A Search for Extended Radio Sources in 1.3 sr of the VLA Sky Survey (VLASS)

Abstract

We report preliminary results of a visual inspection of ~4300 deg$^2$ covered by 4414 images of the 3-GHz VLA Sky Survey (VLASS, epoch 1.1) in search of extended radio structures. Over 7600 positions were registered, and for a subset of 270 of the most promising candidates their host objects were searched in optical and infrared surveys, as well as in other public databases. Among these 270, we found 9 new giant radio galaxies with a projected radio extent exceeding 1 Mpc, of which two are likely quasars at a redshift of z$\sim$2, and another one had hitherto been misidentified with a low-redshift host. Apart from various sources with unusual radio morphologies, we found numerous remnant-type double radio sources with very diffuse lobes in VLASS, both with and without radio cores. We confirm that the high angular resolution and observing frequency of VLASS is well suited for the optical identification of radio sources, and despite its limited sensitivity to extended emission, allows to reveal large radio galaxies based on morphological features unrecognizable in lower-resolution surveys.