ORCID Profile
0000-0002-6243-7879
Current Organisations
CSIRO
,
National Radio Astronomy Observatory New Mexico Array Operations Center
Does something not look right? The information on this page has been harvested from data sources that may not be up to date. We continue to work with information providers to improve coverage and quality. To report an issue, use the Feedback Form.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2018
DOI: 10.1017/PASA.2018.39
Abstract: The low-frequency polarisation properties of radio sources are poorly studied, particularly in statistical s les. However, the new generation of low-frequency telescopes, such as the Murchison Widefield Array (the precursor for the low-frequency component of the Square Kilometre Array) offers an opportunity to probe the physics of radio sources at very low radio frequencies. In this paper, we present a catalogue of linearly polarised sources detected at 216 MHz, using data from the Galactic and Extragalactic All-sky Murchison Widefield Array survey. Our catalogue covers the Declination range –17° to –37° and 24 h in Right Ascension, at a resolution of around 3 arcminutes. We detect 81 sources (including both a known pulsar and a new pulsar candidate) with linearly polarised flux densities in excess of 18 mJy across a survey area of approximately 6 400 deg 2 , corresponding to a surface density of 1 source per 79 deg 2 . The level of Faraday rotation measured for our sources is broadly consistent with those recovered at higher frequencies, with typically more than an order of magnitude improvement in the uncertainty compared to higher-frequency measurements. However, our catalogue is likely incomplete at low Faraday rotation measures, due to our practice of excluding sources in the region where instrumental leakage appears. The majority of sources exhibit significant depolarisation compared to higher frequencies however, a small sub-s le repolarise at 216 MHz. We also discuss the polarisation properties of four nearby, large-angular-scale radio galaxies, with a particular focus on the giant radio galaxy ESO 422–G028, in order to explain the striking differences in polarised morphology between 216 MHz and 1.4 GHz.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 14-10-2019
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 30-11-2019
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 11-2022
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202244337
Abstract: Aims. We present the X-ray imaging and spectral analysis of the diffuse emission around the radio galaxy J1140-2629 (the Spiderweb galaxy) at z = 2.16 and of its nuclear emission, based on a deep (700 ks) Chandra observation. Methods. We obtained a robust characterization of the unresolved nuclear emission, and carefully computed the contamination in the surrounding regions due to the wings of the instrument point spread function. Then, we quantified the extended emission within a radius of 12 arcsec. We used the Jansky Very Large Array radio image to identify the regions overlapping the jets, and performed X-ray spectral analysis separately in the jet regions and in the complementary area. Results. We find that the Spiderweb galaxy hosts a mildly absorbed quasar, showing a modest yet significant spectral and flux variability on a timescale of ∼1 year (observed frame). We find that the emission in the jet regions is well described by a power law with a spectral index of Γ ∼ 2 − 2.5, and it is consistent with inverse-Compton upscattering of the cosmic microwave background photons by the relativistic electrons. We also find a roughly symmetric, diffuse emission within a radius of ∼100 kpc centered on the Spiderweb galaxy. This emission, which is not associated with the jets, is significantly softer and consistent with thermal bremsstrahlung from a hot intracluster medium (ICM) with a temperature of kT = 2.0 −0.4 +0.7 keV, and a metallicity of Z 1.6 Z ⊙ at 1 σ c.l. The average electron density within 100 kpc is n e = (1.51 ± 0.24 ± 0.14) × 10 −2 cm −3 , corresponding to an upper limit for the total ICM mass of ≤(1.76 ± 0.30 ± 0.17) × 10 12 M ⊙ (where error bars are 1 σ statistical and systematic, respectively). The rest-frame luminosity L 0.5 − 10 keV = (2.0 ± 0.5) × 10 44 erg s −1 is about a factor of 2 higher than the extrapolated L − T relation for massive clusters, but still consistent within the scatter. If we apply hydrostatic equilibrium to the ICM, we measure a total gravitational mass M ( kpc) = (1.5 −0.3 +0.5 ) × 10 13 M ⊙ and, extrapolating at larger radii, we estimate a total mass M 500 = (3.2 −0.6 +1.1 ) × 10 13 M ⊙ within a radius of r 500 = (220 ± 30) kpc. Conclusions. We conclude that the Spiderweb protocluster shows significant diffuse emission within a radius of 12 arcsec, whose major contribution is provided by inverse-Compton scattering associated with the radio jets. Outside the jet regions, we also identified thermal emission within a radius of ∼100 kpc, revealing the presence of hot, diffuse baryons that may represent the embryonic virialized halo of the forming cluster.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 26-07-2019
