MERGHERS: An SZ-selected cluster survey with MeerKAT

Kenda Knowles; Andrew Baker; Kaustuv Basu; Vijaysarathi Bharadwaj; Roger Deane; Mark Devlin; Simon Dicker; Francesco de Gasperin; Chiara Ferrari; Matt Hilton; John P. Hughes; Huib T. Intema; Sphesihle Makhathini; Kavilan Moodley; Nadeem Oozeer; Christoph Pfrommer; Jonathan Sievers; Sinenhlanhla P. Sikhosana; Oleg Smirnov; Martin W. Sommer; Sara Stanchfield; Kurt van der Heyden; Jonathan T. L. Zwart

arXiv · 1709.03318

MERGHERS: An SZ-selected cluster survey with MeerKAT

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Abstract

The MeerKAT telescope will be one of the most sensitive radio arrays in the pre-SKA era. Here we discuss a low-frequency SZ-selected cluster survey with MeerKAT, the MeerKAT Extended Relics, Giant Halos, and Extragalactic Radio Sources (MERGHERS) survey. The primary goal of this survey is to detect faint signatures of diffuse cluster emission, specifically radio halos and relics. SZ-selected cluster samples offer a homogeneous, mass-limited set of targets out to higher redshift than X-ray samples. MeerKAT is sensitive enough to detect diffuse radio emission at the faint levels expected in low-mass and high-redshift clusters, thereby enabling radio halo and relic formation theories to be tested with a larger statistical sample over a significantly expanded phase space. Complementary multiwavelength follow-up observations will provide a more complete picture of any clusters found to host diffuse emission, thereby enhancing the scientific return of the MERGHERS survey.

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Kenda Knowles, Andrew Baker, Kaustuv Basu, Vijaysarathi Bharadwaj, Roger Deane, Mark Devlin, Simon Dicker, Francesco de Gasperin, Chiara Ferrari, Matt Hilton, John P. Hughes, Huib T. Intema, Sphesihle Makhathini, Kavilan Moodley, Nadeem Oozeer, Christoph Pfrommer, Jonathan Sievers, Sinenhlanhla P. Sikhosana, Oleg Smirnov, Martin W. Sommer, Sara Stanchfield, Kurt van der Heyden, Jonathan T. L. Zwart. 2017-09-11. MERGHERS: An SZ-selected cluster survey with MeerKAT. https://arxiv.org/abs/1709.03318

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