ESA Science & Technology - Publication Archive

We present the final results from the XMM-Newton validation follow-up of new Planck galaxy cluster candidates. We observed 15 new candidates, detected with signal-to-noise ratios between 4.0 and 6.1 in the 15.5-month nominal Planck survey. The candidates were selected using ancillary data flags derived from the ROSAT All Sky Survey (RASS) and Digitized Sky Survey all-sky maps, with the aim of pushing into the low SZ flux, high-z regime and testing RASS flags as indicators of candidate reliability. Fourteen new clusters were detected by XMM-Newton, ten single clusters and two double systems. Redshifts from X-ray spectroscopy lie in the range 0.2 to 0.9, with six clusters at z > 0.5. Estimated masses (M₅₀₀) range from 2.5 × 10¹⁴ to 8 × 10¹⁴ M_⊙. We discuss our results in the context of the full XMM-Newton validation programme, in which 51 new clusters have been detected. This includes four double and two triple systems, some of which are chance projections on the sky of clusters at different redshifts. We find thatassociation with a source from the RASS-Bright Source Catalogue is a robust indicator of the reliability of a candidate, whereas association with a source from the RASS-Faint Source Catalogue does not guarantee that the SZ candidate is a bona fide cluster. Nevertheless, most Planck clusters appear in RASS maps, with a significance greater than 2σ being a good indication that the candidate is a real cluster. Candidate validation from association with SDSS galaxy overdensity at z > 0.5 is also discussed. The full sample gives a Planck sensitivity threshold of Y₅₀₀ ~ 4 × 10^-4 arcmin², with indication for Malmquist bias in the Y_X–Y₅₀₀ relation below this threshold. The corresponding mass threshold depends on redshift.
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We examine the relation between the galaxy cluster mass M and Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) effect signal D²_A Y₅₀₀ for a sample of 19 objects for which weak lensing (WL) mass measurements obtained from Subaru Telescope data are available in the literature. Hydrostatic X-ray masses are derived from XMM-Newton archive data, and the SZ effect signal is measured from Planck all-sky survey data. We find an M_WL–D²_A Y₅₀₀relation that is consistent in slope and normalisation with previous determinations using weak lensing masses; however, there is a normalisation offset with respect to previous measures based on hydrostatic X-ray mass-proxy relations. We verify that our SZ effect measurements are in excellent agreement with previous determinations from Planck data. For the present sample, the hydrostatic X-ray masses at R₅₀₀ are on average ~20 percent larger than the corresponding weak lensing masses, which is contrary to expectations. We show that the mass discrepancy is driven by a difference in mass concentration as measured by the two methods and, for the present sample, that the mass discrepancy and difference in mass concentration are especially large for disturbed systems. The mass discrepancy is also linked to the offset in centres used by the X-ray and weak lensing analyses, which again is most important in disturbed systems. We outline several approaches that are needed to help achieve convergence in cluster mass measurement with X-ray and weak lensing observations.

A comparison is presented of Sunyaev-Zeldovich measurements for 11 galaxy clusters as obtained by Planck and by the ground-based interferometer, the Arcminute Microkelvin Imager. Assuming a universal spherically-symmetric Generalised Navarro, Frenk and White (GNFW) model for the cluster gas pressure profile, we jointly constrain the integrated Compton-Y parameter (Y₅₀₀) and the scale radius (θ₅₀₀) of each cluster. Our resulting constraints in the Y₅₀₀ − θ₅₀₀ 2D parameter space derived from the two instruments overlap significantly for eight of the clusters, although, overall, there is a tendency for AMI to find the Sunyaev-Zeldovich signal to be smaller in angular size and fainter than Planck. Significant discrepancies exist for the three remaining clusters in the sample, namely A1413, A1914, and the newly-discovered Planck cluster PLCKESZ G139.59+24.18. The robustness of the analysis of both the Planck and AMI data is demonstrated through the use of detailed simulations, which also discount confusion from residual point (radio) sources and from diffuse astrophysical foregrounds as possible explanations for the discrepancies found. For a subset of our cluster sample, we have investigated the dependence of our results on the assumed pressure profile by repeating the analysis adopting the best-fitting GNFW profile shape which best matches X-ray observations. Adopting the best-fitting profile shape from the X-ray data does not, in general, resolve the discrepancies found in this subset of five clusters. Though based on a small sample, our results suggest that the adopted GNFW model may not be sufficiently flexible to describe clusters universally.