Abstract: We present a Wide-field ASKAP L-Band Legacy All-sky Blind surveY (WALLABY) study of the nearby (vsys = 915 km s−1) spiral galaxy IC 5201 using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). IC 5201 is a blue, barred spiral galaxy that follows the known scaling relations between stellar mass, SFR, H i mass, and diameter. We create a four-beam mosaicked H i image cube from 175 h of observations made with a 12-antenna sub-array. The root mean square noise level of the cube is 1.7 mJy beam−1 per channel, equivalent to a column density of $N_{\\rm H\\, \\small {I}}$ = 1.4 × 1020 cm−2 over 25 km s−1. We report nine extragalactic H i detections – five new H i detections including the first velocity measurements for two galaxies. These sources are IC 5201, three dwarf satellite galaxies, two galaxies, and a tidal feature belonging to the NGC 7232/3 triplet and two potential infalling galaxies to the triplet. There is evidence of a previous tidal interaction between IC 5201 and the irregular satellite AM 2220−460. A close fly-by is likely responsible for the asymmetric optical morphology of IC 5201 and warping its disc, resulting in the irregular morphology of AM 2220−460. We quantify the H i kinematics of IC 5201, presenting its rotation curve as well as showing that the warp starts at 14 kpc along the major axis, increasing as a function of radius with a maximum difference in position angle of 20°. There is no evidence of stripped H i, triggered or quenched star formation in the system as measured using DECam optical and GALEX UV photometry.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 20-01-2018
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STY171
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 17-07-2017
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 11-04-2013
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STT406
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 24-10-2019
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 08-12-2015
DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/815/1/49
Abstract: We present a broadband spectropolarimetric survey of 563 discrete, mostly unresolved radio sources between 1.3 and 2.0 GHz using data taken with the Australia Telescope Compact Array. We have used rotation-measure synthesis to identify Faraday-complex polarized sources, those objects whose frequency-dependent polarization behavior indicates the presence of material possessing complicated magnetoionic structure along the line of sight (LOS). For sources classified as Faraday-complex, we have analyzed a number of their radio and multiwavelength properties to determine whether they differ from Faraday-simple polarized sources (sources for which LOS magnetoionic structures are comparatively simple) in these properties. We use this information to constrain the physical nature of the magnetoionic structures responsible for generating the observed complexity. We detect Faraday complexity in 12% of polarized sources at ∼1′ resolution, but we demonstrate that underlying signal-to-noise limitations mean the true percentage is likely to be significantly higher in the polarized radio source population. We find that the properties of Faraday-complex objects are erse, but that complexity is most often associated with depolarization of extended radio sources possessing a relatively steep total intensity spectrum. We find an association between Faraday complexity and LOS structure in the Galactic interstellar medium (ISM) and claim that a significant proportion of the Faraday complexity we observe may be generated at interfaces of the ISM associated with ionization fronts near neutral hydrogen structures. Galaxy cluster environments and internally generated Faraday complexity provide possible alternative explanations in some cases.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 09-2022
