Speaker
Description
Compact symmetric objects (CSOs) are intrinsically compact extragalactic radio sources and are thought to represent the progenitors of classical radio galaxies. Several evolutionary models of the radio emission have been developed so far, but they mainly focus on the evolution of high-power jets. Weak jets are more prone to instabilities than their high-power counterparts, and jet-medium interaction may decelerate or even disrupt the jet, preventing the formation of large scale structures. As a consequence, a large fraction of the energy of low-power jets is deposited in the host galaxy, and potentially impact the distribution and kinematics of the ISM of the host galaxy for longer time than high-power jets. In this contribution, we present results on VLBI observations of sample of low-power CSOs from the FIRST. Their physical properties are compared with those from high-power CSOs, in order to investigate various evolutionary paths and the influence of the environment as a function of radio power. Then we will discuss the observational limitations in determining recurrent jet activity in CSOs and how forthcoming multi-band facilities will circumvent these issues.