Radio properties of H₂O maser host galaxies

¹ Center For Astrophysics, GuangZhou University, 510006 GuangZhou, PR China
e-mail: jszhang@gzhu.edu.cn
² Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, 53121 Bonn, Germany
³ Astronomy Department, King Abdulaziz University, PO Box 80203, 21589 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
⁴ Hunan Institute of Humanities, Science and Technology, 417000 Loudi, PR China

Received: 25 August 2011
Accepted: 9 December 2011

Abstract

The 6 cm and 20 cm radio continuum properties of all 85 galaxies with reported 22 GHz H₂O maser emission and luminosity distance D > 0.5 Mpc are studied. For the total of 55 targets for which both 6 cm and 20 cm measurements exist and for the subsample of 42 sources with masers related to active galactic nuclei (AGN), a spectral index could be determined from an assumed power-law dependence. The mean value of the resulting spectral index is in both cases 0.66 ± 0.07 (S ∝ ν^−α; S: flux density, ν: frequency). Comparing radio properties of the maser galaxies with a sample of Seyferts without detected H₂O maser, we find that (1) the spectral indices agree within the error limits; and (2) maser host galaxies have higher nuclear radio continuum luminosities, exceeding those of the comparison sample by factors of order 5. Only considering the subsample of galaxies with masers associated with AGN, there seems to be a trend toward rising maser luminosity with nuclear radio luminosity (both at 6 cm and 20 cm). However, when accounting for the Malmquist effect, the correlation weakens to a level, which is barely significant. Overall, the study indicates that nuclear radio luminosity is a suitable indicator to guide future AGN maser searches and to enhance detection rates, which are otherwise quite low (<10%).