1993 ARAA 31 639 RadioGalaxies

Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys.
Copyright © 1993 by Annual

1993.31:639-88
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HIGH REDSHIFT RADIO

GALAXIES
Annu. Rev. Astro. Astrophys. 1993.31:639-688. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org
Patrick J. McCarthy I
The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington,
by Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP) on 09/29/11. For personal use only.
8 1 3 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, California 9 1 1 0 1
KEY WORDS: radio sources, galacy evolution, extra-nuclear activity, cosmology
1. INTRODUCTION
The optical properties of radio galaxies have not been reviewed in this
series since Moffet's contribution in 1 966, and there has never been an
article on high redshift radio galaxies in particular. There have been a
number of reviews of radio sources and their properties in the ensuing
years, but the mystery that surrounded radio galaxies at the time of
Moffet's review slumbered for two decades.
I mark the birth of this field with Minkowski's ( 1 960) measurement of
the redshift of 3C 295. At z 0.462 this was, at the time, the most distant
=
object known. Minkowski's approach to finding distant galaxies was

motivated by frustrated attempts to measure faint galaxy redshifts from
absorption lines. Strong emission lines are easier to detect than absorption
lines and Minkowski knew that galaxies with very strong emission lines
could be found in radio �urveys. These two facts remain among the strong
est motivations for studying faint radio galaxies today.
Radio interferometry began producing precise positions for strong
sources in the late 1960s, allowing the identification of radio galaxies at
the limit of the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS) (e.g. Veron 1 966).
A number of groups continued to identify radio galaxies with the hopes
that they would be suitable for cosmological investigations (e.g. Kristian
et al 1 974, 1 978). The availability of optically selected cluster galaxies out
to z", 0.5 and the increasing concerns regarding the impact of radio
I Hubble Fellow
639
0066-4 1 46/93/09 1 5-0639$02.00
640 McCARTHY
selection on cosmological investigations reduced the motivation for these

programs. By the early 1980s only Spinrad, Longair, and their col
laborators were pursuing identification and spectroscopy of faint radio
galaxies.
Spinrad (1982) obtained the first galaxy redshift greater than 1 . Inte
gration times of 10- 1 2 hours, spread over several nights, were often needed
to detect what today we would consider fairly strong emission lines. The
first radio galaxy redshift over 2 was measured by Chambers et al in 1 988,
the first over 3 followed by less than a year (Lilly 1 988), and within a few
months Chambers et al (1990) had measured a redshift of 3.8 for a 4C

galaxy.
The large number of radio galaxies with z '" I available in the mid-
1 980s led to renewed interest in the Hubble diagram and similar tests. By
1985 it seemed that the properties of radio galaxies were reasonably well
understood and their use as probes of galaxy evolution and cosmology
was contemplated with guarded optimism (e.g. Lilly & Longair 1984;
Spinrad & Djorgovski 1 987). The discovery of strong connections between
the radio and optical properties in the late 1 980s led to renewed scrutiny
of the wisdom of using radio sources for these investigations.
Here I concentrate on the galaxies that host powerful radio sources and
will not explicitly address issues associated specifically with the radio
emission. There have been a number of reviews of radio sources in this
series (e.g. Miley 1980, Bridle & Perley 1 984, Saikia & Salter 1988). More
recent reviews that deal with the radio properties of distant sources are
given by Laing (1989), and van Breugel & McCarthy ( 1 989). I do not
discuss models that link radio galaxies and quasars except when it is helpful
in understanding some aspect of the radio galaxies (see Antonucci 1993,
this volume).
2. THE CONTENT OF RADIO SURVEYS
Low frequency surveys have been most effective in selecting distant radio
galaxies. Surveys at very low frequencies (v « 1 00 MHz), however, tend
to select sources in rich clusters at modest redshifts (e.g. Slingo 1 974).
Naively one might suppose that the most distant radio sources should be
found in the deepest radio catalogues. While this may be true, weak source
surveys have proved less effective than strong source surveys (primarily the
3CR and 4C) in identifying large numbers of galaxies at z > 1. Allington
Smith (1982) argued t_hat t�e opt�mum selection 408 MHz flux density is
near 1 Jy, where the source counts reach their largest excess over the
no-evolution line -(e.g. Condon 1984). The linear sizes of radio sources
with a fixed luminosity decreases with increasing redshift (e.g. Kapahi
HIGH REDSHIFT RADIO GALAXIES 64 1
1989), leading to the addition of angular size limits to some samples. The
discovery of a strong correlation between identification fraction and radio
spectral index by Tielens et al (1979) and Blumenthal & Miley (1979) led
Chambers ct al ( 1 988a) to add a steep spectrum selection criterion to their
4C sample. This has proven highly effective at selecting sources with z > 1 .
Each additional selection rule adds biases and ultimately complicates
interpretation of the results.
Table 1 lists the characteristics of major programs that I am aware of.
Details of some of these follow.
3CRand3CRR
The 3CR is one of only two samples that is complete in both identification
and redshift content. The 3CR sources with b > 1 0° are completely iden
tified and all but 2 of these (99%) have spectroscopic redshifts. The bulk
of the work on the 3CR sample has been done by Spinrad and co-workers
(e.g. Spinrad et al 1 985a, Djorgovski et al 1 988, Strom et al 1 990), but
others have contributed significantly (e.g. Kristian et a1 1 974, 1 978; Kris
tian & Minkowski 1975; Longair & Gunn 1975; Riley et a11980; Gunn et
al 1981).
The median redshifts of the 3CR galaxies and quasars are 0.27 and 0.9 1
respectively. The median z for the FR II radio galaxies alone is 0.422.
[Edge darkened sources are Fanaroff-Riley class I, while edge-brightened
Table 1 Radio source surveys
Frequency Flux # of ID QSR z > 1 Additional

Survey MHz Jy sources % % % constraints
6C/2Jy" 151 2.2<S<4.4 67 30 24 34<6<40 08<<><13

3CRb 178 9 298 60 20 15 ·05<6
3CRRc 178 10 173 60 20 15 b>lO 10<6
d
4C/USS 178 2 46 20 30 20<6<40 a<·1
ESO/UTRAO' 365 0.25 372 15 0<6<20 a<·1
B2/lJ y 408 2>S>1 59 39 24 20 b>30 34<6<40 0<<><13
MCR/JJyg 408 0.9 540 30 25 15 b>15 ·30<6<·20
B3/VLAh 408 0.1 1103 30 37<6<47
LBDSi 1412 0.001 306 53 20 selected areas
PSR i 2700 0.1 1178 67 29 selected areas
MOk 5000 0.106 5974 45 24 b>lO 0<6<19.5
PR 1 5000 1.3 65 52 26 b>lO 35<6
a Baldwin et al 1985. Eales 1985a,b; b Bennet 1962, Spinrad et al 1985a; Laing et al 1983; d Tielens et al
C
1979, Chambers & Miley 1990; Douglas et a1 1980, Rottgering 1993; f Allington-Smith 1982;' Large et al
C
1981, McCarthy et al 1990a; h Ficarra et al ln5, Vigotti et a1 1989; i Windhorst et al J984a,b; j Downes et
al 1986, Dunlop et al 1989a; k Bennett et al 1986, Lawrence et al 1986.
642 McCARTHY
double sources are FR lIs (Fanaroff & Riley 1 974).] Of the radio galaxies,
16% lie at z > I; only one has z > 2.
Laing et al ( 1 983) compiled the 3CRR to overcome the completeness
problems, in terms of S" arising in the 3CR from confusion, partial
resolution, and inhomogeneous flux measurements. The sample, defined
by SI78 > 10 Jy, £5 > + 1 0° and b > 1 0°, contains 1 73 sources and is 96%
complete for e < 1 0'. Radio and IR investigators prefer the 3CRR, while
most optical investigators use the larger, but less rigorously defined 3CR
sample. A complete list of the red shifts for FR II 3CR sources and ref
erences for modern maps are given in McCarthy et al ( 1 99 1 a). An up-to

date compilation of redshifts and identifications can be obtained from H .
Spinrad b y request.
4C and 4C/USS
The 4C sample was also selected at 1 78 MHz using the Cambridge tele
scopes (Pilkington & Scott 1 965), but has a limiting flux density of 2 Jy.
The innovation that made the 4C extremely useful was the employment
of a radio spectral index selection bias by Miley and co-workers. The
origin of this program was a study by Tielens et al ( 1 979), who isolated a
sample of 35 4C sources with a < -I at v > 1 78 MHz. The low identi
fication fraction and small angular sizes of these sources suggested that
they might lie at large red shifts.
The 4C Ultra Steep Spectrum (USS) sample is rich in distant galaxies,
and continues to hold the redshift record for galaxies (4C 4 1 . 1 7, z 3 . 8;
=
Chambers et al 1 990). Eight of the original 35 sources have z > 2 and 2

have z > 3 (Chambers & Miley 1 990), in stark contrast to the 3CR. Some
of the success of this program comes from the lower flux-density limit
(compared to the 3CR), but the bulk of the increased efficiency must come
from the a selection. The physics behind the success of the steep spectrum
bias remains unclear. A better understanding requires completion of the
larger unbiased surveys as well as detailed modeling of the evolution of
the radio spectra.
B2/1 Jy
The second Bologna survey (B2) contains 9475 sources with S408 > 0.25
Jy and + 24 < £5 < + 34 (Colla et al 1 973). From this survey, Allington
Smith ( 1 982) selected 59 sources with I < S 408 < 2 Jy. The motivation for
this selection was to study the population of sources responsible for the
excess source counts over the no-evolution predictions. Allington-Smith
et al ( 1 985, 1 988) give redshifts for a number of B2jIJy sources. Lilly
( 1 989) has worked on the faintest B2jIJy sources and has measured or
estimated their redshifts from multicolor photometry. B2 0902 + 34 at
HIGH REDSHIFT RADIO GALAXIES 643
z = 3.4 (Lilly 1 988) was the most distant galaxy for a brief period and
remains one of the most extensively studied distant galaxies. Although the
B2/1Jy sample is small and remains incomplete in its redshift content, it
is widely used for statistical studies.
MG
The first MIT-Greenbank survey (Bennett et al 1986) covers 1 .87 sr of sky
and contains 5974 sources selected at 5 GHz. Nearly 1 000 of these were
observed with the VLA by Lawrence et al (1986) who give precise positions,
optical identifications, and spectral indices for many of the sources.

Lawrence et al ( 1 984) give a breakdown of the identification fraction
as a function of source morphology and identification type.
Spinrad et al ( 1 993) have selected 2 1 6 MG sources according to the

following rules: C( < -0.75, () < 1 0", and the source must have a double
or other simple structure. Spinrad et al have imaged 88 of these sources
to date and have identified 70 galaxies and 1 1 QSRs; four sources remain
unidentified to R > 25. Spinrad et al have obtained redshifts for 57 of their
88 sources and find a median z of 1 . 1. Their sample contains 4 galaxies
with z > 2 and one with z > 3 .
MRC/IJy
The Molonglo Reference Catalog (Large et al 1 9 8 1 ) contains 1 2, 1 4 1
sources with S408 > 0.7 J y i n 7.85 sr o f sky defined b y + 1 8 . 5 >
b > -85, b > 3 . C. R. Subrahmanya defined the MRC( 1 Jy sample by
S408 > 0.9 Jy, -30 < D < -20, and b > 1 0 (McCarthy et a1 1 990a, 1 99 1 b).
The original sources studied by McCarthy et al were the subset having
1X(408,843 MHz) < -0.9 and no optical identifications on the SRC films.
This sample is rich in galaxies at large z. As of this writing 1 8 of the
MRC( 1 Jy steep-spectrum sources have z > 2, 2 have z > 3, and an
additional 16 have 1 < z < 2. Redshifts have been determined for 45
sources with IX > -0.9 and none of these "normal" spectrum sources have
z > 1.5. This strong IX-Z correlation provides independent support for the
effectiveness of the steep C( selection bias used by Chambers et al ( 1 990).
Parkes/PSR
The Parkes 2700 MHz survey (summarized by Wright et al 1 977), contains
southern sources with flux densities greater than 0.25 Jy. The Parkes
Selected Regions (PSR) reach 0 . 1 Jy in six small (6.°5) regions at the
equator and at 15 = - 200 (Downes et aI 1 986). Images of the identifications
fainter than the POSS limit were obtained by Dunlop et al (1 989a). Redshift
determinations for the PSR sample have progressed considerably slower
than for other samples. To date there is only one PSR galaxy with a
644 McCARTHY
measured z > 2. Dunlop et al (1989b) have estimated the redshifts of most

of their galaxies from their K magnitudes, using an empirical fit to the
K-z relation for 3CR and B2jlJy sources derived by Lilly et al (1985).
B3
Vigotti et al (1989) have mapped 1103 sources from the Thi'rd Bologna
Catalog (Ficarra et a11985) and give statistics on the identification fraction
as a function of spectral index and flux density. Djorgovski et al (1990)
and I (McCarthy 1991) have been pursuing optical identification and z
measurements for the fainter sources.
ESO Key-Project
The ESO Key-Project team, headed by G. Miley, has defined a number of

samples using selection rules designed to optimize for high redshifts. The
largest subsample is selected from the UTRAO survey (Douglas 1980) and
is defined by S(365 MHz) < 1 .5 Jy, e < 40", ex < -1.0, ° < D < 20, and
b > 17.5, and contains 372 sources. This sample is similar to the other I
Jy class samples but with stringent spectral index and angular size limits.
Miley and other members of the Key Program in The Netherlands and
the UK have defined smaller samples selected at 408, 178, 151, and 38
MHz. At the time of this writing Miley et al have identified � 300 sources
and have obtained redshifts for a significant fraction of these. The sample
currently contains 23 galaxies with z > 2 and one at z > 3 (G. Miley & H .
Rottgering, personal communication).
Comparison of Results
The surveys listed in Table 1 cover a wide range of parameter space. A
few not very surprising conclusions can be drawn from comparisons among
the different surveys. The high frequency surveys have a higher identi
fication fraction and a higher quasar fraction than samples selected at low
frequencies. The surveys with high flux-density limits have high identi
fication fractions and low fractions of galaxies at z > I. What is surprising
is how small the effects are. Aside from the very strong Pearson-Readhead
(1981) sources (dominated by optically thick synchrotron emission), all
samples have the same quasar fraction to within a factor of 2. The identi
fication fraction and z > 1 content of the 4CjUSS sample arc only modestly
more favorable than the B2 and MRC I Jy samples. Many of the surveys
contain one galaxy with z > 3, but none contain more than 2. More than
50 galaxies with z > 2 and � 10 with z > 3 have been identified to date.
A review of this area in five years or so should contain a much clearer view
of galaxies at z > 3.
It is interesting to ask how one might design a sample with the highest
yield of z > 2 galaxies based on the information contained in this table.
Such a sample would probably be defined at a frequency between 408 and
1 5 1 MHz and at a 408 MHz flux density of ",0.5 to 1 Jy. More results
from intermediate strength samples are required before one can make a
strong case for 1 Jy over say 0.5 or even 0.25 Jy. Preselecting sources that
are not identified on the sky survey plates is essential and has been done
in much of the work listed in Table 1. The spectral index bias is clearly
quite helpful, but I suspect that selecting sources any steeper than v-' is
counter productive. Only Spinrad's MG sample and Miley et aI's 365 MHz
sample contain angular size cutoffs, but they both appear to be effective.
An angular size cutoff much larger than 30" would reject relatively few
sources that are not seen on the new sky survey material. A limit of 1 5"
might prove quite effective in selecting high z, but at the price of over
looking a significant fraction of galaxies at z 2.
'"
The sobering lesson contained in Table 1 is that most clever selection

criteria will probably produce only modest gains over the better under
stood unbiased surveys. There seems little choice but to put in the many
hours of observing needed to separate the high-z galaxies from their
foreground counterparts.
3. EMISSION-LINE PROPERTIES
Radio galaxies have rich emission-line spectra-one of their principle

advantages as signposts to high redshifts. The emission lines that are most
useful for redshift determination are Ha, [OIII]5007, [OII]3727, CIII] 1 909,
Hen 1 640, CIV1 549, and LyCl.
3. 1 Broad- versus Narrow-Line Radio Galaxies

