Mid-infrared properties of a sample of the most compact radio galaxies

We present an analysis of the mid-infrared properties of the youngest radio galaxies, based on low-resolution data provided by the WISE satellite. We restrict our analysis to sources with available X-ray data that constitute the earliest phase of radio galaxy evolution, that is, those classified as gigahertz peaked spectrum and/or compact symmetric objects. We compare the MIR color distribution in our sample to that in the general population of local active galactic nuclei (AGN), in the population of evolved FR II radio galaxies, and also in the population of radio galaxies with recurrent jet activity. We conclude that the triggering of radio jets in AGN does not differentiate between elliptical hosts with substantially different fractions of young stars; instead there is a relationship between the jet duty cycle and the ongoing star formation.