LeMMINGs. II. The e-MERLIN legacy survey of nearby galaxies. The deepest
  radio view of the Palomar sample on parsec scale
  We present the second data release of high-resolution ($\leq0.2$ arcsec)
1.5-GHz radio images of 177 nearby galaxies from the Palomar sample, observed
with the e-MERLIN array, as part of the LeMMINGs (Legacy e-MERLIN Multi-band
Imaging of Nearby Galaxy Sample) survey. Together with the 103 targets of the
first LeMMINGs data release, this represents a complete sample of 280 local
active (LINER and Seyfert) and inactive galaxies HII galaxies and Absorption
Line Galaxies, ALG). This large program is the deepest radio survey of the
local Universe, $\gtrsim$10$^{17.6}$ W Hz$^{-1}$, regardless of the host and
nuclear type: we detect radio emission $\gtrsim$0.25 mJy beam$^{-1}$ for
125/280 galaxies (44.6 per cent) with sizes of typically $\lesssim$100 pc. Of
those 125, 106 targets show a core which coincides within 1.2 arcsec with the
optical nucleus. Although we observed mostly cores, around one third of the
detected galaxies features jetted morphologies. The detected radio core
luminosities of the sample range between $\sim$10$^{34}$ and 10$^{40}$ erg
s$^{-1}$. LINERs and Seyferts are the most luminous sources, whereas HII
galaxies are the least. LINERs show FRI-like core-brightened radio structures,
while Seyferts reveal the highest fraction of symmetric morphologies. The
majority of HII galaxies have single radio core or complex extended structures,
which probably conceal a nuclear starburst and/or a weak active nucleus (seven
of them show clear jets). ALGs, which are typically found in evolved
ellipticals, although the least numerous, exhibit on average the most luminous
radio structures, similar to LINERs.
