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Description
We present a new image of the 5.5GHz radio emission from the extended Chandra Deep Field South. Deep radio observations at 5.5GHz were obtained in 2010 and presented in the first data release. A further 76h of integration has since been obtained, nearly doubling the integration time. This paper presents a new analysis of all the data. The new image reaches 8.6{mu}Jy rms, an improvement of about 40% in sensitivity. We present a new catalogue of 5.5GHz sources, identifying 212 source components, roughly 50% more than were detected in the first data release. Source counts derived from this sample are consistent with those reported in the literature for S_5.5GHz_>0.1mJy but significantly lower than published values in the lowest flux density bins (S_5.5GHz_<0.1mJy), where we have more detected sources and improved statistical reliability. The 5.5GHz radio sources were matched to 1.4GHz sources in the literature and we find a mean spectral index of -0.35+/-0.10 for S_5.5GHz_>0.5mJy, consistent with the flattening of the spectral index observed in 5GHz sub-mJy samples. The median spectral index of the whole sample is {alpha}_med_=-0.58, indicating that these observations may be starting to probe the star-forming population. However, even at the faintest levels (0.05<S_5.5GHz_<0.1mJy), 39% of the 5.5GHz sources have flat or inverted radio spectra. Four flux density measurements from our data, across the full 4.5-6.5GHz bandwidth, are combined with those from literature and we find 10% of sources (S_5.5GHz_>~0.1mJy) show significant curvature in their radio spectral energy distribution spanning 1.4-9GHz.
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