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Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 18-07-2022
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2022
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 09-2020
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202038378
Abstract: The propagation of radio waves from distant compact radio sources through turbulent interstellar plasma in our Galaxy causes these sources to twinkle, a phenomenon called interstellar scintillation. Such scintillations are a unique probe of the micro-arcsecond structure of radio sources as well as of the sub-AU-scale structure of the Galactic interstellar medium. Weak scintillations (i.e. an intensity modulation of a few percent) on timescales of a few days or longer are commonly seen at centimetre wavelengths and are thought to result from the line-of-sight integrated turbulence in the interstellar plasma of the Milky Way. So far, only three sources were known that show more extreme variations, with modulations at the level of some dozen percent on timescales shorter than an hour. This requires propagation through nearby ( d ≲ 10 pc) anomalously dense ( n e ∼ 10 2 cm −3 ) plasma clouds. Here we report the discovery with Apertif of a source (J1402+5347) showing extreme (∼50%) and rapid variations on a timescale of just 6.5 min in the decimetre band (1.4 GHz). The spatial scintillation pattern is highly anisotropic, with a semi-minor axis of about 20 000 km. The canonical theory of refractive scintillation constrains the scattering plasma to be within the Oort cloud. The sightline to J1402+5347, however, passes unusually close to the B3 star Alkaid ( η UMa) at a distance of 32 pc. If the scintillations are associated with Alkaid, then the angular size of J1402+5347 along the minor axis of the scintels must be smaller than ≈10 μ as, yielding an apparent brightness temperature for an isotropic source of ≳10 14 K.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 14-04-2020
Abstract: We present low-radio-frequency follow-up observations of AT 2017gfo, the electromagnetic counterpart of GW170817, which was the first binary neutron star merger to be detected by Advanced LIGO–Virgo. These data, with a central frequency of 144 MHz, were obtained with LOFAR, the Low-Frequency Array. The maximum elevation of the target is just 13${_{.}^{\\circ}}$7 when observed with LOFAR, making our observations particularly challenging to calibrate and significantly limiting the achievable sensitivity. On time-scales of 130–138 and 371–374 d after the merger event, we obtain 3σ upper limits for the afterglow component of 6.6 and 19.5 mJy beam−1, respectively. Using our best upper limit and previously published, contemporaneous higher frequency radio data, we place a limit on any potential steepening of the radio spectrum between 610 and 144 MHz: the two-point spectral index $\\alpha ^{610}_{144} \\gtrsim$ −2.5. We also show that LOFAR can detect the afterglows of future binary neutron star merger events occurring at more favourable elevations.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 24-10-2019
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 03-2020
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201937422
Abstract: Context. Repeating fast radio bursts (FRBs) present excellent opportunities to identify FRB progenitors and host environments as well as to decipher the underlying emission mechanism. Detailed studies of repeating FRBs might also hold clues as to the origin of FRBs as a population. Aims. We aim to detect bursts from the first two repeating FRBs, FRB 121102 (R1) and FRB 180814.J0422+73 (R2), and to characterise their repeat statistics. We also want to significantly improve the sky localisation of R2 and identify its host galaxy. Methods. We used the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope to conduct extensive follow-up of these two repeating FRBs. The new phased-array feed system, Apertif, allows one to cover the entire sky position uncertainty of R2 with fine spatial resolution in a single pointing. The data were searched for bursts around the known dispersion measures of the two sources. We characterise the energy distribution and the clustering of detected R1 bursts. Results. We detected 30 bursts from R1. The non-Poissonian nature is clearly evident from the burst arrival times, which is consistent with earlier claims. Our measurements indicate a dispersion measure (DM) of 563.5(2) pc cm −3 , suggesting a significant increase in DM over the past few years. Assuming a constant position angle across the burst, we place an upper limit of 8% on the linear polarisation fraction for the brightest burst in our s le. We did not detect any bursts from R2. Conclusions. A single power-law might not fit the R1 burst energy distribution across the full energy range or widely separated detections. Our observations provide improved constraints on the clustering of R1 bursts. Our stringent upper limits on the linear polarisation fraction imply a significant depolarisation, either intrinsic to the emission mechanism or caused by the intervening medium at 1400 MHz, which is not observed at higher frequencies. The non-detection of any bursts from R2, despite nearly 300 h of observations, implies either a highly clustered nature of the bursts, a steep spectral index, or a combination of the two assuming that the source is still active. Another possibility is that R2 has turned off completely, either permanently or for an extended period of time.
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 03-2021
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202040019
Abstract: We present the serendipitous detection of the two main OH maser lines at 1667 and 1665 MHz associated with IRAS 10597+5926 at z ⊙ = 0.19612 in the untargeted Apertif Wide-area Extragalactic imaging Survey (AWES), and the subsequent measurement of the OH 1612 MHz satellite line in the same source. With a total OH luminosity of log( L / L ⊙ ) = 3.90 ± 0.03, IRAS 10597+5926 is the fourth brightest OH megamaser (OHM) known. We measure a lower limit for the 1667/1612 ratio of R 1612 45.9, which is the highest limiting ratio measured for the 1612 MHz OH satellite line to date. OH satellite line measurements provide a potentially valuable constraint by which to compare detailed models of OH maser pumping mechanisms. Optical imaging shows that the galaxy is likely a late-stage merger. Based on published infrared and far ultraviolet fluxes, we find that the galaxy is an ultra-luminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) with log( L TIR / L ⊙ ) = 12.24 that is undergoing a starburst with an estimated star formation rate of 179 ± 40 M ⊙ yr −1 . These host galaxy properties are consistent with the physical conditions responsible for very bright OHM emission. Finally, we provide an update on the predicted number of OH masers that may be found in AWES and estimate the total number of OH masers that will be detected in each of the in idual main and satellite OH 18 cm lines.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2012
DOI: 10.1017/S1743921312006874
Abstract: In order to answer this question, we examine the relationship between the two sites of maser activity in G357.96-0.16. We also propose future observations for examining the dust properties of this interesting region of massive star formation.