In early work on radio source identification the distinction between radio
galaxies and quasars was simple: In radio galaxies, the host galaxy was
easily visible, whereas in the QSRs the optical identification was
unresolved. The host galaxies of radio quasars can now be seen to z 0.5'"
with relative ease (Malkan 1984, Hutchings et al 1 988), blurring this

distinction. Most classifications are still made on the basis of the appear
ance of the optical identification on sky survey prints. A more physical
distinction can be made from the properties of the emission-line spectra.
Classical radio galaxies have spectra with narrow (FWHM < 2000 km
s-') permitted lines and strong forbidden lines, while quasars have broad
permitted lines and relatively weak, in terms of WA, forbidden lines. The
objects that fall between these two classes, having resolved appearance
and broad lines, are the broad-lined and the "N" type radio galaxies.
Several of the first identified radio galaxies have very broad Ha profiles.
646 McCARTHY
Osterbrock et al ( 1 976) gave the first quantitative description of the prop

erties of broad-line radio galaxies (BLRGs), which they characterized by
HI lines with FWHM > 2000, and FWZI <: 1 4,000 km s - '. The for
bidden-line spectra of the BLRGs are similar to those of narrow-line radio
galaxies, while the broad lines are similar to those of Seyfert I galaxies,
but with much weaker Fen emission and larger Balmer decrements (Oster
brock 1977). Grandi & Osterbrock ( 1 978) suggested that 1 of 4 3CR radio
galaxies are BLRGs, although my compilation yields a fraction of � 1 5 % .
The BLRG spectroscopic classification is strongly correlated with the "N"
morphological classification (Grandi & Osterbrock 1 978). Yee & Oke
( 1 978) found a high fraction of nonstellar light in the nuclei of the N

galaxies.
It is important to keep these results in mind when interpreting the spectra

of high-redshift radio galaxies in terms of purely stellar models. Most
photometric studies of radio galaxies exclude broad-line galaxies for this
reason. The ability to identify broad-lined objects, however, may be
strongly z dependent. For 0.8 < z < 1 .6 there are few strong permitted
lines within the range covered by most spectra. The large Het/Hfi ratios in
the broad lines also make it difficult to correctly classify the BLRGs at
z '" 0.4. Hill et al ( 1 993) have detected broad Paschen lines in a number
of intermediate z galaxies using near-IR spectroscopy. This work will help
clarify the relative fraction of BLRGs and is important for unification
models.
3.2 Narrow-Line Radio Galaxies in the Visible and UV

The remaining discussion will focus on narrow-line galaxies and their
nuclear line emission. Since a large fraction of the powerful radio galaxies
are extended in one or more emission lines, the distinction between nuclear
and extended emission is not altogether precise. Most spectra have been
obtained with 2" wide or wider slits or apertures, which at z > 1 encompass
1 0 kpc or more.
Compilations of relative line strengths for low redshift radio galaxies
are given by Osterbrock & Miller ( 1 975), Costero & Osterbrock ( 1 977),
Grandi & Osterbrock ( 1 978), Koski ( 1 978), Hine & Longair (1 979), Dan
ziger & Goss ( 1 983), Robinson et al ( 1 987), and others. Representative
spectra of objects with intermediate redshifts can be found in Spinrad &
Smith (1976), Smith et al ( 1 979), Perryman et al ( 1 984), and Allington
Smith et al ( 1 988).
The median rest-frame Wi[OII]3727) for the 3CR sample in the range
0.2 < z < 1.0 is � 85 A, significantly larger than the median of � 25 A for
field galaxies of similar magnitudes (but not redshifts) found by Broadhurst
et al (1988). Few of the radio quiet field galaxies have W[OII] > 60 A and
·
HIGH REDSHIFf RADIO GALAXIES 647
none have the 300 A lines seen in the extreme radio galaxies (e.g. 3C 324,
Spinrad & Djorgovski 1 984a; 3C 368, Djorgovski et al 1 987). The 1 Jy
sources have a mean W.([OIID one halfthat ofthe 3CR galaxies (Allington
Smith et al 1985, 1 988). This reflects the correlation between emission-line
luminosity and radio power (see Section 3 .4) and the different depths of
the 3CR and 1 Jy samples.
The earliest detection of Lye< in a radio galaxy was made by Fosbury et
al ( 1 982) who observed PKS 2 1 58-380 (z = 0.03) with the International
Ultraviolet Explorer (fUE). This galaxy is remarkably similar, in retrospect,
to the typical radio galaxy at high z. It has strong Lye< (W.l. � 600 A)
CIV 1 549 and HeIII640 with ratios essentially indistinguishable from the
z > 1 .8 galaxies. Ferland & Osterbrock ( 1 985) observed a few radio gal
axies with the short wavelength camera of JUE. Lye< was detected only in
3C 1 92 and 3C 223; no other UV lines were seen. Keel & Windhorst ( 1 9 9 1 )
have reprocessed the IUE data and have compiled all o f the U V spectra
of radio galaxies at low z.
The first detections of Lyoc in high redshift galaxies were made by Spinrad
et al ( l 985b), 20 years after the first detection of Lye< in quasars (3C 9,
Schmidt 1 965). The objects observed by Spinrad et al are prototypical
of radio galaxies at z > 1 . 8. Their spectra are dominated by Lye< with
WJ.(observed) � 1 000 A, and CIV 1 549, Hell 1 640, and CIII] 1 909 with
WJ. � 1 50 A. Spectra of a substantial number of z > 1 . 5 galaxies can be
found in the literature (McCarthy et a1 1 990a, b, 1 9 9 1 a, b; Chambers et al
1 990). A remarkable aspect of these objects is the small dispersion in the
line ratios and WJ.s. For 28 galaxies with 1 .7 < z < 3 . 5, I determine a mean
rest-frame W.(Lyoc) of 295 ± 1 88 A (the typical uncertainty in each is 1 20
A). The 3CR and 1 Jy galaxies show a range in the Lye</CIV 1 549 and
Lyoc/HeII1 640 ratios of a factor of 4. The range in the CIV 1 649/HeII1 640
ratio is 1 .46±0.37, a dispersion on the order of the measurement errors.
3.3 The Source of Ionization and Excitation of the Emission
Lines
The most direct way of determining the ionization mechanism is to com�
pare the observed line ratios-a measure of the relative abundances of
different ions or the level populations within a given ion-to model pre
dictions. This can be done by comparing a single representative spectrum
to a set of models, or by comparing the data for a large number of objects
with a set of models in a two or more dimensional space (Baldwin et al
1 98 1 ). Robinson et al ( 1 987) made extensive use of the latter approach for
1 0w-z radio galaxies.
To compare the strengths of a large number of lines with other classes
of AGNs and various models one must combine the spectra of many
648 McCARTHY
objects. This is necessitated by both the limited rest wavelength coverage

of ground-based spectra and by the need for reasonable signal-to-noise
levels. C. Lawrence and I have constructed a composite spectrum com
posed of 3CR and I Jy class galaxies with 0. 1 < z < 3. This spectrum,
covering rest wavelengths from 800 A to 5500 A, is shown in Figure 1 .
Table 2 contains the rest-frame WAs and relative strengths for 3 2 lines
detected below 5000 A. Line strengths for composite Seyfert II and QSO
spectra from Ferland & Osterbrock ( 1 986) and Boyle ( 1 990) are given
along with the results of a single-zone photoionization calculation.
Table 2 shows the differences between radio galaxy, Seyfert II, and QSO
spectra. The QSOs have stronger CIV 1 549, CIII] 1 909, and M glI2800 and
weaker He1l1 640, relative to Lya, compared to the radio galaxies. The
Seyfert l Is are intermediate in these respects; their CIV1 549 and MgII2800
lines are stronger, but by smaller factors. The radio galaxies have much
weaker NV1 240, relative to Lycx, than the QSOs, although the
NV 1 240/CIV 1 549 ratios are quite similar. The strong NV l 240 emission
belies the belief that radio galaxies have predominately low-ionization
spectra. The radio galaxies show no emission from Fell in any of the UV
or visible bands. The forbidden-line spectra of the radio galaxy and Seyfert
II composites are virtually indistinguishable.
The results of a simple photoionization calculation (made with Ferland's
CLOUDY code) for a thin slab of gas with constant density (n. = 1 00
cm- 3) illuminated by a v- 1.5 spectrum with an ionization parameter of
Log U -1 .8 are given in Table 2. This simple model reproduces the com
=
posite radio galaxy spectrum remarkably well considering the wide range
in properties of the individual objects and the uncertainties involved in
combining them. The power-law model agrees with nearly all of the line
strengths within a factor of 2-3, the exceptions being the highest ionization
lines, NV l 240 and OV I l 035. The failure of this simple single-zone model
to produce the very wide range of ionization seen in the radio galaxies is
not terribly important. A more physical model with a range of ionization
parameters would undoubtedly produce a better fit. The high ionization
lines in particular imply that some of the gas must see a very high ionization
parameter. A pure v-1.5 power-law produces a Lycx equivalent width of 96
A, whereas an a = - 1 .0 power-law produces 665 A. This covers the
observed range of equivalent widths, although much of the UV light is
likely to be stellar, implying that the shape of the ionizing continuum is
harder than a = - 1 .5 . The simple model listed in Table 2 can produce
nearly as good a fit with a flatter spectrum and a lower. U.
The photoionization calculations made by Ferland & Osterbrock ( 1 986,
1 987) in modeling the spectra of Seyfert II galaxies reproduce the radio
galaxy spectrum well, reinforcing the belief that photoionization is the
4
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3500 4000 4500 5000 5500

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1.0
.5
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500
Figure 1 A composite radio galaxy spectrum constructed from observations of galaxies

with 0 . 1 < z < 3. The spectra were obtained with the Kitt Peak 4-m, Lick 3-m, and Palomar
5-m with 2"-2.5" x 3" apertures. The UV continuum SED is shown in the bottom panel. The
emission lines have been fit with Gaussians and subtracted. The dotted line is a Bruzual
model with an age of 300 Myr for a delta function burst.
650 McCARTHY
Table 2 Emission-line strengths
Line A Wi. RG Syll QSO Model

ID A A jjHp jjHp jjHp jjHp
Ly Ii 1023 42 85
OVI 1035 92 192 1
Lyex 1216 919 3100 5500 3100 3110
NV 1240 44 154 818 4
CII 1336 9 37 86 20
Si IV/a IV 1402 35 163 322 16

CIV 1549 74 364 1200 1429 237
HE II 1640 62 318 203 167 173

a III] 1663 14 72 118 20
CIII] 1909 32 177 550 639 160
CII] 2326 19 92 120 21
[Ne IV] 2424 9 41 22
[Ne IV] 2426 11 49
all 2470 9 41
MGII 2798 19 78 180 725 42
alII 3113 3 11
dominant ionization mechanism in radio galaxies. Conclusions regarding

the shape of the ionizing continuum must await detailed modeling. Binette
et al (1 988) performed photoionization calculations for AGNs with a
variety of input spectra and showed that simple power laws are not
required, or necessarily even favored, over high temperature black bodies
and composite spectra. Robinson et al ( 1 987) analyzed the line ratios of
low-redshift radio galaxies with extended emission lines. Both the nuclear
and off-nuclear line ratios were well fit with simple photoionization models,
the off-nuclear spectra having lower U values.
The enormous energy contained in the relativistic electrons associated
with radio sources (e.g. Burbidge 1 959) led Ferland & Mushotzky ( 1 984)
to consider the impact of cosmic ray heating on the emission-line regions
of radio-loud AGNs. As long as the relativistic and thermal plasmas are
mixed, cosmic rays can significantly alter the energetics and, in some cases,
the line spectra of the thermal gas. Their models of narrow-line regions
and extended emission lines do not agree well with the UV spectra of either
the nuclear or extranuclear emission in the high-z radio galaxies. As with
the shock models, the strongest discrepancy is with the strong HeII 1 640
seen in the radio galaxies. The enhancement, of low ionization species
Line A Wi, RG SyII QSO Model

