We present the optical and infrared identifications of the 266 radio sources detected at 20cm with the Very Large Array in the Chandra Deep Field-South. Using deep i-band Advanced Camera for Surveys, R-band Wide Field Imager, K-band SOFI NTT, K-band ISAAC VLT and Spitzer imaging data, we are able to find reliable counterparts for 254 (~95%) VLA sources. Twelve radio sources remain unidentified, and three of them are "empty fields". Using literature and our own data we are able to assign redshifts to 186 (~70%) radio sources: 108 are spectroscopic redshifts and 78 are reliable photometric redshifts. Based on the rest-frame colors and morphological distributions of the host galaxies, we find evidences for a change in the submillijansky radio source population: (1) above ~0.08mJy early-type galaxies are dominating and (2) at flux densities below ~0.08mJy, starburst galaxies become dominant.
We discuss the X-ray properties of the radio sources detected in a deep 1.4 and 5GHz VLA Radio survey of the Extended Chandra Deep Field-South (E-CDFS). Among the 266 radio sources detected, we find 89 sources (1/3 of the total) with X-ray counterparts in the catalog of the 1Ms exposure of the central 0.08deg^2^ or in the catalog of the 250ks exposure of the 0.3deg^2^ E-CDFS field. For 76 (85%) of these sources, we have spectroscopic or photometric redshifts, and therefore we are able to derive their intrinsic properties from X-ray spectral analysis, namely intrinsic absorption and total X-ray luminosities. We find that the population of submillijansky radio sources with X-ray counterparts is composed of a mix of roughly 1/3 star-forming galaxies and 2/3 active galactic nuclei (AGNs).
We have conducted a deep survey (rms noise ~=17{mu}Jy) with the Very Large Array (VLA) at 1.4GHz, with a resolution of 6arcsec, of a 1{deg}^2^ region included in the VIRMOS VLT Deep Survey. In the same field we already have multiband photometry down to I_AB_=25, and spectroscopic observations will be obtained during the VIRMOS VLT survey. The homogeneous sensitivity over the whole field has allowed to derive a complete sample of 1054 radio sources (5{sigma} limit). We give a detailed description of the data reduction and of the analysis of the radio observations, with particular care to the effects of clean bias and bandwidth smearing, and of the methods used to obtain the catalogue of radio sources. To estimate the effect of the resolution bias on our observations we have modelled the effective angular-size distribution of the sources in our sample and we have used this distribution to simulate a sample of radio sources. Finally we present the radio count distribution down to 0.08mJy derived from the catalogue. Our counts are in good agreement with the best fit derived from earlier surveys, and are about 50% higher than the counts in the HDF. The radio count distribution clearly shows, with extremely good statistics, the change in the slope for the sub-mJy radio sources.
A catalog containing milli-arcsecond-accurate positions of 1332 extragalactic radio sources distributed over the northern sky is presented - the Very Long Baseline Array Calibrator Survey (VCS1). The positions have been derived from astrometric analysis of dual-frequency 2.3 and 8.4 GHz VLBA snapshot observations; in a majority of cases, images of the sources are also available. These radio sources are suitable for use in geodetic and astrometric experiments, and as phase-reference calibrators in high-sensitivity astronomical imaging. The VCS1 is the largest high-resolution radio survey ever undertaken and triples the number of sources available to the radio astronomy community for VLBI applications. In addition to the astrometric role, this survey can be used in active galactic nuclei, Galactic, gravitational lens, and cosmological studies.
We present the first results of the VLBA Imaging and Polarimetry Survey (VIPS), a 5GHz VLBI survey of 1119 sources with flat radio spectra. Through automated data reduction and imaging routines, we have produced publicly available I, Q, and U images and have detected polarized flux density from 37% of the sources. We have also developed an algorithm to use each source's I image to automatically classify it as a pointlike source, a core jet, a compact symmetric object (CSO) candidate, or a complex source. Using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), we have found no significant trend between optical flux and 5 GHz flux density for any of the source categories.