We present further results from the ongoing XMM-Newton validation follow-up of Planck cluster candidates, detailing X-ray observations of eleven candidates detected at a signal-to-noise ratio of 4.5 < S/N < 5.3 in the same 10-month survey maps used in the construction of the Early SZ sample. The sample was selected in order to test internal SZ quality flags, and the pertinence of these flags is discussed in light of the validation results. Ten of the candidates are found to be bona fide clusters lying below the RASS flux limit. Redshift estimates are available for all confirmed systems via X-ray Fe-line spectroscopy. They lie in the redshift range 0.19 < z < 0.94, demonstrating Planck’s capability to detect clusters up to high z. The X-ray properties of the new clusters appear to be similar to previous new detections by Planck at lower z and higher SZ flux: the majority are X-ray underluminous for their mass, estimated using Y_X as mass proxy, and many have a disturbed morphology. We find tentative indication for Malmquist bias in the Y_SZ–Y_X relation, with a turnover at Y_SZ ~ 4 × 10^-4 arcmin². We present additional new optical redshift determinations with ENO and ESO telescopes of candidates previously confirmed with XMM-Newton. The X-ray and optical redshifts for a total of 20 clusters are found to be in excellent agreement. We also show that useful lower limits can be put on cluster redshifts using X-ray data only via the use of the Y_X vs. Y_SZ and X-ray flux F_X vs. Y_SZ relations.

The all-sky coverage of the Planck Early Release Compact Source Catalogue (ERCSC) provides an unsurpassed survey of galaxies at submillimetre (submm) wavelengths, representing a major improvement in the numbers of galaxies detected, as well as the range of far-IR/submm wavelengths over which they have been observed. We here present the first results on the properties of nearby galaxies using these data. We match the ERCSC catalogue to IRAS-detected galaxies in the Imperial IRAS Faint Source Redshift Catalogue (IIFSCz), so that we can measure the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of these objects from 60 to 850 microns. This produces a list of 1717 galaxies with reliable associations between Planck and IRAS, from which we select a subset of 468 for SED studies, namely those with strong detections in the three highest frequency Planck bands and no evidence of cirrus contamination. The SEDs are fitted using parametric dust models to determine the range of dust temperatures and emissivities. We find evidence for colder dust than has previously been found in external galaxies, with T<20K. Such cold temperatures are found using both the standard single temperature dust model with variable emissivity beta, or a two dust temperature model with beta fixed at 2. We also compare our results to studies of distant submm galaxies (SMGs) which have been claimed to contain cooler dust than their local counterparts. We find that including our sample of 468 galaxies significantly reduces the distinction between the two populations. Fits to SEDs of selected objects using more sophisticated templates derived from radiative transfer models confirm the presence of the colder dust found through parameteric fitting. We thus conclude that cold (T<20K) dust is a significant and largely unexplored component of many nearby galaxies.

All-sky data from the Planck survey and the Meta-Catalogue of X-ray detected Clusters of galaxies (MCXC) are combined to investigate the relationship between the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) signal and X-ray luminosity. The sample comprises ~1600 X-ray clusters with redshifts up to ~1 and spans a wide range in X-ray luminosity. The SZ signal is extracted for each object individually, and the statistical significance of the measurement is maximised by averaging the SZ signal in bins of X-ray luminosity, total mass, or redshift. The SZ signal is detected at very high significance over more than two decades in X-ray luminosity (10⁴³ergs^-1 r L₅₀₀E(z)^7/3 r 2 × 10⁴⁵ergs^-1). The relation between intrinsic SZ signal and X-ray luminosity is investigated and the measured SZ signal is compared to values predicted from X-ray data. Planck measurements and X-ray based predictions are found to be in excellent agreement over the whole explored luminosity range. No significant deviation from standard evolution of the scaling relations is detected. For the first time the intrinsic scatter in the scaling relation between SZ signal and X-ray luminosity is measured and found to be consistent with the one in the luminosity mass relation from X-ray studies. There is no evidence of any deficit in SZ signal strength in Planck data relative to expectations from the X-ray properties of clusters, underlining the robustness and consistency of our overall view of intra-cluster medium properties.

