The relationship between radio power at 22 and 43 GHz and black hole properties of AGN in elliptical galaxies^⋆

¹ Department of Astronomy and Yonsei University Observatory, Yonsei University, 120-749 Seoul, Republic of Korea
² Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, 305-348 Daejeon, Republic of Korea
e-mail: bwsohn@kasi.re.kr

Received: 18 February 2013
Accepted: 31 July 2013

Abstract

We investigate the relationship between radio power and properties related to active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Radio power at 1.4 or 5 GHz, which has been used in many studies, can be affected by synchrotron self-absorption and free-free absorption in a dense region. On the other hand, these absorption effects get smaller at higher frequencies. Thus, we performed simultaneous observations at 22 and 43 GHz using the Korean VLBI Network (KVN) radio telescope based on a sample of 305 AGN candidates residing in elliptical galaxies from the overlap between the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7 and Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters (FIRST). About 37% and 22% of the galaxies are detected at 22 and 43 GHz, respectively. Assuming no flux variability between the FIRST and KVN observations, spectral indices were derived from FIRST and KVN data and we found that over 70% of the detected galaxies have flat or inverted spectra, implying the presence of optically thick compact regions near the centres of the galaxies. Core radio power does not show a clear dependence on black hole mass at either low (1.4 GHz) or high (22 and 43 GHz) frequencies. However, we found that the luminosity of the [OIII] λ5007 emission line and the Eddington ratio correlate with radio power more closely at high frequencies than at low frequencies. This suggests that radio observation at high frequencies can be an appropriate tool for unveiling the innermost region. In addition, the luminosity of the [OIII] λ5007 emission line and the Eddington ratio can be used as a tracer of AGN activity. Our study suggests a causal connection between high frequency radio power and optical properties of AGNs.