Abstract: We present deep broadband radio polarization observations of the Spiderweb radio galaxy (J1140-2629) in a galaxy protocluster at z = 2.16. These yield the most detailed polarimetric maps yet made of a high-redshift radio galaxy. The intrinsic polarization angles and Faraday rotation measures (RMs) reveal coherent magnetic fields spanning the ∼60 kpc length of the jets, while ∼50% fractional polarizations indicate these fields are well ordered. Source-frame ∣RM∣ values of ∼1000 rad m −2 are typical, and values up to ∼11,100 rad m −2 are observed. The Faraday-rotating gas cannot be well mixed with the synchrotron-emitting gas, or stronger-than-observed depolarization would occur. Nevertheless, an observed spatial coincidence between a localized ∣RM∣ enhancement of ∼1100 rad m −2 , a bright knot of Ly α emission, and a deviation of the radio jet provide direct evidence for vigorous jet-gas interaction. We detect a large-scale RM gradient totaling ∼1000 s rad m −2 across the width of the jet, suggesting a net clockwise (as viewed from the active galactic nuclei) toroidal magnetic field component exists at tens-of-kiloparsec scales, which we speculate may be associated with the operation of a Poynting–Robertson cosmic battery. We conclude the RMs are mainly generated in a sheath of hot gas around the radio jet, rather than the ambient foreground protocluster gas. The estimated magnetic field strength decreases by successive orders of magnitude going from the jet hotspots (∼90 μ G) to the jet sheath (∼10 μ G) to the ambient intracluster medium (∼1 μ G). Synthesizing our results, we propose that the Spiderweb radio galaxy is actively magnetizing its surrounding protocluster environment, with possible implications for theories of the origin and evolution of cosmic magnetic fields.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 29-11-2018
Abstract: We present observations of linear polarisation in the southern radio lobe of Centaurus A, conducted during commissioning of the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope. We used 16 antennas to observe a 30 square degree region in a single 12-h pointing over a 240 MHz band centred on 913 MHz. Our observations achieve an angular resolution of 26 × 33 arcseconds (480 parsecs), a maximum recoverable angular scale of 30 arcminutes, and a full-band sensitivity of 85 μ Jy beam − 1 . The resulting maps of polarisation and Faraday rotation are amongst the most detailed ever made for radio lobes, with order 10 5 resolution elements covering the source. We describe several as-yet unreported observational features of the lobe, including its detailed peak Faraday depth structure, and intricate networks of depolarised filaments. These results demonstrate the exciting capabilities of ASKAP for widefield radio polarimetry.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2021
DOI: 10.1017/PASA.2021.4
Abstract: We present the first Faraday rotation measure (RM) grid study of an in idual low-mass cluster—the Fornax cluster—which is presently undergoing a series of mergers. Exploiting commissioning data for the POlarisation Sky Survey of the Universe’s Magnetism (POSSUM) covering a ${\\sim}34$ square degree sky area using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), we achieve an RM grid density of ${\\sim}25$ RMs per square degree from a 280-MHz band centred at 887 MHz, which is similar to expectations for forthcoming GHz-frequency ${\\sim}3\\pi$ -steradian sky surveys. These data allow us to probe the extended magnetoionic structure of the cluster and its surroundings in unprecedented detail. We find that the scatter in the Faraday RM of confirmed background sources is increased by $16.8\\pm2.4$ rad m −2 within 1 $^\\circ$ (360 kpc) projected distance to the cluster centre, which is 2–4 times larger than the spatial extent of the presently detectable X-ray-emitting intracluster medium (ICM). The mass of the Faraday-active plasma is larger than that of the X-ray-emitting ICM and exists in a density regime that broadly matches expectations for moderately dense components of the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium. We argue that forthcoming RM grids from both targeted and survey observations may be a singular probe of cosmic plasma in this regime. The morphology of the global Faraday depth enhancement is not uniform and isotropic but rather exhibits the classic morphology of an astrophysical bow shock on the southwest side of the main Fornax cluster, and an extended, swept-back wake on the northeastern side. Our favoured explanation for these phenomena is an ongoing merger between the main cluster and a subcluster to the southwest. The shock’s Mach angle and stand-off distance lead to a self-consistent transonic merger speed with Mach 1.06. The region hosting the Faraday depth enhancement also appears to show a decrement in both total and polarised radio emission compared to the broader field. We evaluate cosmic variance and free-free absorption by a pervasive cold dense gas surrounding NGC 1399 as possible causes but find both explanations unsatisfactory, warranting further observations. Generally, our study illustrates the scientific returns that can be expected from all-sky grids of discrete sources generated by forthcoming all-sky radio surveys.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2020
