George Heald (Astron)

George Heald Colloquium: LOFAR Imaging Surveys: MSSS and beyond

Marsfield Lecture Theatre

Abstract

LOFAR Imaging Surveys: MSSS and beyond

One of LOFAR's unique strengths is the capability to perform deep,
high resolution imaging surveys in a little-explored region of the
radio spectrum. In this talk I will outline a comprehensive survey
effort that is already underway. I will begin by focusing on a shallow
commissioning survey, the Multifrequency Snapshot Sky Survey (MSSS),
that has already generated a broadband source catalog of over 100,000
sources in the northern sky. After reviewing the survey's image and
catalog data products, I will highlight the first discoveries and
science results, and describe plans for followup efforts at higher
angular resolution and in full polarization. I will then highlight the
capability for substantially deeper LOFAR survey products and present
early results of that effort. The talk will conclude with prospects
for SKA surveys.