Pulsars, transients and relativistic astrophysics

Abstract:

We examine deep Chandra X-ray observations of the Centaurus cluster of galaxies, Abell 3526. Applying a gradient magnitude filter reveals a wealth of structure, from filamentary soft emission on 100pc (0.5 arcsec) scales close to the nucleus to features 10s of kpc in size at larger radii. The cluster contains multiple high-metallicity regions with sharp edges. Relative to an azimuthal average, the deviations of metallicity and surface brightness are correlated, and the temperature is inversely correlated, as expected if the larger scale asymmetries in the cluster are dominated by sloshing motions. Around the western cold front are a series of ~7 kpc 'notches', suggestive of Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities. The cold front width varies from 4 kpc down to close to the electron mean free path. Inside the front are multiple metallicity blobs on scales of 5-10 kpc, which could have been uplifted by AGN activity, also explaining the central metallicity drop and flat inner metallicity profile. Close to the nucleus are multiple shocks, including a 1.9-kpc-radius inner shell-like structure and a weak 1.1-1.4 Mach number shock around the central cavities. Within a 10 kpc radius are 9 depressions in surface brightness, several of which appear to be associated with radio emission. The shocks and cavities imply that the nucleus has been repeatedly active on 5-10 Myr timescales, indicating a tight balance between heating and cooling. We confirm the presence of a series of linear quasi-periodic structures. If they are sound waves, the ~5 kpc spacing implies a period of 6 Myr, similar to the ages of the shocks and cavities. Alternatively, these structures may be Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities, their associated turbulence or amplified magnetic field layers.

Abstract:

© Copyright owned by the author(s). The SKA era is set to revolutionize our understanding of neutral hydrogen (H I) in individual galaxies out to redshifts of z ∼ 0.8; and in the z > 6 intergalactic medium through the detection and imaging of cosmic reionization. Direct H I number density constraints will, nonetheless, remain relatively weak out to cosmic noon (z ∼ 2) - the epoch of peak star formation and black hole accretion - and beyond. However, as was demonstrated from the 1990s with molecular line observations, this can be overcome by utilising the natural amplification afforded by strong gravitational lensing, which results in an effective increase in integration time by the square of the total magnification (µ2) for an unresolved source. Here we outline how a dedicated lensed H I survey will leverage MeerKAT’s high sensitivity, frequency coverage, large instantaneous bandwidth, and high dynamic range imaging to enable a lasting legacy of high-redshift H I emission detections well into the SKA era. This survey will not only provide high-impact, rapid-turnaround MeerKAT science commissioning results, but also unveil Milky Way-like systems towards cosmic noon which is not possible with any other SKA precursors/pathfinders. An ambitious lensed H I survey will therefore make a significant impact from MeerKAT commissioning all the way through to the full SKA era, and provide a more complete picture of the H I history of the Universe.

Abstract:

The SKA era is set to revolutionize our understanding of neutral hydrogen (H I) in individual galaxies out to redshifts of z ∼ 0.8; and in the z > 6 intergalactic medium through the detection and imaging of cosmic reionization. Direct H I number density constraints will, nonetheless, remain relatively weak out to cosmic noon (z ∼ 2) - the epoch of peak star formation and black hole accretion - and beyond. However, as was demonstrated from the 1990s with molecular line observations, this can be overcome by utilising the natural amplification afforded by strong gravitational lensing, which results in an effective increase in integration time by the square of the total magnification (µ2) for an unresolved source. Here we outline how a dedicated lensed H I survey will leverage MeerKAT’s high sensitivity, frequency coverage, large instantaneous bandwidth, and high dynamic range imaging to enable a lasting legacy of high-redshift H I emission detections well into the SKA era. This survey will not only provide high-impact, rapid-turnaround MeerKAT science commissioning results, but also unveil Milky Way-like systems towards cosmic noon which is not possible with any other SKA precursors/pathfinders. An ambitious lensed H I survey will therefore make a significant impact from MeerKAT commissioning all the way through to the full SKA era, and provide a more complete picture of the H I history of the Universe.

Abstract:

© Copyright owned by the author(s). The cosmic evolution of galaxies’ neutral atomic gas content is a major science driver for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), as well as for its South African (MeerKAT) and Australian (ASKAP) precursors. Among the H I large survey programs (LSPs) planned for ASKAP and MeerKAT, the deepest and narrowest tier of the “wedding cake” will be defined by the combined L-band+UHF-band Looking At the Distant Universe with the MeerKAT Array (LADUMA) survey, which will probe H I in emission within a single “cosmic vuvuzela” that extends to z = 1.4, when the universe was only a third of its present age. Through a combination of individual and stacked detections (the latter relying on extensive multi-wavelength studies of the survey’s target field), LADUMA will study the redshift evolution of the baryonic Tully–Fisher relation and the cosmic H I density, the variation of the H I mass function with redshift and environment, and the connection between H I content and galaxies’ stellar properties (mass, age, etc.). The survey will also build a sample of OH megamaser detections that can be used to trace the cosmic merger history. This proceedings contribution provides a brief introduction to the survey, its scientific aims, and its technical implementation, deferring a more complete discussion for a future article after the implications of a recent review of MeerKAT LSP project plans are fully worked out.

Abstract:

© Copyright owned by the author(s). The cosmic evolution of galaxies’ neutral atomic gas content is a major science driver for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), as well as for its South African (MeerKAT) and Australian (ASKAP) precursors. Among the H I large survey programs (LSPs) planned for ASKAP and MeerKAT, the deepest and narrowest tier of the “wedding cake” will be defined by the combined L-band+UHF-band Looking At the Distant Universe with the MeerKAT Array (LADUMA) survey, which will probe H I in emission within a single “cosmic vuvuzela” that extends to z = 1.4, when the universe was only a third of its present age. Through a combination of individual and stacked detections (the latter relying on extensive multi-wavelength studies of the survey’s target field), LADUMA will study the redshift evolution of the baryonic Tully–Fisher relation and the cosmic H I density, the variation of the H I mass function with redshift and environment, and the connection between H I content and galaxies’ stellar properties (mass, age, etc.). The survey will also build a sample of OH megamaser detections that can be used to trace the cosmic merger history. This proceedings contribution provides a brief introduction to the survey, its scientific aims, and its technical implementation, deferring a more complete discussion for a future article after the implications of a recent review of MeerKAT LSP project plans are fully worked out.