We present the XMM-Newton follow-up for confirmation of Planck cluster candidates. Twenty-five candidates have been observed to date using snapshot (~10ks) exposures, ten as part of a pilot programme to sample a low range of signal-to-noise ratios (4 < S/N < 6), and a further 15 in a programme to observe a sample of S/N > 5 candidates. The sensitivity and spatial resolution of XMM-Newton allows unambiguous discrimination between clusters and false candidates. The 4 false candidates have S/N < 4.1. A total of 21 candidates are confirmed as extended X-ray sources. Seventeen are single clusters, the majority of which are found to have highly irregular and disturbed morphologies (about ~70%). The remaining four sources are multiple systems, including the unexpected discovery of a supercluster at z = 0.45. For 20 sources we are able to derive a redshift estimate from the X-ray Fe K line (albeit of variable quality). The new clusters span the redshift range 0.09 < z < 0.54, with a median redshift of z ~ 0.37. A first determination is made of their X-ray properties including the characteristic size, which is used to improve the estimate of the SZ Compton parameter, Y₅₀₀. The follow-up validation programme has helped to optimise the Planck candidate selection process. It has also provided a preview of the X-ray properties of these newly-discovered clusters, allowing comparison with their SZ properties, and to the X-ray and SZ properties of known clusters observed in the Planck survey. Our results suggest that Planck may have started to reveal a non-negligible population of massive dynamically perturbed objects that is under-represented in X-ray surveys. However, despite their particular properties, these new clusters appear to follow the Y₅₀₀-Y_X relation established for X-ray selected objects, where Y_X is the product of the gas mass and temperature.

We present first results on PLCKG266.6-27.3, a galaxy cluster candidate detected at a signal-to-noise ratio of 5 in the Planck All Sky survey. An XMM-Newton validation observation has allowed us to confirm that the candidate isa bona fide galaxy cluster. With these X-ray data we measure an accurate redshift, z = 0.94 ± 0.02, and estimate the cluster mass to be M₅₀₀ = (7.8 ± 0.8) × 10¹⁴ M_o. PLCKG266.6-27.3 is an exceptional system: its luminosity of L_X [0.5-2.0 keV] = (1.4 ± 0.05) × 10⁴⁵ erg s^-1 equals that of the two most luminous known clusters in the z > 0.5 universe, and it is one of the most massive clusters at z ~ 1. Moreover, unlike the majority of high-redshift clusters, PLCKG266.6-27.3 appears to be highly relaxed. This observation confirms Planck's capability of detecting high-redshift, high-mass clusters, and opens the way to the systematic study of population evolution in the exponential tail of the mass function.

Planck allows unbiased mapping of Galactic sub-millimetre and millimetre emission from the most diffuse regions to the densest parts of molecular clouds. We present an early analysis of the Taurus molecular complex, on line-of-sight-averaged data and without component separation. The emission spectrum measured by Planck and IRAS can be fitted pixel by pixel using a single modified blackbody. Some systematic residuals are detected at 353 GHz and 143 GHz, with amplitudes around -7% and +13%, respectively, indicating that the measured spectra are likely more complex than a simple modified blackbody. Significant positive residuals are also detected in the molecular regions and in the 217 GHz and 100 GHz bands, mainly caused by the contribution of the J = 2 -> 1 and J = 1 -> 0 ¹²CO and ¹³CO emission lines. We derive maps of the dust temperature T, the dust spectral emissivity index beta, and the dust optical depth at 250 micronm T₂₅₀. The temperature map illustrates the cooling of the dust particles in thermal equilibrium with the incident radiation field, from 16 - 17 K in the diffuse regions to 13 - 14 K in the dense parts. The distribution of spectral indices is centred at 1.78, with a standard deviation of 0.08 and a systematic error of 0.07. We detect a significant T - beta anti-correlation. The dust optical depth map reveals the spatial distribution of the column density of the molecular complex from the densest molecular regions to the faint diffuse regions. We use near-infrared extinction and Hi data at 21-cm to perform a quantitative analysis of the spatial variations of the measured dust optical depth at 250 micronm per hydrogen atom T₂₅₀/N_H. We report an increase of T₂₅₀/N_H by a factor of about 2 between the atomic phase and the molecular phase, which has a strong impact on the equilibrium temperature of the dust particles.