Publisher: Zenodo
Date: 2022
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2022
DOI: 10.1017/PASA.2022.42
Abstract: While unobscured and radio-quiet active galactic nuclei are regularly being found at redshifts $z 6$ , their obscured and radio-loud counterparts remain elusive. We build upon our successful pilot study, presenting a new s le of low-frequency-selected candidate high-redshift radio galaxies (HzRGs) over a sky area 20 times larger. We have refined our selection technique, in which we select sources with curved radio spectra between 72–231 MHz from the GaLactic and Extragalactic All-sky Murchison Widefield Array (GLEAM) survey. In combination with the requirements that our GLEAM-selected HzRG candidates have compact radio morphologies and be undetected in near-infrared $K_{\\rm s}$ -band imaging from the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy Kilo-degree Infrared Galaxy (VIKING) survey, we find 51 new candidate HzRGs over a sky area of approximately $1200\\ \\mathrm{deg}^2$ . Our s le also includes two sources from the pilot study: the second-most distant radio galaxy currently known, at $z=5.55$ , with another source potentially at $z \\sim 8$ . We present our refined selection technique and analyse the properties of the s le. We model the broadband radio spectra between 74 MHz and 9 GHz by supplementing the GLEAM data with both publicly available data and new observations from the Australia Telescope Compact Array at 5.5 and 9 GHz. In addition, deep $K_{\\rm s}$ -band imaging from the High-Acuity Widefield K -band Imager (HAWK-I) on the Very Large Telescope and from the Southern Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey Regions $K_{\\rm s}$ -band Survey (SHARKS) is presented for five sources. We discuss the prospects of finding very distant radio galaxies in our s le, potentially within the epoch of reionisation at $z \\gtrsim 6.5$ .
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 13-10-2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 30-09-2020
Abstract: We report the detection of a bright fast radio burst, FRB 191108, with Apertif on the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope. The interferometer allows us to localize the FRB to a narrow 5 arcsec × 7 arcmin ellipse by employing both multibeam information within the Apertif phased-array feed beam pattern, and across different tied-array beams. The resulting sightline passes close to Local Group galaxy M33, with an impact parameter of only 18 kpc with respect to the core. It also traverses the much larger circumgalactic medium (CGM) of M31, the Andromeda Galaxy. We find that the shared plasma of the Local Group galaxies could contribute ∼10 per cent of its dispersion measure of 588 pc cm−3. FRB 191108 has a Faraday rotation measure (RM) of +474 $\\pm \\, 3$ rad m−2, which is too large to be explained by either the Milky Way or the intergalactic medium. Based on the more moderate RMs of other extragalactic sources that traverse the halo of M33, we conclude that the dense magnetized plasma resides in the host galaxy. The FRB exhibits frequency structure on two scales, one that is consistent with quenched Galactic scintillation and broader spectral structure with Δν ≈ 40 MHz. If the latter is due to scattering in the shared M33/M31 CGM, our results constrain the Local Group plasma environment. We found no accompanying persistent radio sources in the Apertif imaging survey data.
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 11-2022
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202244045
Abstract: Context. Phased array feeds (PAFs) are multi-element receivers in the focal plane of a telescope that make it possible to simultaneously form multiple beams on the sky by combining the complex gains of the in idual antenna elements. Recently, the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) was upgraded with PAF receivers to carry out several observing programs, including two imaging surveys and a time-domain survey. The Apertif imaging surveys use a configuration of 40 partially overlapping compound beams (CBs) simultaneously formed on the sky and arranged in an approximately rectangular shape. Aims. This work is aimed at characterising the response of the 40 Apertif CBs to create frequency-resolved I, XX, and YY polarization empirical beam shapes. The measured CB maps can be used for the image deconvolution, primary beam correction, and mosaicking processes of Apertif imaging data. Methods. We used drift scan measurements to measure the response of each of the 40 Apertif CBs. We derived beam maps for all in idual beams in I, XX, and YY polarisation in 10 or 18 frequency bins over the same bandwidth as the Apertif imaging surveys. We s led the main lobe of the beams and the side lobes up to a radius of 0.6 degrees from the beam centres. In addition, we derived beam maps for each in idual WSRT dish. Results. We present the frequency and time dependence of the beam shapes and sizes. We compared the compound beam shapes derived with the drift scan method to beam shapes derived with an independent method using a Gaussian Process Regression comparison between the Apertif continuum images and the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) catalogue. We find a good agreement between the beam shapes derived with the two independent methods.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 06-12-2019
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 11-2022
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202244008
Abstract: The first data release from Apertif survey contains 3074 radio continuum images, covering a thousand square degrees of the sky. The observations were performed between August 2019 and July 2020. The continuum images were produced at a central frequency 1355 MHz, with a bandwidth of ~150 MHz and angular resolution of up to 10″. In this work, we introduce and apply a new method to obtain a primary beam model based on a machine-learning approach, namely, Gaussian process regression. The primary beam models obtained with this method have been published, along with the data products for the first Apertif data release. We applied the method to the continuum images, carried out a mosaicking process on their basis, and extracted the source catalog. The catalog contains 249672 radio sources, many of which have been detected for the first time at these frequencies. We cross-matched the coordinates with the NVSS, LOFAR/DR1/value-added, and LOFAR/DR2 catalogs – resulting in 44523, 22825, and 152824 common sources, respectively. The first s le provides a unique opportunity for detecting long-term transient sources, which have significantly changed their flux density over the past 25 yr. A combination of the second and the third s les provides valuable information on the spectral properties of the sources in addition to redshift estimates.
