑0353, which has no radio counterpart in the major radio surveys. We confirm that our selection of γ-ray blazars candidates can successfully indentify low-energy counterparts to Fermi unassociated sources and allow us to discover new blazars.

ID: 133170
Type: article
Authors: D'Abrusco, Raffaele; Massaro, Francesco; Paggi, A.; Smith, H. A.; Masetti, N.; Landoni, M.; Tosti, G.
Abstract: We present a catalog of radio-loud candidate γ-ray emitting blazars with WISE mid-infrared colors similar to the colors of confirmed γ-ray blazars. The catalog is assembled from WISE sources detected in all four WISE filters, with colors compatible with the three-dimensional locus of the WISE γ-ray emitting blazars, and which can be spatially cross-matched with radio sources from one of the three radio surveys: NVSS, FIRST, and/or SUMSS. Our initial WISE selection uses a slightly modified version of previously successful algorithms. We then select only the radio-loud sources using a measure of the radio-to-IR flux, the q ₂₂ parameter, which is analogous to the q ₂₄ parameter known in the literature but which instead uses the WISE band-four flux at 22 μm. Our final catalog contains 7855 sources classified as BL Lacs, FSRQs, or mixed candidate blazars; 1295 of these sources can be spatially re-associated as confirmed blazars. We describe the properties of the final catalog of WISE blazar-like radio-loud sources and consider possible contaminants. Finally, we discuss why this large catalog of candidate γ-ray emitting blazars represents a new and useful resource to address the problem of finding low-energy counterparts to currently unidentified high-energy sources.

ID: 127631
Type: article
Authors: Massaro, Francesco; Giroletti, M.; D'Abrusco, Raffaele; Masetti, N.; Paggi, A.; Cowperthwaite, Philip S.; Tosti, G.; Funk, S.
Abstract: A well known property of the γ-ray sources detected by Cos-B in the 1970s, by the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory in the 1990s, and recently by the Fermi observations is the presence of radio counterparts, particularly for those associated with extragalactic objects. This observational evidence is the basis of the radio-γ-ray connection established for the class of active galactic nuclei known as blazars. In particular, the main spectral property of the radio counterparts associated with γ-ray blazars is that they show a flat spectrum in the GHz frequency range. Our recent analysis dedicated to search blazar-like candidates as potential counterparts for the unidentified γ-ray sources allowed us to extend the radio-γ-ray connection in the MHz regime. We also showed that blazars below 1 GHz maintain flat radio spectra. Thus, on the basis of these new results, we assembled a low-frequency radio catalog of flat-spectrum sources built by combining the radio observations of the Westerbork Northern Sky Survey and of the Westerbork in the southern hemisphere catalog with those of the NRAO Very Large Array Sky survey (NVSS). This could be used in the future to search for new, unknown blazar-like counterparts of γ-ray sources. First, we found NVSS counterparts of Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope radio sources, and then we selected flat-spectrum radio sources according to a new spectral criterion, specifically defined for radio observations performed below 1 GHz. We also described the main properties of the catalog listing 28,358 radio sources and their logN-logS distributions. Finally, a comparison with the Green Bank 6 cm radio source catalog was performed to investigate the spectral shape of the low-frequency flat-spectrum radio sources at higher frequencies.