Investigation of radio sources from the interplanetary scintillation Pushchino Survey^*

I. Cross-identification with the 7C and FIRST radio catalogues

¹ Pushchino Radio Astronomy Observatory of the Lebedev Physical Institute of RAS, Pushchino, Moskow region, 142290, Russia
² Isaac Newton Institute of Chile, Pushchino Branch, Russia
³ Special Astrophysical Observatory of RAS, Nizhnij Arkhyz, Karachaevo-Cherkesia, 369167, Russia
⁴ Isaac Newton Institute of Chile, SAO Branch, Russia

Corresponding author: A. I. Kopylov, akop@sao.ru

Received: 23 July 2002
Accepted: 14 February 2003

Abstract

Interplanetary scintillating (IPS) radio sources from the Pushchino Survey (PS) in the area of 0.11 sr have been cross-identified with objects from the 7C and FIRST catalogues. We have obtained improved positions of IPS radio sources, which are necessary for their optical identification. The data on sizes and morphology provided by the FIRST catalogue have shown that more than 50% of IPS radio sources are single and compact () at MHz. Most of them belong to the class of compact steep spectrum radio sources. About 15% of IPS radio sources are single partially resolved FIRST objects (sizes of ) and another 11% are double radio sources with compact components. The remaining 22% have larger sizes and, as a rule, a more complex structure too. Because IPS sources certainly contain an appreciable part of their radiation at low frequencies (100 MHz) in very compact () components and have steep spectra, we hope that a significant part of the Pushchino Survey objects are very probable candidates for steep spectrum quasars.