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 11-2022
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202244007
Abstract: Context. Apertif is a phased-array feed system for the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope, providing forty instantaneous beams over 300 MHz of bandwidth. A dedicated survey program utilizing this upgrade started on 1 July 2019, with the last observations taken on 28 February 2022. The imaging survey component provides radio continuum, polarization, and spectral line data. Aims. Public release of data is critical for maximizing the legacy of a survey. Toward that end, we describe the release of data products from the first year of survey operations, through 30 June 2020. In particular, we focus on defining quality control metrics for the processed data products. Methods. The Apertif imaging pipeline, Apercal, automatically produces non-primary beam corrected continuum images, polarization images and cubes, and uncleaned spectral line and dirty beam cubes for each beam of an Apertif imaging observation. For this release, processed data products are considered on a beam-by-beam basis within an observation. We validate the continuum images by using metrics that identify deviations from Gaussian noise in the residual images. If the continuum image passes validation, we release all processed data products for a given beam. We apply further validation to the polarization and line data products and provide flags indicating the quality of those data products. Results. We release all raw observational data from the first year of survey observations, for a total of 221 observations of 160 independent target fields, covering approximately one thousand square degrees of sky. Images and cubes are released on a per beam basis, and 3374 beams (of 7640 considered) are released. The median noise in the continuum images is 41.4 uJy beam −1 , with a slightly lower median noise of 36.9 uJy beam −1 in the Stokes V polarization image. The median angular resolution is 11.6″/sin δ . The median noise for all line cubes, with a spectral resolution of 36.6 kHz, is 1.6 mJy beam −1 , corresponding to a 3- σ H i column density sensitivity of 1.8 × 10 20 atoms cm −2 over 20 km s −1 (for a median angular resolution of 24″ × 15″). Line cubes at lower frequency have slightly higher noise values, consistent with the global RFI environment and overall Apertif system performance. We also provide primary beam images for each in idual Apertif compound beam. The data are made accessible using a Virtual Observatory interface and can be queried using a variety of standard tools.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-2016
Abstract: At present neutral atomic hydrogen (H I ) gas in galaxies at redshifts above z ∼ 0.3 (the extent of 21 cm emission surveys in in idual galaxies) and below z ∼ 1.7 (where the Lyman‐ α line is not observable with ground‐based telescopes) has remained largely unexplored. The advent of precursor telescopes to the Square Kilometre Array will allow us to conduct the first systematic radio‐selected 21 cm absorption surveys for H I over these redshifts. While H I absorption is a tracer of the reservoir of cold neutral gas in galaxies available for star formation, it can also be used to reveal the extreme kinematics associated with jet‐driven neutral outflows in radio‐loud active galactic nuclei. Using the six‐antenna Boolardy Engineering Test Array of the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, we have demonstrated that in a single frequency tuning we can detect H I absorption over a broad range of redshifts between z = 0.4 and 1.0. As part of our early science and commissioning program, we are now carrying out a search for absorption towards a s le of the brightest GPS and CSS sources in the southern sky. These intrinsically compact sources present us with an opportunity to study the circumnuclear region of recently re‐started radio galaxies, in some cases showing direct evidence of mechanical feedback through jetdriven outflows. With the sensitivity of the full ASKAP array we will be able to study the kinematics of atomic gas in a few thousand radio galaxies, testing models of radio jet feedback well beyond the nearby Universe. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 23-10-2013
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: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2023
DOI: 10.1017/PASA.2023.38
Abstract: The Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope has carried out a survey of the entire Southern Sky at 887.5 MHz. The wide area, high angular resolution, and broad bandwidth provided by the low-band Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey (RACS-low) allow the production of a next-generation rotation measure (RM) grid across the entire Southern Sky. Here we introduce this project as Spectral and Polarisation in Cutouts of Extragalactic sources from RACS (SPICE-RACS). In our first data release, we image 30 RACS-low fields in Stokes I , Q , U at 25 $^{\\prime\\prime}$ angular resolution, across 744–1032 MHz with 1 MHz spectral resolution. Using a bespoke, highly parallelised, software pipeline we are able to rapidly process wide-area spectro-polarimetric ASKAP observations. Notably, we use ‘postage st ’ cutouts to assess the polarisation properties of 105912 radio components detected in total intensity. We find that our Stokes Q and U images have an rms noise of $\\sim$ 80 $\\unicode{x03BC}$ Jy PSF $^{-1}$ , and our correction for instrumental polarisation leakage allows us to characterise components with $\\gtrsim$ 1% polarisation fraction over most of the field of view. We produce a broadband polarised radio component catalogue that contains 5818 RM measurements over an area of $\\sim$ 1300 deg $^{2}$ with an average error in RM of $1.6^{+1.1}_{-1.0}$ rad m $^{-2}$ , and an average linear polarisation fraction $3.4^{+3.0}_{-1.6}$ %. We determine this subset of components using the conditions that the polarised signal-to-noise ratio is $ $ 8, the polarisation fraction is above our estimated polarised leakage, and the Stokes I spectrum has a reliable model. Our catalogue provides an areal density of $4\\pm2$ RMs deg $^{-2}$ an increase of $\\sim$ 4 times over the previous state-of-the-art (Taylor, Stil, Sunstrum 2009, ApJ, 702, 1230). Meaning that, having used just 3% of the RACS-low sky area, we have produced the 3rd largest RM catalogue to date. This catalogue has broad applications for studying astrophysical magnetic fields notably revealing remarkable structure in the Galactic RM sky. We will explore this Galactic structure in a follow-up paper. We will also apply the techniques described here to produce an all-Southern-sky RM catalogue from RACS observations. Finally, we make our catalogue, spectra, images, and processing pipeline publicly available.
