Interpretation of Modern Radio Surveys: Test of the Unification Paradigm

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AST-0507529IvezicThis project will unify several modern radio catalogs into a single database, and classify the sources using various morphological and spectral criteria. The properties of the resulting classes will be analyzed with the aid of state-of-the-art models for radio source evolution and expansion that include jet propagation through confining media, and synchrotron, adiabatic and inverse Compton losses. This new data set dwarfs every older catalog in terms of sample size, depth and wavelength coverage, and the diversity of parameters to be used allows for robust, automated, unsupervised classification. Combining sophisticated statistical analysis of a massive data set with state-of-the art models is expected to provide qualitatively new insights, including a robust test of the radio source unification framework.The large unified database will foster novel applications of modern statistical methods to astronomical data analysis, and will be promptly released to the community. It will also allow smaller, stand-alone but discovery-based projects that are ideal for engaging undergraduate and graduate students in cutting-edge research. In addition, the project web site will promote the exposure of high school students to current research by enabling them to (re)discover many of the expected scientific results.