MeerKAT 1.3 GHz Observations toward the Milky Way Bulge

We present a MeerKAT survey of portions of the Milky Way bulge. The survey covers 172.8 square degrees in two contiguous mosaics above and below the Galactic center as well as 32 single pointing fields at higher longitudes. The resolution of the images is ∼8 ^″ at a frequency of 1333 MHz with a typi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: W. D. Cotton, P. J. Agnihotri, F. Camilo, E. Polisensky, S. D. Hyman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adcc33
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849321318343770112
author W. D. Cotton
P. J. Agnihotri
F. Camilo
E. Polisensky
S. D. Hyman
author_facet W. D. Cotton
P. J. Agnihotri
F. Camilo
E. Polisensky
S. D. Hyman
author_sort W. D. Cotton
collection DOAJ
description We present a MeerKAT survey of portions of the Milky Way bulge. The survey covers 172.8 square degrees in two contiguous mosaics above and below the Galactic center as well as 32 single pointing fields at higher longitudes. The resolution of the images is ∼8 ^″ at a frequency of 1333 MHz with a typical Stokes I rms of 20 μ Jy beam ^−1 . Most of the emission seen is from background extragalactic sources, but many compact Galactic objects are identifiable by their polarization properties. Apparent polarized emission resulting from fine-scale Faraday rotation in the interstellar medium is widespread in this region of the Galaxy. The survey is used to search for background giant radio galaxies, >700 kpc in size, identifying 17 such objects. Data products include FITS images of Stokes I , Q , U , and V as well as a Faraday analysis and lists of compact total intensity and polarized sources.
format Article
id doaj-art-52b0208249254d66a73a1ea67cd6fcb5
institution Kabale University
issn 1538-4357
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher IOP Publishing
record_format Article
series The Astrophysical Journal
spelling doaj-art-52b0208249254d66a73a1ea67cd6fcb52025-08-20T03:49:46ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-0198519410.3847/1538-4357/adcc33MeerKAT 1.3 GHz Observations toward the Milky Way BulgeW. D. Cotton0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7363-6489P. J. Agnihotri1https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0057-992XF. Camilo2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1873-3718E. Polisensky3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3272-9237S. D. Hyman4https://orcid.org/0009-0006-5070-6329National Radio Astronomy Observatory , 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA ; bcotton@nrao.edu; South African Radio Astronomy Observatory , Liesbeek House, River Park, Gloucester Road, Cape Town, 7700, South AfricaNational Radio Astronomy Observatory , 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA ; bcotton@nrao.edu; San Francisco State University , San Francisco, CA 94132, USASouth African Radio Astronomy Observatory , Liesbeek House, River Park, Gloucester Road, Cape Town, 7700, South AfricaU.S. Naval Research Laboratory , 4555 Overlook Ave SW, Washington, DC 20375, USADepartment of Engineering and Physics, Sweet Briar College , Sweet Briar, VA 24595, USAWe present a MeerKAT survey of portions of the Milky Way bulge. The survey covers 172.8 square degrees in two contiguous mosaics above and below the Galactic center as well as 32 single pointing fields at higher longitudes. The resolution of the images is ∼8 ^″ at a frequency of 1333 MHz with a typical Stokes I rms of 20 μ Jy beam ^−1 . Most of the emission seen is from background extragalactic sources, but many compact Galactic objects are identifiable by their polarization properties. Apparent polarized emission resulting from fine-scale Faraday rotation in the interstellar medium is widespread in this region of the Galaxy. The survey is used to search for background giant radio galaxies, >700 kpc in size, identifying 17 such objects. Data products include FITS images of Stokes I , Q , U , and V as well as a Faraday analysis and lists of compact total intensity and polarized sources.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adcc33Milky Way GalaxyGalactic bulgeGiant radio galaxies
spellingShingle W. D. Cotton
P. J. Agnihotri
F. Camilo
E. Polisensky
S. D. Hyman
MeerKAT 1.3 GHz Observations toward the Milky Way Bulge
The Astrophysical Journal
Milky Way Galaxy
Galactic bulge
Giant radio galaxies
title MeerKAT 1.3 GHz Observations toward the Milky Way Bulge
title_full MeerKAT 1.3 GHz Observations toward the Milky Way Bulge
title_fullStr MeerKAT 1.3 GHz Observations toward the Milky Way Bulge
title_full_unstemmed MeerKAT 1.3 GHz Observations toward the Milky Way Bulge
title_short MeerKAT 1.3 GHz Observations toward the Milky Way Bulge
title_sort meerkat 1 3 ghz observations toward the milky way bulge
topic Milky Way Galaxy
Galactic bulge
Giant radio galaxies
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adcc33
work_keys_str_mv AT wdcotton meerkat13ghzobservationstowardthemilkywaybulge
AT pjagnihotri meerkat13ghzobservationstowardthemilkywaybulge
AT fcamilo meerkat13ghzobservationstowardthemilkywaybulge
AT epolisensky meerkat13ghzobservationstowardthemilkywaybulge
AT sdhyman meerkat13ghzobservationstowardthemilkywaybulge