Publisher: Zenodo
Date: 2015
DOI: 10.5281/ZENODO.17666
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 24-09-2020
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 20-10-2023
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-2021
Abstract: Recent studies have shown that both 21 cm HI absorption and soft X‐ray absorption serve as excellent tracers of the dense and dusty gas near the active nucleus of young radio galaxies, offering new insight into the physical nature of the circumnuclear medium. To date, a correlation between the column densities derived using these absorption processes have been observed within Compact Steep Spectrum and Gigahertz‐Peaked Spectrum radio sources. While it is possible that this correlation exists within the broader radio population, many s les of radio galaxies make this difficult to test due to selection effects. This paper explores the possibility of a correlation in the broader radio population by analyzing a historic s le of 168 radio sources compiled from the literature in such a way so as to minimize selection bias. From this historic s le, we conclude that there is some evidence for a correlation between HI and soft X‐ray absorption outside of peaked spectrum sources, but that the selection bias toward these sources makes further analysis difficult using current s les. We discuss this in the context of the SEAFOG project and how forthcoming data will change the landscape of future absorption studies.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 05-09-2019
Abstract: Obscuration of quasars by accreted gas and dust, or dusty intervening galaxies, can cause active galactic nuclei (AGN) to be missed in optically selected surveys. Radio observations can overcome this dust bias. In particular, radio surveys searching for H i absorption inform us on how the AGN can impact on the cold neutral gas medium within the host galaxy, or the population of intervening galaxies through the observed line of sight gas kinematics. We present the results of an H i absorption line survey at 0.4 & z & 1 towards 34 obscured quasars with the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) commissioning array. We detect three H i absorption lines, with one of these systems previously unknown. Through optical follow-up for two sources, we find that in all detections the H i gas is associated with the AGN, and hence that these AGN are obscured by material within their host galaxies. Most of our s le are compact, and in addition, are either gigahertz peaked spectrum (GPS), or steep spectrum (CSS) sources, both thought to represent young or recently re-triggered radio AGN. The radio spectral energy distribution classifications for our s le agree with galaxy evolution models in which the obscured AGN has only recently become active. Our associated H i detection rate for GPS and compact SS sources matches those of other surveys towards such sources. We also find shallow and asymmetric H i absorption features, which agrees with previous findings that the cold neutral medium in compact radio galaxies is typically kinematically disturbed by the AGN.
Publisher: Zenodo
Date: 2015
DOI: 10.5281/ZENODO.19330
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 04-2010
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 21-03-2022
Abstract: We present results from MUSE observations of a 21-cm ${\\rm H\\, {\\small I}}$ absorption system detected with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder radio telescope at redshift z = 0.4503 towards the z = 1.71 quasar PKS 1610-771. We identify four galaxies (A, B, X, and Y) at the same redshift as the 21-cm ${\\rm H\\, {\\small I}}$ D ed Lyman-α (DLA) absorption system, with impact parameters ranging from less than 10 kpc to almost 200 kpc from the quasar sightline. ${\\rm Ca\\, {\\small II}}$ and ${\\rm Na\\, {\\small I}}$ absorption is seen in the MUSE spectrum of the background QSO, with velocities coinciding with the initial ${\\rm H\\, {\\small I}}$ 21-cm detection, but tracing less dense and warmer gas. This metal-line component aligns with the rotating ionized disc of galaxy B (impact parameter 18 kpc from the QSO) and appears to be corotating with the galaxy disc. In contrast, the 21-cm ${\\rm H\\, {\\small I}}$ absorber is blueshifted relative to the galaxies nearest the absorber and has the opposite sign to the velocity field of galaxy B. Since galaxies A and B are separated by only 17 kpc on the sky and 70 km s−1 in velocity, it appears likely that the 21-cm detection traces extragalactic clouds of gas formed from their interaction. This system reveals that the cold 100 K neutral gas critical for star formation can be associated with complex structures beyond the galaxy disc, and is a first case study made in preparation for future large 21-cm absorption surveys like the ASKAP First Large Absorption Survey in ${\\rm H\\, {\\small I}}$.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 31-08-2020
Abstract: We have used the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope to search for intervening 21 cm neutral hydrogen (H i) absorption along the line of sight to 53 bright radio continuum sources. Our observations are sensitive to H i column densities typical of D ed Lyman Alpha absorbers (DLAs) in cool gas with an H i spin temperature below about 300–500 K. The six-dish Boolardy Engineering Test Array (BETA) and twelve-antenna Early Science array (ASKAP-12) covered a frequency range corresponding to redshift 0.4 & z & 1.0 and 0.37 & z & 0.77, respectively, for the H i line. Fifty of the 53 radio sources observed have reliable optical redshifts, giving a total redshift path Δz = 21.37. This was a spectroscopically untargeted survey, with no prior assumptions about the location of the lines in redshift space. Four intervening H i lines were detected, two of them new. In each case, the estimated H i column density lies above the DLA limit for H i spin temperatures above 50–80 K, and we estimate a DLA number density at redshift z ∼ 0.6 of $n(z)=0.19^{+0.15 }_{ -0.09}$. This value lies somewhat above the general trend of n(z) with redshift seen in optical DLA studies. Although the current s le is small, it represents an important proof of concept for the much larger 21 cm First Large Absorption Survey in H i (FLASH) project to be carried out with the full 36-antenna ASKAP telescope, probing a total redshift path $\\Delta z\\sim \\, 50,000$.
