The IceCube Neutrino Observatory has detected several hundred high-energy neutrinos from cosmic sources. Despite numerous studies searching for their origin, it is still not known which sources emit them. A few likely individual associations exist with active galactic nuclei (AGNs), mostly comprising blazars (AGNs with jets pointed toward Earth). Nonetheless, on a population level, blazar-neutrino correlation strengths are rather weak. This could mean that blazars as a population do not emit high-energy neutrinos or that the detection power of the tests is insufficient due to the strong atmospheric neutrino background. By assuming an increase in high-energy neutrino emission during major blazar flares, in our previous studies, we leveraged the neutrino arrival time to boost the detection power. Here, we utilize the same principle, while substantially increasing the number of blazars in the sample. We searched for the spatiotemporal correlation of 356 IceCube high-energy neutrinos with major optical flares of 3225 radio- and 3814 γ-ray-selected blazars. We found that despite the increase in data size, the number of likely spatiotemporal associations remained low and the overall correlation strengths weak. Two individual associations were shown to drive our strongest correlation, namely, the only > 2σ post-trial spatiotemporal correlation, occurring with the BL Lac objects of the radio-selected blazar sample. We estimated that ≲8% of the detected cosmic neutrinos were emitted by blazars during major optical flares. As a complementary analysis, we compared the synchrotron peak frequency, redshift, Doppler factor, X-ray brightness, and optical variability of spatially neutrino-associated blazars to those of the general blazar population. We found that spatially neutrino-associated blazars have a Doppler factor and X-ray brightness that are higher than average.

A recent 2023 paper by Massaro et al. introduced the G4Jy-3CRE, a new catalog of the brightest radio sources in the Southern Hemisphere that serve as a southern equivalent to the Third Cambridge Catalog Revised (3CR). The G4Jy-3CRE catalog selected 264 sources from the GLEAM-4Jy survey based on the same criteria used to select the sources in the 3CR. In this paper, we present new Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) continuum imaging of the G4Jy-3CRE catalog. We use the three most recent data releases from the Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey (RACS), covering the sky south of +30 degrees decl.: RACS-low1, RACS-mid, and RACS-high. Together, these data releases cover a range of frequencies from 600 to 1800 MHz. The RACS surveys have improved spatial resolution and sensitivity over archival surveys at the same frequency, enabling us to classify 173 sources (66% of the sample) with morphologies indicative of the presence of jets, 37 of which did not show jet activity on archival radio maps. We were able to effectively classify FRI/FRII galaxies up to a redshift of z = 1.35. Moreover, we identified six optical counterparts for sources that were either previously unidentified or unconfirmed.

Active galactic nuclei (AGN) are some of the brightest and most variable objects in the Universe. Those with relativistic jets observed at small viewing angles are blazars. Due to Doppler boosting, blazars exhibit extreme stochastic variability. While the origin of this variability is thought to be changes in the accretion flow and jet dynamics, much about blazar variability remains unknown. In this paper we use several blazar-dominated AGN samples to form a catalog of 7918 blazars and candidates – the largest to date. We also collected source types, redshifts, peak frequencies of the spectral energy distribution, radio variability Doppler factors, and X-ray flux densities for as many sources as possible. We used all-sky surveys (CRTS, ATLAS, and ZTF, abbreviated as “CAZ”) to extract their optical multiband flux density on a nightly basis between 2007 and 2023, and we constructed as long and as high cadence light curves as possible for as many sources as attainable. We quantified the variability of the light curves and applied the Bayesian blocks algorithm to determine their flaring periods. The CAZ catalog and light curves as well as the corresponding Bayesian blocks and flaring periods are all provided in the accompanying electronic tables, with the goal of enabling analyses involving jetted AGN variability with unprecedented sample sizes. Overall, we find (1) optical flares generally have a faster rise than decay; (2) optical brightness and variability are strongly dependent on the synchrotron peak frequency; (3) flat spectrum radio quasars and BL Lac objects have comparable optical variability and flare characteristics at the same synchrotron peak frequency; and (4) optical flare times tend to decrease while amplitudes increase with an increasing radio variability Doppler factor.

