We present the description and early results of the mJy Imaging VLBA Exploration at 20cm (mJIVE-20). mJIVE-20 is a large project on the Very Long Baseline Array which is systematically inspecting a large sample of mJy radio sources, pre-selected from the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty cm (FIRST) survey made with the Very Large Array, to identify any compact emission that may be present. The survey is being undertaken using filler time on the VLBA, which utilizes short segments scheduled in bad weather and/or with a reduced number of antennas, during which no highly rated science projects can be scheduled. The newly available multifield capability of the VLBA makes it possible for us to inspect of the order of 100 sources per hour of observing time with a 6.75{sigma} detection sensitivity of approximately 1mJy/beam. The results of the mJIVE-20 survey are made publicly available as soon as the data are calibrated. After 18 months of observing, over 20000 FIRST sources have been inspected, with 4336 very long baseline interferometry detections. These initial results suggest that within the range 1-200mJy, fainter sources are somewhat more likely to be dominated by a very compact component than brighter sources. Over half of all arcsecond-scale mJy radio sources contain a compact component, although the fraction of sources that are dominated by milliarcsecond scale structure (where the majority of the arcsecond scale flux is recovered in the mJIVE-20 image) is smaller at around 30%-35%, increasing toward lower flux densities. Significant differences are seen depending on the optical classification of the source. Radio sources with a stellar/point-like counterpart in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) are more likely to be detected overall, but this detection likelihood appears to be independent of the arcsecond-scale radio flux density. The trend toward higher radio compactness for fainter sources is confined to sources that are not detected in SDSS or that have counterparts classified as galaxies. These results are consistent with a unification model of active galactic nuclei in which less luminous sources have on average slower radio jets, with lower Doppler suppression of compact core emission over a wider range of viewing angles.
We present the Second Palermo Swift-BAT hard X-ray catalogue obtained by analysing data acquired in the first 54 months of the Swift mission. Using our software dedicated to the analysis of data from coded mask telescopes, we analysed the BAT survey data in three energy bands (15-30keV, 15-70keV, 15-150keV), obtaining a list of 1256 detections above a significance threshold of 4.8 standard deviations. The identification of the source counterparts is pursued using two strategies: the analysis of field observations of soft X-ray instruments and cross-correlation of our catalogue with source databases. The survey covers 50% of the sky to a 15-150keV flux limit of 1.0x10^-11^erg/cm2/s and 9.2x10^-12^erg/cm2/s for |b|<10 and |b|>10, respectively. The Second Palermo Swift-BAT hard X-ray catalogue includes 1079 (~86%) hard X-ray sources with an associated counterpart (26 with a double association and 2 with a triple association) and 177 BAT excesses (~14%) that still lack a counterpart. The distribution of the BAT sources among the different object classes consists of ~19% Galactic sources, ~57% extragalactic sources, and ~10% sources with a counterpart at softer energies whose nature has not yet been determined. About half of the BAT associated sources lack a counterpart in the ROSAT catalogues. This suggests that either moderate or strong absorption may be preventing their detection in the ROSAT energy band. The comparison of our BAT catalogue with the Fermi Large Area Telescope First Source Catalogue identifies 59 BAT/Fermi correspondences: 48 blazars, 3 Seyfert galaxies, 1 interacting galaxy, 3 high mass X-ray binaries, and 4 pulsars/supernova remnants. This small number of correspondences indicates that different populations make the sky shine in these two different energy bands.
We present a catalog of hard X-ray sources detected in the first 105-months of observations with the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) coded-mask imager on board the Swift observatory. The 105-month Swift-BAT survey is a uniform hard X-ray all-sky survey with a sensitivity of 8.40x10^-12^erg/s/cm^2^ over 90% of the sky and 7.24x10^-12^erg/s/cm^2^ over 50% of the sky in the 14-195keV band. The Swift-BAT 105-month catalog provides 1632 (422 new detections) hard X-ray sources in the 14-195 keV band above the 4.8{sigma} significance level. Adding to the previously known hard X-ray sources, 34% (144/422) of the new detections are identified as Seyfert active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in nearby galaxies (z<0.2). The majority of the remaining identified sources are X-ray binaries (7%, 31) and blazars/BL Lac objects (10%, 43). As part of this new edition of the Swift-BAT catalog, we release eight-channel spectra and monthly sampled light curves for each object in the online journal and at the Swift-BAT 105-month website.
This automated catalogue combines all the largest published optical, radio and X-ray sky catalogues to find probable radio/X-ray associations to optical objects, plus double radio lobes, using uniform processing against all input data. The total count is 1002855 optical objects so presented. Each object is displayed with J2000 astrometry, optical and radio/X-ray identifiers, red and blue photometry, and calculated probabilities and optical field solutions of the associations. This is the third and final edition of this method.