ID A A j/Hp f/Hp j/Hp j/Hp
He II 3203 4 14
[NeV] 3346 6 20 40 10
[NeV] 3426 22 69 120 31
[011] 3727 128 364 320 160
[Ne III] 3869 30 82 140 105
HI 3889 7 19
HI 3970 7 21
[Ne III] 3967 9 26 47 35

[8 II] 4072 5 16 1
HI 4102 7 22
HI 4340 7 24
[0III] 4363 2 8 21 14
He II 4686 5 20 29
HI 486t 27 100 tOO 130
[0III] 4959 80 307 337 650
[0 III] 5007 241 866 1011 1945
(e.g. [011]3727, Mg1l2800) relative to [OIII]5007 is also at odds with the

observed spectra. These models are not complete and Daly ( 1 993) has
suggested that cosmic ray heating could be important in understanding
the correlation between the emission line and radio luminosities (see
below). She correctly points out that a number of important physical
processes (e.g. local UV from inverse-Compton) have not been properly
treated. I suspect that it will remain difficult for these models to reproduce
the UV spectra, and the Hell1 640/CIV1 549 ratio in particular.
3.4 Emission-Line Luminosities

Before looking for evolution in the line luminosities or for correlations
with radio luminosities, one must combine objects observed in different
lines. I derived mean line ratios for the 3CR galaxies by averaging the
ratios for many galaxies for which two or more of the principle lines were
observed and by requiring that the line luminosity vs z plot be continuous
at z = 1.5-the redshift break between [OII]3727 and Lytx. The ratios
relative to [OII]3727 are Lytx: 5, [OIIl]5007: 3, and Htx + [NIl]: 3 (McCarthy
1 988). Using these ratios one can construct plots of equivalent L[oll] versus
z or Lr• In Figure 2 I plot L[oll] [or the 3CR and 1 Jy samples against
652 McCARTHY
P1400MHz' The apparent correlation is difficult to interpret unambiguously

because of the artificial Lr -z correlation inherent in the 3CR due to
selection biases caused by the broad luminosity function and the high flux
limit (e.g. Sandage 1 972). The I Jy samples provide objects with lower
radio luminosities at each z, as well as objects at z > 2 with Lr similar to
the Z � 1 3CR galaxies. The ratio of flux limits in the 3CR and 1 Jy samples,
however, is small compared to the dispersion in the line luminosities at
any z or P1400•
The question of whether the emission-line and radio luminosities of
radio galaxies are correlated has been examined by a number of groups,

with most favoring the reality of the correlation, even when the data are
not compelling (e.g. Hine & Longair 1 979). Baum & Heckman ( 1 989a)
found a correlation between Ret + [NII]6584,6548 and radio luminosities

in their low-z galaxies. Their sample is flux limited at S408 > 11 Jy, and has
the strong Lr-z Malmquist bias making it difficult to formally conclude
that the primary correlation is between LH� and Lr rather than between
LH� and z. The 3CR sample used by McCarthy & van Breugel (1989) is
more plagued by the built-in Lr- z correlation than any other, and is
•
•
44
•
i
III
tID
...
Q) 42 o
,...,
,......, 0
- o 0 0
o
3 eo o o o
';:l 0 o
0 o
0 o
tID °eo
0 0 0 o
....l 0
40 0
0
32 33 34
- p5 1
36 37
Log P(1400 MHz) erg s Hz-
Figure 2 The equivalent [OII)3727 luminosity versus radio power at 1400 MHz. The open
symbols are the 3CR galaxies, the filled symbols are the M RCjIJy galaxies. The source of
the data is discussed in the text.
also inconclusive in the strictest sense. Saunders et al ( 1 989) reported
correlations between emission-line luminosity (either [OII]3727 or
[OIII]5007) and P!78' Using their sample of z < 0.5 objects alone, Saunders
et al conclude that the correlation between emission-line and radio lumin
osities is significant but not compelling As do Baum & Heckman ( 1 989a),
.•
Saunders et al add data on the distant 3CRs from the literature and find
a strong correlation. These authors, however, point out that there is no way
of assessing the completeness, or more precisely the representativeness, of
the spectrophotometry in the literature. The human tendency to publicize
one's more spectacular data may result in weak-lined objects being left out
of published reports.
The data for 3CR galaxies that went into Figure 2 come from two
sources. The bulk of the low-z objects are from the Baum et al ( 1 988)
sample, selected solely by flux density and sky location. The remaining
points are from data collected by Spinrad and co-workers (including the
author) as part of a program to determine the redshifts for all of the 3CR
sources. Objects with particularly weak lines were observed intensively
until an unambiguous redshift was determined. The criterion that excluded
an object from this database was its having a z measured by another group
(e.g. Perryman et aI 1984). For this reason the 3CR sample used in Figure
2 is more than 85% complete for z > 0.5. The objects whose redshifts were
measured by other groups are unlikely to have systematically weaker lines
than those measured by Spinrad et al. Given that the z < 0.5 data are from
a representative sample and that the � > 0.5 data are from an unbiased
and > 85% complete sample, the criticism made by Saunders et al does
not apply to the 3CR data in Figure 2. The data for the 1 Jy sources in
Figure 2 are incomplete and are thus on a less secure footing than the 3CR
data. Objects whose lines are too weak to allow for a z determination
are not plotted as upper limits. Adding these upper limits would only
strengthen the case for a L[olIJ VS Lr correlation over a L[olI] vs z corre
lation. I consider the reality of the L[Oll]- Lr correlation to be secure.
The simplest conclusion to be drawn from the L[OII]-Lr correlation is
that the emission lines and radio emitting regions ultimately draw their
energy from the same source, as stressed by Baum & Heckman (1989a,b).
The connection between the energy in the radio source and in the emission
lines could take several forms. The emission lines could be powered directly
by the radio hot spots and jets, either by photoionization by an extension
of the synchrotron spectrum or, more plausibly, by Compton up-scattered
photons (Daly 1 993), or by collisional ionization and heating from rela
tivistic electrons. Alternatively, both the radio sources and the emission
line regions could draw their luminosities from gravitational interactions
associated with mergers. The strong evidence in favor of photoionization
654 McCARTHY
by hard radiation suggests that these mechanisms are not important and
that both the emission lines and radio plasma draw their energy from the
active nucleus. The morphology of the emission line gas supports this view
and suggests that the nuclei produce far more far-UV photons than we
observe directly. The substantial "noise" in the correlation makes sense in
light of both the very different physical mechanisms involved in producing
the line and radio emission and their very different scales and sensitivities
to boundary conditions and temporal changes in the central source.
3.5 Morphology of the Line-Emitting Gas

Emission-line imaging observations by Heckman, Miley, and van Breugel,
and by Fosbury and his collaborators revealed spatially extended emission

lines in a fair number of low-z radio galaxies (e.g. Heckman et al 1982).
Baum et al ( 1 988) imaged 43 radio galaxies with 0.01 < z < 0.2 in Hoc or
in [OIII] 5007. Robinson ( 1989) and Fosbury ( 1 989) review these low
redshift emission-line imaging programs. The major qualitative results
are: a large fraction of powerful radio galaxies have spatially resolvable
emission lines (Baum & Heckman 1989a) with scales of up to -100
kpc (Baum & Heckman 1 989a); and the large-scale emission lines are
distributed in filamentary structures with low filling factors and are often
found near the boundaries of radio lobes or adjacent to bright radio
features. The larger systems show a weak tendency to be aligned with the
axis defined by the radio lobes (Baum & Heckman 1 989a). An example of
a very extended emission-line region in an intermediate redshift source is
shown in Figure 3 . McCarthy ( 1 988) imaged a sample of 50 3CR galaxies
spanning 0.1 < z < 1 .8, but with particular emphasis on the z > 0.3 objects
as a complement to the Baum et al ( 1 988) survey. The properties of the
extended emission lines in the high-z radio galaxies are similar to, but
more extreme than, those found at lower z (or lower radio powers). Baum
& Heckman ( 1 989a) determined a median size of 1 5 kpc (Ho 50), while
=
McCarthy (1 988) found a median size of 80 kpc for z > 0.2. While the
nebulae are large, they are on average 20 times smaller than their radio
sources. McCarthy et al ( 1 987b) first pointed out the strong alignment
between the emission line and radio axes for high-z 3CR galaxies. Using
the combined 3CRo samples of McCarthy ( 1 988) and Baum et al ( 1 988),
McCarthy & van Breugel (1989) showed that there is a strong evolution
in the alignment between the radio and emission line axes, with nearly all
of the z > 0.3 objects having their emission lines primarily along their
radio source axes. McCarthy et al ( 1 9 9 1 a) show that the majority of the
z > 0.5 emission-line nebulae are one-sided, and this asymmetry is strongly
correlated with the structural asymmetries in the radio sources.
Figure 3 An [OIII]5007 image o f 3 C 458 (z = 0.29). The size o f the image is 45" x 45".
3.6 Physical Properties and Energetics

The nebulae of active galaxies are believed to be composed of an ensemble
of clouds occupying a small fraction of the total volume of visible emission.
McCarthy et al (1990b) and Heckman et al ( 1 99 1 ) give simple formulae
relating the observed Lyoc surface brightness and luminosity to ne, the
volume filling factor, and the mass of ionized gas. The density within the
clouds can be inferred very crudely from the photoionization models and
some assumptions about the ionizing source. The dimensionless ionization
parameter, given by U Qion/4nr2nec (where Qion is the ionizing photon
=
production rate), in the high-z nebulae are typically", 1 0 - 2-10- 3 . Qion can
be deduced by counting the number of Lyct photons, assuming that every
ionization results in the eventual emission of a Lya photon that escapes
656 McCARTHY
the nebulae. A typical z � 2 emission region has L(LylX) 3 X 1 044 erg

�
s - I, Qion '" 1055 S- I, and a characteristic size of 30 kpc. Thus the typical
nebula has ne '" 1 0 em" 2,/v 1 0- 4 :"'1 0- 5 , and M '" 109Mo. These values
'"
are both very crude and poorly constrained. The primary drawback with
this type of analysis is that one does not have a direct measurement of the
value of Qion, and so it is not possible to close the loop and determine both
the cloud filling factors and densities. Conversely, if we could measure the
densities directly we could, using photoionization models, . deduce Qion and
test the central ionization models.
Heckman et al ( 1 99 1 ) have imaged LylX nebulosities associated with

high-z quasars. The advantage here is that one knows the properties of
the ionizing source with some confidence and can deduce the physical
properties of the emission-line clouds. The values that Heckman et al

deduce for the clouds are: ne 100,/v '" 10-7_10-8, and M '" 108Mo. If
'"
the radio galaxy nebulae are ionized by an obscured central quasar or

quasar-like UV source, as argued below, then the appropriate value of
Qion i s the number of LylX photons divided by the fraction of the sky covered
by the emission-line nebula (the covering factor,Ic). This increases Qion by
roughly two orders of magnitude and gives values for ne,h, and M similar
to those deduced for the quasar nebulae.
The pressure in the emission-line clouds is fairly high, nT", 1 06, and
their expected sizes are quite small. A. Fabian and C. Crawford have
pointed out repeatedly (e.g. Fabian et a1 1 987, Crawford & Fabian 1 989)
that these clouds must be confined or they will dissipate simply by their
own thermal expansion on short time scales. The pressures needed to
confine these clouds are larger than those found in ordinary galaxy halos
and may be larger than those found in many clusters. Fabian et al (1 987)
argue that these high pressures are indirect evidence for cooling flows and
that high mass inflow rates are associated with many of the high-z radio
galaxies. This is a very intriguing idea and should be falsifiable with x-ray
observations with either ROSAT or future missions. The present analyses,
however, probably have just enough uncertainty and allowed parameter
space to yield consistent solutions that do not require cooling flows. It is
also possible that the individual clouds and filaments have short lifetimes
and are continuously being destroyed and replaced by newly condensed
clouds.
If the emission-line nebulae are photoionized, and not ionized by rela
tivistic e- or cooling plasma, then we must identify the source of the
ionizing photons. The active nucleus is frequently cited as the most natural
source of photons, although this leads to energetic difficulties. While Daly's
( 1 992a) inverse-Compton model is attractive it does not help with the
ionization budget for present day radio galaxies. The difficulty with the
central photoionization model is the paucity of observed UV photons.
This "photon deficit" problem is well documented in low-redshift radio
galaxies and Robinson ( 1 989) gives a review. In the central ionization
model the active nucleus isotropically emits ionizing photons with some
distribution in energy. These photons are then absorbed by dense clouds
at some distance from the nucleus and are reradiated as line photons with a
luminosity proportional to that of the central source. This proportionality
constant is related to the covering factor, !c- the fraction of the sky
covered by optically thick (to the Lyman continuum) clouds as seen from
the nucleus.
Baum & Heckman ( 1 989a) find for their sample of low-z radio galaxies
a strong correlation between the observed Hoc photon fluxes and the
extrapolated ionizing flux, in accord with the central source model. The
!CS implied by Baum & Heckman's analysis range from > 0.2 to � I with
a median value of 0.6, implying that most or aIJ of the ionizing photons
are absorbed in the typical nebulae. The emission-line images, however,
show that!c is at most a few tens of percent and is likely to be considerably
less, depending on the three-dimensional structure of the nebulae. A similar
analysis can be carried out at high z using [OII]3727 or Lyoc. The direct
access to the rest-frame UV in these objects reduces the uncertainty in
extrapolating the continuum, allowing a more stringent test. The result is
much the same: The required!cs are of order unity, while the [OII]3727
images at z 0.5-1 imply !c « 1 . Covering factors derived from Lyoc
-
images of z,..., 2 galaxies are larger than those in lower z galaxies, but still
present problems for the central ionization models. The by now standard
solution to this problem is to invoke anisotropic FUV radiation from the
nucleus, along the lines suggested by Antonucci & Miller ( 1 985) for NGC
1 068. In the anisotropic photoionization model EUV radiation from an
obscured nucleus escapes preferentially within a narrow cone along the
radio axis and ionizes dense clouds in its path. The collimation of the
radiation is provided by a torus or disk that is optically thick over all solid
angles except for a small cone along its pole.
If this picture is correct, the emission-line nebulae then provide us with
a probe of the intensity and spectral shape of the central source. The
required luminosity is simply Q (emission lines) divided by the 3-D covering
factor of the nebulae. The typical high-z radio galaxy then requires a
central source with a luminosity of ,..., 1 046_1 047 erg S-I, in the same range
as radio loud quasars at comparable redshifts. The azimuthal extent of the
emission-line regions gives us an estimate for the opening angle of the cone
of ionizing radiation. McCarthy & van Breugel ( 1 989) inferred an opening
angle of,..., 30°. This inference depends entirely on the belief that the extent
of the emission-line regions reflects the distribution of the ionizing photons
658 McCARTHY
and not the location or disposition of the gas. It is for this reason that the
discovery of radio galaxies with emission-line regions along their radio
source axes and well beyond the maximum extent of the radio lobes is so
important. van Breugel & McCarthy ( 1990) show an excellent example of
this in 3C 435A (z = 0.46 1 ) in which the line emission extends 50 kpc
beyond the radio hot spots. 6C 1 232 + 39 (z = 3.2), discussed by Eales &
Rawlings ( 1 993) shows Lyo: emission well beyond thc extent of thc radio
emISSIOn.
This picture, in which an obscured UV source ionizes a cone of gas
along a particular direction, is currently very popular in the study of a

wide range of AGNs. One clear requirement of this type of model is
that the absorbed radiation be reradiated in the far IR or sub-mm. The
detections of several low and intermediate redshift radio galaxies by IRAS,

and the large FIR luminosities inferred by Yates & Longair ( 1 989) and
Heckman et al ( 1 986, 1 992) are encouraging in this respect. These results,
however, are far from conclusive and there is considerable work to be
done in the thermal IR before the obscured quasar model can be considered
secure.
3.7 Kinematics of the Line-Emitting Gas