Identification and/or association of unidentified gamma-ray sources with lower-energy counterparts represents a key challenge in modern astronomy, due to the relatively large positional uncertainty provided by gamma-ray detectors. We selected unidentified Fermi objects (UFOs) positionally compatible with hard X-ray sources in the latest Palermo Swift-BAT hard X-ray Catalog and in the SRG/ART-XC all-sky X-ray survey Catalog, to identify lower-energy sources and possibly associate them to the UFOs. We found 17 UFOs with overlapping hard X-ray sources. We then collected soft X-ray data from Swift-XRT, Chandra-ACIS, XMM-Newton-EPIC, and eROSITA, identified 16 soft X-ray counterparts to the hard X-ray sources, and associate 15 with known astronomical objects, classified as: blazars/blazar candidates (two sources), Seyfert galaxies (five sources), X-ray binaries (two sources), generic X-ray sources (one source), cataclysmic variables (CVs; two sources), and variable stars (three sources). Blazars and Seyfert galaxies are likely lower-energy counterparts to the UFOs, since their mid-IR colors and broadband spectral energy distributions suggest significant jetted, nonthermal emission. X-ray binaries can be potential lower-energy counterparts to the UFOs, since this class of sources has been already observed to emit gamma-rays. The generic X-ray source has been proposed as a pulsar candidate, and we therefore suggest that it can be the lower-energy counterpart to the UFO. CVs have been suggested as potential gamma-ray emitters, so, if confirmed, the two sources classified as CVs would represent the first gamma-ray emitting sources of this kind. Finally, we consider the association of the three variable stars with the UFOs unlikely.

Over the past decade, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory has detected a few hundreds of high-energy (HE) neutrinos from cosmic sources. Despite numerous studies searching for their origin, it is still not known which source populations emit them. A few confident individual associations exist with active galactic nuclei (AGN), mostly with blazars which are jetted AGN whose jet points in our direction. Nonetheless, on a population level, blazar-neutrino correlation strengths are rather weak. This could mean that blazars as a population do not emit HE neutrinos, or that the detection power of the tests is insufficient due to the strong atmospheric neutrino background. By assuming an increase in HE neutrino emission during major blazar flares, in our previous studies we leveraged the arrival time of the neutrinos to boost the detection power. In this paper we utilize the same principle while substantially increasing the number of blazars. We search for the spatio-temporal correlation of 356 IceCube HE neutrinos with major optical flares of 3225 radio- and 3814 γ-ray-selected blazars. We find that, despite the increase in data size, the number of confident spatio-temporal associations remains low and the overall correlation strengths weak. Two individual associations drive our strongest and the only >2σ post-trial spatio-temporal correlation, occurring with the BL Lac objects of the radio-selected blazar sample. We estimate that ≲8% of the detected cosmic neutrinos were emitted by blazars during major optical flares. As a complementary analysis, we compare the synchrotron peak frequency, redshift, Doppler factor, X-ray brightness, and optical variability of spatially neutrino-associated blazars to those of the general blazar population. We find that spatially neutrino-associated blazars of the tested samples have higher than average Doppler factor and X-ray brightness.

We present the results of the analysis of a ∼2 Msec spectropolarimetric observation of the western hotspot (WHS) of the radio galaxy Pictor A. This is the brightest extragalactic radio source that allows us to carry out spatially resolved observations using the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) because its WHS is located at ∼250″ from the radio core. The Pictor A WHS can be detected with IXPE as a pointlike source, with very low contamination from the nuclear emission, and it is extremely polarized at both radio and optical frequencies, where its emission is well described as synchrotron radiation. We find no X-ray polarization for the Pictor A WHS. However, the derived upper limit allows us to set a first constraint on the radiative processes occurring therein, ruling out a simple synchrotron scenario where particles, with a random distribution of pitch angles, radiate in a uniform magnetic field. We also tested a scenario with a random magnetic field compressed along the jet direction.