This paper presents the first results from a comparison of Planck dust maps at 353, 545 and 857GHz, along with IRAS data at 3000 (100 micronm) and 5000GHz (60 micronm), with Green Bank Telescope 21-cm observations of Hi in 14 fields covering more than 800deg² at high Galactic latitude. The main goal of this study is to estimate the far-infrared to sub-millimeter (submm) emissivity of dust in the diffuse local interstellar medium (ISM) and in the intermediate-velocity (IVC) and high-velocity clouds (HVC) of the Galactic halo. Galactic dust emission for fields with average Hi column density lower than 2 × 10²⁰ cm^-2 is well correlated with 21-cm emission because in such diffuse areas the hydrogen is predominantly in the neutral atomic phase. The residual emission in these fields, once the Hi-correlated emission is removed, is consistent with the expected statistical properties of the cosmic infrared background fluctuations. The brighter fields in our sample, with an average Hi column density greater than 2 × 10²⁰ cm^-2, show significant excess dust emission compared to the Hi column density. Regions of excess lie in organized structures that suggest the presence of hydrogen in molecular form, though they are not always correlated with CO emission. In the higher Hi column density fields the excess emission at 857 GHz is about 40% of that coming from the Hi, but over all the high latitude fields surveyed the molecular mass faction is about 10%. Dust emission from IVCs is detected with high significance by this correlation analysis. Its spectral properties are consistent with, compared to the local ISM values, significantly hotter dust (T ~ 20 K), lower submm dust opacity normalized per H-atom, and a relative abundance of very small grains to large grains about four times higher.
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We present the statistical properties of the Cold Clump Catalogue of Planck Objects (C3PO), the first all-sky catalogue of cold objects, in terms of their spatial distribution, dust temperature, distance, mass, and morphology. We have combined Planck and IRAS data to extract 10342 cold sources that stand out against a warmer environment. The sources are distributed over the whole sky, including in the Galactic plane, despite the confusion, and up to high latitudes (>30°). We find a strong spatial correlation of these sources with ancillary data tracing Galactic molecular structures and infrared dark clouds where the latter have been catalogued. These cold clumps are not isolated but clustered in groups. Dust temperature and emissivity spectral index values are derived from their spectral energy distributions using both Planck and IRAS data. The temperatures range from 7K to 19K, with a distribution peaking around 13K. The data are inconsistent with a constant value of the associated spectral index beta over the whole temperature range: beta varies from 1.4 to 2.8, with a mean value around 2.1. Distances are obtained for approximately one third of the objects. Most of the detections lie within 2kpc of the Sun, but more distant sources are also detected, out to 7kpc. The mass estimates inferred from dust emission range from 0.4 M_o to 2.4 × 10⁵ M_o.
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We perform a detailed investigation of sources from the Cold Cores Catalogue of Planck Objects (C3PO). Our goal is to probe the reliability of the detections, validate the separation between warm and cold dust emission components, provide the first glimpse at the nature, internal morphology and physical characterictics of the Planck-detected sources. We focus on a sub-sample of ten sources from the C3PO list, selected to sample different environments, from high latitude cirrus to nearby (150pc) and remote (2kpc) molecular complexes. We present Planck surface brightness maps and derive the dust temperature, emissivity spectral index, and column densities of the fields. With the help of higher resolution Herschel and AKARI continuum observations and molecular line data, we investigate the morphology of the sources and the properties of the substructures at scales below the Planck beam size. The cold clumps detected by Planck are found to be located on large-scale filamentary (or cometary) structures that extend up to 20pc in the remote sources. The thickness of these filaments ranges between 0.3 and 3pc, for column densities N_H2 ~ 0.1 to 1.6 × 10²² cm^-2, and with linear mass density covering a broad range, between 15 and 400 M_o pc^-1. The dust temperatures are low (between 10 and 15K) and the Planck cold clumps correspond to local minima of the line-of-sight averaged dust temperature in these fields. These low temperatures are confirmed when AKARI and Herschel data are added to the spectral energy distributions. Herschel data reveal a wealth of substructure within the Planck cold clumps. In all cases (except two sources harbouring young stellar objects), the substructures are found to be colder, with temperatures as low as 7K. Molecular line observations provide gas column densities which are consistent with those inferred from the dust.
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Planck has observed the entire sky from 30 GHz to 857GHz. The observed foreground emission contains contributions from different phases of the interstellar medium (ISM). We have separated the observed Galactic emission into the different gaseous components (atomic, molecular and ionised) in each of a number of Galactocentric rings. This technique provides the necessary information to study dust properties (emissivity, temperature, etc.), as well as other emission mechanisms as a function of Galactic radius. Templates are created for various Galactocentric radii using velocity information from atomic (neutral hydrogen) and molecular (¹²CO) observations. The ionised template is assumed to be traced by free-free emission as observed by WMAP, while 408 MHz emission is used to trace the synchrotron component. Gas emission not traced by the above templates, namely "dark gas", as evidenced using Planck data, is included as an additional template, the first time such a component has been used in this way. These templates are then correlated with each of the Planck frequency bands, as well as with higher frequency data from IRAS and DIRBE along with radio data at 1.4 GHz. The emission per column density of the gas templates allows us to create distinct spectral energy distributions (SEDs) per Galactocentric ring and in each of the gaseous tracers from 1.4 GHz to 25 THz (12micronm). The resulting SEDs allow us to explore the contribution of various emission mechanisms to the Planck signal.
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Anomalous microwave emission (AME) has been observed by numerous experiments in the frequency range ~1060 GHz. Using Planck maps and multi-frequency ancillary data, we have constructed spectra for two known AME regions: the Perseus and ? Ophiuchi molecular clouds. The spectra are well fitted by a combination of free-free radiation, cosmic microwave background, thermal dust, and electric dipole radiation from small spinning dust grains. The spinning dust spectra are the most precisely measured to date, and show the high frequency side clearly for the first time. The spectra have a peak in the range 2040 GHz and are detected at high significances of 17.1sigma for Perseus and 8.4sigma for rho Ophiuchi. In Perseus, spinning dust in the dense molecular gas can account for most of the AME; the low density atomic gas appears to play a minor role. In rho Ophiuchi, the ~30 GHz peak is dominated by dense molecular gas, but there is an indication of an extended tail at frequencies 50100 GHz, which can be accounted for by irradiated low density atomic gas. The dust parameters are consistent with those derived from other measurements. We have also searched the Planck map at 28.5 GHz for candidate AME regions, by subtracting a simple model of the synchrotron, free-free, and thermal dust. We present spectra for two of the candidates; S140 and S235 are bright Hii regions that show evidence for AME, and are well fitted by spinning dust models.

