We present two catalogs of radio-loud candidate blazars whose WISE mid-infrared colors are selected to be consistent with the colors of confirmed γ-ray emitting blazars. The first catalog is the improved and expanded release of the WIBRaLS catalog presented by D' Abrusco et al. (2014): it includes sources detected in all four WISE filters, spatially cross-matched with radio source in one of three radio surveys and radio-loud based on their q 22 spectral parameter. WIBRaLS2 includes 9541 sources classified as BL Lacs, FSRQs or mixed candidates based on their WISE colors. The second catalog, called KDEBLLACS, based on a new selection technique, contains 5579 candidate BL Lacs extracted from the population of WISE sources detected in the first three WISE passbands ([3.4], [4.6] and [12]) only, whose mid-infrared colors are similar to those of confirmed, γ-ray BL Lacs. KDBLLACS members area also required to have a radio counterpart and be radio-loud based on the parameter q 12 , defined similarly to q 22 used for the WIBRaLS2. We describe the properties of these catalogs and compare them with the largest samples of confirmed and candidate blazars in the literature. We crossmatch the two new catalogs with the most recent catalogs of γ-ray sources detected by Fermi LAT instrument. Since spectroscopic observations of candidate blazars from the first WIBRaLS catalog within the uncertainty regions of γ-ray unassociated sources confirmed that ∼ 90% of these candidates are blazars, we anticipate that these new catalogs will play again an important role in the identification of the γ-ray sky.

We present a qualitative search for ultra-fast outflows (UFOs) in excess variance spectra of radio-quiet active galactic nuclei (AGN). We analyse 42 sources from the Tombesi et al. (2010) spectroscopic UFO detection sample, and an additional 22 different sources from the Kara et al. (2016) variability sample. A total of 58 sources have sufficient observational data from XMM-Newton EPIC-pn and variability for an excess variance spectrum to be calculated. We examine these spectra for peaks corresponding to variable blue-shifted H-and He-like ion absorption lines from UFOs. We find good evidence for such outflows in 28% of the AGN sample and weak evidence in a further 31%, meaning that ∼ 30-60% of the AGN sample hosts such UFOs. The mean and median blue-shifted velocity is found to be ∼ 0.14c and 0.12c, respectively. Current variability methods allow for a fast, model-independent determination of UFOs, however, further work needs to be undertaken to better characterize the statistical significance of the peaks in these spectra by more rigorous modelling. Detecting good evidence for variable UFO lines in a large number of sources also lays the groundwork for detailed analysis of the variability timescales of the absorbers. This will allow us to probe their densities and hence distances from the central super-massive black hole.

Searching for low energy counterparts of γ-rays sources is one of the major challenges in modern γ-ray astronomy. In the third Fermi source catalog about 30% of detected sources are unidentified/unassociated Gamma-ray Sources (UGSs). We recently started an optical spectroscopic follow up campaign to confirm the blazar-like nature of candidates counterparts of UGSs. Here we report the spectra of 61 targets collected with the Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope (SOAR) between 2014 and the 2017. Our sample includes 33 potential counterparts of UGSs, selected on the basis of WISE colors, and 27 blazar candidates of uncertain type associated with gamma-ray sources of the last release of the Fermi catalog. We confirm the BZB nature of 20 sources lying within the positional uncertainty region of the UGSs. All the observed BCUs show blazar-like spectra, classified as 2 BZQs and 25 BZBs, for which we obtained 6 redshift estimates. Within the BCUs observations we report the redshift estimate for the BZB associated with, 3FGL J1106.4-3643 that is the second most distant BL Lac known to date, at zâ\u89¥ 1.084

The third Fermi source catalog lists 3033 γray sources above 4σ significance. More than 30% are classified as either unidentified/unassociated Gammaray sources (UGSs), with about 20% classified as Blazar candidates of uncertain types (BCUs). To confirm the blazar-like nature of candidate counterparts of UGSs and BCUs, we started in 2012 an optical spectroscopic follow up campaign. We report here the spectra of 36 targets with observations from the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional San Pedro Mártir, the Southern Astrophysical Research Observatory, the Kitt Peak National Observatory and the Northern Optical Telescope, between 2016 and 2017. We confirm the BL Lac nature of 23 sources, and the flat spectrum radio quasar nature of other 7 ones. We also provide redshift estimates for 19 out of these 30 confirmations, with only one being a lower limit due to spectral features ascribable to intervening systems along the line of sight. As in previous analyses, the largest fraction of now-classified BCUs belong to the class of BL Lac objects, that appear to be the most elusive class of active galactic nuclei. One of the BL Lacs identified in this work, associated with 3FGL J2213.6-4755, lies at a redshift of z >1.529, making it one of the few distant gamma-ray BL Lac objects.

