Global Jet Watch

Abstract:

At least half the radio galaxies at z > 1 in the 7C Redshift Survey have extremely red colours (R - K > 5), consistent with stellar populations which formed at high redshift (z greater than or similar to 5). We discuss the implications of this for the evolution of massive galaxies in general and for the fraction of near-IR-selected EROs which host AGN, a result which is now being tested by deep, hard X-ray surveys. The conclusion is that many massive galaxies undergo at least two active phases: one at z similar to 5 when the black hole and stellar bulge formed and another at z similar to 1 - 2 when activity is triggered by an event such as an interaction or merger.

Abstract:

Using a new radio sample, 6C* designed to find radio galaxies at z > 4 along with the complete 3CRR and 6CE sample we extend the radio galaxy K - z relation to z - 4.5. The 6C* K - z data significantly improve delineation of the K - z relation for radio galaxies at high redshift (z > 2). Accounting for non-stellar contamination, and for correlations between radio luminosity and estimates of stellar mass, we find little support for previous claims that the underlying scatter in the stellar luminosity of radio galaxies increases significantly at z > 2. This indicates that we are not probing into the formation epoch until at least z greater than or similar to 3.

Abstract:

We present RIJHK imaging of seven radio galaxies from the 7C Redshift Survey (7CRS) which lack strong emission lines and we use these data to investigate their spectral energy distributions (SEDs) with models which constrain their redshifts. Six of these seven galaxies have extremely red colours (R-K>5.5) and we find that almost all of them lie in the redshift range 1L*) galaxies which formed the bulk of their stars several Gyr earlier, that is at epochs corresponding to redshifts z>5. If a similar fraction of all z~1.5 radio galaxies are old, then extrapolation of the radio luminosity function shows that, depending on the radio source lifetimes, between 10-100% of the near-IR selected extremely red object (ERO) population undergo a radio outburst at epochs corresponding to 15 and these objects probably undergo at least two periods of AGN activity: one at high redshift during which the black hole forms and another one at an epoch corresponding to z~1.5.