Properties of giant radio galaxies >3 Mpc

We find that GRGs larger than 3 Mpc are distributed in redshift and radio luminosity indistinguishable from those of smaller GRGs. Only 6 per cent deviate from a clear FR II radio morphology. One quarter of our GRGs show very diffuse lobes typical for remnant radio galaxies, and only 59 per cent show indications of hotspots in at least one lobe, with 38 per cent featuring a hotspot in both lobes.

As in the case of smaller radio galaxies, the shorter lobe is most often also the brighter one. We find tentative evidence that the bending angle decreases with size of the GRG, but no trend with redshift is detected. The fraction of hosts of GRGs larger than 3Mpc associated with galaxy clusters is indistinguishable from that for smaller GRGs, but the bending angles of GRGs>3Mpc in known clusters are larger than for those GRGs not associated with clusters.