The ASKAP Variables and Slow Transients (VAST) Pilot Survey

Tara Murphy; David L. Kaplan; Adam J. Stewart; Andrew O'Brien; Emil Lenc; Sergio Pintaldi; Joshua Pritchard; Dougal Dobie; Archibald Fox; James K. Leung; Tao An; Martin E. Bell; Jess W. Broderick; Shami Chatterjee; Shi Dai; Daniele D'Antonio; Gerry Doyle; B. M. Gaensler; George Heald; Assaf Horesh; Megan L. Jones; David McConnell; Vanessa A. Moss; Wasim Raja; Gavin Ramsay; Stuart Ryder; Elaine M. Sadler; Gregory R. Sivakoff; Yuanming Wang; Ziteng Wang; Michael S. Wheatland; Matthew Whiting; James R. Allison; C. S. Anderson; Lewis Ball; K. Bannister; D. C.J. Bock; R. Bolton; J. D. Bunton; R. Chekkala; A. P. Chippendale; F. R. Cooray; N. Gupta; D. B. Hayman; K. Jeganathan; B. Koribalski; K. Lee-Waddell; Elizabeth K. Mahony; J. Marvil; N. M. McClure-Griffiths; P. Mirtschin; A. Ng; S. Pearce; C. Phillips; M. A. Voronkov

doi:10.1017/pasa.2021.44

The ASKAP Variables and Slow Transients (VAST) Pilot Survey

Tara Murphy^*, David L. Kaplan, Adam J. Stewart, Andrew O'Brien, Emil Lenc, Sergio Pintaldi, Joshua Pritchard, Dougal Dobie, Archibald Fox, James K. Leung, Tao An, Martin E. Bell, Jess W. Broderick, Shami Chatterjee, Shi Dai, Daniele D'Antonio, Gerry Doyle, B. M. Gaensler, George Heald, Assaf HoreshMegan L. Jones, David McConnell, Vanessa A. Moss, Wasim Raja, Gavin Ramsay, Stuart Ryder, Elaine M. Sadler, Gregory R. Sivakoff, Yuanming Wang, Ziteng Wang, Michael S. Wheatland, Matthew Whiting, James R. Allison, C. S. Anderson, Lewis Ball, K. Bannister, D. C.J. Bock, R. Bolton, J. D. Bunton, R. Chekkala, A. P. Chippendale, F. R. Cooray, N. Gupta, D. B. Hayman, K. Jeganathan, B. Koribalski, K. Lee-Waddell, Elizabeth K. Mahony, J. Marvil, N. M. McClure-Griffiths, P. Mirtschin, A. Ng, S. Pearce, C. Phillips, M. A. Voronkov

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

40 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The Variables and Slow Transients Survey (VAST) on the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) is designed to detect highly variable and transient radio sources on timescales from 5 s to ~5 yr. In this paper, we present the survey description, observation strategy and initial results from the VAST Phase I Pilot Survey. This pilot survey consists of ~162 h of observations conducted at a central frequency of 888 MHz between 2019 August and 2020 August, with a typical rms sensitivity of 0.24 mJy beam-1 and angular resolution of 12 -20 arcseconds. There are 113 fields, each of which was observed for 12 min integration time, with between 5 and 13 repeats, with cadences between 1 day and 8 months. The total area of the pilot survey footprint is 5 131 square degrees, covering six distinct regions of the sky. An initial search of two of these regions, totalling 1 646 square degrees, revealed 28 highly variable and/or transient sources. Seven of these are known pulsars, including the millisecond pulsar J2039-5617. Another seven are stars, four of which have no previously reported radio detection (SCR J0533-4257, LEHPM 2-783, UCAC3 89-412162 and 2MASS J22414436-6119311). Of the remaining 14 sources, two are active galactic nuclei, six are associated with galaxies and the other six have nomulti-wavelength counterparts and are yet to be identified.