Large velocities in the extended emission lines associated with low-redshift
radio galaxies were reported by van Breugel, Heckman, and their col
laborators (e.g. Heckman et al 1 984). These observations stimulated dis
cussion of possible interactions with the radio sources, and entrainment of
thermal gas was suggested as the origin of the large velocities. Theoretical
calculations along these lines have been made by De Young ( 1 98 1 , 1 986),
but there have been few, if any, convincing demonstrations that entrain
ment is occurring.
Baum et al ( 1 992) reported a correlation between the shape of the
velocity field and the emission-line ratios in the spatially extended gas in
low-z systems. Nebulae with low ionization spectra have turbulent velocity
fields with low overall amplitudes. The large emission-line nebulae with
high-excitation line spectra have smoother velocity fields with large ampli
tudes. Baum et al ( 1 992) conclude that the emission-line gas in many of
these systems is rotating, while the low ionization nebulae appear to be
composed of clouds with little coherent motion. Baum et al suggest that
these different kinematic signatures reflect differing origins for the gas: The
rotating gas may have been recently accreted from a merger, whereas the
turbulent systems may have condensed from cooling flows. Tadhunter
et al ( 1 989) discussed the dynamical implications of the large rotating
nebulae.
The remarkable velocity fields of the high-z 3CR galaxies were noted by
Spinrad & Djorgovski ( 1 984a,b) and Lilly & Longair (1 984) well before
these objects were imaged in emission lines. The dynamical implications
of the velocity fields in these objects are less clear. Many of the distant
emission-line nebulae have organized velocity fields reminiscent of rotation
(e.g. 3C 324, Spinrad & Djorgovski 1 984a; 3C 294, McCarthy et aI 1 990b).
The peak-to-peak amplitudes in these nebulae reach 1 500 km s- I, although
amplitudes of � 600-800 km S - I are more typical. It is important to bear
in mind that infall or outflow can produce velocity fields that mimic
rotation.
3.8 Implications from the Emission Lines

If the anisotropic central ionization model is correct it has a number of
important implications. The first is that the high-power radio galaxies at

z � 0.3 have large reservoirs of thermal gas surrounding them. Most of
the sky as seen from the typical radio galaxy must be covered with dense
clouds out to distances of roughly 80 kpc. The origin of this gas is unclear.
In the low redshift systems both mergers and cooling flows have been
invoked as sources of cold gas (Baum & Heckman 1 989a). In the high-z
objects there may be adequate material left over from the formation phase,
whether that be a single collapse, or the accumulation of gas rich subunits.
Alternatively, the large spatial extent and high frequency of occurrence of
the high-z nebulae may be evidence of a greatly enhanced merger rate
(Djorgovski et a1 1 987) or signatures of massive early cooling flows (Fabian
1 988).
The second implication of the central ionization model is that many
powerful radio galaxies contain high luminosity UV sources in their nuclei.
There is good reason to suspect that most, or all, FR II radio galaxies are
the same objects as radio loud quasars, but are seen at large angles to the
line of sight (Barthel 1 989; Antonucci 1 993, this volume). If radio galaxies
harbor obscured quasars then one of the major motivations for studying
them is called seriously into question. The hope for using radio galaxies
as probes of cosmology and galaxy evolution rests on the belief that their
continua are dominated by starlight. The visible spectra of radio galaxies
at low and intermediate z are manifestly dominated by starlight (when
integrated over 1 0-20 kpc apertures), but this does not ensure that the
same is true for the high-z and high-luminosity galaxies. The simple fact
that we are forced to invoke anisotropic photoionization reflects the fact
that we do not see much light from the active nucleus directly. There are,
however, ways in which AGN light can make significant contributions to
the observed continua. Scattering of light from the photon beam that
ionizes the extended emission lines could make a significant contribution,
particularly in the UV where the stellar component is reduced. There is
660 McCARTHY
now strong evidence from imaging polarimetry that this is occurring (see
Section 5.2). At long wavelengths some light from the AGN may escape
directly into our line of sight. The longest wavelengths that we are con
cerned with are those probed by thc observed frame K(2.2J.t) window, or
A ;$ 1 J.t or so for z > 1 . I think that this is unlikely to be important but one
must be sensitive to the possible presence of nonstellar light at K. The
short wavelengths that go into the observed spectral energy distributions
(SEDs) effectively ensure that re-radiated thermal emission is insignificant.
4. THE M O RPHOLOGIES AND ENVIRONMENTS OF

THE HOST GALAXIES
In his 1 958 review of radio source identifications Minkowski suggested that

before a galaxy can be considered a firm identification it must exhibit some
peculiarities. When radio positions accurate to only tens of arcminutes
were availably the most unusual objects were naturally most easily identi
fied, since they stood out from any close but otherwise unremarkable can
didates. By the mid- l 970s, when large numbers of radio galaxies had
been identified, the pendulum had swung to the opposite extreme. All
radio galaxies were believed to be normal gE galaxies (Sandage 1 972).
Lilly et al ( 1 984) showed that the surface brightness profiles of powerful
radio galaxies are nearly indistinguishable from cluster ellipticals. Detailed
investigations of individual low-redshift radio sources by Simkin,
Heckman, Fosbury, and others, however, continued to reveal significant
departures from symmetry and smooth r 1/ 4 profiles.
Heckman et al ( 1 986) compiled imaging data for a sample of powerful
radio galaxies, 30% of which showed "peculiarities" in the form of tails,
shells, multiple nuclei, etc at fairly bright surface brightness levels. Baum
& Heckman ( 1 989a) reached a similar conclusion: 25% of their sample
showed "obvious" distortions. Hutchings ( 1 987) found that 85% of radio
galaxies were "clearly interacting" while 60% were "irregular" and 30%
had tidal tails. Yates et al ( 1 989), on the other hand, found evidence for
disturbed morphologies in only 5 % of their 3CR and PKS galaxies with
z > 0. 1 5 . Similarly, Lilly et al ( 1 984) and Lilly & Prestage ( 1 987) found no
evidence for distortions in the light profiles of most of their sources with
luminosities near the break in the luminosity function. The substantial
variation in these estimates of the incidence of.distortions may arise from
the understandably subjective nature of classification as "interacting" or
"peculiar. "
Smith & Heckman (1 989) performed a thorough analysis of the mor
phologies, light profiles, and colors of powerful radio galaxies. They found
that 50% of the galaxies showed deviations from elliptical symmetry at
surface brightness levels brighter than Jl = 25. The incidence of distortion
is correlated with the nuclear emission line strength. More than 50% of
their galaxies with strong nuclear emission lines showed distortions, while
only 7% of the weak-lined objects had any sharp features. The weak-lined
objects, however, showed a high incidence of multiple nuclei and common
envelopes, in agreement with Lilly & Prestage ( 1 987).
Smith & Heckman ( 1 989) found galaxies with disturbed morphologies
to be bluer by 0. 1 -0.2 mag than both radio quiet ellipticals and undisturbed
radio galaxies. These spatially extended blue "distortions" in the con

tinuum images should be more pronounced at short wavelengths. A. Dey
& W. J. M. van Breugel ( 1 993, in prep.) imaged low-z radio galaxies in U
and r and found a high incidence of extended structure with very blue
colors. Roughly 30% of the objects imaged in U showed extended knots
or tails, although control fields have yet to be imaged.
The sample diversity and wide range of criteria used to judge a galaxy
"peculiar" makes reconciling the various investigations difficult. I suspect
that some investigators have over-estimated the fraction of galaxies that
can legitimately be called "seriously disturbed." It is hard, however, to
avoid the conclusion that a significant fraction of the powerful radio
galaxies have undergone gravitational interactions that produced sub
stantial morphological changes. The short lifetimes of both the radio
phenomena and the strong morphological disturbances are good evidence.
for a causal connection between the two. The popular view is that activity
is stimulated from the "outside-in": galaxy interactions and mergers drive
fuel toward the central engine and provoke an outburst, that in gE galaxies
is manifested in part by the production of a powerful radio source (e.g.
Heckman et aI 1 986).
The environments of active galaxies and the role of gravitational inter
actions in stimulating activity was reviewed by Balick & Heckman ( 1 982).
Longair & SeIdner ( 1 979) examined the environments of radio galaxies
using cross-correlation techniques and found them to be in overdense
regions. The FR I sources were in the highest density regions, while the
FR IIs were in regions of nearly average densities. Heckman et al ( 1 985)
performed a similar but better controlled investigation. They found a
density enhancement of 2-3 for radio galaxies compared to radio quiet
ellipticals.
Heckman et al ( 1 986) suggested that nuclear properties and radio source
structure are linked to the clustering environment. Lilly & Prestage ( 1 987)
reach similar conclusions in a more quantitative manner through the use
of correlation fuhctions. The FR J intermediate and low-power sources
are found in the highest density environments, often in the cores of rich
662 McCARTHY
clusters. These galaxies tend to have weak emission lines and few of
the distortions suggestive of merging or tidal interaction, but often have
multiple nuclei and common envelopes. The FR II galaxies have strong
lines and are found in regions of higher than average galaxy density, but
which are less dense than rich clusters. These FR II sources often show
evidence for tidal interactions and merging. The high radio and emission
line luminosities of these objects add weight to the belief that mergers and
gravitational perturbations stimulate nuclear activity.
The evolution of the clustering environment has been examined in recent
years for both radio galaxies and quasars. Using cross-correlation analyses
Yates et al ( 1 989) found a strong increase in cluster richness for sources
with z > 0.4, similar to the result found for radio loud quasars by Yee &
Green ( 1 987). The use of a single flux-limited radio sample, however, adds
a redshift-Iuminosity bias. One could interpret Yates et aI's result as a
correlation between Lr and cluster environment. The only local source
whose luminosity is comparable to the z � 0.5 3CR sources is Cygnus A.
There is radio and x-ray evidence that Cygnus A lies in a fairly rich cluster
(Dreher et al 1 987).
Hill & Lilly ( 1 99 1 ), in an experiment complementary to that of Yates et
aI, imaged a sample of galaxies with 0.4 < z < 0.6 spanning � 1 0 4 in radio
luminosity. They find the clustering environments of the low- and high
power (FR I and II) sources to be indistinguishable, in contrast to the
large differences found at the present. Hill & Lilly's result is more com
pelling than Yates et aI's in terms of evolution in the clustering environ
ment, particularly for sources just above the break in the radio luminosity
function ( � 1 0 2 3 W Hz - 1 em - 2) . The epoch dependence of the environ
ments of Cygnus A class sources is still ambiguous.
5. THE ALIGNMENT EFFECT
Spinrad & Djorgovski ( 1 984a,b) and Lilly & Longair ( 1 984) first remarked
on the unusual appearance of the z � 1 galaxies, which often had multi
component structures and close, apparently interacting, companions. In
extreme cases the continuum extent reaches ;:;; 8" ( � 40h - l kpc). Both
groups advocated mergers as the origin of these nonequilibrium mor
phologies. Djorgovski et al ( 1 987) made detailed observations of 3C 368
(z l . l 2) and argued strongly, but not completely convincingly, for a
=
highly dissipative merger.