We have analysed the efficiency in source detection and flux density estimation of blind and non-blind detection techniques exploiting the MHW2 filter applied to the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) 5-yr maps. A comparison with the AT20G bright source sample, with a completeness limit of 0.5Jy and accurate flux measurements at 20GHz, close to the lowest frequency of WMAP maps, has allowed us to assess the completeness and the reliability of the samples detected with the two approaches, as well as the accuracy of flux and error estimates, and their variations across the sky.
Cosmological probes based on galaxy clusters rely on cluster number counts and large-scale structure information. X-ray cluster surveys are well suited for this purpose, since they are far less affected than optical surveys by projection effects, and cluster properties can be predicted with good accuracy. The XMM Cluster Archive Super Survey, X-CLASS, is a serendipitous search of X-ray-detected galaxy clusters in 4176 XMM-Newton archival observations until August 2015. All observations are clipped to exposure times of 10 and 20 ks to obtain uniformity and they span ~269 sq. deg. across the high-Galactic latitude sky (|b|>20deg). The main goal of the survey is the compilation of a well-selected cluster sample suitable for cosmological analyses. We describe the detection algorithm, the visual inspection, the verification process and the redshift validation of the cluster sample, as well as the cluster selection function computed by simulations. We also present the various metadata that are released with the catalogue, along with the redshifts of 124 clusters obtained with a dedicated multi-object spectroscopic follow-up programme. With this publication we release the new X-CLASS catalogue of 1646 well-selected X-ray-detected clusters over a wide sky area, along with their selection function. The sample spans a wide redshift range, from the local Universe up to z~1.5, with 982 spectroscopically confirmed clusters, and over 70 clusters above z=0.8. Because of its homogeneous selection and thorough verification, the cluster sample can be used for cosmological analyses, but also as a test-bed for the upcoming eROSITA observations and other current and future large-area cluster surveys. It is the first time that such a catalogue is made available to the community via an interactive database which gives access to a wealth of supplementary information, images, and data.
We compare the optical spectral types with the X-ray spectral properties for a uniformly selected (sources with fluxes greater than the 3{sigma} level and above a flux limit of f(2-8keV)>3.5x10^-15^erg/cm^2^/s), highly spectroscopically complete (>80% for f(2-8keV)>10^-14^erg/cm^2^/s and >60% below) 2-8keV X-ray sample observed in three Chandra fields (CLANS, CLASXS, and the CDF-N) that cover ~1.2deg^2^. For our sample of 645 spectroscopically observed sources, we confirm that there is significant overlap of the X-ray spectral properties, as determined by the effective photon indices, {Gamma}_eff_, obtained from the ratios of the 0.5-2keV to 2-8keV counts, for the different optical spectral types. Thus, one cannot use the X-ray spectral classifications and the optical spectral classifications equivalently. Since it is not understood how X-ray and optical classifications relate to the obscuration of the central engine, we strongly advise against a mixed classification scheme, as it can only complicate the interpretation of X-ray AGN samples.
Arcminute-resolution radio continuum images at 408 and 1420MHz from the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey (CGPS) have been used to reexamine radio sources listed in the Kallas and Reich (1980A&AS...42..227K) catalogue. A sample of point sources with flat or rising spectra between 408 and 1420MHz has been compiled, and within this sample likely Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum sources have been identified.
Arcminute-resolution radio continuum images at 408 and 1420MHz from the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey (CGPS) have been used to construct a new catalogue of extended radio sources found near the Galactic plane in the second quadrant of our Galaxy. In addition cross-identifications are made with other major radio catalogues and information is provided to facilitate the recovery of CGPS image data associated with each catalogued source.
The Pan-STARRS1 survey is collecting multi-epoch, multi-color observations of the sky north of declination -30{deg} to unprecedented depths. These data are being photometrically and astrometrically calibrated and will serve as a reference for many other purposes. In this paper, we present our determination of the Pan-STARRS1 photometric system: g_P1_, r_P1_, i_P1_, z_P1_, y_P1_, and w_P1_. The Pan-STARRS1 photometric system is fundamentally based on the Hubble Space Telescope Calspec spectrophotometric observations, which in turn are fundamentally based on models of white dwarf atmospheres. We define the Pan-STARRS1 magnitude system and describe in detail our measurement of the system passbands, including both the instrumental sensitivity and atmospheric transmission functions. By-products, including transformations to other photometric systems, Galactic extinction, and stellar locus, are also provided. We close with a discussion of remaining systematic errors.
