The log N-log S curve for 3CR radio galaxies and the problem of identifying faint radio galaxies

Abstract

The log N-log S slope of optically identified galaxies in the 3CR catalog is analyzed for galaxies with flux levels greater than 10 Jy and located at galactic latitudes greater than 7 deg. For the 86 galaxies with known redshifts, the slope is found to be about 1.16; for all 119 galaxies, the slope is found to be about 1.50. If the 113 unidentified sources are included, the slope steepens to about 1.81. It is shown that this steepness is caused by the unidentified sources. Assuming that the slope is due to evolution at redshifts of 1 to 3 and that the unidentified sources are bright ellipticals, the mean redshifts and apparent brightnesses of these galaxies are calculated. The results indicate that it is impossible to observe the unidentified sources with existing ground-based telescopes, implying that it is presently impossible to establish directly that evolution is responsible for the steep log N-log S curve of the 3CR galaxies.