MeerKAT

Abstract:

© 2015 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. We correlate the positions of radio galaxies in the FIRST survey with the cosmic microwave background lensing convergence estimated from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope over 470 deg < sup > 2 < /sup > to determine the bias of these galaxies. We remove optically cross-matched sources below redshift z = 0.2 to preferentially select active galactic nuclei (AGN). We measure the angular cross-power spectrum C < inf > l < /inf > < sup > kg < /sup > at 4.4σ significance in the multipole range 100 < l < 3000, corresponding to physical scales within ≈2-60 Mpc at an effective redshift z < inf > eff < /inf > = 1.5. Modelling the AGN population with a redshift-dependent bias, the cross-spectrum is well fitted by the Planck best-fitting Λ cold dark matter cosmological model. Fixing the cosmology and assumed redshift distribution of sources, we fit for the overall bias model normalization, finding b(z < inf > eff < /inf > ) = 3.5 ± 0.8 for the full galaxy sample and b(z < inf > eff < /inf > ) = 4.0 ± 1.1(3.0 ± 1.1) for sources brighter (fainter) than 2.5 mJy. This measurement characterizes the typical halo mass of radio-loud AGN: we find log(M < inf > halo < /inf > /M < inf > ⊙ < /inf > ) = 13.6 < inf > -0.4 < /inf > < sup > +0.3 < /sup > .

Abstract:

It has become apparent that active galactic nuclei (AGN) may have a significant impact on the growth and evolution of their host galaxies and vice versa but a detailed understanding of the interplay between these processes remains elusive. Deep radio surveys provide a powerful, obscuration-independent tool for measuring both star formation and AGN activity in high-redshift galaxies. Multiwavelength studies of deep radio fields show a composite population of star-forming galaxies and AGN, with the former dominating at the lowest flux densities (S$_{1.4\mathrm{GHz}}<$100~$\mu$Jy). The sensitivity and resolution of the SKA will allow us to identify, and separately trace, the total star formation in the bulges of individual high-redshift galaxies, the related nuclear activity and any star formation occurring on larger scales within a disc. We will therefore gain a detailed picture of the apparently simultaneous development of stellar populations and black holes in the redshift range where both star-formation and AGN activity peak (1$\leq$z$\leq$4). In this chapter we discuss the role of the SKA in studying the connection between AGN activity and galaxy evolution, and the most critical technical requirements for such of studies

Abstract:

Radio wavelengths offer the unique possibility of tracing the total star-formation rate in galaxies, both obscured and unobscured. As such, they may provide the most robust measurement of the star-formation history of the Universe. In this chapter we highlight the constraints that the SKA can place on the evolution of the star-formation history of the Universe, the survey area required to overcome sample variance, the spatial resolution requirements, along with the multi-wavelength ancillary data that will play a major role in maximising the scientific promise of the SKA. The required combination of depth and resolution means that a survey to trace the star formation in the Universe should be carried out with a facility that has a resolution of at least ~0.5arcsec, with high sensitivity at < 1 GHz. We also suggest a strategy that will enable new parameter space to be explored as the SKA expands over the coming decade.