Abstract
The observed dependences of the spectral indices () of extragalactic radio sources on redshift (z) and radio luminosity (P) are investigated taking into account the possible luminosity selection effects in bright source samples. Using the steep spectrum (>0.5) extended (D>20 Kpc) sources from a compilation of three complete samples, the contribution of the luminosity selection effects to the observed -z relation is quantitatively estimated.We show that a highly significant fraction (54%) of the observed spectral steepening with redshift can be attributed to these luminosity selection effects present in most well-studied flux density-limited samples.
Astrophysics and Space Science 01/1996; 238(2):151-157. DOI:10.1007/BF00641685
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