We present a detailed imaging analysis of 260 ks of subarcsecond resolution Chandra (ACIS-S) observations of the nearby Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 5728. Our study focuses on the bright and diffuse soft X-ray emission within the galaxy's inner similar to 1 kpc. By comparing the X-ray emission across different energy bands, we identify localized variations in the absorbing column and emission processes. We observe more X-ray absorption in the direction perpendicular to the bicone, which is co-located with an inner warped CO disk in the galaxy. The innermost region, which shows the strongest excess of hard X-ray emission, is spatially coincident with the CO (2-1) emission from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array and dusty spirals we find in a Hubble Space Telescope V - H color map. We detect soft extended emission associated with the circumnuclear star-forming ring at similar to 1 kpc, suggestive of hot gas with kT = 0.44 keV. We derive measurements for the hot gas mass, M = 7.9 x 105 M circle dot, pressure, p = 2.0 x 10-10 dyne cm-2, and cooling times, tau c = 193.2 Myr. In the vicinity of the star-forming ring, we detect two X-ray point sources, with soft X-ray spectra, and 0.3-7 keV luminosities L similar to 8 x 1038 erg s-1. These properties suggest X-ray binaries.

Observations of linear polarization in the 2–8 keV energy range with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) explore the magnetic field geometry and dynamics of the regions generating nonthermal radiation in relativistic jets of blazars. These jets, particularly in blazars whose spectral energy distribution peaks at X-ray energies, emit X-rays via synchrotron radiation from high-energy particles within the jet. IXPE observations of the X-ray-selected BL Lac–type blazar 1ES 1959+650 on 2022 May 3–4 showed a significant linear polarization degree of Π x = 8.0% ± 2.3% at an electric-vector position angle ψ x = 123° ± 8°. However, on 2022 June 9–12, only an upper limit of Π x ≤ 5.1% could be derived (at the 99% confidence level). The degree of optical polarization at that time, Π O ∼ 5%, is comparable to the X-ray measurement. We investigate possible scenarios for these findings, including temporal and geometrical depolarization effects. Unlike some other X-ray-selected BL Lac objects, there is no significant chromatic dependence of the measured polarization in 1ES 1959+650, and its low X-ray polarization may be attributed to turbulence in the jet flow with dynamical timescales shorter than 1 day.

We recently built the G4Jy-3CRE catalog of extragalactic radio sources. This catalog lists 264 powerful radio sources selected with similar criteria to those of the revised Third Cambridge Catalog, but visible from the Southern Hemisphere. A literature search revealed that 119 sources in the G4Jy-3CRE catalog (i.e., 45%) lack a firm spectroscopic redshift measurement. Here, we present a campaign aimed at acquiring optical spectra of G4Jy-3CRE sources and measuring their redshifts. We used single-slit observations obtained with the Víctor Blanco Telescope, the New Technology Telescope, the Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope, and the 2.1 m telescope of the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional at San Pedro Mártir, Mexico. In addition, we analyzed Very Large Telescope/MUSE archival observations. From these observations, we report the spectra and redshifts of 93 sources, 42 of which are the first optical spectra and redshift determinations for the respective sources. With our new data, approximately 71% of the sources in the G4Jy-3CRE catalog now have firm spectroscopic redshift measurements. This data set will be the basis of our future analysis of the optical properties of the G4Jy-3CRE catalog.