An all sky map of the apparent temperature and optical depth of thermal dust emission is constructed using the Planck-HFI (350micronm to 2 mm) andIRAS(100micronm) data. The optical depth maps are correlated with tracers of the atomic (Hi) and molecular gas traced by CO. The correlation with the column density of observed gas is linear in the lowest column density regions at high Galactic latitudes. At high N_H, the correlation is consistent with that of the lowest N_H, for a given choice of the CO-to-H₂ conversion factor. In the intermediate N_H range, a departure from linearity is observed, with the dust optical depth in excess of the correlation. This excess emission is attributed to thermal emission by dust associated with a dark gas phase, undetected in the available Hi and CO surveys. The 2D spatial distribution of the dark gas in the solar neighbourhood (|b_II| > 10^°) is shown to extend around known molecular regions traced by CO. The average dust emissivity in the Hi phase in the solar neighbourhood is found to be T_D/N_H^tot = 5.2×10^-26 cm² at 857 GHz. It follows roughly a power law distribution with a spectral index beta = 1.8 all the way down to 3 mm, although the SED flattens slightly in the millimetre. Taking into account the spectral shape of the dust optical depth, the emissivity is consistent with previous values derived fromFIRAS measurements at high latitudes within 10%. The threshold for the existence of the dark gas is found at N_H^tot = (8.0±0.58)×10²⁰ H cm^-2 (A_V = 0.4mag).
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Using Planck maps of six regions of low Galactic dust emission with a total area of about 140 deg², we determine the angular power spectra of cosmic infrared background (CIB) anisotropies from multipole l = 200 to l = 2000 at 217, 353, 545 and 857 GHz. We use 21-cm observations of Hi as a tracer of thermal dust emission to reduce the already low level of Galactic dust emission and use the 143 GHz Planck maps in these fields to clean out cosmic microwave background anisotropies. Both of these cleaning processes are necessary to avoid significant contamination of the CIB signal. We measure correlated CIB structure across frequencies. As expected, the correlation decreases with increasing frequency separation, because the contribution of high-redshift galaxies to CIB anisotropies increases with wavelengths. We find no significant difference between the frequency spectrum of the CIB anisotropies and the CIB mean, with deltaI / I = 15% from 217 to 857 GHz. In terms of clustering properties, the Planck data alone rule out the linear scale- and redshift-independent bias model. Non-linear corrections are significant. Consequently, we develop an alternative model that couples a dusty galaxy, parametric evolution model with a simple halo-model approach. It provides an excellent fit to the measured anisotropy angular power spectra and suggests that a different halo occupation distribution is required at each frequency, which is consistent with our expectation that each frequency is dominated by contributions from different redshifts. In our best-fit model, half of the anisotropy power at l = 2000 comes from redshifts z < 0.8 at 857 GHz and z < 1.5 at 545 GHz, while about 90% come from redshifts z > 2 at 353 and 217 GHz, respectively.

