Browsing by Author "Lal, Dharam Vir"

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    The superMIGHTEE project: meerkat and GMRT together to unveil the deep radio sky
    (Institute of Physics, 2025) Taylor, Russ A.; Lal, Dharam Vir; Sekhar, Srikrishna
    An international team of researchers has come together to undertake an ultra-broadband exploration of the deep radio sky. The superMIGHTEE project combines data from the MIGHTEE project, using the precursor Square Kilometre Array MeerKAT telescope in South Africa, with observations from the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) in India to produce deep images at several μJy sensitivity over a frequency range of 200 MHz-2.5 GHz, with an angular resolution of a few arcseconds. This paper describes the initial superMIGHTEE uGMRT data release, comprising total intensity continuum images covering a total of 9.9 deg2 at 650 MHz and 6.9 deg2 at 400 MHz in the XMM-LSS, COSMOS, and E-CDFS deep fields. The associated radio source catalogues include 27,101 sources at 650 MHz and 10,946 sources at 400 MHz. The redshift distribution of the sources extends to z ∼ 4 with a median value of z = 1. An overview of the broadband spectra of the sources, in combination with the MeerKAT MIGHTEE 1280 MHz data, reveals a clear change in spectral properties at the transition from an active galactic nuclei-dominated population to a population dominated by star-forming galaxies at flux densities of a few mJy. At higher frequencies, the star-forming galaxy population exhibits an optically thin synchrotron spectral index indicative of energy injection from supernovae. At lower frequencies, the spectra flatten significantly with decreasing flux density, and the fraction of sources with peaked spectra increases. This is the first superMIGHTEE uGMRT data release. Subsequent releases will include spectro-polarimetric and spectral line image cubes, as well as images at lower frequencies. The goal of the superMIGHTEE ultra-wideband data set is to enhance our understanding of the evolution of active galactic nuclei and star-forming galaxies over cosmic time, shed light on the evolution of neutral hydrogen, and explore the origins and evolution of cosmic magnetic fields in clusters, filaments, and galaxies.