Speaker
Description
Understanding the co-evolution of supermassive black holes and star formation remains a fundamental challenge in galaxy evolution studies. Radio emission in galaxies is often a complex mixture of star formation and Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) activity, requiring milli-arcsecond resolution to disentangle. We present the first results from the VLBI Lockman Hole Survey, a deep wide-field observing campaign utilising the European VLBI Network (EVN) and e-MERLIN at 1.7 GHz. This survey targets 2,483 radio sources previously identified as unresolved by the International LOFAR Telescope (ILT) at 150 MHz within a 2-square-degree field.
The primary scientific goals are to trace the full life cycle of radio sources from young, compact jets to dying remnants and to quantify AGN feedback by unambiguously separating compact AGN cores from extended star-forming regions. We present the analysis of the first 18-hour observation visit, which yielded 14 high-confidence VLBI detections. Multi-frequency spectral analysis reveals a diverse population, including candidate restarted radio sources and young Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum objects.
With a projected yield of approximately 100s cm-VLBI detections upon completion, this project will constitute one of the largest deep wide-field VLBI surveys to date. These results establish a crucial benchmark for future high-resolution studies in the Southern Hemisphere, serving as a cornerstone for science cases with the African VLBI Network (AVN) and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).
| Stream | Science or Engineering |
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