Related papers: Optical imaging and spectroscopy of BL Lac objects
Aims: We present optical spectroscopy of a sample of BL Lac objects, to determine their redshift, to study their broad emission line properties and to characterize their close environment. Methods: Twelve objects were observed using the ESO…
(abridged) We present near-infrared Ks-band imaging of 13 high redshift (0.6 < z < 1.3) BL Lac objects. We clearly detect the host in eight objects, and marginally in three others. In all cases, the host galaxy is well represented by an…
Aims. We aim to determine the redshift (or stringent lower limits) of a number of bright BL Lacs objects. Methods. We secured medium resolution optical and near-infrared spectra of 4 bright BL Lac objects of unknown redshift using the…
We report on the optical properties of a sample of 30 BL Lac host galaxies in the redshift range $0.03<z<0.2$, as derived from HST observations. All galaxies are fully resolved in the WFPC2 (F702W filter) images, allowing a quantitative…
We present the results of near-infrared H band (1.65 microns) imaging of 11 BL Lac objects with redshifts ranging from z = 0.05 to 0.9. We are able to clearly detect the host galaxy in seven low redshift (z<=0.24) BL Lacs, while the four…
Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFPC-2 I-band (F814W) images of three X-ray selected BL Lacertae objects (MS1221.8+2452, MS1407.9+5954, & MS2143.4+0704) reveal that each of these BL Lac objects is well-centered in an extended nebulosity that…
Snapshot images of about 100 BL Lac objects were obtained with WFPC2 on HST. Sources from various samples, in the redshift range 0.05 to 1.2, were observed and 61 resolved (51 with known z). The high resolution and homogeneity of the images…
The HST snapshot imaging survey of 110 BL Lac objects (Urry et al. 2000) has clearly shown that the host galaxies are massive and luminous ellipticals. The dispersion of the absolute magnitudes is sufficiently small, so that the measurement…
\textbf{Context.} Deep optical surveys open the avenue for find large numbers of BL Lac objects that are hard to identify because they lack the unique properties classifying them as such. While radio or X-ray surveys typically reveal dozens…
We investigate the properties of the host galaxies of X-ray selected (high frequency peaked) BL Lac objects using a large and homogeneous data set of high spatial resolution R-band observations of 52 BL Lacs in the EMSS and Slew samples.…
High-resolution images of 7 newly identified BL Lac objects (among them one BL Lac candidate) at z < 0.2 from the Einstein Slew Survey are presented for the first time. In all cases we were able to resolve the host galaxy. Our 2-dimensional…
We are carrying out a multi-purpose program of high signal to noise optical spectroscopy at medium resolution of 30 BL Lac objects. Here we report the detection of three new redshifts, and the discovery of three misclassified sources. The…
Since the last meeting on BL Lac objects 10 years ago, BL Lac host galaxies and their cluster environment have gained much attention. Hence, our current knowledge of the properties of BL Lac host galaxies and their cluster environment has…
We present results of an ongoing program at the ESO VLT for spectroscopy of BL Lac objects lacking a firm redshift estimate and here we report on 15 objects. For 11 sources we confirm the BL Lac classification, and we determine new…
We have used the HST WFPC2 camera to survey 132 BL Lac objects comprising seven complete radio-, X-ray-, and optically-selected samples. We obtained useful images for 110 targets spanning the redshift range 0 < z < 1.3. In two thirds of the…
We report on deep radio images and optical spectroscopy of two BL Lac objects that have very close compact companions. The two targets, 1ES 0502+675 and 1ES 1440+122, were selected from the HST imaging survey of 110 BL Lacs as candidates…
We report on ESO Very Large Telescope optical spectroscopy of 42 BL Lacertae objects of unknown redshift. Nuclear emission lines were observed in 12 objects, while for another six we detected absorption features due to their host galaxy.…
We present the last chapter of a spectroscopy program aimed at deriving the redshift or a lower limit to the redshift of BL Lac objects using medium resolution spectroscopy. Here we report new spectra for 33 BL Lac object candidates…
BL Lac objects (BLL) are defined by the presence of very weak (typically $<$ 5 {\AA}) or even absent spectral lines. This makes determining their distance particularly challenging, especially at high redshift, where the sources are fainter…
We present Very Large Telescope optical spectroscopy of nine BL Lac objects of unknown redshift belonging to the list of optically selected radio loud BL Lacs candidates. We explore their spectroscopic properties and the possible link with…