CAVITY, Calar Alto Void Integral-field Treasury surveY and project extension

¹ Universidad de Granada, Departamento de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Campus Fuentenueva, Edificio Mecenas, 18071 Granada, Spain
² Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Facultad de Ciencias, 18071 Granada, Spain
³ Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía – CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronomía s.n., 18008 Granada, Spain
⁴ Département de Physique, de Génie Physique et d’Optique, Université Laval, and Centre de Recherche en Astrophysique du Québec (CRAQ), Québec, QC, G1V 0A6 Canada
⁵ Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, Landleven 12, 9747 AD Groningen, The Netherlands
⁶ Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Vía Láctea s/n, 38205 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
⁷ Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna, 38200 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
⁸ Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Astronomía, AP 106, Ensenada, 22800 BC, Mexico
⁹ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1 Canada
¹⁰ Instituto de Astrofísica, Facultad de Física, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago, Chile
¹¹ Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, A. P. 70-264, 04510 México, D.F., Mexico
¹² Departament d’Astronomia i Astrofísica, Universitat de València, 46100 Burjassot, (València), Spain
¹³ Bernoulli Institute for Mathematics, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, University of Groningen, 9700 AK Groningen, The Netherlands
¹⁴ Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
¹⁵ Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, IUF, IP2I Lyon, 4 rue Enrico Fermi, Villeurbanne, 69622 France
¹⁶ ICE-CSIC, Carrer de Can Magrans, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallés, Barcelona, Spain
¹⁷ Departamento de Física de la Tierra y Astrofísica & IPARCOS, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
¹⁸ Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM), Av. Divina Pastora 7, Local 20, 18012 Granada, Spain
¹⁹ School of Physics and Astronomy, Univ. of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, KY16 9SS UK
²⁰ Centro Astronómico Hispano en Andalucía, Observatorio de Calar Alto, Sierra de los Filabres, 04550 Gérgal, Almería, Spain

Received: 26 February 2024
Accepted: 6 May 2024

Abstract

We have learnt in the last decades that the majority of galaxies belong to high density regions interconnected in a sponge-like fashion. This large-scale structure is characterised by clusters, filaments, and walls, where most galaxies concentrate, but also under-dense regions called voids. The void regions and the galaxies within represent an ideal place for the study of galaxy formation and evolution, as they are largely unaffected by the complex physical processes that transform galaxies in high-density environments. The void galaxies may hold the key to answer current challenges to the ΛCDM paradigm as well. The CAVITY survey is a Legacy project approved by the Calar Alto Observatory to obtain spatially resolved spectroscopic information of ∼300 void galaxies in the Local Universe (0.005 < z < 0.050), covering −17.0 to −21.5 in r band absolute magnitude. It officially started in January 2021 and has been awarded 110 useful dark observing nights at the 3.5 m telescope using the PMAS spectrograph. Complementary follow-up projects, including deep optical imaging, integrated as well as resolved CO data, and integrated HI spectra, have joined the PMAS observations and naturally complete the scientific aim of characterising galaxies in cosmic voids. The extension data has been named CAVITY+. The data will be available to the whole community in different data releases, the first of which is planned for July 2024, and it will provide the community with PMAS datacubes for around 100 void galaxies through a user friendly and well documented database platform. Here, we present the survey, sample selection, data reduction, quality control schemes, science goals, and some examples of the scientific power of the CAVITY and CAVITY+ data.