DOI: 10.1017/PASA.2020.41
Abstract: The Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey (RACS) is the first large-area survey to be conducted with the full 36-antenna Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope. RACS will provide a shallow model of the ASKAP sky that will aid the calibration of future deep ASKAP surveys. RACS will cover the whole sky visible from the ASKAP site in Western Australia and will cover the full ASKAP band of 700–1800 MHz. The RACS images are generally deeper than the existing NRAO VLA Sky Survey and Sydney University Molonglo Sky Survey radio surveys and have better spatial resolution. All RACS survey products will be public, including radio images (with $\\sim$ 15 arcsec resolution) and catalogues of about three million source components with spectral index and polarisation information. In this paper, we present a description of the RACS survey and the first data release of 903 images covering the sky south of declination $+41^\\circ$ made over a 288-MHz band centred at 887.5 MHz.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2021
DOI: 10.1017/PASA.2021.1
Abstract: In this paper, we describe the system design and capabilities of the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope at the conclusion of its construction project and commencement of science operations. ASKAP is one of the first radio telescopes to deploy phased array feed (PAF) technology on a large scale, giving it an instantaneous field of view that covers $31\\,\\textrm{deg}^{2}$ at $800\\,\\textrm{MHz}$ . As a two-dimensional array of 36 $\\times$ 12 m antennas, with baselines ranging from 22 m to 6 km, ASKAP also has excellent snapshot imaging capability and 10 arcsec resolution. This, combined with 288 MHz of instantaneous bandwidth and a unique third axis of rotation on each antenna, gives ASKAP the capability to create high dynamic range images of large sky areas very quickly. It is an excellent telescope for surveys between 700 and $1800\\,\\textrm{MHz}$ and is expected to facilitate great advances in our understanding of galaxy formation, cosmology, and radio transients while opening new parameter space for discovery of the unknown.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 11-02-2019
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STZ377
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 10-2023
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 06-03-2018
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2019
DOI: 10.1017/PASA.2019.16
Abstract: We have observed the G23 field of the Galaxy AndMass Assembly (GAMA) survey using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) in its commissioning phase to validate the performance of the telescope and to characterise the detected galaxy populations. This observation covers ~48 deg 2 with synthesised beam of 32.7 arcsec by 17.8 arcsec at 936MHz, and ~39 deg 2 with synthesised beam of 15.8 arcsec by 12.0 arcsec at 1320MHz. At both frequencies, the root-mean-square (r.m.s.) noise is ~0.1 mJy/beam. We combine these radio observations with the GAMA galaxy data, which includes spectroscopy of galaxies that are i-band selected with a magnitude limit of 19.2. Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) infrared (IR) photometry is used to determine which galaxies host an active galactic nucleus (AGN). In properties including source counts, mass distributions, and IR versus radio luminosity relation, the ASKAP-detected radio sources behave as expected. Radio galaxies have higher stellar mass and luminosity in IR, optical, and UV than other galaxies. We apply optical and IR AGN diagnostics and find that they disagree for ~30% of the galaxies in our s le. We suggest possible causes for the disagreement. Some cases can be explained by optical extinction of the AGN, but for more than half of the cases we do not find a clear explanation. Radio sources aremore likely (~6%) to have an AGN than radio quiet galaxies (~1%), but the majority of AGN are not detected in radio at this sensitivity.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 27-05-2019