We present here the results of the first part of the VLBI Ecliptic Plane Survey (VEPS) program. The goal of the program is to find all compact sources within 7.5{deg} of the ecliptic plane that are suitable as calibrators for anticipated phase referencing observations of spacecraft, and determine their positions with accuracy at the 1.5 nrad level. We run the program in two modes: search and refine. In the search mode, a complete sample of all sources brighter than 50mJy at 5GHz listed in the Parkes-MIT-NRAO and Green Bank 6cm (GB6) catalogs, except those previously detected with VLBI, is observed. In the refining mode, the positions of all ecliptic plane sources, including those found in the search mode, are improved. By 2016 October, thirteen 24hr sessions that targeted all sources brighter than 100mJy have been observed and analyzed. Among 3320 observed target sources, 555 objects have been detected. We also conducted a number of follow-up VLBI experiments in the refining mode and improved the positions of 249 ecliptic plane sources.
The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey (VFTS) is an ESO Large Programme that has obtained multi-epoch optical spectroscopy of over 800 massive stars in the 30 Doradus region of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Here we introduce our scientific motivations and give an overview of the survey targets, including optical and near-infrared photometry and comprehensive details of the data reduction. One of the principal objectives was to detect massive binary systems via variations in their radial velocities, thus shaping the multi-epoch observing strategy. Spectral classifications are given for the massive emission-line stars observed by the survey, including the discovery of a new Wolf-Rayet star (VFTS 682, classified as WN5h), 2' to the northeast of R136. To illustrate the diversity of objects encompassed by the survey, we investigate the spectral properties of sixteen targets identified by Gruendl & Chu (2009, Cat. J/ApJS/184/172) from Spitzer photometry as candidate young stellar objects or stars with notable mid-infrared excesses. Detailed spectral classification and quantitative analysis of the O- and B-type stars in the VFTS sample, paying particular attention to the effects of rotational mixing and binarity, will be presented in a series of future articles to address fundamental questions in both stellar and cluster evolution.
We present a catalogue of 2135 galaxy redshifts from the VLT LBG Redshift Survey (VLRS), a spectroscopic survey of z~3 galaxies in wide fields centred on background quasi-stellar objects. We have used deep optical imaging to select galaxies via the Lyman-break technique. Spectroscopy of the Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) was then made using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) Visible Multi-Object Spectrograph (VIMOS) instrument, giving a mean redshift of z=2.79. We analyse the clustering properties of the VLRS sample and also of the VLRS sample combined with the smaller area Keck-based survey of Steidel et al. (2003, Cat. J/ApJ/592/728).
We present the results of an extensive spectroscopic survey of RX J0152.7-1357, one of the most massive distant clusters of galaxies known. Multi-object spectroscopy, carried out with FORS1 and FORS2 on the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT), has allowed us to measure more than 200 redshifts in the cluster field and to confirm 102 galaxies as cluster members. The mean redshift of the cluster is z=0.837+/-0.001 and we estimate the velocity dispersion of the overall cluster galaxy distribution to be ~1600km/s.
The VLT Survey Telescope ATLAS survey is an optical ugriz survey aiming to cover ~4700deg^2^ of the southern sky to similar depths as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). From reduced images and object catalogues provided by the Cambridge Astronomical Surveys Unit, we first find that the median seeing ranges from 0.8-arcsec FWHM (full width at half-maximum) in i to 1.0-arcsec in u, significantly better than the 1.2-1.5arcsec seeing for SDSS. The 5{sigma} mag limit for stellar sources is r_AB_=22.7 and in all bands these limits are at least as faint as SDSS. SDSS and ATLAS are more equivalent for galaxy photometry except in the z band where ATLAS has significantly higher throughput. We have improved the original ESO magnitude zero-points by comparing m<16 star magnitudes with the AAVSO Photometric All-Sky Survey in gri, also extrapolating into u and z, resulting in zero-points accurate to ~+/-0.02mag. We finally compare star and galaxy number counts in a 250deg^2^ area with SDSS and other count data and find good agreement. ATLAS data products can be retrieved from the ESO Science Archive, while support for survey science analyses is provided by the OmegaCAM Science Archive, operated by the Wide-Field Astronomy Unit in Edinburgh.
