| 1st of November 2023 |
|---|
 |
| ATNF Colloquium |
| MeerKAT at 5 |
| Fernando Camilo (SARAO) |
|
Abstract:
The MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa was inaugurated 5 years
ago. In this talk I'll provide a broad overview of science results to
date. Among other examples, I'll show: how an exquisitely sensitive
continuum image is constraining the star formation history of the
universe, putting it into tension with UV+IR-derived evolution; the
discovery of OH megamasers at redshift > 0.5; how the study of neutral
hydrogen down to column densities of ~5e17/cm^2 is enabling Local
Group science outside the Local Group, and revealing how gas is shaped
and removed from galaxies in cluster environments. Come see how
MeerKAT combined with a pulsar timing backend developed in Australia
is enabling unprecedented tomographic mapping of the Local Bubble and
constraints on a stochastic background of gravitational waves. I'll
also cover the discovery and study of numerous extragalactic and
Galactic transients - including still mysterious sources with rotation
periods up to tens of minutes - done in part jointly with the MWA and
ASKAP.
The image above is a composite of galaxies and the MeerKAT array: most of the thousands of dots visible in this MeerKAT image covering one square degree of sky are distant and faint star forming galaxies. Study of this 'DEEP2' field is being used to constrain the star formation history of the universe. (Adapted from Tom Mauch et al. 2020.) Credit: SARAO; NRAO/AUI/NSF. |