Abstract: This paper reports on the atomic hydrogen gas (H i) observations of the spiral galaxy NGC 1566 using the newly commissioned Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder radio telescope. We measure an integrated H i flux density of $180.2$ Jy km s−1 emanating from this galaxy, which translates to an H i mass of $1.94\\times 10^{10}\\, \\mathrm{ M}_{\\odot }$ at an assumed distance of $21.3$ Mpc. Our observations show that NGC 1566 has an asymmetric and mildly warped H i disc. The H i-to-stellar mass fraction (M$_{\\rm{H\\,{{\\small I}}}}$/M∗) of NGC 1566 is 0.29, which is high in comparison with galaxies that have the same stellar mass ($10^{10.8}$ M⊙). We also derive the rotation curve of this galaxy to a radius of $50$ kpc and fit different mass models to it. The NFW, Burkert, and pseudo-isothermal dark matter halo profiles fit the observed rotation curve reasonably well and recover dark matter fractions of 0.62, 0.58, and 0.66, respectively. Down to the column density sensitivity of our observations ($N_{\\rm{H\\,{{\\small I}}}}\\, =\\, 3.7\\times 10^{19}$ cm−2), we detect no H i clouds connected to, or in the nearby vicinity of, the H i disc of NGC 1566 nor nearby interacting systems. We conclude that, based on a simple analytic model, ram pressure interactions with the IGM can affect the H i disc of NGC 1566 and is possibly the reason for the asymmetries seen in the H i morphology of NGC 1566.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2022
DOI: 10.1017/PASA.2021.59
Abstract: We present the most sensitive and detailed view of the neutral hydrogen ( ${\\rm H\\small I}$ ) emission associated with the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), through the combination of data from the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and Parkes (Murriyang), as part of the Galactic Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (GASKAP) pilot survey. These GASKAP-HI pilot observations, for the first time, reveal ${\\rm H\\small I}$ in the SMC on similar physical scales as other important tracers of the interstellar medium, such as molecular gas and dust. The resultant image cube possesses an rms noise level of 1.1 K ( $1.6\\,\\mathrm{mJy\\ beam}^{-1}$ ) $\\mathrm{per}\\ 0.98\\,\\mathrm{km\\ s}^{-1}$ spectral channel with an angular resolution of $30^{\\prime\\prime}$ ( ${\\sim}10\\,\\mathrm{pc}$ ). We discuss the calibration scheme and the custom imaging pipeline that utilises a joint deconvolution approach, efficiently distributed across a computing cluster, to accurately recover the emission extending across the entire ${\\sim}25\\,\\mathrm{deg}^2$ field-of-view. We provide an overview of the data products and characterise several aspects including the noise properties as a function of angular resolution and the represented spatial scales by deriving the global transfer function over the full spectral range. A preliminary spatial power spectrum analysis on in idual spectral channels reveals that the power law nature of the density distribution extends down to scales of 10 pc. We highlight the scientific potential of these data by comparing the properties of an outflowing high-velocity cloud with previous ASKAP+Parkes ${\\rm H\\small I}$ test observations.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 29-06-2016
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 15-05-2017
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 28-06-2019
Abstract: Active M dwarfs are known to produce bursty radio emission, and multiwavelength studies have shown that solar-like magnetic activity occurs in these stars. However, coherent bursts from active M dwarfs have often been difficult to interpret in the solar activity paradigm. We present Australian Square Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) observations of UV Ceti at a central frequency of 888 MHz. We detect several periodic, coherent pulses occurring over a time-scale consistent with the rotational period of UV Ceti. The properties of the pulsed emission show that they originate from the electron cyclotron maser instability, in a cavity at least 7 orders of magnitude less dense than the mean coronal density at the estimated source altitude. These results confirm that auroral activity can occur in active M dwarfs, suggesting that these stars mark the beginning of the transition from solar-like to auroral magnetospheric behaviour. These results demonstrate the capabilities of ASKAP for detecting polarized, coherent bursts from active stars and other systems.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 21-09-2019