Original language	English
Article number	e054
Journal	Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia
Volume	38
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/pasa.2021.44
Publication status	Published - 12 Oct 2021

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Murphy, T., Kaplan, D. L., Stewart, A. J., O'Brien, A., Lenc, E., Pintaldi, S., Pritchard, J., Dobie, D., Fox, A., Leung, J. K., An, T., Bell, M. E., Broderick, J. W., Chatterjee, S., Dai, S., D'Antonio, D., Doyle, G., Gaensler, B. M., Heald, G., ... Voronkov, M. A. (2021). The ASKAP Variables and Slow Transients (VAST) Pilot Survey. Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 38, Article e054. https://doi.org/10.1017/pasa.2021.44

@article{8b9bd84ee3d145bb9fed60808193d65a,

title = "The ASKAP Variables and Slow Transients (VAST) Pilot Survey",

abstract = "The Variables and Slow Transients Survey (VAST) on the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) is designed to detect highly variable and transient radio sources on timescales from 5 s to ~5 yr. In this paper, we present the survey description, observation strategy and initial results from the VAST Phase I Pilot Survey. This pilot survey consists of ~162 h of observations conducted at a central frequency of 888 MHz between 2019 August and 2020 August, with a typical rms sensitivity of 0.24 mJy beam-1 and angular resolution of 12 -20 arcseconds. There are 113 fields, each of which was observed for 12 min integration time, with between 5 and 13 repeats, with cadences between 1 day and 8 months. The total area of the pilot survey footprint is 5 131 square degrees, covering six distinct regions of the sky. An initial search of two of these regions, totalling 1 646 square degrees, revealed 28 highly variable and/or transient sources. Seven of these are known pulsars, including the millisecond pulsar J2039-5617. Another seven are stars, four of which have no previously reported radio detection (SCR J0533-4257, LEHPM 2-783, UCAC3 89-412162 and 2MASS J22414436-6119311). Of the remaining 14 sources, two are active galactic nuclei, six are associated with galaxies and the other six have nomulti-wavelength counterparts and are yet to be identified.",

keywords = "Pulsars, Radio transient sources, Sky surveys, Stars",

author = "Tara Murphy and Kaplan, {David L.} and Stewart, {Adam J.} and Andrew O'Brien and Emil Lenc and Sergio Pintaldi and Joshua Pritchard and Dougal Dobie and Archibald Fox and Leung, {James K.} and Tao An and Bell, {Martin E.} and Broderick, {Jess W.} and Shami Chatterjee and Shi Dai and Daniele D'Antonio and Gerry Doyle and Gaensler, {B. M.} and George Heald and Assaf Horesh and Jones, {Megan L.} and David McConnell and Moss, {Vanessa A.} and Wasim Raja and Gavin Ramsay and Stuart Ryder and Sadler, {Elaine M.} and Sivakoff, {Gregory R.} and Yuanming Wang and Ziteng Wang and Wheatland, {Michael S.} and Matthew Whiting and Allison, {James R.} and Anderson, {C. S.} and Lewis Ball and K. Bannister and Bock, {D. C.J.} and R. Bolton and Bunton, {J. D.} and R. Chekkala and Chippendale, {A. P.} and Cooray, {F. R.} and N. Gupta and Hayman, {D. B.} and K. Jeganathan and B. Koribalski and K. Lee-Waddell and Mahony, {Elizabeth K.} and J. Marvil and McClure-Griffiths, {N. M.} and P. Mirtschin and A. Ng and S. Pearce and C. Phillips and Voronkov, {M. A.}",

year = "2021",

month = oct,

day = "12",

doi = "10.1017/pasa.2021.44",

language = "English",

volume = "38",

journal = "Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia",

issn = "1323-3580",

publisher = "Cambridge University Press",

}

Murphy, T, Kaplan, DL, Stewart, AJ, O'Brien, A, Lenc, E, Pintaldi, S, Pritchard, J, Dobie, D, Fox, A, Leung, JK, An, T, Bell, ME, Broderick, JW, Chatterjee, S, Dai, S, D'Antonio, D, Doyle, G, Gaensler, BM, Heald, G, Horesh, A, Jones, ML, McConnell, D, Moss, VA, Raja, W, Ramsay, G, Ryder, S, Sadler, EM, Sivakoff, GR, Wang, Y, Wang, Z, Wheatland, MS, Whiting, M, Allison, JR, Anderson, CS, Ball, L, Bannister, K, Bock, DCJ, Bolton, R, Bunton, JD, Chekkala, R, Chippendale, AP, Cooray, FR, Gupta, N, Hayman, DB, Jeganathan, K, Koribalski, B, Lee-Waddell, K, Mahony, EK, Marvil, J, McClure-Griffiths, NM, Mirtschin, P, Ng, A, Pearce, S, Phillips, C & Voronkov, MA 2021, 'The ASKAP Variables and Slow Transients (VAST) Pilot Survey', Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia, vol. 38, e054. https://doi.org/10.1017/pasa.2021.44

TY - JOUR

T1 - The ASKAP Variables and Slow Transients (VAST) Pilot Survey

AU - Murphy, Tara

AU - Kaplan, David L.

AU - Stewart, Adam J.