We present Chandra ACIS-S imaging spectroscopy results of the extended (1.″5–8″, 300–1600 pc) hard X-ray emission of NGC 5728, the host galaxy of a Compton-thick active galactic nucleus. We find spectrally and spatially resolved features in the Fe K α complex (5.0–7.5 keV) redward and blueward of the neutral Fe line at 6.4 keV in the extended narrow-line region bicone. A simple phenomenological fit of a power law plus Gaussians gives a significance of 5.4 σ and 3.7 σ for the red and blue wings, respectively. Fits to a suite of physically consistent models confirm a significance of ≥3 σ for the red wing. The significance of the blue wing may be diminished by the presence of rest-frame highly ionized Fe xxv and Fe xxvi lines (1.4 σ –3.7 σ range). A detailed investigation of the Chandra ACIS-S point-spread function and comparison with the observed morphology demonstrates that these red and blue wings are radially extended (∼5″, ∼1 kpc) along the optical bicone axis. If the wing emission is due solely to redshifted and blueshifted high-velocity neutral Fe K α , then the implied line-of-sight velocities are +/− ∼0.1 c , and their fluxes are consistent with being equal. A symmetric high-velocity outflow is then a viable explanation. This outflow has deprojected velocities ∼100 times larger than the outflows detected in optical spectroscopic studies, potentially dominating the kinetic feedback power.

Exploring SMBH population in protoclusters offers valuable insights into how environment affects SMBH growth. However, research on AGN within these areas is still limited by the small number of protoclusters known at high redshift and by the availability of associated deep X-ray observations. To understand how different environments affect AGN triggering and growth at high redshift, we investigated the X-ray AGN population in the field of the MUSE Quasar Nebula 01 (MQN01) protocluster at z 3.25. This field is known for hosting the largest Lya nebula in the Borisova+16 sample, and one of the largest overdensities of UV-continuum selected and sub-mm galaxies found so far at this redshift. We conducted a ultra deep Chandra X-ray survey (634 ks) observation of the MQN01 field and produced a comparative analyses of the properties of the X-ray AGNs detected in MQN01 against those observed in other selected protoclusters, such as Spiderweb and SSA22. By combining the X-ray, deep MUSE and ALMA data of the same field, we identified six X-ray AGNs within a volume of 16 cMpc^2 and ±1000 km/s, corresponding to an X-ray AGN overdensity of 1000. This overdensity increases at the bright end, exceeding what was observed in the Spiderweb and SSA22 within similar volumes. The AGN fraction measured in MQN01 is significantly higher (f_AGN > 20 masses, reaching a value of 100 that the average specific accretion rate (λ_sBHAR) for SMBH populations in MQN01 is higher than in the field and other protoclusters, generally increasing as one moves toward the center of the overdensity. Our results, especially the large fraction of highly accreting SMBHs in the inner regions of the MQN01 overdensity, suggest that protocluster environments offer ideal physical conditions for SMBH triggering and growth.

Context. It has been established that the sources contributing to the cosmic X-ray background (CXB) emission are mainly nearby active galactic nuclei (AGNs), in particular those that are obscured. Thus, it is important to fully identify the hard X-ray sky source population to accurately characterize the individual contribution of different AGNs to the overall CXB emission. Aims. We present a follow-up analysis of all 218 sources marked as unidentified in our previous revision of the third release of the Palermo Swift-BAT hard X-ray catalog (3PBC) based on our multifrequency classification scheme. These 218 sources were classified as unidentified in our previous analyses because they lacked an assigned low-energy counterpart. Methods. We searched for soft X-ray counterparts of these 218 3PBC sources in archival Swift-XRT observations obtained between January 1, 2005, and August 1, 2018. In particular, we found 1213 archival Swift-XRT observations for 192 of the 218 unidentified sources. Results. We find 93 possible Swift-XRT counterparts within the Swift-BAT positional uncertainty regions. They correspond to 73 3PBC sources, 60 of which have only a single Swift-XRT detection; the rest have multiple detections. We present all the detected possible counterparts of the as-of-yet-unidentified hard X-ray sources to the community as a catalog for future spectroscopic follow-up targets, together with a short catalog of our classification of the ten sources for which there were available spectra.