Publisher: Zenodo
Date: 2021
Publisher: Zenodo
Date: 2021
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 26-11-2021
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.
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 07-2022
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202243201
Abstract: Context. The characteristics of the polarised radio sky are a key ingredient in constraining evolutionary models of magnetic fields in the Universe and their role in feedback processes. The origin of the polarised emission and the characteristics of the intergalactic medium on the line of sight can be investigated using large s les of polarised sources. Ancillary infrared (IR) and optical data can be used to study the nature of the emitting objects. Aims. We analyse five early science datasets from the APERture Tile in Focus (Apertif) phased array feed system to verify the polarisation capabilities of Apertif in view of future larger data releases. We aim to characterise the source population of the polarised sky in the L -Band using polarised source information in combination with IR and optical data. Methods. We use automatic routines to generate full field-of-view Q- and U-cubes and perform rotation measure (RM)-Synthesis, source finding, and cross-matching with published radio, optical, and IR data to generate polarised source catalogues. All sources were inspected in idually by eye for verification of their IR and optical counterparts. Spectral energy distribution (SED)-fitting routines were used to determine photometric redshifts, star-formation rates, and galaxy masses. IR colour information was used to classify sources as active galactic nuclei (AGN) or star-forming-dominated and early- or late-type. Results. We surveyed an area of 56 deg 2 and detected 1357 polarised source components in 1170 sources. The fraction of polarised sources is 10.57% with a median fractional polarisation of 4.70 ± 0.14%. We confirmed the reliability of the Apertif measurements by comparing them with polarised cross-identified NVSS sources. Average RMs of the in idual fields lie within the error of the best Milky Way foreground measurements. All of our polarised sources were found to be dominated by AGN activity in the radio regime with most of them being radio-loud (79%) and of the Fanaroff-Riley (FR)II class (87%). The host galaxies of our polarised source s le are dominated by intermediate disc and star-forming disc galaxies. The contribution of star formation to the radio emission is on the order of a few percent for ≈10% of the polarised sources while for ≈90% it is completely dominated by the AGN. We do not see any change in fractional polarisation for different star-formation rates of the AGN host galaxies. Conclusions. The Apertif system is suitable for large-area high-sensitivity polarised sky surveys. The data products of the polarisation analysis pipeline can be used to investigate the Milky Way magnetic field on projected scales of several arcminutes as well as the origin of the polarised emission in AGN and the properties of their host galaxies.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2021
DOI: 10.1017/PASA.2021.47
Abstract: The Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey (RACS) is the first large sky survey using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), covering the sky south of $+41^\circ$ declination. With ASKAP’s large, instantaneous field of view, ${\sim}31\,\mathrm{deg}^2$ , RACS observed the entire sky at a central frequency of 887.5 MHz using 903 in idual pointings with 15 minute observations. This has resulted in the deepest radio survey of the full Southern sky to date at these frequencies. In this paper, we present the first Stokes I catalogue derived from the RACS survey. This catalogue was assembled from 799 tiles that could be convolved to a common resolution of $25^{\prime\prime}$ , covering a large contiguous region in the declination range $\delta=-80^{\circ}$ to $+30^\circ$ . The catalogue provides an important tool for both the preparation of future ASKAP surveys and for scientific research. It consists of $\sim$ 2.1 million sources and excludes the $|b| ^{\circ}$ region around the Galactic plane. This provides a first extragalactic catalogue with ASKAP covering the majority of the sky ( $\delta +30^{\circ}$ ). We describe the methods to obtain this catalogue from the initial RACS observations and discuss the verification of the data, to highlight its quality. Using simulations, we find this catalogue detects 95% of point sources at an integrated flux density of $\sim$ 5 mJy. Assuming a typical sky source distribution model, this suggests an overall 95% point source completeness at an integrated flux density $\sim$ 3 mJy. The catalogue will be available through the CSIRO ASKAP Science Data Archive (CASDA).
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 03-02-2023
Abstract: We present new upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope H i 21-cm observations of the ultra-luminous infrared galaxy IRAS 10565 + 2448, previously reported to show blueshifted, broad, and shallow H i absorption indicating an outflow. Our higher spatial resolution observations have localized this blueshifted outflow, which is ∼ 1.36 kpc southwest of the radio centre and has a blueshifted velocity of $\\sim 148\\, \\rm km\\, s^{-1}$ and a full width at half maximum of $\\sim 581\\, \\rm km\\, s^{-1}$. The spatial extent and kinematic properties of the H i outflow are consistent with the previously detected cold molecular outflows in IRAS 10565 + 2448, suggesting that they likely have the same driving mechanism and are tracing the same outflow. By combining the multiphase gas observations, we estimate a total outflowing mass rate of at least $140\\, \\rm M_\\odot \\, yr^{-1}$ and a total energy loss rate of at least $8.9\\times 10^{42}\\, \\rm erg\\, s^{-1}$, where the contribution from the ionized outflow is negligible, emphasizing the importance of including both cold neutral and molecular gas when quantifying the impact of outflows. We present evidence of the presence of a radio jet and argue that this may play a role in driving the observed outflows. The modest radio luminosity $L_{\\rm 1.4GHz}\\, \\sim 1.3\\times 10^{23}\\, {\\rm W\\, Hz^{-1}}$ of the jet in IRAS 10565 + 2448 implies that the jet contribution to driving outflows should not be ignored in low radio luminosity active galactic nuclei.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-03-2021
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 26-02-2021
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202039724
