ATLAS3D Project. XXXI

We find that 51+/-4 per cent of the ETGs in our sample contain nuclear radio emission with luminosities as low as 10^18^W/Hz. Most of the nuclear radio sources have compact (<~25-110pc) morphologies, although ~10 per cent display multicomponent core+jet or extended jet/lobe structures.

Based on the radio continuum properties, as well as optical emission line diagnostics and the nuclear X-ray properties, we conclude that the majority of the central 5GHz sources detected in the atlas^3D^ galaxies are associated with the presence of an active galactic nucleus (AGN). However, even at subarcsecond spatial resolution, the nuclear radio emission in some cases appears to arise from low-level nuclear star formation rather than an AGN, particularly when molecular gas and a young central stellar population is present.