When modern VLA maps and CCD images of the z � 1 radio galaxies
from the 3CR and 4CjUSS sources were in hand, a most remarkable
discovery was made. McCarthy et aJ ( 1 987), using 3CR galaxies with
0.5 < z < 2.0, and Chambers et al ( 1987), using 4CfUSS galaxies (whose
redshifts were yet to be determined), found the elongated optical continua
to be closely aligned with the axes defined by their radio lobes. Much of
the stimulus to this discovery came from the Djorgovski et al (1 987) paper
on 3C 368. Chambers et al ( 1 988b) illustrate the optical/radio alignment
for 3C 368, which has become the prototype "aligned" galaxy. 3C 368 is
atypical in that the optical and radio images are very nearly the same size.
In the typical z � I 3CR galaxy the radio source is much larger than the
optical continuum-the two are simply aligned to within a few tens of
degrees. This correlation between the position angles of the radio axis and
the optical/UV continua, the "alignment effect," has assumed a central
role in the study of distant radio galaxies. It has potentially far-reaching

implications for the use of radio galaxies as probes of galaxy evolution
with look-back time, cosmology, and the relationship between radio

galaxies and quasars.
It is important to stress that the aligned structures seen in the broadband
images are genuinely continuum radiation, contrary to suggestions that
they result [rom li ne emission (e.g. Meisenheimer & Hippelien 1 992). Long
slit spectroscopy and images in line-free band passes confirm the spatial
extent of the continua. Sub-arcsecond images of nearly all of the z > 0.8
3CR galaxies obtained by Le Fevre & Hammer (1 988) and Hammer & Le
Fevre ( 1 990) revealed extended structure aligned within 1 5-20° of the
radio axes. McCarthy & van Breugel ( 1 989) used the Le Fevre et al data
plus their own CCD images and images of 3CR galaxies from Baum et al
( 1 988) and Hutchings et al ( 1 988) to show that the alignment sets in at
z � 0.6. The strength of this apparent evolution is unclear: The shifting
rest-frame band pass and the luminosity-z bias complicate comparison
between the high- and low-z morphologies. The 4CjUSS and UTRAO/
USS samples appear to show the alignment effect at least as strongly as
the 3CR (Chambers & Miley 1 990). These samples, however, are heavily
biased towards high redshifts and , luminosities and are of little use in
understanding the apparent morphological evolution seen in the 3CR.
The paucity of spectroscopic redshifts for the PSR sample complicates
comparison with the 3CR and 4C samples.
A crucial piece of information needed to understand the origin of the
alignment effect is its wavelength dependence. Chambers et al ( 1 988b)
obtained a K image of 3C 368 showing extended structure aligned with
the radio axis. This stimulated discussion of scenarios that accommodate
a close link between the bulk of the stellar mass and the short-lived
radio emitting plasma (Chambers & Charlot 1 990, Bithell & Rees 1 990).
Subsequent observations in both the visible and near-IR (Rigler et al
1 992, Hammer et al 1 99 1 , Djorgovski et al 1 992) reveal that, like many
prototypes, 3C 368 is substantially more complicated than it first seemed.
664 McCARTHY
Eisenhardt & Chokshi ( 1 990) imaged radio galaxies with z > 0.7 at K
and compared their morphologies with those seen in R images. The K
images reveal extended structure aligned with the radio axes in many cases,
although there is little detailed correspondence to the optical morphol
ogies. Rigler et al ( 1 992) investigated the wavelength dependent mor
phologies of the z � I 3CR galaxies. They give convincing evidence for
more compact and axisymmetric morphologies at long wavelengths, mak
ing a strong case for the extended emission having a roughly flat (in Fv)
spectrum. There are, however, some galaxies whose extended continuum
is as red as, or redder than, the central galaxy (Eales & Rawlings 1 990,
McCarthy et al 1 99 1 a). Dunlop et al ( 1 993) imaged a sample of 3CR and
PSR galaxies at K and reach conclusions similar to Eisenhardt & Chokshi's
for the 3CRs, but find little evidence for alignments in the K band mor
phologies of the PSR galaxies, suggesting an Lr dependence to the align
ments at long wavelengths. Windhorst et al ( 1 99 1 ) obtained a deep K
image of their z = 2.3 galaxy from the LBDS survey and find weak evidence
for an alignment with the radio axis. E. Persson and I (McCarthy et al
1 992b, 1 993) have now imaged 20 MRCf l Jy galaxies with z > I . S at J,
H, and K. While we find a few objects with strong alignments at K, most
of the galaxies have unremarkable morphologies at Arest > 4000 A. Roughly
1 S% of the objects are very extended in the rest-frame UV but are compact
at K. While the last word on the alignments at K is not in, it appears
that with a few notable exceptions, the galaxies are "rounder" at long
wavelengths and that galaxies from the 1 Jy and fainter surveys show less
structure, although their radio luminosities overlap with the z � 1 3CR
sources.
5. 1 Models a/ the Alignment Effect

Models for the alignment effect can be placed into three broad categories:
induced star formation, dynamical coupling between the radio and gravi
tational axes, and scattering.
Initial attempts to understand the alignments were based on the assump
tion that the UV continuum is starlight. McCarthy et al ( 1 987) and Cham
bers et al ( 1 987, 1 988b) suggested that the alignments result from star
formation induced by the passage of the expanding radio source. Physical
models were formulated hy De Young ( 1 989), Rees (1 989), Daly ( 1 990),
and Begelman & Cioffe (1 989). All involve variants on the theme of an
expanding radio source propagating through a two-phase medium and
providing added pressure to dense clouds which are driven to collapse.
De Young ( 1 989) considered shocks produced by the propagation of a
fairly slow (v 0.003-0.01c) jet through a high density (no 0. 1-10) med
� �
ium and was able to product star formation rates of a few hundred M0
yr- I . His specific model required a total gas mass of � 1 0 1 4M o. This
would be reduced in a clumpy two-phase medium. Daly ( 1 990) performed
analytic calculations for a more general model with conditions appropriate
for the high-power radio sources. Rees ( 1 989) and Begelman & Cioffe
( 1 989) considered the effect of the expanding radio lobe and resultant
reservoir of energetic electrons (the radio cocoon) on a two-phase medium.
As the lobe expands, strong shocks expel the hot phase, leaving an evacu
ated space containing relativistic plasma and overpressured clouds. The
pressure enhancement is of the order � 1 0- 1 00 in the lobes. These clouds
are driven to collapse and subsequent star formation in a region that

moves outward as the source expands. The pressure enhancement in the
cocoon is less than in the lobe, but the large volume allows for star
formation rates of 1 00M0 yr- I for modest filling factors and star for
mation efficiencies.
Each of these models is capable of producing instantaneous star for
mation rates at the level implied by the observations. Since they all require
initial conditions highly conducive to star formation, it seems likely that
substantial star formation would occur even if the radio source never came
into being. This may not be a serious problem because these are attempts
to model stimulated star formation at an epoch at which many galaxy
formation theories predict the most vigorous episodes of star formation.
Eales ( 1 992) proposed a model based on an intrinsic flattening in the
shape of the gravitational potential. He argues that sources propagating
along the major axis of a flattened gas distribution will be more luminous
than sources oriented normal to the major axis and will be preferentially
selected in flux-limited samples. Eales makes a quantitative calculation of
the strength of the alignment effect that compares well with results for
the 3CR. He cites the strong correlation between radio lobe distance
asymmetries and the distribution of ionized gas in the 3CR sample found
by McCarthy et al ( 1 99 I a) in support of his model. The correlation between
lobe distance and lobe brightness asymmetries, which should result if better
confinement leads to higher luminosities, is marginal (McCarthy et al
1 99 1 a) .
This type of dynamical model is interesting, b u t misses a crucial point:
The radio galaxies do not possess simple, long-lived, elongated structures.
They are clumpy and extend to scales many times that of any other class
of galaxies. Stellar systems with the shapes of the z � 2 3CR and 4C/USS
galaxies undergo substantial orbit mixing in � 1 0 8 yr (Daly 1 990). Any
successful model for the alignment effect must explain the coincidence of
two, or possibly three, short-lived phenomena: the radio source, the
unusual U V morphology, and the (potentially) high star formation rates.
Daly ( 1 992b) considered several models for the alignment effect, includ-
666 McCARTHY
ing synchrotron emission, induced star formation, emission from thermal

plasma, and Thompson and inverse Compton scattering. She finds the
induced star formation models unsatisfactory, in part, because of the
discrepancy between the radio source ages and stellar age estimates based
on the spectral energy distributions (see Section 6.2). This is a valid criti
cism of models that attempt to produce the entire galaxy from a starburst
associated with the observed radio source (Chambers & Charlot 1 990,
Chambers & McCarthy 1 990). The spectral energy distributions and the
aligned continua in most radio galaxies can be reproduced by an active
starburst involving only 1 -2 % of the stellar mass of the galaxy, removing

the timing difficulties stressed by Daly ( 1 992b).
Daly ( 1 992a,b) favors the scattering models and the inverse Compton
model in particular. She argues that if the electron energy spectrum extends
to y � 30- 1 00, inverse Compton scattcring of cosmic background photons
can produce detectable surface brightness in the visible and UV. This
process is attractive for sources like 3C 368 in which the scale of the radio
and optical continua are comparable, but is less so in the more typical
galaxies for which the radio lobe separation is � 3-5 times the extent of the
U V continuum. The apparent increase in the alignments with increasing z
foll ows naturally in this model from the (1 + Z) 4 dependence on the energy
density of the cosmic microwave background . The spectral shape of the
up-scattered continuum depends on the shape of the low frequency radio
spectrum, but is likely to be redder than the roughly flat SEDs of the
distant radio galaxies. The inverse-Compton model is falsifiable with low
frequency radio observations. The sources must maintain very steep spec
tra to frequencies '" 1 - 1 0 MHz to produce significant surface brightness
at visible and UV wavelengths.
5.2 Polarization
None of the models discussed to this point nat urally produce UV continua
with significant linear polarization. The discovery of highly polarized light
from distant radio galaxies is one of the most important results in this field
in recent years and bears strongly on our understanding of the alignment
effect.
Di Serego Alighieri et al ( 1 989) was the first to detect optical polarization
in distant radio galaxies. The polarized flux in 3C 368 appears to be
spatially extended and the electric field vector is oriented normal to the
radio and optical axes. Scarrott et al ( 1 990) produced a beautiful image of
3C 368 in polarized light, confj,rming the results of di Serego Alighieri et
al. Subsequent observations have found highly polarized radio galaxies at
z > 0.2 (Jannuzi & Elston 1 99 1 , Tadhunter et a1 1 992, di Serego Alighieri
et aI 1 993). Tadhunter et al ( 1 992) found that 5 of 7 of their z > 0.5 galaxies
had fractional polarizations > 5 % , while di Serego Alighieri et al ( 1 993)
found a similar result. These are difficult measurements to make, and the
agreement between the objects common to different groups is encouraging.
In all cases other than 3C 368 the polarization is only seen with confidence
in the nuclei. The extended emission may be polarized at a level similar to
that of the nuclear light, but the SIN (signal to noise ratio) of the off
nuclear data is poor. Tadhunter et al ( 1 992) presented evidence. that the
fractional polarization increases with z. Whether this results from the
shorter rest wavelengths sampled, or from an increase in the scattering
efficiency at high z, is unclear. The potentially large and unknown selection
effects involved in these studies make it difficult to compare them to similar

studies of present day radio galaxies. It appears, however, that strong
polarization is more prevalent in the high-z and high-power sources than

in radio galaxies with z ;$ 0.2 (Impy et al 1 99 1 ) .
Tadhunter e t a l ( 1 987, 1988b) and Fabian ( 1 989) suggested that the
extended continuum seen along the radio axes results from scattering of
beamed nuclear emission. This suggestion was motivated, in part, by the
discovery of an extremely blue and highly polarized continuum feature in
the low-z galaxy PKS 2 1 52-69 which appears to be reflecting nuclear light
(Tadhunter et al 1 988).
If the central photoionization model for the extended emission lines is
correct, then some contribution from scattered light is almost unavoidable.
The question is whether scattered light can account for all of the spatially
extended continuum. The strong polarization of 3C 368 suggests that a
large fraction of the UV flux in this object comes from scattering. The
concern that dust scattering would produce excessive reddening and the
apparent need for a grey scatterer implied by the Chambers et al ( 1 988b)
K image of 3C 368, led most workers to strongly favor electron scattering.
There are difficulties associated with producing the requisite optical depth
to Thompson scattering from either the emission-line clouds or from the
intercloud medium, as stressed by Eales & Rawlings ( 1 990). The lumin
osities of the emission-line regions constrain the product of n� and the
filling factor of the emitting clouds, and hence their Thompson depth. To
avoid over producing line emission, the emission-line clouds must be quite
small, requiring an isotropic luminosity for the reflected source orders of
magnitude larger than the most luminous 3CR quasars.
An intercloud medium with a density required to produce sufficient
Thompson depth has a short cooling time. In the specific case of 3C 356
Eales & Rawlings require a pressure of n T ,..., 10 1 0 K cm - 3 for T = 1 0 8 K
to produce Te '" 1 , orders of magnitude higher than that required to confine
the emission-line clouds (n T � 1 0 6). The failure of the e- scattering model
when applied to 3C 356 is not surprising since both the surface brightness
668 McCARTHY
and linear scale of the extended emISSIOn are quite large, making any
reflection model difficult. Scattering models for objects of lower surface
brightness are more tenable. Fabian ( 1 989) proposed a scattering model
for 3C 368, in which Thompson depth is provided by a cooling flow,
modeled by scaling the parameters for M87. This model has ne = 0. 1 at
30 kpc and produces a Thompson depth of � 1 % at the same distance.
The V band surface brightness requires a central source with L ", 1046_
1047 erg s- I . This gas has a short cooling time which results in a mass
deposition rate of � 7000 M 0 yr- I. UV continuum arising from star
formation associated with this flow must not swamp the scattered nuclear
light, requiring a star formation efficiency ;$ 5 %, the usual "cooling flow
problem. " The constraint in 3C 368 could be relaxed by allowing for some
extended star light (reducing the required Te) .
The energetic difficulties associated with electron scattering are not
trivial and serious consideration should be given to dust scattering models.
The larger cross section per unit mass makes dust scattering energetically
feasible if the resultant reddening and extinction are not severe. To my
knowledge there has been no serious attempt to apply dust scattering
models to radio galaxies, although most of the necessary information is
available. A straightforward, although observationally challenging, dis
criminant between e- and dust scattering scenarios would be provided by
near-IR polarimetry.
Recent imaging observations of radio galaxies and quasars bear
indirectly on the scattering models. The HST image of 4C 4 1 . 1 7 obtained
by Miley et al ( 1 993) shows small-scale structure with a striking cor
respondence to features in radio images of comparable resolution. I show
a contour plot of this image in Figure 4. The point-to-point spatial coinci
dence among three of the optical and radio components is difficult to
understand in the scattering models, as are the similar curvatures seen
at the two wave-bands ( 1 460 A and 0.4 cm rest-frame). Both of these
observations are probably consistent with the jet-induced star formation
models and the inverse-Compton model of Daly ( 1 992b).
Observations of extended continuum associated with z � 2 quasars by
Heckman et al ( 1 99 1 ) are relevant to the scattering models. Since one
observes the nuclear light directly there is minimal uncertainly in the
luminosity and spectral shape of the incident source. While Heckman et
al conclude that there may be significant optical depth to Thompson
scattering provided by the intercloud medium, there are problems in repro
ducing the observed morphologies and spectral energy distributions. The
extended continua are not aligned with their radio axes (or with their Lyo:
axes), in contrast to the results for the radio galaxies. While this is not
fatal to the scattering models, it is difficult to reconcile with the simplest
' -
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o C'
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c 04.8 - C
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c '-
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20.70 2 0 . 60 2 0 . 50
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Figure 4 A 7200 A image of 4C 4 1 . 17 (z = 3.8) obtained with the HST (from Miley et al
1 992). The crosses mark the locations of distinct radio components.
versions of the unification models (e.g. Barthel 1 989). A more serious

problem is posed by the IR imaging observations by Lehnert et al ( l 993)
which reveal extended K light with a morphology similar to the UV "fuzz,"
but with an SED similar to that seen in the radio galaxy nuclei. Lehnert
et al and Heckman et al conclude that the extended continua in the quasars,
and by analogy in the radio galaxies, are primarily stellar in origin. The
polarization observations, however, clearly show that scattering is impor
tant in the radio galaxies. The difficulty lies in determining at just what
level scattering contributes to the spectral energy distributions.
5. 3 The Nature of the UV Light