The role played by the large-scale environment on the nuclear activity of radio galaxies (RGs), is still not completely understood. Accretion mode, jet power and galaxy evolution are connected with their large-scale environment from tens to hundreds of kpc. Here we present a detailed, statistical, analysis of the large-scale environment for two samples of RGs up to redshifts z src =0.15. The main advantages of our study, with respect to those already present in the literature, are due to the extremely homogeneous selection criteria of catalogs adopted to perform our investigation. This is also coupled with the use of several clustering algorithms. We performed a direct search of galaxy-rich environments around RGs using them as beacon. To perform this study we also developed a new method that does not appear to suffer by a strong z src dependence as other algorithms. We conclude that, despite their radio morphological (FR I vs FR II) and/or their optical (HERG vs LERG) classification, RGs in the local Universe tend to live in galaxy-rich large-scale environments having similar characteristics and richness. We highlight that the fraction of FR Is-LERG, inhabiting galaxy rich environments, appears larger than that of FR IIs-LERG. We also found that 5 out of 7 FR II-HERGs, with z src ≤0.11, lie in groups/clusters of galaxies. However, we recognize that, despite the high level of completeness of our catalogs, when restricting to the local Universe, the low number of HERGs (∼10% of the total FR IIs investigated) prevent us to make a strong statistical conclusion about this source class.

We recently developed a procedure to recognize γ-ray blazar candidates within the positional uncertainty regions of the unidentified/unassociated γ-ray sources (UGSs). Such procedure was based on the discovery that Fermi blazars show peculiar infrared colors. However, to confirm the real nature of the selected candidates, optical spectroscopic data are necessary. Thus, we performed an extensive archival search for spectra available in the literature in parallel with an optical spectroscopic campaign aimed to reveal and confirm the nature of the selected γ-ray blazar candidates. Here, we first search for optical spectra of a selected sample of γ-ray blazar candidates that can be potential counterparts of UGSs using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS DR12). This search enables us to update the archival search carried out to date. We also describe the state-of-art and the future perspectives of our campaign to discover previously unknown γ-ray blazars.

Despite the fact that blazars constitute the rarest class among active galactic nuclei (AGNs) they are the largest known population of associated γ-ray sources. Many of the γ-ray objects listed in the Fermi-Large Area Telescope Third Source catalog (3FGL) are classified as blazar candidates of uncertain type (BCUs), either because they show multifrequency behavior similar to blazars but lacking optical spectra in the literature, or because the quality of such spectra is too low to confirm their nature. Here we select, out of 585 BCUs in the 3FGL, 42 BCUs which we identify as probable blazars by their WISE infrared colors and which also have optical spectra that are available in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and/or Six-Degree Field Galaxy Survey Database (6dFGS). We confirm the blazar nature of all of the sources. We furthermore conclude that 28 of them are BL Lacs, 8 are radio-loud quasars with flat radio spectrum and 6 are BL Lac whose emission is dominated by their host galaxy

Context. The store of data collected in public astronomical archives across the world is continuously expanding and, thus, providing a convenient interface for accessing this information is a major concern for ensuring a second life for the data. In this context, Solar System objects (SSOs) are often difficult or even impossible to query, owing to their ever-changing sky coordinates. Aims. Our study is aimed at providing the scientific community with a search service for all potential detections of SSOs among the ESA astronomy archival imaging data, called the Solar System Object Search Service (SSOSS). We illustrate its functionalities using the case of asteroid (16) Psyche, for which no information in the far-IR (70-500 µm) has previously been reported, to derive its thermal properties in preparation for the upcoming NASA Psyche mission. Methods. We performed a geometrical cross-match of the orbital path of each object, as seen by the satellite reference frame, with respect to the public high-level imaging footprints stored in the ESA archives. There are about 800,000 asteroids and 2,000 comets included in the SSOSS, available through ESASky, providing both targeted and serendipitous observations. For this first release, three missions were chosen: XMM-Newton, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and Herschel. Results. We present a catalog listing all potential detections of asteroids within estimated limiting magnitude or flux limit in Herschel, XMM-Newton, and HST archival imaging data, including 909 serendipitous detections in Herschel images, 985 in XMM-Newton Optical Monitor camera images, and over 32,000 potential serendipitous detections in HST images. We also present a case study: the analysis of the thermal properties of Psyche from four serendipitous Herschel detections, combined with previously published thermal IR measurements. We see strong evidence for an unusual drop in (hemispherical spectral) emissivity, from 0.9 at 100 µm down to about 0.6 at 350 µm, followed by a possible but not well-constrained increase towards 500 µm, comparable to what was found for Vesta. The combined thermal data set puts a strong constraint on Psyche's thermal inertia (between 20 to 80 J m −2 s −1/2 K −1 ) and favors an intermediate to low level surface roughness (below 0.4 for the rms of surface slopes). Conclusions. Using the example of Psyche, we show how the SSOSS provides fast access to observations of SSOs from the ESA astronomical archives, regardless of whether the particular object was the actual target. This greatly simplifies the task of searching, identifying, and retrieving such data for scientific analysis.