The Apertif Surveys: The First Six Months
Abstract
Apertif is a new phased-array feed for the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT), greatly increasing its field of view and turning it into a natural survey instrument. In July 2019, the Apertif legacy surveys commenced; these are a time-domain survey and a two-tiered imaging survey, with a shallow and medium-deep component. The time-domain survey will search for new (millisecond) pulsars and fast radio bursts (FRBs). The imaging surveys will provide neutral hydrogen (HI), radio continuum and polarization data products. With a bandwidth of 300 MHz, Apertif will detect HI out to a redshift of 0.26. The key science goals to be accomplished by Apertif include localization of FRBs (including real-time public alerts), the role of environment and interaction on galaxy properties and gas removal, finding the smallest galaxies, connecting cold gas to AGN, understanding the faint radio population, and studying magnetic fields in galaxies. After a proprietary period, survey data products will be publicly available through the Apertif Long Term Archive (ALTA). I will review the progress of the surveys, present the first results from the Apertif surveys, and highlight the data that is publicly available.
- Publication:
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The Build-Up of Galaxies through Multiple Tracers and Facilities
- Pub Date:
- April 2020
- DOI:
- 10.5281/zenodo.3756466
- Bibcode:
- 2020bugm.conf...23A
- Keywords:
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- Zenodo community esoaus2020