The integrated spectral energy distributions (SED) of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) appear significantly flatter than expected from dust models based on their far-infrared and radio emission. The still unexplained origin of this millimetre excess is investigated here using the Planck data. The integrated SED of the two galaxies before subtraction of the foreground (Milky Way) and background (CMB fluctuations) emission are in good agreement with previous determinations, confirming the presence of the millimetre excess. In the context of this preliminary analysis we do not propose a full multi-component fitting of the data, but instead subtract contributions unrelated to the galaxies and to dust emission. The background CMB contribution is subtracted using an internal linear combination (ILC) method performed locally around the galaxies. The foreground emission from the Milky Way is subtracted as a Galactic Hi template, and the dust emissivity is derived in a region surrounding the two galaxies and dominated by Milky Way emission. After subtraction, the remaining emission of both galaxies correlates closely with the atomic and molecular gas emission of the LMC and SMC. The millimetre excess in the LMC can be explained by CMB fluctuations, but a significant excess is still present in the SMC SED. The Planck and IRASIRIS data at 100 µm are combined to produce thermal dust temperature and optical depth maps of the two galaxies. The LMC temperature map shows the presence of a warm inner arm already found with the Spitzer data, but which also shows the existence of a previously unidentified cold outer arm. Several cold regions are found along this arm, some of which are associated with known molecular clouds. The dust optical depth maps are used to constrain the thermal dust emissivity power-law index (beta).
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Spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and radio continuum spectra are presented for a northern sample of 104 extragalactic radio sources, based on the Planck Early Release Compact Source Catalogue (ERCSC) and simultaneous multifrequency data. The nine Planck frequencies, from 30 to 857 GHz, are complemented by a set of simultaneous observations ranging from radio to gamma-rays. This is the first extensive frequency coverage in the radio and millimetre domains for an essentially complete sample of extragalactic radio sources, and it shows how the individual shocks, each in their own phase of development, shape the radio spectra as they move in the relativistic jet. The SEDs presented in this paper were fitted with second and third degree polynomials to estimate the frequencies of the synchrotron and inverse Compton (IC) peaks, and the spectral indices of low and high frequency radio data, including the Planck ERCSC data, were calculated. SED modelling methods are discussed, with an emphasis on proper, physical modelling of the synchrotron bump using multiple components. Planck ERCSC data also suggest that the original accelerated electron energy spectrum could be much harder than commonly thought, with power-law indexaround 1.5 instead of the canonical 2.5. The implications of this are discussed for the acceleration mechanisms effective in blazar shocks. Furthermore in many cases the Planck data indicate that gamma-ray emission must originate in the same shocks that produce the radio emission.

Planck's all-sky surveys at 30-857 GHz provide an unprecedented opportunity to follow the radio spectra of a large sample of extragalactic sources to frequencies 2-20 times higher than allowed by past, large-area, ground-based surveys. We combine the results of the Planck Early Release Compact Source Catalog (ERCSC) with quasi-simultaneous ground-based observations as well as archival data at frequencies below or overlapping Planck frequency bands, to validate the astrometry and photometry of the ERCSC radio sources and study the spectral features shown in this new frequency window opened by Planck. The ERCSC source positions and flux density scales are found to be consistent with the ground-based observations. We present and discuss the spectral energy distributions of a sample of "extreme" radio sources, to illustrate the richness of the ERCSC for the study of extragalactic radio sources. Variability is found to play a role in the unusual spectral features of some of these sources.

The data reported in Planck's Early Release Compact Source Catalogue (ERCSC) are exploited to measure the number counts (dN/dS) of extragalactic radio sources at 30, 44, 70, 100, 143 and 217 GHz. Due to the full-sky nature of the catalogue, this measurement extends to the rarest and brightest sources in the sky. At lower frequencies (30, 44, and 70 GHz) our counts are in very good agreement with estimates based on WMAP data, being somewhat deeper at 30 and 70 GHz, and somewhat shallower at 44 GHz. Planck's source counts at 143 and 217 GHz join smoothly with the fainter ones provided by the SPT and ACT surveys over small fractions of the sky. An analysis of source spectra, exploiting Planck's uniquely broad spectral coverage, finds clear evidence of a steepening of the mean spectral index above about 70 GHz. This implies that, at these frequencies, the contamination of the CMB power spectrum by radio sources below the detection limit is significantly lower than previously estimated.