Roughly one third of the sources in the Fermi-LAT catalogs are listed as unidentified/unassociated γ-ray sources (UGS), i.e., they lack a low-energy counterpart. In addition, there is a growing population of blazars of uncertain type (BCUs). Spectroscopic observations are crucial to confirm the blazar nature of the UGSs candidate counterparts and BCUs. Hence, in 2013 we started an optical spectroscopic campaign to carry out the identifications and classifications. In this paper, as a continuation of the campaign we report the spectra of 39 sources: the sample comprises 37 sources classified as BCUs, one source classified as a BL Lac in the Fourth Source Catalog of the Fermi-LAT (4FGL), and one source classified as UGS. We classify 19 of the sources in the sample as BL Lacs, 13 as blazars with nonnegligible host-galaxy emission, six as Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars, and one as a normal elliptical galaxy. The source listed as BL Lac in the 4FGL seems to be a blazar with nonnegligible host-galaxy emission in our observations, most likely due to an ongoing quiescent state. We classified the UGS source as a BL Lac. Six out of the 39 sources were previously reported in the campaign; in general, both the classifications and redshifts are in agreement, except for one of them with no redshift reported before. Altogether, we provided reliable redshift estimates to 21 out of the 39 sources. Finally, we describe the statistics of the data collected in our campaign so far.

The environment of the high-redshift ( z = 1.408), powerful radio-loud galaxy 3C 297 has several distinctive features of a galaxy cluster. Among them, a characteristic halo of hot gas revealed by Chandra X-ray observations. In addition, a radio map obtained with the Very Large Array shows a bright hotspot in the northwestern direction, created by the interaction of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) jet arising from 3C 297 with its environment. In the X-ray images, emission cospatial with the northwestern radio lobe is detected, and peaks at the position of the radio hotspot. The extended, complex X-ray emission observed with our new Chandra data is largely unrelated to its radio structure. Despite having attributes of a galaxy cluster, no companion galaxies have been identified from 39 new spectra of neighboring targets of 3C 297 obtained with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph. None of the 19 galaxies for which a redshift was determined lies at the same distance as 3C 297. The optical spectral analysis of the new Gemini spectrum of 3C 297 reveals an isolated Type II radio-loud AGN. We also detected line broadening in [O ii ] λ 3728 with a FWHM about 1700 km s ^−1 and possible line shifts of up to 500–600 km s ^−1 . We postulate that the host galaxy of 3C 297 is a fossil group, in which most of the stellar mass has merged into a single object, leaving behind an X-ray halo.

Since the early sixties, our view of radio galaxies and quasars has been drastically shaped by discoveries made thanks to observations of radio sources listed in the Third Cambridge Catalog and its revised version (3CR). However, the largest fraction of data collected to date on 3CR sources was performed with relatively old instruments, rarely repeated and/or updated. Importantly, the 3CR contains only objects located in the Northern Hemisphere, thus having limited access to new and innovative astronomical facilities. To mitigate these limitations, we present a new catalog of powerful radio sources visible from the Southern Hemisphere, extracted from the GLEAM 4 Jy (G4Jy) catalog and based on equivalent selection criteria as the 3CR. This new catalog, named G4Jy-3CRE, where the E stands for “equivalent,” lists a total of 264 sources at decl. below −5° and with 9 Jy limiting sensitivity at ∼178 MHz. We explored archival radio maps obtained with different surveys and compared them with optical images available in the Pan-STARRS, DES, and DSS databases to search for optical counterparts of their radio cores. We compared mid-infrared counterparts, originally associated in the G4Jy, with the optical ones identified here, and we present results of a vast literature search carried out to collect redshift estimates for all G4Jy-3CRE sources resulting in a total of 145 reliable z measurements.

