Speaker
Description
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA), set to be the largest radio telescope ever constructed, is currently under development in South Africa(mid-frequency array) and Australia(low-frequency array). As a key precursor instrument, South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope provides unprecedented sensitivity and resolution at L-band frequencies. This study utilises early reduced MeerKAT observations targeting candidate proto-cluster fields at intermediate to high redshifts. Beyond the primary science targets, these observations have detected a vast population of auxiliary radio sources totalling over 15,000 detections across three regions, offering a unique opportunity to study galaxy populations in dense environments.
The primary objective of this work is to systematically characterise these sources to determine their physical properties and evolutionary states. Through automated source extraction, catalogues of precise positions and flux densities are generated. These detections are subsequently cross-matched with a suite of highly sensitive, deep multiwavelength surveys, including KiDS DR5 (UV/optical), VIKING (near-IR), AllWISE (mid-IR), and Herschel (far-IR). This broad spectral coverage enables the use of colour–colour diagnostics, morphological analysis, and spectral energy distribution (SED) modelling to classify the population into star-forming galaxies, green valley systems, and active galactic nuclei (AGN).
By leveraging MeerKAT’s high resolution, the spatial structure and population statistics within these fields are investigated, with a specific focus on identifying unique objects that lack counterparts in existing literature. As one of the first deep-field characterisation studies of its kind using MeerKAT, this project provides critical insights into the interplay between radio-detected populations and their environments. Given the unprecedented depth of the data, this work aims to produce unique, publishable results on the nature of galaxy assembly in the early universe.
| Apply for student award at which level: | MSc |
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| Consent on use of personal information: Abstract Submission | Yes, I ACCEPT |