Abstract: Context. High-redshift quasars signpost the early accretion history of the Universe. The penetrating nature of X-rays enables a less absorption-biased census of the population of these luminous and persistent sources compared to optical/near-infrared colour selection. The ongoing SRG/eROSITA X-ray all-sky survey offers a unique opportunity to uncover the bright end of the high- z quasar population and probe new regions of colour parameter space. Aims. We searched for high- z quasars within the X-ray source population detected in the contiguous ~140 deg 2 field observed by eROSITA during the performance verification phase. With the purpose of demonstrating the unique survey science capabilities of eROSITA, this field was observed at the depth of the final all-sky survey. The blind X-ray selection of high-redshift sources in a large contiguous, near-uniform survey with a well-understood selection function can be directly translated into constraints on the X-ray luminosity function (XLF), which encodes the luminosity-dependent evolution of accretion through cosmic time. Methods. We collected the available spectroscopic information in the eFEDS field, including the s le of all currently known optically selected z 5.5 quasars and cross-matched secure Legacy DR8 counterparts of eROSITA-detected X-ray point-like sources with this spectroscopic s le. Results. We report the X-ray detection of eFEDSU J083644.0+005459, an eROSITA source securely matched to the well-known quasar SDSS J083643.85+005453.3 ( z = 5.81). The soft X-ray flux of the source derived from eROSITA is consistent with previous Chandra observations. The detection of SDSS J083643.85+005453.3 allows us to place the first constraints on the XLF at z 5.5 based on a secure spectroscopic redshift. Compared to extrapolations from lower-redshift observations, this favours a relatively flat slope for the XLF at z ~ 6 beyond L * , the knee in the luminosity function. In addition, we report the detection of the quasar with LOFAR at 145 MHz and ASKAP at 888 MHz. The reported flux densities confirm a spectral flattening at lower frequencies in the emission of the radio core, indicating that SDSS J083643.85+005453.3 could be a (sub-) gigahertz peaked spectrum source. The inferred spectral shape and the parsec-scale radio morphology of SDSS J083643.85+005453.3 indicate that it is in an early stage of its evolution into a large-scale radio source or confined in a dense environment. We find no indications for a strong jet contribution to the X-ray emission of the quasar, which is therefore likely to be linked to accretion processes. Conclusions. Our results indicate that the population of X-ray luminous AGNs at high redshift may be larger than previously thought. From our XLF constraints, we make the conservative prediction that eROSITA will detect ~90 X-ray luminous AGNs at redshifts 5.7 z 6.4 in the full-sky survey (De+RU). While subject to different jet physics, both high-redshift quasars detected by eROSITA so far are radio-loud a hint at the great potential of combined X-ray and radio surveys for the search of luminous high-redshift quasars.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-2021
Abstract: GHz‐Peaked Spectrum (GPS) and compact steep spectrum (CSS) sources are thought to represent a young and/or confined sub‐population of radio‐loud active galactic nuclei (AGN) that are yet to evacuate their surrounding ambient interstellar gas. By studying the gaseous environments of these objects, we can gain an insight into the inter‐dependent relationship between galaxies and their supermassive black holes (SMBHs). The First Large Absorption Survey in Hi (FLASH) will build a census of the neutral atomic hydrogen ( Hi ) gas in galaxies at intermediate cosmological redshifts. FLASH is expected to detect at least several hundred Hi absorbers associated with GPS and CSS sources. These absorbers provide an important probe of the abundance and kinematics of line‐of‐sight neutral gas toward radio AGN, in some cases revealing gas associated with infalling clouds and outflows. Observations are now complete for the first phase of the FLASH Pilot Survey and early analysis has already yielded several detections, including the GPS source PKS 2311‐477. Optical imaging of this galaxy reveals an interacting system that could have supplied the neutral gas seen in absorption and triggered the radio‐loud AGN. FLASH will provide a statistically significant s le with which the prevalence of such gas‐rich interactions among compact radio galaxies can be investigated.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 18-08-2022
Abstract: We present the results of a search for associated 21 cm H i absorption at redshift 0.42 & z & 1.00 in radio-loud galaxies from three Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey fields. These observations were carried out as part of a pilot survey for the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) First Large Absorption Survey in H i (FLASH). From a s le of 326 radio sources with 855.5 MHz peak flux density above 10 mJy, we detected two associated H i absorption systems, in SDSS J090331+010847 at z = 0.522 and SDSS J113622+004852 at z = 0.563. Both galaxies are massive (stellar mass $\\gt 10^{11}\\, \\mathrm{M}_\\odot$) and have optical spectra characteristic of luminous red galaxies, though spectral energy distribution fitting implies that SDSS J113622+004852 contains a dust-obscured starburst with star formation rate ∼69 M⊙ yr−1. The H i absorption lines have a high optical depth, with τpk of 1.77 ± 0.16 for SDSS J090331+010847 (the highest value for any z & 0.1 associated system found to date) and 0.14 ± 0.01 for SDSS J113622+004852. In the redshift range probed by our ASKAP observations, the detection rate for associated H i absorption lines (with τpk & 0.1 and at least 3σ significance) is $2.9_{-2.6}^{+9.7}$ per cent. Although the current s le is small, this rate is consistent with a trend seen in other studies for a lower detection rate of associated 21 cm H i absorption systems at higher redshift. We also searched for OH absorption lines at 0.67 & z & 1.34, but no detection was made in the 145 radio sources searched.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 24-08-2015
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 29-02-2012
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2022
DOI: 10.1017/PASA.2022.3
Abstract: We describe the scientific goals and survey design of the First Large Absorption Survey in H i (FLASH), a wide field survey for 21-cm line absorption in neutral atomic hydrogen (H i ) at intermediate cosmological redshifts. FLASH will be carried out with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope and is planned to cover the sky south of $\\delta \\approx +40\\,\\deg$ at frequencies between 711.5 and 999.5 MHz. At redshifts between $z = 0.4$ and $1.0$ (look-back times of 4 – 8 Gyr), the H i content of the Universe has been poorly explored due to the difficulty of carrying out radio surveys for faint 21-cm line emission and, at ultra-violet wavelengths, space-borne searches for D ed Lyman- $\\alpha$ absorption in quasar spectra. The ASKAP wide field of view and large spectral bandwidth, in combination with a radio-quiet site, will enable a search for absorption lines in the radio spectra of bright continuum sources over 80% of the sky. This survey is expected to detect at least several hundred intervening 21-cm absorbers and will produce an H i -absorption-selected catalogue of galaxies rich in cool, star-forming gas, some of which may be concealed from optical surveys. Likewise, at least several hundred associated 21-cm absorbers are expected to be detected within the host galaxies of radio sources at $0.4 z 1.0$ , providing valuable kinematical information for models of gas accretion and jet-driven feedback in radio-loud active galactic nuclei. FLASH will also detect OH 18-cm absorbers in diffuse molecular gas, megamaser OH emission, radio recombination lines, and stacked H i emission.