Abstract: We present two new radio continuum images from the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) survey in the direction of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). These images are part of the Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) Early Science Project (ESP) survey of the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds. The two new source lists produced from these images contain radio continuum sources observed at 960 MHz (4489 sources) and 1320 MHz (5954 sources) with a bandwidth of 192 MHz and beam sizes of 30.0 × 30.0 arcsec2 and 16.3 × 15.1 arcsec2, respectively. The median root mean square (RMS) noise values are 186 $\\mu$Jy beam−1 (960 MHz) and 165 $\\mu$Jy beam−1 (1320 MHz). To create point source catalogues, we use these two source lists, together with the previously published Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (MOST) and the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) point source catalogues to estimate spectral indices for the whole population of radio point sources found in the survey region. Combining our ASKAP catalogues with these radio continuum surveys, we found 7736 point-like sources in common over an area of 30 deg2. In addition, we report the detection of two new, low surface brightness supernova remnant candidates in the SMC. The high sensitivity of the new ASKAP ESP survey also enabled us to detect the bright end of the SMC planetary nebula s le, with 22 out of 102 optically known planetary nebulae showing point-like radio continuum emission. Lastly, we present several morphologically interesting background radio galaxies.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2022
DOI: 10.1017/PASA.2022.50
Abstract: We present WALLABY pilot data release 1, the first public release of H i pilot survey data from the Wide-field ASKAP L-band Legacy All-sky Blind Survey (WALLABY) on the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder. Phase 1 of the WALLABY pilot survey targeted three $60\\,\\mathrm{deg}^{2}$ regions on the sky in the direction of the Hydra and Norma galaxy clusters and the NGC 4636 galaxy group, covering the redshift range of $z \\lesssim 0.08$ . The source catalogue, images and spectra of nearly 600 extragalactic H i detections and kinematic models for 109 spatially resolved galaxies are available. As the pilot survey targeted regions containing nearby group and cluster environments, the median redshift of the s le of $z \\approx 0.014$ is relatively low compared to the full WALLABY survey. The median galaxy H i mass is $2.3 \\times 10^{9}\\,{\\rm M}_{{\\odot}}$ . The target noise level of $1.6\\,\\mathrm{mJy}$ per 30 ′′ beam and $18.5\\,\\mathrm{kHz}$ channel translates into a $5 \\sigma$ H i mass sensitivity for point sources of about $5.2 \\times 10^{8} \\, (D_{\\rm L} / \\mathrm{100\\,Mpc})^{2} \\, {\\rm M}_{{\\odot}}$ across 50 spectral channels ( ${\\approx} 200\\,\\mathrm{km \\, s}^{-1}$ ) and a $5 \\sigma$ H i column density sensitivity of about $8.6 \\times 10^{19} \\, (1 + z)^{4}\\,\\mathrm{cm}^{-2}$ across 5 channels ( ${\\approx} 20\\,\\mathrm{km \\, s}^{-1}$ ) for emission filling the 30 ′′ beam. As expected for a pilot survey, several technical issues and artefacts are still affecting the data quality. Most notably, there are systematic flux errors of up to several 10% caused by uncertainties about the exact size and shape of each of the primary beams as well as the presence of sidelobes due to the finite deconvolution threshold. In addition, artefacts such as residual continuum emission and bandpass ripples have affected some of the data. The pilot survey has been highly successful in uncovering such technical problems, most of which are expected to be addressed and rectified before the start of the full WALLABY survey.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 06-08-2021
Abstract: We present a comprehensive multifrequency catalogue of radio sources behind the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) between 0.2 and 20 GHz, gathered from a combination of new and legacy radio continuum surveys. This catalogue covers an area of ∼144 deg2 at angular resolutions from 45 arcsec to ∼3 arcmin. We find 6434 discrete radio sources in total, of which 3789 are detected at two or more radio frequencies. We estimate the median spectral index (α where Sv ∼ να) of α = −0.89 and mean of −0.88 ± 0.48 for 3636 sources detected exclusively at two frequencies (0.843 and 1.384 GHz) with similar resolution [full width at half-maximum (FWHM) ∼40–45 arcsec]. The large frequency range of the surveys makes it an effective tool to investigate Gigahertz Peak Spectrum (GPS), Compact Steep Spectrum (CSS), and Infrared Faint Radio Source (IFRS) populations within our s le. We find 10 GPS candidates with peak frequencies near 5 GHz, from which we estimate their linear size. 1866 sources from our catalogue are CSS candidates with α & −0.8. We found six candidates for High Frequency Peaker (HFP) sources, whose radio fluxes peak above 5 GHz and no sources with unconstrained peaks and α & 0.5. We found optical counterparts for 343 of the radio continuum sources, of which 128 have a redshift measurement. Finally, we investigate the population of 123 IFRSs found in this study.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 15-07-2019