AU - O'Brien, Andrew

AU - Lenc, Emil

AU - Pintaldi, Sergio

AU - Pritchard, Joshua

AU - Dobie, Dougal

AU - Fox, Archibald

AU - Leung, James K.

AU - An, Tao

AU - Bell, Martin E.

AU - Broderick, Jess W.

AU - Chatterjee, Shami

AU - Dai, Shi

AU - D'Antonio, Daniele

AU - Doyle, Gerry

AU - Gaensler, B. M.

AU - Heald, George

AU - Horesh, Assaf

AU - Jones, Megan L.

AU - McConnell, David

AU - Moss, Vanessa A.

AU - Raja, Wasim

AU - Ramsay, Gavin

AU - Ryder, Stuart

AU - Sadler, Elaine M.

AU - Sivakoff, Gregory R.

AU - Wang, Yuanming

AU - Wang, Ziteng

AU - Wheatland, Michael S.

AU - Whiting, Matthew

AU - Allison, James R.

AU - Anderson, C. S.

AU - Ball, Lewis

AU - Bannister, K.

AU - Bock, D. C.J.

AU - Bolton, R.

AU - Bunton, J. D.

AU - Chekkala, R.

AU - Chippendale, A. P.

AU - Cooray, F. R.

AU - Gupta, N.

AU - Hayman, D. B.

AU - Jeganathan, K.

AU - Koribalski, B.

AU - Lee-Waddell, K.

AU - Mahony, Elizabeth K.

AU - Marvil, J.

AU - McClure-Griffiths, N. M.

AU - Mirtschin, P.

AU - Ng, A.

AU - Pearce, S.

AU - Phillips, C.

AU - Voronkov, M. A.

PY - 2021/10/12

Y1 - 2021/10/12

N2 - The Variables and Slow Transients Survey (VAST) on the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) is designed to detect highly variable and transient radio sources on timescales from 5 s to ~5 yr. In this paper, we present the survey description, observation strategy and initial results from the VAST Phase I Pilot Survey. This pilot survey consists of ~162 h of observations conducted at a central frequency of 888 MHz between 2019 August and 2020 August, with a typical rms sensitivity of 0.24 mJy beam-1 and angular resolution of 12 -20 arcseconds. There are 113 fields, each of which was observed for 12 min integration time, with between 5 and 13 repeats, with cadences between 1 day and 8 months. The total area of the pilot survey footprint is 5 131 square degrees, covering six distinct regions of the sky. An initial search of two of these regions, totalling 1 646 square degrees, revealed 28 highly variable and/or transient sources. Seven of these are known pulsars, including the millisecond pulsar J2039-5617. Another seven are stars, four of which have no previously reported radio detection (SCR J0533-4257, LEHPM 2-783, UCAC3 89-412162 and 2MASS J22414436-6119311). Of the remaining 14 sources, two are active galactic nuclei, six are associated with galaxies and the other six have nomulti-wavelength counterparts and are yet to be identified.

AB - The Variables and Slow Transients Survey (VAST) on the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) is designed to detect highly variable and transient radio sources on timescales from 5 s to ~5 yr. In this paper, we present the survey description, observation strategy and initial results from the VAST Phase I Pilot Survey. This pilot survey consists of ~162 h of observations conducted at a central frequency of 888 MHz between 2019 August and 2020 August, with a typical rms sensitivity of 0.24 mJy beam-1 and angular resolution of 12 -20 arcseconds. There are 113 fields, each of which was observed for 12 min integration time, with between 5 and 13 repeats, with cadences between 1 day and 8 months. The total area of the pilot survey footprint is 5 131 square degrees, covering six distinct regions of the sky. An initial search of two of these regions, totalling 1 646 square degrees, revealed 28 highly variable and/or transient sources. Seven of these are known pulsars, including the millisecond pulsar J2039-5617. Another seven are stars, four of which have no previously reported radio detection (SCR J0533-4257, LEHPM 2-783, UCAC3 89-412162 and 2MASS J22414436-6119311). Of the remaining 14 sources, two are active galactic nuclei, six are associated with galaxies and the other six have nomulti-wavelength counterparts and are yet to be identified.

KW - Pulsars

KW - Radio transient sources

KW - Sky surveys

KW - Stars

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85117691845&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1017/pasa.2021.44

DO - 10.1017/pasa.2021.44

M3 - Review article

SN - 1323-3580

VL - 38

JO - Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia

JF - Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia

M1 - e054

ER -

The ASKAP Variables and Slow Transients (VAST) Pilot Survey

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