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: EDP Sciences
Date: 02-2022
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202141739
Abstract: We describe the APERture Tile In Focus (Apertif) system, a phased array feed (PAF) upgrade of the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope that transforms this telescope into a high-sensitivity, wide-field-of-view L -band imaging and transient survey instrument. Using novel PAF technology, up to 40 partially overlapping beams are formed on the sky simultaneously, significantly increasing the survey speed of the telescope. With this upgraded instrument, an imaging survey covering an area of 2300 deg 2 is being performed that will deliver both continuum and spectral line datasets, of which the first data have been publicly released. In addition, a time domain transient and pulsar survey covering 15 000 deg 2 is in progress. An overview of the Apertif science drivers, hardware, and software of the upgraded telescope is presented, along with its key performance characteristics.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2023
DOI: 10.1017/PASA.2023.31
Abstract: The Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) is being used to undertake a c aign to rapidly survey the sky in three frequency bands across its operational spectral range. The first pass of the Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey (RACS) at 887.5 MHz in the low band has already been completed, with images, visibility datasets, and catalogues made available to the wider astronomical community through the CSIRO ASKAP Science Data Archive (CASDA). This work presents details of the second observing pass in the mid band at 1367.5 MHz, RACS-mid, and associated data release comprising images and visibility datasets covering the whole sky south of $\\delta_{\\text{J2000}}=+49^\\circ$ . This data release incorporates selective peeling to reduce artefacts around bright sources, as well as accurately modelled primary beam responses. The Stokes I images reach a median noise of 198 $\\mu$ Jy PSF $^{-1}$ with a declination-dependent angular resolution of 8.1–47.5 arcsec that fills a niche in the existing ecosystem of large-area astronomical surveys. We also supply Stokes V images after application of a widefield leakage correction, with a median noise of 165 $\\mu$ Jy PSF $^{-1}$ . We find the residual leakage of Stokes I into V to be $\\lesssim 0.9$ – $2.4$ % over the survey. This initial RACS-mid data release will be complemented by a future release comprising catalogues of the survey region. As with other RACS data releases, data products from this release will be made available through CASDA.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2020
DOI: 10.1017/PASA.2020.2
Abstract: We describe an ultra-wide-bandwidth, low-frequency receiver recently installed on the Parkes radio telescope. The receiver system provides continuous frequency coverage from 704 to 4032 MHz. For much of the band ( ${\\sim}60\\%$ ), the system temperature is approximately 22 K and the receiver system remains in a linear regime even in the presence of strong mobile phone transmissions. We discuss the scientific and technical aspects of the new receiver, including its astronomical objectives, as well as the feed, receiver, digitiser, and signal processor design. We describe the pipeline routines that form the archive-ready data products and how those data files can be accessed from the archives. The system performance is quantified, including the system noise and linearity, beam shape, antenna efficiency, polarisation calibration, and timing stability.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 10-2023
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 04-2023
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202244107
Abstract: Fast radio bursts (FRBs) must be powered by uniquely energetic emission mechanisms. This requirement has eliminated a number of possible source types, but several remain. Identifying the physical nature of FRB emitters arguably requires good localisation of more detections, as well as broad-band studies enabled by real-time alerting. In this paper, we present the Apertif Radio Transient System (ARTS), a supercomputing radio-telescope instrument that performs real-time FRB detection and localisation on the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) interferometer. It reaches coherent-addition sensitivity over the entire field of the view of the primary-dish beam. After commissioning results verified that the system performed as planned, we initiated the Apertif FRB survey (ALERT). Over the first 5 weeks we observed at design sensitivity in 2019, we detected five new FRBs, and interferometrically localised each of them to 0.4–10 sq. arcmin. All detections are broad band, very narrow, of the order of 1 ms in duration, and unscattered. Dispersion measures are generally high. Only through the very high time and frequency resolution of ARTS are these hard-to-find FRBs detected, producing an unbiased view of the intrinsic population properties. Most localisation regions are small enough to rule out the presence of associated persistent radio sources. Three FRBs cut through the halos of M31 and M33. We demonstrate that Apertif can localise one-off FRBs with an accuracy that maps magneto-ionic material along well-defined lines of sight. The rate of one every ~7 days ensures a considerable number of new sources are detected for such a study. The combination of the detection rate and localisation accuracy exemplified by the first five ARTS FRBs thus marks a new phase in which a growing number of bursts can be used to probe our Universe.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 06-07-2017
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-2023
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 06-2021
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202140578
Abstract: Context. Detection of the electromagnetic emission from coalescing binary neutron stars (BNS) is important for understanding the merger and afterglow. Aims. We present a search for a radio counterpart to the gravitational-wave (GW) source GW190425, a BNS merger, using Apertif on the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT). Methods. We observed a field of high probability in the associated localisation region for three epochs at Δ T = 68, 90, 109 d post merger. We identified all sources that exhibit flux variations consistent with the expected afterglow emission of GW190425. We also looked for possible transients. These are sources that are only present in one epoch. In addition, we quantified our ability to search for radio afterglows in the fourth and future observing runs of the GW detector network using Monte Carlo simulations. Results. We found 25 afterglow candidates based on their variability. None of these could be associated with a possible host galaxy at the luminosity distance of GW190425. We also found 55 transient afterglow candidates that were only detected in one epoch. All of these candidates turned out to be image artefacts. In the fourth observing run, we predict that up to three afterglows will be detectable by Apertif. Conclusions. While we did not find a source related to the afterglow emission of GW190425, the search validates our methods for future searches of radio afterglows.
