Low-luminosity radio sources in early-type galaxies

Abstract

A sensitive radio continuum survey of 114 nearby E and S0 galaxies hasbeen made to search for weak sources. The radio detection rate is 42percent, with a flux limit of 0.8 mJy at 5 GHz. By deriving the radioluminosity function for a complete sample, it is shown that most brightearly-type galaxies have low-luminosity nonthermal radio sources.Galaxies of similar optical luminosity vary widely in radio luminosity,but a characteristic radio power rises roughly as the optical luminositysquared. S0 galaxies have weaker radio sources on average thanelliptical galaxies, but this can be explained by the low luminosity ofmost S0 bulges relative to ellipticals. No correlation is found betweenradio power and axial ratio for galaxies with radio luminosities below10 to the 23rd W/Hz.