The induced star formation and beaming-scattering models for the align
ment effect can in principle be tested in a simple manner. The energetics
of the dust or e- scattering models require a highly luminous central
source-quasars being the most plausible candidate. If the extended UV
is produced by massive stars, it will have a spectral energy distribution
corresponding to the appropriate stellar population. If it results from
scattering, it will have the spectrum of the central source, modified by
transfer through the scattering medium. Chambers & McCarthy (1 990)
searched for stellar absorption features in the combined spectra of two
high-z 3CR galaxies. They reported a tentative detection of absorption
lines, but at a low confidence level. More importantly, they failed to find
any signature of broad emission lines from scattered quasar light.
These data have now been superceded by data compiled by C. Lawrence
and I. Figure I e shows the UV continuum spectrum derived from the
670 McCARTHY
composite spectrum (McCarthy 1 992). The continuum was derived by

subtracting best-fitting Gaussians to the narrow emission lines. There are
two aspects of this spectrum that are important for the current discussion:
the lack of any residual broad emission lines and the overall spectral shape.
In low redshift Seyfert galaxies that contain scattered nuclear light, the
broad lines can only be seen in polarized flux (Antonucci & Miller 1 985,
Miller & Goodrich 1 990). The fractional polarization of these objects is
considerably lower than that seen in the extreme radio galaxies, even when
the stellar contributions to the Seyfert spectra have been removed. In NGC
1 068 the broad lines can be seen directly in the ultraviolet (Snijders et al
1 986), suggesting that they should be detectable in the radio galaxy spectra
if scattering produces the bulk of the UV continuum. The radio galaxy
spectra were obtained through small apertures and so contain primarily

nuclear emission. The polarization observations (see Section 5.2), however,
show that the polarization is very high within the apertures used to obtain
these spectra. Furthermore, it is of primary importance to determine the
nature of the bulk of the UV light, independent of its detailed morphology.
If the scattering medium consists of the hot 966ling-flow electrons sug
gested by Fabian ( 1 989), then thermal broadening of the lines renders
them very difficult to detect. If scattering of quasar light produces the UV/
continuum, then I suspect that it must arise from the very hot electrons /as
Fabian proposed.
The spectrum shown is roughly flat in!" units between 1 500-3000 A as
expected for an actively star-forming population, but turns down sharply
below 1 500 A. This shape can be matched by stellar models with inter
mediate ages � 4 x 1 0 8 yr, or by a burst population with an IMF truncate� .
above � 2. 5Mo (Chambers & McCarthy 1 990). The agree e t between
�f
the stellar model and the observed UV SED is reassuring, �ut is by no
means conclusive proof for a stellar origin. A contribution by quasar light
scattered by electrons with T � 1 0 8 K at the level of � 30% lef the total
flux could be accommodated without great difficulty (McCarthy 1 992).
Dust scattering models may be able to reproduce the change in slope of
the spectrum at 1 500 A. The lack of broad emission lines, however, should
pose a serious challenge to dust scattering models. Spinrad et al ( 1 993)
obtained high SIN spectra of 4C 4 1 . 1 7 covering 2800-1 400 A in the rest
frame. They find a strong Lyman continuum break and cite this as evidence
for a stellar origin for the UV light. This should be repeated from orbit for
lower z objects where the frequency of intervening Lyman limit absorbers is
less.
The various models for the alignment effect discussed above employ a
wide range of physical processes. It is plausible that many of these operate
at some level in some fraction of the objects. The scattering model is the
only one for which the observational evidence is compelling. I find the UV
morphologies and spectral energy distributions persuasive evidence in
favor of the presence of massive stars. The energetic difficulties involved
in forming a galaxy mass of stars with an expanding radio source are
formidable. Forming 1 00-200 M o yr- 1 over a brief period is much less
so, and there is at least one local example of radio-source induced star
formation (Minkowski's Object, van Breugel et al 1 986). Selection effects
of the type discussed by Eales ( 1 992) probably operate at some level, but
I believe that these have only a secondary impact on the strength of the
alignments. Daly's ( 1 992b) inverse Compton model is one of the few that
is easily falsifiable with straightforward observations. I believe that the
UV light is primarily stellar in origin, with a contribution from scattered
AGN light that in extreme cases is comparable to the stellar emission.
6. SPECTRAL ENERGY DISTRIBUTIONS AND AGES
Before we can draw firm conclusions regarding the stellar populations in

distant radio galaxies we must identify their present day descendants. The
obvious choice is the gE galaxies, although the morphological evidence
for distant ellipticals is sparse (Rigler et al 1 992, Windhorst et al 1 992).
The short lifetimes of the radio sources make it impossible to associate
any set of present day sources with a parent set at earlier epochs. A galaxy
that was a radio source at z = 1 will not be a radio source even at z = 0.8,
unless it has undergone multiple episodes of activity. We speak of the
evolution of radio sources in the sense that the population of galaxies that
give rise to outbursts of activity producing substantia1 1uminosity evolve
on time scales much longer than the duration of any single episode of
activity.
6. 1 Color Evolution
Lilly & Longair ( 1 984) examined the color and luminosity evolution of the
3CRR sample, which then contained 7 galaxies with z > 1 . The near IR
colors showed no evidence for evolution. The r-K color, however, showed
substantial blueing compared to a nonevolving SED. The amplitude of
the UV excess at z > 0.5 is '" 1 -2.5 mag. Lebofsky & Eisenhardt ( 1 986)
and Eisenhardt & Lebofsky ( 1 987) reached similar conclusions from data
that included radio quiet ellipticals. The view of radio galaxy evolution
put forth in these papers-that of a passively evolving stellar population
containing the bulk of the mass with a minority population of young
stars producing the UV-remains one of the favored models. This "old
galaxy + burst" paradigm is laid out clearly in Lilly (1 988, 1 989) and again
in Rigler et al ( 1 992).
672 McCARTHY
Beyond Z '" 1 the impact of passive evolution on colors and luminosities

cannot be ignored. Most investigators in this field use either the Bruzual
( 1 983; Charlot & Bruzual 1 99 1 ) or Guiderdoni & Rocca-Volmerange
(1 987) codes. There are many inputs to the spectral evolution models, but
we are concerned with only a few. For passively evolving models we specify
the formation red shift (zr), the cosmology (Ho and qo), the IMF, and
the duration of the initial star formation. The choice of cosmological
parameters sets the mapping of z into time and luminosity distance.
Models with ongoing star formation are specified by the epoch depen
dent star formation history, usually taken as a constant or exponentially

declining rate [characterized by Bruzual's ( 1 983) J1 parameter, which is the
fractional mass consumed in the first Gyr]. Galaxies with episodic star
formation are modeled by specifying the time, duration, and mass in each
burst. The models most germane to radio galaxy work are the single burst,
the J1 models, and the passive-evolution plus burst models. Chambers &
Charlot ( 1 990) modified the Bruzual code to compute models with very
short bursts, and the Charlot & Bruzual ( 1 99 1 ) code computes zero
duration bursts and follows them in fine time-steps.
The J-K and r-K colors for 3CR and 1 Jy galaxies are plotted in Figure
5 along with model predictions. For z ;.;; 1 .5 the scatter is ", 0.4 mag in J
K, while at z > 2 the colors span 2 magnitudes, and the r-K colors span
roughly 4 magnitudes. The curves in Figure 5 correspond to differing ZrS
for passively evolving models in two different cosmologies.
The red envelope in the observed J-K colors continues to redden out to
z '" 2 and may do so beyond z = 2; there are too few data to tell with
confidence. The red envelope of the observed r-K colors becomes bluer
beyond z '" 1 .5 or K '" 1 7. The red envelope provides the strongest con
straints on both the cosmology and the earliest formation redshifts. Chang
ing qo from 0. 1 to 0.5 has only a modest effect on the J-K colors for z < 3,
provided that Z r > 1 0. Adopting qo = 0.5 has a dramatic effect on r-K and
K, even for large values of Zr, as shown in Figure 5b. The Z > 2 objects are
difficult to accommodate with any Zr for qo = 0.5 (see Section 6.5).
In the context of the single burst models, the range in J-K and H-K
colors implies formation redshifts ranging from �4 to - 20. The r-K colors,
however, do not yield consistent Zr values, either for individual objects or
for the population as a whole. The objects with the reddest r-K colors
require Zr '" 5-7 for qo = 0. 1 , while the bluest require Zr ;.;; 2; the J-K colors
of the reddest galaxies require Zr '" 20. Spinrad & Djorgovski ( 1 987) and
Dunlop et al ( 1 989b) reached similar conclusions from observation of the
3CR, B2/ lJy, and PSR samples. Djorgovski ( 1 9 86) modeled the V-R colors
of 3CR galaxies with exponentially decaying star formation, favoring
models with Zr '" 5 and J1 '" 0. 3-0. 5. The near-IR colors require models
K
18 20
K
Figure 5 (a) J-K versus z for the 3CR (open circles) and MRC I /Jy (filled circles) samples.
The 3CR data are from Lebofsky & Eisenhardt ( 1 986) and Lilly & Longair ( 1 984); the MRC
data are from McCarthy et al ( 1 993). The solid curves are for passively evolving models with
Zr= 30, 20, 1 0, 5, and 4 in an Ho 50, qo = 0. 1 Universe; the dotted curves are the same
=
models with Ho 50, qo 0.5. (b) r-K versus K for the same data sets in (a) plus the PSR
= =
galaxies (open squares) from Dunlop et al ( 1989a). The curves are for the same models and
cosmologies as in (a). (c) J-K versus z for the same data as in (a). The curves represent passively
evolving models with Zr 20 in an Ho = 50, qo 0 . 1 Universe with bursts containing 5%
= =
of the stellar mass occurring at Z 3.0, 2.5, 2.0, and 1 .5. (d) r-K versus K for the same data
=
as in (b). The curves represent passively evolving models with Zr 20 in an Ho = 50, qo 0. 1

= =
Universe with bursts containing 5% of the stellar mass occurring at z = 3.0, 2.5, 2.0, and
1 .5.
with little active star formation and f.1, values of � O.7 or 1 (the single burst
models). This conflict between the near IR and visible data is unavoidable
in the single population models, as discussed by Dunlop et al ( l 989b). The
discrepancy between the apparent implications of the visible and near IR
colors can be resolved with two-component models as can be seen clearly
by examining the SEDs of individual galaxies.
674 McCARTHY
6.2 The Spectral Energy Distributions and the Formation

Redshift
The color versus z tests for evolution utilize only part of the information
contained in the broadband spectral energy distributions. An alternative
approach is to fit the SED of each object individually, possibly subject to
constraints on the range of parameter space allowed. This approach has
been exploited by Lilly ( 1 988, 1 989) and by Chambers & Charlot ( 1 990).
The SEDs of radio galaxies are fairly uniform in their shapes. At A � 3000
A they rise steeply in what is often called the "red bump." At A ;S 2500 A
the SEDs are, on average, flatter than in the red and many are roughly
flat in Fv units. This "flat-UV plus red bump" is the spectral shape that
the models must reproduce. The primary difficulty is that it is generally

believed that stellar populations with ages of '" 1 -3 Gyr, old enough to
produce the red bump, have very little UV light. In my discussion of the
modeling of the SEDs, I will assume that all of the UV light is stellar,
contrary to the implications of the polarization measurements. Scattered
emission is unlikely to be much redder than flat, or v- 0 5; its contributions
will not dramatically impact the properties of the light at long wavelengths.
Throughout the discussion the "flat spectrum" starburst component could
be replaced by a "flat spectrum" scattered component.
Lilly ( 1 989) fit his B2j l Jy photometry with the sum of a burst population
and a stellar population in which all star formation had ceased for I Gyr.
This model reproduces the SEDs of galaxies with a wide range of visible
to near-IR colors with the only "free" parameter being the amplitude of
the burst. In this approach the red bump and the flat UV come from
separate populations. The same J-K and r-K data as in Figures 5a and 5b
are shown in Figures 5c and 5d along with models composed of a single
burst with Zr 20 followed by subsequent bursts containing 5 % of the
=
total mass at z = 3, 2.5, 2, and 1 . 5. These models span the range of colors
in both the J-K and r-K plots and yield consistent ages and star formation
histories for each color.
Chambers & Charlot ( 1 990) approached the modeling with the goal of
fitting the spectrum with no stars older than a few x 1 O � yr. They com
pressed the initial burst from the usual 1 Gyr duration down to a charac
teristic time of 3 x 1 0 7 yr. To this they added a weak tail of residual star
formation to maintain the flat UV portion of the spectrum. They modified
the original Bruzual code to include more light from AGB stars, par
ticularly at ages of a few x 1 0 8 years. These models are quite successful in
fitting the SEDs of the average and bluer than average radio galaxies and
yield ages of typically 3 x 1 0 8 years, while still yielding large ages for
the reddest galaxies. The new Charlot & Bruzual ( 1 9 9 1 ) code allows the
computation of starbursts of infinitesimal duration [£5(1)], and these models
yield ages as low as 2 x 1 0 8 years.
The SEDs of two z > 2 radio galaxies are shown in Figure 6 along with
fits to Bruzual models. The galaxy shown in Figure 6b is quite blue while
that in 6a is one of the reddest of the high redshift galaxies. The blue
galaxy is fit with both an old galaxy ( 1 .5 Gyr) plus a burst involving 2%
of the total mass and with a delta function burst with an age of 3 x 1 0 8
years. The red galaxy shown in Figure 6a is fit with a 2.5 Gyr old galaxy
plus a burst containing 0.2% of the total mass. The best fitting delta
function burst has an age > I Gyr.
The two approaches to fitting the SEDs outlined above appear to be

conceptually distinct. In the "old galaxy + burst" scenario all of the gal
axies are taken to have the same Zr and experience subsequent starbursts
B b
2.0 2.0
1.5 1.5
� >:
..,
.3 .3
..: ",'
'" 1.0 bII
1.0
.2 .2
.5
o o
2000 4000 6000 BOOO 4000 6000 BOOO

Resl Wavelenglh Resl Wavelenglh
Figure 6 (a) The spectral energy distribution for MRC 0 1 56-252 (z 2. 1). The solid line is
=
a model composed of a 2.5 Gyr population plus a 30 Myr burst population with 0.2% of
the total mass. (b) The spectral energy distribution for MRC 1 106-258 (z 2.0). The solid
=
line is a model composed of a 1 .5 Gyr population plus a 30 Myr burst population with 2%
of the total mass. The dotted line is a single burst of zero duration with an age of 300 Myr.
676 McCARTHY
of differing amplitudes and timing. The goal of the modeling in this

approach is to detcrmine Zr for the parent population. Most of the leverage
is in objects with the highest redshifts and reddest colors. In the other
approach, what I call the "new age" model, each galaxy is allowed to have
a different Zr and is treated, to first order, as having the same star formation
history. The goal here is to determine the youngest acceptable age and
hence a lower limit to Zr for each galaxy. In the original version of the
"new age" model, the entire galaxy formed in a burst triggered by the
formation of the radio source-the extreme case of the jet induced star
formation scenario for the alignment effect.

