On the Populations of Radio Galaxies with Extended Morphology at z<0.3
  Extended extragalactic radio sources have traditionally been classified into
FR I and II types, based on the ratio r of the separation S between the
brightest regions on either sides of the host galaxy and the total size T of
the radio source. Here we examine the distribution of various physical
properties as a function of r of 1040 luminous radio galaxies (RGs) at z<0.3
from the SDSS, NVSS, and FIRST. About 2/3 of the RGs are lobe-dominated (LD),
and 1/3 have prominent jets. If we follow the original definition of the FR
types (a division based solely on r), FR I and FR II RGs overlap in their host
galaxy properties. However, the rare, LD sources with r>0.8 AND OIII5007 line
luminosity >10^6 Lsun are markedly different on average from the rest of the
RGs, in the sense that they are hosted in lower mass galaxies, live in
relatively sparse environments, and have higher accretion rates onto the
central SMBH. Thus these objects and the rest of RGs form a well-defined
dichotomy. Motivated by the stark differences in the nuclear emission line
properties of the RG subsamples, we suggest that the accretion rate onto the
SMBH may play the primary role in creating the different morphologies. At
relatively high accretion rates, the accretion system may produce powerful jets
that create the "classical double" morphology (roughly corresponding to the LD
sources with r>0.8 and emission lines); at lower accretion rates the jets from
a radiatively inefficient accretion flow generate radio lobes without apparent
"hot spots" at the edge (corresponding to the majority of LD sources). At
slightly lower accretion rates AND in galaxies with dense galactic structure,
sources with prominent jets result. It is possible that while the high
accretion rate systems could affect sub-Mpc scale environments, the jets from
lower accretion rate systems may efficiently suppress activity within the host
galaxies.
