The Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS) is a synoptic, all-sky radio sky survey with a unique combination of high angular resolution (≈2 5), sensitivity (a 1σ goal of 70 μJy/beam in the coadded data), full linear Stokes polarimetry, time domain coverage, and wide bandwidth (2-4 GHz). The first observations began in 2017 September, and observing for the survey will finish in 2024. VLASS will use approximately 5500 hr of time on the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) to cover the whole sky visible to the VLA (decl. >−40°), a total of 33 885deg 2. The data will be taken in three epochs to allow the discovery of variable and transient radio sources. The survey is designed to engage radio astronomy experts, multi-wavelength astronomers, and citizen scientists alike. By utilizing an "on the fly" interferometry mode, the observing overheads are much reduced compared to a conventional pointed survey. In this paper, we present the science case and observational strategy for the survey, and also results from early survey observations.
EMU is a wide-field radio continuum survey planned for the new Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope. The primary goal of EMU is to make a deep (rms ,10 mJy/beam) radio continuum survey of the entire Southern sky at 1.3 GHz, extending as far North as þ308 declination, with a resolution of 10 arcsec. EMU is expected to detect and catalogue about 70 million galaxies, including typical star-forming galaxies up to z , 1, powerful starbursts to even greater redshifts, and active galactic nuclei to the edge of the visible Universe. It will undoubtedly discover new classes of object. This paper defines the science goals and parameters of the survey, and describes the development of techniques necessary to maximise the science return from EMU.
We report on new 1.41‐GHz Green Bank Telescope (GBT) and 352‐MHz Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope observations of the Coma cluster and its environs. At 1.41 GHz, we tentatively detect an extension to the Coma cluster radio relic source 1253+275 which makes its total extent ∼2 Mpc. This extended relic is linearly polarized as seen in our GBT data, the NRAO VLA Sky Survey, and archival images, strengthening a shock interpretation. The extended relic borders a previously undetected ‘wall’ of galaxies in the infall region of the Coma cluster. We suggest that the radio relic is an infall shock, as opposed to the outgoing merger shocks believed responsible for other radio relics. We also find a sharp edge, or ‘front’, on the western side of the 352‐MHz radio halo. This front is coincident with a similar discontinuity in the X‐ray surface brightness and temperature in its southern half, suggesting a primary shock‐acceleration origin for the local synchrotron emitting electrons. The northern half of the synchrotron front is less well correlated with the X‐ray properties, perhaps due to projection effects. We confirm the global pixel‐to‐pixel power‐law correlation between the 352‐MHz radio brightness and X‐ray brightness with a slope that is inconsistent with predictions of either primary shock acceleration or secondary production of relativistic electrons in giant radio haloes, but is allowable in the framework of the turbulent re‐acceleration of relic plasma. The failure of these first‐order models and the need for a more comprehensive view of the intracluster medium energization are also highlighted by the very different shapes of the diffuse radio and X‐ray emission. We note the puzzling correspondence between the shape of the brighter regions of the radio halo and the surface mass density derived from weak lensing.
We present deep 1.1-3.1 GHz Australia Telescope Compact Array observations of the radio halo of the bullet cluster, 1E 0657−55.8. In comparison to existing images of this radio halo, the detection in our images is at higher significance. The radio halo is as extended as the X-ray emission in the direction of cluster merger but is significantly less extended than the X-ray emission in the perpendicular direction. At low significance, we detect a faint second peak in the radio halo close to the X-ray centroid of the smaller sub-cluster (the bullet) suggesting that, similarly to the X-ray emission, the radio halo may consist of two components. Finally, we find that the distinctive shape of the western edge of the radio halo traces out the X-ray detected bow shock. The radio halo morphology and the lack of strong point-to-point correlations between radio, X-ray and weak-lensing properties suggest that the radio halo is still being formed. The colocation of the X-ray shock with a distinctive radio brightness edge illustrates that the shock is influencing the structure of the radio halo. These observations support the theory that shocks and turbulence influence the formation and evolution of radio halo synchrotron emission.
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