The two approaches are, however, not as independent in their method
ology as they might appear. What one derives from the models and SEDs
is an estimate of the time since the formation of the bulk of the stellar
mass ceased. The large ages in the "old galaxy + burst" model arise, in
part, because of the I Gyr duration of the initial burst. Similarly, the young
ages in the "new age" model are facilitated by the very short burst duration.
In the first approach the duration of the initial burst is an arbitrary I Gyr,
while in the second it is an unphysical 3 x 10 7 yr or less. There has been
considerable discouragement in recent years over the lack of uniqueness
in age derivations from the SEDs. While it is true that there are no unique
fits, one can strive to determine the youngest ages consistent with the SEDs.
I believe that the straw-man model in which the en tire galaxy is formed
on time scales compatible with the radio ages is untenable. Furthermore,
basic physical principles suggest that it is unreasonable to expect to form
10 1 2 M0 of stars in 3 x 10 7 yr. While the debate has centered on the � 1 0 8
yr Chambers & Charlot models and the � 109 yr Lilly models, there is a
continuous range of acceptable ages set by the duration of the initial burst
and, to a lesser degree, the form of the star formation rate within the burst.
Specific objections to the young ages and varied formation redshifts
proposed by Chambers & Charlot have centered on the tranquility and
continuity of the K-z relation and the disparity between the stellar and
radio source ages. Chambers & Charlot ( 1 990, 1 993) showed that in their
models galaxies attain their peak luminosity in ;:S 3 x 1 0 8 yr and their
subsequent luminosity evolution is slow, in part due to their calculation
of the AGB contribution. Radical changes in the shape of the IMF can
lead to red SEDs with very young ages (Bithel & Rees 1 990), but these
models severely disrupt the Hubble diagram as they evolve rapidly. The
radio source ages are derived from estimates of the lobe advance speeds
and the observed source sizes. The expansion speeds inferred are typically
� 0. 1 -0.05c, implying ages of a few x 1 0 6 to 1 0 7 yr for 3CR sources at
z � 1 (e.g. Alexander & Leahy 1 987). While there is room to maneuver in
these analyses, it is difficult to gain more than an order of magnitude in
the ages. The minimum ages implied by the Chambers & Charlot ( 1 990)
analysis are a factor of ten larger. This di fference is a serious pr o bl em;
J don't believe that the radio source ages could be pushed to more than
1 08yr and I am confident that the galaxy ages cannot be pushed to a
few x 1 0 7 yr . The mismatch in the stellar and radio ages does not invali
date the young models, bu t it diminishes their motivation, as stressed by
Daly ( 1 992b).
In the "old galaxy + burst model the initial and current star formation
"
episodes are completely disconnected. The burst component has a very

low MIL, requiring little mass in the burst population and a la rge age for
the red component. The extreme version of this model implies uncomfort
ably large formation redshifts. A significant fraction af faint radio galaxies

are quite red in r-K and, in this context, require Zf ;G 1 0 , as shown in Figure
5b. This can alsobe seen in the J-K colors shown in Figure 5a as well as
in the PSR ga laxies (Dunlop et al 1 989b). Ollr SED fits reflect th e desire
to estimate the youngest acceptable ages within the con text of the 1 Gyr
d ura tio n burst models. The reddest objects at z ,... 2 require ages in excess
of 2 Gyr, implying Zr > 5-10, depending on the cosmology. In the context
of th e old galaxy model, the red light in 4C 4 1 . J 7 imp lies an age of 1 . 5
Gyr (Ch a mbers et al 1 990), or Zr > 7.
I believe tha t the imaging results favor the mUlti-component approach
that is the basis of the " old galaxy + burst" model. In this context the
reddest galaxies in the 1 Jy and 4C samples at 2 < Z < 4 have ages that
are, at face value, l arger than the age of the Universe at their redshifts for
Ho = 50, qo = 0 . 5 , and A = O. The ages can be re duced by a few x 1 08 yrs
by shortening the duration of the initi a l burst. Given the large uncertainties
in the deduced ages it is probably possible to bring them within the boun� s
of an Ho = 50, qo = 0.5, A = 0 Universe. The existence of galaxies, let
a lone red galaxies, at z = 3 . 5-3.8 implies Zr <: 4. I suspect that it will be
difficult to bring the ages into the range needed to accommod a te Zr � 5
for qo= 0.5, even with a small Hubble constant. Formation redshifts lar
ger
than 5 remain uncomfortable for many gal a xy and structure fo rmation
theories. It remains to be seen if adjustments in stellar evolution theory,
aimed at reducing the derived ages of globular clusters, and improvements
in spectral libraries will have significant impact on the colors of stellar
p opulations with ages in the 1 -3 Gyr range.
6.3 Reddening and Extinction

A poten tial solution to the large inferred ages is to invoke significant
reddening. A screen of dust between the stars and the observer does not
help much, since the nearly flat UV SED will be lost before there is any
significant change in the slope at A > 4000 A. La rge extinction of stellar
678 McCARTHY
populations in the reddest objects would make their stellar masses even
more uncomfortable than they are now. Chambers et al ( 1 990) found that
reddening with Galactic or SMC extinction curves could not reproduce
the observed SED of 4C 4 l . l 7 from a young starburst SED. A highly
reddened nonstellar source that contributes significant light at K is one
possible way to explain the very red colors and compact K morphologies
of objects like 0 1 56-252 (McCarthy et al 1 992a). Near-IR spectroscopic
observations allow direct determinations of reddening from the LYQ(/HQ(
ratio. McCarthy et al ( 1 992b) measured the LYQ(/HQ( ratio in two z = 2.4
radio galaxies and found values within a factor of 2 of case B, implying

E(B-V) � 0. 1 . The effect of this extinction plus the � 1 5 % contribution of
HQ( + [NII]6584,6548 to the K band light (see Section 6.5) produce a change
in the r-K colors of � 0.7 mag, reducing the required ages by a few x 1 0 8
yr-not enough t o produce a n intrinsically flat spectral energy distribution.
Eales & Rawlings ( 1 993) have obtained spectra of 13 radio galaxies in the
near-IR. They find larger line contributions to the K photometry and
higher LYQ(/HQ( ratios than McCarthy et al do, suggesting significant
reductions in Zf. These are fairly difficult observations to make and some
time will be needed to assess the uncertainties and sources of errors in the
measurements properly. Spectra that succeed in detecting the continua
allow for consistency checks between the line fluxes and W;..
Near-IR spectra can also assess the role of extinction by detecting broad
components to the Balmer lines. If a significant fraction of the K light is
reddened quasar continuum, then the broad lines must be present at the
appropriate level. The K band spectra shown in McCarthy et al and Eales
& Rawlings do not reveal broad components to the Balmer lines, although
higher SIN ratios would be helpful. This experiment should prove more
powerful in the future.
6.4 Are There Any Radio Proto-Galaxies?

A galaxy undergoing its first burst of star formation has a spectral energy
distribution that is nearly flat in f, units. While I have stressed that most
radio galaxies have SEDs that are quite red, there have been claims that
one or more radio galaxies have flat "proto-galaxy" SEDs.
Eisenhardt & Dickinson ( 1 993) found B2 0902 + 34 to be quite faint in
the near-IR, with K(4") = 1 9.9, leading them to infer an age much less
than that deduced by Lilly ( 1 989) . Images taken with a narrow filter
centered on [0111]5007 by Eisenhardt & Dickinson and spectra in the K
window obtained by Eales & Rawlings ( 1 993) reveal [0111]5007 with a
flux that accounts for much of the observed K band flux. Eisenhardt &
Dickinson estimate the line-free K magnitude to be 2 1 .5, giving R-K = 1 .9,
consistent with a flat spectrum. The good agreement between Eales &
Rawling's spectroscopic measurement and Eisenhardt & Dickinson imag
ing measurement gives great credibility to their claims. Eisenhardt &
Dickinson also find 3C 256 (z = 1 . 8) to be considerably fainter than
reported on the basis of single-element photometry, revealing a nearly flat
SED. Elston ( 1 988), however, points out that the nearly flat SEDs could
result from a burst involving � 20% of the total stellar mass. The light from
the burst component will dominate any signal from an old component,
although the faint K magnitudes would then imply under-massive systems
compared to all other z � 2-4 radio galaxies. Eales & Rawlings continue
to observe radio galaxies spectroscopically in the K band and may find

more galaxies with flat SEDs.
6.5 The K Hubble Diagram

Over large distances the redshift-magnitude diagram is sensitive to spatial
curvature. Sandage ( 1 988) reviews the history of the Hubble diagram and ·
the methodology that goes into its proper use. The impact of galaxy
evolution seriously complicates the redshift-magnitude test; passive evo
lution alone masks the effects of curvature for values of qo presently
considered reasonable. For this reason the radio galaxy Hubble diagram
is now used primarily as a phenomonological tool for exploring the for
mation epoch and evolution of galaxies.
Lilly has been the principal promoter of the radio galaxy Hubble dia
gram in the near-IR. Radio sources can be used to assess luminosity evo
lution in a way that does not select galaxies by apparent magnitudes or
diameters. This is most effective at long wavelengths where both passive
and active evolutionary effects are small and less sensitive to the changing
rest-frame band-pass. K-band photometry of the 3CR galaxies out to
z � 1 .5 requires roughly 1 magnitude or more of brightening for any value
of qo ;:S 0.5. The K Hubble diagram constructed just prior to the recent
boom in z > 2 galaxies is given in Lilly ( 1 989).
When the unusual morphologies of the 3CR galaxies became apparent,
particularly the radi% ptical alignments, the K Hubble diagram assumed
a central role in all discussions of radio galaxy evolution. It is difficult to
understand how galaxies can have such varied colors and morphologies
while maintaining a scatter of only � 0.4 magnitudes in the K-z relation.
The solution that Lilly ( 1 989) and Dunlop et al ( 1 989b) prefer is one in
which the spectacular morphologies are produced by a population of stars
that contribute an insignificant fraction of the total stellar mass, and hence
only a modest fraction of the galaxy's luminosity at long wavelengths.
This is the "old galaxy + burst" model and the K Hubble diagram is one
of its strongest drivers.
A current Hubble diagram is shown in Figure 7. At z ;:S 1 the scatter is
680 McCARTHY
a nearly constant 0.4 magnitudes, as emphasized by Lilly ( 1 989) . At larger

z there is small but, I bclicve, significant increase in scatter. At z 2 the '"
extreme galaxies span 3.5 magnitudes, while the scatter about the mean is
", 0.6 magnitudes. This increase in activity in the K-z relation is exciting
and may signal that we are seeing close enough to the formation epoch to
be sensitive to object-to-object variations in the early luminosity evolution.
Curves of K vs z with Zr 20 for Ho = 50 and qo ranging from 0. 1 to
=
0.5 are shown in Figure 7. Note that these are for passively evolving galaxy
models; the value of qo needed to fit the data with a nonevolving spectral
energy distribution is � 3�5 . The z � 2 data are well bracketed by the

qo = 0. 1 and qo = 0.5 curves; neither fits well, but neither are strictly
excluded. Within the context of these 1 Gyr single-burst models with high
Zr, a small qo appears to be favored. Figure 7b shows similar curves for
qo = 0. 1 but for values of Zr ranging from 20 to 4, while in Figure 7c I plot

the same models for qu = 0.5. I have normalized all of the models to the
data at z = 0.2, but normalizing them at any z < I gives the same result.
These diagrams illustrate the difficulty in accommodating qo 0.5 in the =
context of the constant-mass passive evolution models. The galaxies simply

