an overview of the MHONGOOSE survey: Observing nearby galaxies with MeerKAT
Paper in proceeding, 2016

MHONGOOSE is a deep survey of the neutral hydrogen distribution in a representative sample of 30 nearby disk and dwarf galaxies with H I masses from ∼ 106 to ∼ 1011 M, and luminosities from MR ∼ 12 to MR ∼ −22. The sample is selected to uniformly cover the available range in log(MHI). Our extremely deep observations, down to H I column density limits of well below 1018 cm−2 — or a few hundred times fainter than the typical H I disks in galaxies — will directly detect the effects of cold accretion from the intergalactic medium and the links with the cosmic web. These observations will be the first ever to probe the very low-column density neutral gas in galaxies at these high resolutions. Combination with data at other wavelengths, most of it already available, will enable accurate modeling of the properties and evolution of the mass components in these galaxies and link these with the effects of environment, dark matter distribution, and other fundamental properties such as halo mass and angular momentum. MHONGOOSE can already start addressing some of the SKA-1 science goals and will provide a comprehensive inventory of the processes driving the transformation and evolution of galaxies in the nearby universe at high resolution and over 5 orders of magnitude in column density. It will be a Nearby Galaxies Legacy Survey that will be unsurpassed until the advent of the SKA, and can serve as a highly visible, lasting statement of MeerKAT’s capabilities.

Surveys

star formations

Molecular clouds

Density of gases

Cosmology

Angular distribution

supernovae

Author

W.J.G. de Blok

University of Groningen

Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)

University of Cape Town

E. A.K. Adams

Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)

University of Groningen

P. Amram

Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille

E. Athanassoula

Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille

I. Bagetakos

University of Groningen

Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)

C. Balkowski

Paris Observatory

M. A. Bershady

University of Wisconsin

University of Wisconsin Madison

R. J. Beswick

University of Manchester

Jodrell Bank Observatory

F. Bigiell

Heidelberg University

S. L. Blyth

University of Cape Town

A. Bosma

Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille

Roy Booth

Hartebeeshoek Radio Astronomy Observatory

A. Bouchard

McGill University

E. Brinks

University of Hertfordshire

C. Carignan

University of Cape Town

L. Chemin

University of Antofagasta

F. Combes

Paris Observatory

John Conway

Chalmers, Earth and Space Sciences, Onsala Space Observatory

E. C. Elson

University of the Western Cape

J. English

University of Manitoba

B. Epinat

Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille

B. S. Frank

University of Cape Town

J. Fiege

University of Manitoba

F. Fraternali

University of Groningen

University of Bologna

J. S. Gallagher

University of Wisconsin Madison

B. K. Gibson

University of Hull

G. Heald

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)

P. A. Henning

University of New Mexico

B. W. Holwerda

University of Louisville

T. H. Jarrett

University of Cape Town

H. Jerjen

Australian National University

G. I.G. Józsa

Rhodes University

Square Kilometre Array, South Africa

Argelander-Institut für Astronomie

M. Kapala

University of Cape Town

H. R. Klockner

Max Planck Society

B. Koribalski

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)

R. C. Kraan-Korteweg

University of Cape Town

S. Leon

European Southern Observatory Santiago

Adam K. Leroy

Ohio State University

S. I. Loubser

North-West University

D. M. Lucero

University of Groningen

S. S. McGaugh

Case Western Reserve University

G. R. Meurer

University of Western Australia

M. Meyer

University of Western Australia

M. Mogotsi

South African Astronomical Observatory

B. Namumba

University of Cape Town

S. H. Oh

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute

T. Oosterloo

Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)

University of Groningen

D. J. Pisano

Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology

West Virginia University

A. Popping

University of Western Australia

S. M. Ratcliffe

Square Kilometre Array, South Africa

J. A. Sellwood

University of Arizona

E. Schinnerer

Max Planck Society

A. C. Schröder

South African Astronomical Observatory

K. Sheth

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

M. W.L. Smith

Cardiff University

A. Sorgho

University of Cape Town

K. Spekkens

Royal Military College of Canada

S. Stanimirovic

University of Wisconsin Madison

K. van der Heyden

University of Cape Town

W. van Driel

Paris Observatory

L. Verdes-Montenegro

Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA)

F. Walter

Max Planck Society

T. Westmeier

University of Western Australia

E. Wilcots

University of Wisconsin Madison

T. Williams

South African Astronomical Observatory

O. I. Wong

University of Western Australia

P. A. Woudt

University of Cape Town

A. Zijlstra

University of Manchester

Proceedings of Science

18248039 (eISSN)

2016 MeerKAT Science: On the Pathway to the SKA, MeerKAT 2016
Stellenbosch, South Africa,

Subject Categories

Subatomic Physics

Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology

More information

Latest update

10/10/2023