Context. Nowadays, we know that the origin of the cosmic X-ray background (CXB) is mainly due to the integrated emission of active galactic nuclei. Therefore, in order to obtain a precise estimate of the contribution of different source classes to the CXB, it is crucial to achieve full characterization of the hard-X ray sky. Aims. We present a multifrequency analysis of all sources listed in the third release of the Palermo Swift-BAT hard X-ray catalog (3PBC) with the goal of (i) identifying and classifying the largest number of sources adopting multifrequency criteria, with particular emphasis on extragalactic populations and (ii) extracting sources belonging to the class of Seyfert galaxies to present here the release of the second version of the Turin-SyCAT. Methods. We outline a classification scheme based on radio, infrared (IR), and optical criteria that allows us to distinguish between unidentified and unclassified hard X-ray sources, as well as to classify those sources belonging to the Galactic and the extragalactic populations. Results. Our revised version of the 3PBC lists 1176 classified, 820 extragalactic, and 356 Galactic sources, as well as 199 unclassified and 218 unidentified sources. According to our analysis, the hard X-ray sky is mainly populated by Seyfert galaxies and blazars. For the blazar population, we report trends between the hard X-ray and the gamma-ray emissions based on the fact that a large fraction of them also have a counterpart detected by the Fermi satellite. These trends are all in agreement with the expectations of inverse Compton models which are widely adopted to explain the blazar broadband emission. For the Seyfert galaxies, we present the second version of the Turin-SyCAT, including a total of 633 Seyfert galaxies, with 282 new sources corresponding to an increase of ~80% with respect to the previous release. Comparing the hard X-ray and the infrared emissions of Seyfert galaxies, we confirm that there is no clear difference between the flux distribution of the infrared-to-hard X-ray flux ratio of Seyfert galaxies Type 1 and Type 2. However, there is a significant trend between the mid-IR flux and hard X-ray flux, confirming previous statistical results in the literature. Conclusions. We provide two catalog tables. The first is the revised version of the 3PBC catalog based on our multifrequency analyses. The second catalog table is a release of the second version of the Turin-SyCAT catalog. Finally, we highlight that extensive soft X-ray data are already available in the form of the Swift archive which can be used to search for potential counterparts of unidentified hard X-ray sources. All these datasets will be reduced and analyzed in a forthcoming analysis to determine the precise position of low-energy counterparts in the 0.5–10 keV energy range for 3PBC sources that can be targets of future optical spectroscopic campaigns; this is necessary to obtain their precise classification.

We present the IXPE observation of GRB 221009A, which includes upper limits on the linear polarization degree of both prompt and afterglow emission in the soft X-ray energy band. GRB 221009A is an exceptionally bright gamma-ray burst (GRB) that reached Earth on 2022 October 9 after traveling through the dust of the Milky Way. The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) pointed at GRB 221009A on October 11 to observe, for the first time, the 2–8 keV X-ray polarization of a GRB afterglow. We set an upper limit to the polarization degree of the afterglow emission of 13.8% at a 99% confidence level. This result provides constraints on the jet opening angle and the viewing angle of the GRB, or alternatively, other properties of the emission region. Additionally, IXPE captured halo-rings of dust-scattered photons that are echoes of the GRB prompt emission. The 99% confidence level upper limit to the prompt polarization degree depends on the background model assumption, and it ranges between ∼55% and ∼82%. This single IXPE pointing provides both the first assessment of X-ray polarization of a GRB afterglow and the first GRB study with polarization observations of both the prompt and afterglow phases.

We recently constructed the G4Jy-3CRE, a catalog of extragalactic radio sources based on the GLEAM 4-Jy (G4Jy) sample, with the aim of increasing the number of powerful radio galaxies and quasars with similar selection criteria to those of the revised release of the Third Cambridge Catalog (3CR). The G4Jy-3CRE consists of a total of 264 radio sources mainly visible from the Southern Hemisphere. Here, we present an initial X-ray analysis of 89 G4Jy-3CRE radio sources with archival X-ray observations from the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. We reduced a total of 624 Swift observations, for about 0.9 Ms of integrated exposure time. We found X-ray counterparts for 59 radio sources belonging to the G4Jy-3CRE, nine of them showing extended X-ray emission. The remaining 30 sources do not show any X-ray emission associated with their radio cores. Our analysis demonstrates that X-ray snapshot observations, even if lacking uniform exposure times, as those carried out with Swift, allow us to (i) verify and/or refine the host galaxy identification; (ii) discover the extended X-ray emission around radio galaxies of the intracluster medium when harbored in galaxy clusters, as the case of G4Jy 1518 and G4Jy 1664; and (iii) detect X-ray radiation arising from their radio lobes, as for G4Jy 1863.