Abstract: With the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) we monitored the black hole candidate X-ray binary MAXI J1535–571 over seven epochs from 2017 September 21 to October 2. Using ASKAP observations, we studied the H i absorption spectrum from gas clouds along the line of sight and thereby constrained the distance to the source. The maximum negative radial velocities measured from the H i absorption spectra for MAXI J1535–571 and an extragalactic source in the same field of view are −69 ± 4 and −89 ± 4 km s−1, respectively. This rules out the far kinematic distance ($9.3^{+0.5}_{-0.6}$ kpc), giving a most likely distance of $4.1^{+0.6}_{-0.5}$ kpc, with a strong upper limit of the tangent point at $6.7^{+0.1}_{-0.2}$ kpc. At our preferred distance, the peak unabsorbed luminosity of MAXI J1535–571 was per cent of the Eddington luminosity, and shows that the soft-to-hard spectral state transition occurred at the very low luminosity of (1.2–3.4) × 10−5 times the Eddington luminosity. Finally, this study highlights the capabilities of new wide-field radio telescopes to probe Galactic transient outbursts, by allowing us to observe both a target source and a background comparison source in a single telescope pointing.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2021
DOI: 10.1017/PASA.2021.44
Abstract: The Variables and Slow Transients Survey (VAST) on the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) is designed to detect highly variable and transient radio sources on timescales from 5 s to $\\sim\\!5$ yr. In this paper, we present the survey description, observation strategy and initial results from the VAST Phase I Pilot Survey. This pilot survey consists of $\\sim\\!162$ h of observations conducted at a central frequency of 888 MHz between 2019 August and 2020 August, with a typical rms sensitivity of $0.24\\ \\mathrm{mJy\\ beam}^{-1}$ and angular resolution of $12-20$ arcseconds. There are 113 fields, each of which was observed for 12 min integration time, with between 5 and 13 repeats, with cadences between 1 day and 8 months. The total area of the pilot survey footprint is 5 131 square degrees, covering six distinct regions of the sky. An initial search of two of these regions, totalling 1 646 square degrees, revealed 28 highly variable and/or transient sources. Seven of these are known pulsars, including the millisecond pulsar J2039–5617. Another seven are stars, four of which have no previously reported radio detection (SCR J0533–4257, LEHPM 2-783, UCAC3 89–412162 and 2MASS J22414436–6119311). Of the remaining 14 sources, two are active galactic nuclei, six are associated with galaxies and the other six have no multi-wavelength counterparts and are yet to be identified.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 04-05-2018
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2021
DOI: 10.1017/PASA.2021.42
Abstract: We present the data and initial results from the first pilot survey of the Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU), observed at 944 MHz with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope. The survey covers $270 \\,\\mathrm{deg}^2$ of an area covered by the Dark Energy Survey, reaching a depth of 25–30 $\\mu\\mathrm{Jy\\ beam}^{-1}$ rms at a spatial resolution of $\\sim$ 11–18 arcsec, resulting in a catalogue of $\\sim$ 220 000 sources, of which $\\sim$ 180 000 are single-component sources. Here we present the catalogue of single-component sources, together with (where available) optical and infrared cross-identifications, classifications, and redshifts. This survey explores a new region of parameter space compared to previous surveys. Specifically, the EMU Pilot Survey has a high density of sources, and also a high sensitivity to low surface brightness emission. These properties result in the detection of types of sources that were rarely seen in or absent from previous surveys. We present some of these new results here.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2021
DOI: 10.1017/PASA.2020.52
Abstract: We have found a class of circular radio objects in the Evolutionary Map of the Universe Pilot Survey, using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder telescope. The objects appear in radio images as circular edge-brightened discs, about one arcmin diameter, that are unlike other objects previously reported in the literature. We explore several possible mechanisms that might cause these objects, but none seems to be a compelling explanation.
Location: Australia
Location: United States of America
No related grants have been discovered for Craig Anderson.