Searching for active galactic nuclei among unidentified INTEGRAL sources

We report on a new method to identify active galactic nuclei (AGNs) among unidentified INTEGRAL sources. This method consists of cross-correlating unidentified sources listed in the fourth Imager on Board the INTEGRAL Satellite (IBIS) Survey Catalogue first with infrared and then with radio catalogues and a posteriori verifying, by means of X-ray and optical follow-up observations, the likelihood of these associations. In order to test this method, a sample of eight sources has been extracted from the fourth IBIS catalogue. For seven sources of the sample, we obtained an identification, whereas the last one (IGR J03103+5706) has insufficient information for a clear classification and deserves more in-depth study. We identified three objects (IGR J08190-3835, IGR J17520-6018 and IGR J21441+4640) as AGNs and suggest that three more (IGR J00556+7708, IGRJ17219-1509 and IGR J21268+6203) are likely active galaxies on the basis of their radio spectra, near-infrared photometry and location above the Galaxy plane. One source (IGR J05583-1257) has been classified as a starburst galaxy, but it might have been spuriously associated with the INTEGRAL detection.