do not get as faint as the data require in the qo 0.5, Ho = 50 models,
=
because of the short amount of proper time since Zr, and the contraction
of the luminosity distance. Using Ho = 1 00 exacerbates the problem by an
additional 1 . 5 magnitudes. The constraints imposed by the Hubble dia
gram are independent of those imposed by fitting the SEDs, whose colors
drove us to large ages, hence high values of Zr and/or low values of qo.
Much of the difficulty in accommodating large values for qo in the
Hubble diagram would be reduced by relaxing the constraint that all of
the galaxies have the same mass. This assumption is forced on us at low z
by the small scatter in K-z. Improving the fit for Z :<: 2, however, requires
a reduction of the average mass as a function of z, rather than simply
increasing the mass range. While this may seem arbitrary, hierarchical
models, with their dramatic merging activity at redshifts of 1 �3 (e.g. '"
Davis et al 1 9 8 5) provide a possible physical basis for a decrease in the
Figure 7 (a) The K-z relation for 3CR and I Jy class radio galaxies. The data are taken
from Lilly & Longair ( 1984), Lilly ( 1 989), Eisenhardt & Chokshi ( 1990), Chokshi & Eisen
hardt ( 1 99 1 ), Chambers et al ( 1 990), Eisenhardt & Dickinson ( 1992), and Eales et al ( 1993).
20 MRC galaxies with 1 . 5 < z < 3.2 were measured by Eric Persson and the author. The
curves are for a passively evolving population with Zr 20 in cosmologies with Ho 50 and
= =
qo 0. 1 , 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5. The mass of the Ho 50, qo 0. 1 model is 1 .5 x 1 0 1 2M0 . (b)
= = =
The K-z relation for the same data as in (a). The curves are for passively evolving populations
with Zr 30, 20, 1 0, 5 and 4, in a Ho 50, qo 0. 1 cosmology. (c) The K-z relation for the
= = =
same data as in (b) and with model curves for the same values of Zr for qo = 0.5
HIGH REDSHIFT RADIO GALAXIES 68 1
most massive galaxy-sized objects at high z. The constraint imposed by
the colors at z > 2, however, remains regardless of the mass normalization.
None of these suggestions regarding qo or zr should be taken too seriously.
Rather, one might simply be encouraged by the fact that the passive
3
b
14 16 16
N 20
K(8" Aperture)
3 c
.10 o
.01 ��
10 12 14 16 1S 20 14 16 18 20
K(S" Aperture) K(6" Aperture)
682 McCARTHY
evolution models nicely bracket the data for the range of cosmological
parameters currently considered plausible.
The scatter in K -z at high z, although modest, is not due to the increasing
importance of the active star forming component. The fraction of light
contributed to the observed-frame K magnitude by the burst component
is only a few percent (Lilly 1 989, McCarthy et al 1 993). The objects
that are more than I magnitude brighter than the mean are particularly
interesting in this respect. They are very red in their r-K colors and compact
at K. Two of the faintest objects at K, 0902 + 34 (z = 3.4) and 3C256
(z = 1 .8), are among the bluest radio galaxies known. This trend for the
red, and hence least "active," galaxies to be overluminous and the bluest,
and most "active," galaxies to be faint is puzzling. In the context of the
constant mass "old galaxy + burst" scenario, I would have expected that
the most actively star-forming objects would be the most luminous simply
because 0 and B stars have lower mass to light ratios than K giants. The
overluminous and very red objects might be understood as the result of a
significant range in Zr. The objects that formed first, and are already very
red by z � 2, might be more massive than those formed latter. A more
mundane, but perhaps more likely, explanation for the very red and over
luminous objects is that they contain significant contributions from non
stellar light at K .
Eales & Rawlings ( 1 993) suggested that most of the increased scatter is
due to the impact of HI)( + [NII]6584,6548 emission on K for 2.0 < z < 2.7
and [OIII]5007,4959 for 2.9 < z < 3.7. They report substantial con
tributions from these lines on the basis of near-IR slit spectra. While it is
undeniable that these emission lines contribute, McCarthy et al ( 1 992b)
derive very modest contributions, � 1 0-20% from spectra obtained with
a different instrument. The rest-frame equivalent widths required for HI)(
to dominate the K window are extremely large ( � 500 A) and are not seen
in other classes of AGN. The agreement between Eales et al ( 1 993) and
Eisenhardt & Dickinson's ( 1 993) values for the contribution of [OIII]5007,
4959 to 0902 + 34 show clearly that in some cases the lines make large
contributions at K. Contamination from [OIII]5007 is easier to understand
both because of the I + z increase in observed-frame W, and because it is
physically easier to produce large [OIII]5007,4959 equivalent widths.
A basic question that we must ask is: Why does the K Hubble diagram
work at all? This question is raised repeatedly during discussions of radio
galaxy evolution. To my knowledge no satisfactory answer has yet been
offered. There is no a priori reason to expect that galaxies selected at meter
wavelengths should span a small range in Mv' The K light at small redshifts
is undeniably stellar and the strong continuity in the Hubble relation
argues that the bulk of the K (rest-frame visible) light at high z is also
stellar. Beyond z 0.2 the 3CR and 1 Jy class sources that compose the
'"
K-z diagram are the most luminous radio sources on the sky, suggesting
that the tightness of the Hubble diagram is exclusive to the extreme end
of the radio luminosity function. Hill & Lilly ( 1 99 1 ), however, found that
galaxies spanning four orders of magnitude in Lr at z 0.5 have the
=
same mean My to remarkable precision (see Sandage 1972). The physical

processes that set upper limits to the masses of galaxies are reasonably
well understood (e.g. White & Rees 1 978), while those that limit the
maximum power of radio sources are less so. The only hand-waving
interpretation of the K Hubble diagram that I feel comfortable with is the

following: Radio source and galaxy luminosities scale reasonably well at
low luminosities; the galaxies, however, reach a maximum luminosity
beyond which they cannot grow, while radio sources do not. The lack of
variation in My for powerful sources may simply reflect a correlation
between Lr and Mv in the limit where M..,. has no more dynamic range. So
long as one selects reasonably powerful sources, one always selects the
extreme upper end of the galaxy luminosity function. This is, in part, what
makes radio source samples so powerful for isolating distant massive
galaxies from the plethora of foreground galaxies with more representative
luminosities.
7. THE FUTURE
In this final section I give my admittedly biased view of the current prob
lems and point to areas where I see future research having substantial
impact.
1 . Radio Surveys: In the next few years combined data sets from the
current surveys will yield 7 5- 1 00 galaxies with z > 2 and perhaps 1 5-
20 with z > 3 . Finding radio galaxies at z > 4 will prove very difficult
and time consuming. Complete samples will prove most useful, even if
they do not have the highest redshifts.
2. Emission Lines: I believe that the unification model between radio
galaxies and quasars, as formulated by Scheuer ( 1 987) and Barthel
( 1 989), is basically correct. It is worrying that the largest emission-line
regions show little in the way of ionization gradients. Detailed modeling
of a few well-made observations would be helpfuL There has been
relatively little serious modeling of the UV spectra of radio galaxies.
The rather small range in line ratios seen in the UV spectra must have
implications on the shape of the ionizing spectrum, and this needs to
be explored.
3. Continuum Morphologies and the Alignment Effect: The HST obser-
684 McCARTHY
vations of 4C 4 1 . 1 7 by Miley et al ( 1 993) are very encouraging. Deep

imaging observations with the refurbished HST should be very helpful
in testing competing models for the alignments and will undoubtedly
reveal surprises of their own. Detailed comparisons between images
taken at different wavelengths, particularly visible versus near-IR are
very useful, as Rigler et al ( 1 992) showed. In the next year or two some
of the larger programs of near-IR imaging will produce similar analyses
at Z > 1 . I do not believe that there is a significant "alignment effect"
involving more than � 1 5 % of the K light for the majority of the
galaxies. There are a few objects (e.g. 3C 356, Eales & Rawlings 1 990)
for which the K and R light distributions are clearly very similar. All of
these objects, to my knowledge, are clearly separated pairs of galaxies.
That these double galaxies should be aligned with their radio sources
is quite puzzling. The dynamical coupling models for the alignment
effect, with all of their drawbacks, are attractive for these objects.
The polarization detections are potentially the most important new
data in this field since the discovery of the alignment effect. Even
without polarimetry capabilities, deep spectroscopic observations of
objects with high polarization should reveal the signature of the scat
tered source, massive stars, or both. The lack of any even marginal
detection of broad lines in the spectra of the high-z galaxies is puzzling
in light of the polarization detections. Fabian's ( 1 989) hot e- model is
consistent with this result, but has other problems. I still believe that a
large fraction of the UV light in the typical radio galaxy is stellar, but
the increasing number of objects showing significant polarization makes
me less certain than I was. In the closing remarks of his 1 966 review
of the structure of radio galaxies, Moffet said "the question of the
nature of the faintly visible extensions from radio galaxies should be
answered-are they composed of stars?"
4. Spectral Evolution, Ages, and Formation Redshifts: The J-K versus Z
color plots shown in Figure 5 clearly reveal the need for further work
on the spectral energy distributions of galaxies at Ares' � 1 IL At z � 0.3
there is significant disagreement between the models and the data. I
believe that this discrepancy exists for radio quiet ellipticals as well.
I believe that the bulk of the K light is stellar, even at large redshifts
where emission lines can have a significant impact. The spectral energy
distributions and apparent magnitudes of the reddest z > 2 galaxies
push hard against the favored cosmological and galaxy formation
models. The SEDs of most of z � 2 radio galaxies can be consistent
with Zr � 4-5 for qo = 0.5 only with some difficulty and demand a small·
value for Ho. The reddest objects at z > 2, taken at face value, are
inconsistent with zr ;S 1 0 for the same cosmology. If one is willing to
discard these objects on the basis of suspicion of significant nonstellar
light, then the colors of the average galaxies can fit, but with some
difficulty, into the popular inflationary cosmology and CDM or similar
galaxy formation scenarios. The constraints on the cosmology from the
apparent magnitudes via the K-z relation are weaker, but they point in
the same direction.
I believe that the data as they now stand can be interpreted in a manner
consistent with the view that powerful radio galaxies are a small fraction
of all massive galaxies formed at the beginning of the "galaxy formation
epoch" in a critical density Universe. This requires an accounting of errors

and uncertainties that is consistently favorable; this may become more
difficult as new data come to light. While radio galaxies may never again
play as large a role in cosmological debates as they once did, they will
continue to provide constraints that cannot be overlooked. Radio galaxies
provide us with a means of identifying, and studying, massive galaxies at
large look-back times, a claim that cannot yet be made for other classes
of galaxies or AGNs.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In preparing this review I have conferred with many people and have
included a number of unpublished results. In this regard I thank Eric
Persson, Charles Lawrence, Peter Eisenhardt, Wil van Breugel, Ruth Daly,
George Miley, Mark Dickinson, Hy Spinrad, and Tim Heckman. I thank
Charles Lawrence for a critical reading of the manuscript. This work was
supported by NASA under a Hubble Fellowship.
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1993 ARAA 31 639 RadioGalaxies

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Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys.

Copyright © 1993 by Annual

HIGH REDSHIFT RADIO

8 1 3 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, California 9 1 1 0 1

KEY WORDS: radio sources, galacy evolution, extra-nuclear activity, cosmology

object known. Minkowski's approach to finding distant galaxies was

selection on cosmological investigations reduced the motivation for these

months Chambers et al (1990) had measured a redshift of 3.8 for a 4C

2. THE CONTENT OF RADIO SURVEYS

Table 1 Radio source surveys

Frequency Flux # of ID QSR z > 1 Additional

6C/2Jy" 151 2.2<S<4.4 67 30 24 34<6<40 08<<><13

erences for modern maps are given in McCarthy et al ( 1 99 1 a). An up-to­

Chambers et al 1 990). Eight of the original 35 sources have z > 2 and 2

optical identifications, and spectral indices for many of the sources.

Spinrad et al ( 1 993) have selected 2 1 6 MG sources according to the

measured z > 2. Dunlop et al (1989b) have estimated the redshifts of most

measurements for the fainter sources.

The ESO Key-Project team, headed by G. Miley, has defined a number of

The sobering lesson contained in Table 1 is that most clever selection

Radio galaxies have rich emission-line spectra-one of their principle

3. 1 Broad- versus Narrow-Line Radio Galaxies

with relative ease (Malkan 1984, Hutchings et al 1 988), blurring this

Osterbrock et al ( 1 976) gave the first quantitative description of the prop­

( 1 978) found a high fraction of nonstellar light in the nuclei of the N

It is important to keep these results in mind when interpreting the spectra

3.2 Narrow-Line Radio Galaxies in the Visible and UV

objects. This is necessitated by both the limited rest wavelength coverage

3500 4000 4500 5000 5500

1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500

Figure 1 A composite radio galaxy spectrum constructed from observations of galaxies

Table 2 Emission-line strengths

Line A Wi. RG Syll QSO Model

Si IV/a IV 1402 35 163 322 16

HE II 1640 62 318 203 167 173

dominant ionization mechanism in radio galaxies. Conclusions regarding

Line A Wi, RG SyII QSO Model

[Ne III] 3967 9 26 47 35

(e.g. [011]3727, Mg1l2800) relative to [OIII]5007 is also at odds with the

3.4 Emission-Line Luminosities

P1400MHz' The apparent correlation is difficult to interpret unambiguously

radio galaxies are correlated has been examined by a number of groups,

found a correlation between Ret + [NII]6584,6548 and radio luminosities

3.5 Morphology of the Line-Emitting Gas

and by Fosbury and his collaborators revealed spatially extended emission

3.6 Physical Properties and Energetics

the nebulae. A typical z � 2 emission region has L(LylX) 3 X 1 044 erg

Heckman et al ( 1 99 1 ) have imaged LylX nebulosities associated with

properties of the emission-line clouds. The values that Heckman et al

the radio galaxy nebulae are ionized by an obscured central quasar or

along a particular direction, is currently very popular in the study of a

detections of several low and intermediate redshift radio galaxies by IRAS,

3.7 Kinematics of the Line-Emitting Gas

3.8 Implications from the Emission Lines

important implications. The first is that the high-power radio galaxies at

4. THE M O RPHOLOGIES AND ENVIRONMENTS OF

THE HOST GALAXIES

In his 1 958 review of radio source identifications Minkowski suggested that

radio galaxies. These spatially extended blue "distortions" in the con­

5. THE ALIGNMENT EFFECT

highly dissipative merger.

role in the study of distant radio galaxies. It has potentially far-reaching

with look-back time, cosmology, and the relationship between radio

erences for modern maps are given in McCarthy et al ( 1 99 1 a). An up-to

Osterbrock et al ( 1 976) gave the first quantitative description of the prop

radio galaxies. These spatially extended blue "distortions" in the con