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Explore the power of continuum surveys in understanding galaxy evolution using insights from EVLA and SKA pathfinders. Discover how deep confusion surveys pave the way for unraveling cosmic mysteries and measuring spectral indices.
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Deeper Knowledge Through Confusion Jim Condon
Outline: • What can sensitive 1–10 GHz continuum surveys tell us about galaxy evolution? • Current problems with continuum surveys • EVLA: 5X deeper knowledge through confusion ( ~ 1000 nJy at 1.4 GHz, 600 nJy at 3 GHz, 400 nJy at 6 GHz, and 250 nJy at 10 GHz) • Unique EVLA contributions as a continuum pathfinder for the SKA
solid curve: 1.4 GHz dashed curve: FIR FIR and radio flux densities of star-forming galaxies are correlated so the rescaled FIR (dashed curve) and radio (solid curve) LLFs of star-forming galaxies coincide; FIR and radio trace the same SFRD.
Luminosity Evolution stars AGN Local visibility function yields counts normalized by static Euclidean counts ∆ log(L) ~ 1.2 evolution for all radio sources <z> ~ 0.8, ∆ log(z) ~ 0.5 over wide flux range stars AGN
Problems with current faint-source counts 1.4 GHz P(D) Huynh et al. (2005)
1.4 GHz source counts in 17 FLS fields • 2 is consistent with no clustering (P > 30%) • “Cosmic rms” < 16% (P > 99%)
Ultimate radio survey limits • confusion: c~ .03 K (1.4 GHz) instrumental natural • field of view Ω • dynamic range • noise
Summary: • S ~ 1 Jy surveys at 1.4 GHz can constrain the evolution of the SFRD to z ~ 1.5 • Current surveys disagree below S ~ 100 Jy • EVLA confusion surveys could yield source counts to S ~ 1 Jy at 1.4 GHz and measure the effective spectral index at this level. • EVLA confusion surveys will be the deepest pathfinders for SKA continuum surveys, and they will approach the natural confusion limit.
X-band surveys • Small numbers of sources • Spectral-index distributions differ?
Detecting distant sources and characterizing source populations
Power-density functions Vir A M82 The recent SFRD is proportional to ∫um d log(L) = 1.5 1019 W Hz-1 Mpc-3 at 1.4 GHz Arp 220
The 1.4 GHz sky at 5 arcsec resolution, 23 µJy/beam = 0.6 K rms noise ~1/2 AGN ~1/2 star-forming galaxies part of the Spitzer FLS / VLA survey