Issue |
A&A
Volume 690, October 2024
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | A258 | |
Number of page(s) | 10 | |
Section | Extragalactic astronomy | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202450336 | |
Published online | 14 October 2024 |
ALMACAL
XII. Data characterisation and products
1
European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, 85748 Garching near Munich, Germany
2
Aix Marseille Univ., CNRS, LAM (Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille), UMR 7326, F-13388 Marseille, France
3
Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
4
Max-Planck-Institut fúr Extraterrestrische Physik (MPE), Giessenbachstrasse 1, D-85748 Garching, Germany
5
Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics A28, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
6
ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D), Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2611, Australia
7
ATNF, CSIRO Space and Astronomy, PO Box 76 Epping, NSW 1710, Australia
8
Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK
9
School of Cosmic Physics, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 31 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin D02 XF86, Ireland
10
UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK
Received:
12
April
2024
Accepted:
26
July
2024
The ALMACAL survey is based on a database of reprocessed ALMA calibration scans suitable for scientific analysis, observed as part of regular PI observations. We present all the data accumulated from the start of ALMA operations until May 2022 for 1047 calibrator fields across the southern sky spanning ALMA Bands 3 to 10 (∼84 − 950 GHz), so-called ALMACAL−22. Encompassing over 1000 square arcmin and accumulating over 2000 hours of integration time, ALMACAL is not only one of the largest ALMA surveys to date, but it continues to grow with each new scientific observation. We outline the methods for processing and imaging a subset of the highest-quality data (‘pruned sample’). Using deconvolution techniques within the visibility data (uv plane), we created data cubes as the final product for further scientific analysis. We describe the properties and shortcomings of ALMACAL and compare its area and sensitivity with other sub-millimetre surveys. Notably, ALMACAL overcomes limitations of previous sub-millimetre surveys, such as small sky coverage and the effects of cosmic variance. Moreover, we discuss the improvements introduced by the latest version of this dataset that will enhance our understanding of dusty star-forming galaxies, extragalactic absorption lines, active galactic nucleus physics, and ultimately the evolution of molecular gas.
Key words: galaxies: evolution / quasars: general / galaxies: star formation
© The Authors 2024
Open Access article, published by EDP Sciences, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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