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 10-2023
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 04-2021
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202039102
Abstract: Super massive black holes at the centres of galaxies can cycle through periods of activity and quiescence. Characterising the duty cycle of active galactic nuclei (AGN) is crucial for understanding the impact of the energy they release on the host galaxy. For radio AGN, this can be done by identifying dying (remnant) and restarted radio galaxies from their radio spectral properties. Using the combination of the images at 1400 MHz produced by Apertif, the new phased-array feed receiver installed on the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope, and images at 150 MHz provided by LOFAR, we have derived resolved spectral index images (at a resolution of ~15 arcsec) for all the sources within an approximately 6 deg 2 area of the Lockman Hole region. In this way, we were able to select 15 extended radio sources with emission (partly or entirely) characterised by extremely steep spectral indices (steeper than 1.2). These objects represent cases of radio sources in the remnant or the restarted phases of their life cycle. Our findings confirm that these objects are not as rare as previously thought, suggesting a relatively fast cycle. They also show a variety of properties that can be relevant for modelling the evolution of radio galaxies. For ex le, the restarted activity can occur while the remnant structure from a previous phase of activity is still visible. This provides constraints on the duration of the “off” (dying) phase. In extended remnants with ultra-steep spectra at low frequencies, the activity likely stopped a few hundred megayears ago, and they correspond to the older tail of the age distribution of radio galaxies, in agreement with the results of simulations of radio source evolution. We find remnant radio sources with a variety of structures (from double-lobed to amorphous), possibly suggesting different types of progenitors. The present work sets the stage for exploiting the powerful tool of low-frequency spectral index studies of extended sources by taking advantage of the large areas common to the LOFAR and the Apertif surveys.
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: American Astronomical Society
Date: 10-01-2017
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2023
DOI: 10.1017/PASA.2023.26
Abstract: We present a method for identifying radio stellar sources using their proper-motion. We demonstrate this method using the FIRST, VLASS, RACS-low and RACS-mid radio surveys, and astrometric information from Gaia Data Release 3. We find eight stellar radio sources using this method, two of which have not previously been identified in the literature as radio stars. We determine that this method probes distances of $\\sim$ 90pc when we use FIRST and RACS-mid, and $\\sim$ 250pc when we use FIRST and VLASS. We investigate the time baselines required by current and future radio sky surveys to detect the eight sources we found, with the SKA (6.7 GHz) requiring $ $ 3 yr between observations to find all eight sources. We also identify nine previously known and 43 candidate variable radio stellar sources that are detected in FIRST (1.4 GHz) but are not detected in RACS-mid (1.37 GHz). This shows that many stellar radio sources are variable, and that surveys with multiple epochs can detect a more complete s le of stellar radio sources.
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: 09-04-2020
Abstract: We present early science results from the First Large Absorption Survey in H i (FLASH), a spectroscopically blind survey for 21-cm absorption lines in cold hydrogen (H i) gas at cosmological distances using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). We have searched for H i absorption towards 1253 radio sources in the GAMA 23 field, covering redshifts between z = 0.34 and 0.79 over a sky area of approximately 50 deg2. In a purely blind search, we did not obtain any detections of 21-cm absorbers above our reliability threshold. Assuming a fiducial value for the H i spin temperature of Tspin = 100 K and source covering fraction cf = 1, the total comoving absorption path-length sensitive to all D ed Lyman α Absorbers (DLAs NH i ≥ 2 × 1020 cm−2) is ΔX = 6.6 ± 0.3 (Δz = 3.7 ± 0.2) and super-DLAs (NH i ≥ 2 × 1021 cm−2) is ΔX = 111 ± 6 (Δz= 63 ± 3). We estimate upper limits on the H i column density frequency distribution function that are consistent with measurements from prior surveys for redshifted optical DLAs, and nearby 21-cm emission and absorption. By cross-matching our s le of radio sources with optical spectroscopic identifications of galaxies in the GAMA 23 field, we were able to detect 21-cm absorption at z = 0.3562 towards NVSS J224500−343030, with a column density of $N_{\\rm H\\,\\small{I}} = (1.2 \\pm 0.1) \\times 10^{20}\\, (T_{\\rm spin}/100\\, \\mathrm{K})$ cm−2. The absorber is associated with GAMA J22450.05−343031.7, a massive early-type galaxy at an impact parameter of 17 kpc with respect to the radio source and which may contain a massive (MH i ≳ 3 × 109 M⊙) gas disc. Such gas-rich early types are rare, but have been detected in the nearby Universe.
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: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-08-2021
DOI: 10.1038/S41586-021-03724-8
Abstract: Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are extragalactic astrophysical transients
Location: Australia
No related grants have been discovered for Vanessa Moss.