The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey: I. Survey description and preliminary data release
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2017

The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) is a deep 120-168 MHz imaging survey that will eventually cover the entire northern sky. Each of the 3170 pointings will be observed for 8 h, which, at most declinations, is sufficient to produce ~5? resolution images with a sensitivity of ~100 ?Jy/beam and accomplish the main scientific aims of the survey, which are to explore the formation and evolution of massive black holes, galaxies, clusters of galaxies and large-scale structure. Owing to the compact core and long baselines of LOFAR, the images provide excellent sensitivity to both highly extended and compact emission. For legacy value, the data are archived at high spectral and time resolution to facilitate subarcsecond imaging and spectral line studies. In this paper we provide an overview of the LoTSS. We outline the survey strategy, the observational status, the current calibration techniques, a preliminary data release, and the anticipated scientific impact. The preliminary images that we have released were created using a fully automated but direction-independent calibration strategy and are significantly more sensitive than those produced by any existing large-Area low-frequency survey. In excess of 44 000 sources are detected in the images that have a resolution of 25?, typical noise levels of less than 0.5 mJy/beam, and cover an area of over 350 square degrees in the region of the HETDEX Spring Field (right ascension 10h45m00s to 15h30m00s and declination 45°00?00? to 57°00?00?).

Techniques: image processing

Surveys

Radio continuum: general

Catalogs

Författare

T. W. Shimwell

Universiteit Leiden

H. Rottgering

Universiteit Leiden

P. N. Best

Royal Observatory

W. L. Williams

University of Hertfordshire

T. J. Dijkema

Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)

F. De Gasperin

Universiteit Leiden

M. J. Hardcastle

University of Hertfordshire

G. H. Heald

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)

Rijksuniversiteit Groningen

D. N. Hoang

Universiteit Leiden

A. Horneffer

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

H. Intema

Universiteit Leiden

E. Mahony

Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)

The University of Sydney

ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO)

S. Mandal

Universiteit Leiden

A. P. Mechev

Universiteit Leiden

L. Morabito

Universiteit Leiden

J. B R Oonk

Universiteit Leiden

Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)

D. Rafferty

Universität Hamburg

E. Retana-Montenegro

Universiteit Leiden

J. Sabater

Royal Observatory

C. Tasse

Université Paris Diderot

Rhodes University

R. J. van Weeren

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

M. Brüggen

Universität Hamburg

G. Brunetti

Istituto di Radioastronomia

K. T. Chy

Uniwersytet Jagiellonski w Krakowie

John Conway

Chalmers, Rymd- och geovetenskap, Onsala rymdobservatorium

M. Haverkorn

Radboud Universiteit

N. Jackson

University of Manchester

M. J. Jarvis

University of Oxford

University of the Western Cape

J. P. McKean

Rijksuniversiteit Groningen

Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)

G. K. Miley

Universiteit Leiden

R. Morganti

Rijksuniversiteit Groningen

Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)

G. J. White

STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

Open University

M. W. Wise

Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy

Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)

I. van Bemmel

Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)

R. Beck

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

M. Brienza

Rijksuniversiteit Groningen

Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)

A. Bonafede

Universität Hamburg

G. Calistro Rivera

Universiteit Leiden

R. Cassano

Istituto di Radioastronomia

A. O. Clarke

University of Manchester

D. Cseh

Radboud Universiteit

A. Deller

Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)

A. Drabent

Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg

W. van Driel

Université Paris Diderot

Universite d'Orleans

D. Engels

Universität Hamburg

H. Falcke

Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)

Radboud Universiteit

C. Ferrari

Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur

S. Fröhlich

Ruhr-Universität Bochum

M. A. Garrett

Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)

J. J. Harwood

Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)

V. Heesen

University of Southampton

M. Hoeft

Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)

Cathy Horellou

Chalmers, Rymd- och geovetenskap, Radioastronomi och astrofysik

F. P. Israel

Universiteit Leiden

A. D. Kapińska

University of Portsmouth

ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO)

University of Western Australia

M. Kunert-Bajraszewska

Uniwersytet Mikolaja Kopernika

D. J. McKay

STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

Sodankyla Geophysical Observatory

N. R. Mohan

National Centre for Radio Astrophysics India

E. Orru

Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)

R. F. Pizzo

Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)

I. Prandoni

Istituto di Radioastronomia

D. J. Schwarz

Universität Bielefeld

A. Shulevski

Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)

M. Sipior

Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)

D. J B Smith

University of Hertfordshire

S. S. Sridhar

Rijksuniversiteit Groningen

Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)

M. Steinmetz

Leibniz-Institut Für Astrophysik Potsdam

A. Stroe

European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Eskil Varenius

Chalmers, Rymd- och geovetenskap, Radioastronomi och astrofysik

P.P. van der Werf

Universiteit Leiden

A.J. Zensus

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

J. T L Zwart

University of the Western Cape

University of Cape Town

Astronomy and Astrophysics

0004-6361 (ISSN) 1432-0746 (eISSN)

Vol. 598 Art no A104- A104

Drivkrafter

Hållbar utveckling

Ämneskategorier

Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi

Fundament

Grundläggande vetenskaper

Infrastruktur

Onsala rymdobservatorium

DOI

10.1051/0004-6361/201629313

Mer information

Senast uppdaterat

2023-10-10