The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey: I. Survey description and preliminary data release

The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) is a deep 120–168 MHz imaging survey that will eventually cover the entire northern sky. Each of the 3170 pointings will be observed for 8 h, which, at most declinations, is sufficient to produce ~5″ resolution images with a sensitivity of ~100 μJy/beam and acc...

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Main Authors:	Shimwell, T., Röttgering, H., Best, P., Williams, W., Dijkema, T., De Gasperin, F., Hardcastle, M., Heald, G., Hoang, D., Horneffer, A., Intema, Hubertus, Mahony, E., Mandal, S., Mechev, A., Morabito, L., Oonk, J., Rafferty, D., Retana-Montenegro, E., Sabater, J., Tasse, C., Van Weeren, R., Brüggen, M., Brunetti, G., Chy, K., Conway, J., Haverkorn, M., Jackson, N., Jarvis, M., McKean, J., Miley, G., Morganti, R., White, G., Wise, M., Van Bemmel, I., Beck, R., Brienza, M., Bonafede, A., Calistro Rivera, G., Cassano, R., Clarke, A., Cseh, D., Deller, A., Drabent, A., Van Driel, W., Engels, D., Falcke, H., Ferrari, C., Fröhlich, S., Garrett, M., Harwood, J., Heesen, V., Hoeft, M., Horellou, C., Israel, F., Kapinska, A., Kunert-Bajraszewska, M., McKay, D., Mohan, N., Orrú, E., Pizzo, R., Prandoni, I., Schwarz, D., Shulevski, A., Sipior, M., Smith, D., Sridhar, S., Steinmetz, M., Stroe, A., Varenius, E., Van Der Werf, P., Zensus, J., Zwart, J.
Format:	Journal Article
Published:	EDP Sciences 2017
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/74222

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author	Shimwell, T. Röttgering, H. Best, P. Williams, W. Dijkema, T. De Gasperin, F. Hardcastle, M. Heald, G. Hoang, D. Horneffer, A. Intema, Hubertus Mahony, E. Mandal, S. Mechev, A. Morabito, L. Oonk, J. Rafferty, D. Retana-Montenegro, E. Sabater, J. Tasse, C. Van Weeren, R. Brüggen, M. Brunetti, G. Chy, K. Conway, J. Haverkorn, M. Jackson, N. Jarvis, M. McKean, J. Miley, G. Morganti, R. White, G. Wise, M. Van Bemmel, I. Beck, R. Brienza, M. Bonafede, A. Calistro Rivera, G. Cassano, R. Clarke, A. Cseh, D. Deller, A. Drabent, A. Van Driel, W. Engels, D. Falcke, H. Ferrari, C. Fröhlich, S. Garrett, M. Harwood, J. Heesen, V. Hoeft, M. Horellou, C. Israel, F. Kapinska, A. Kunert-Bajraszewska, M. McKay, D. Mohan, N. Orrú, E. Pizzo, R. Prandoni, I. Schwarz, D. Shulevski, A. Sipior, M. Smith, D. Sridhar, S. Steinmetz, M. Stroe, A. Varenius, E. Van Der Werf, P. Zensus, J. Zwart, J.
author_facet	Shimwell, T. Röttgering, H. Best, P. Williams, W. Dijkema, T. De Gasperin, F. Hardcastle, M. Heald, G. Hoang, D. Horneffer, A. Intema, Hubertus Mahony, E. Mandal, S. Mechev, A. Morabito, L. Oonk, J. Rafferty, D. Retana-Montenegro, E. Sabater, J. Tasse, C. Van Weeren, R. Brüggen, M. Brunetti, G. Chy, K. Conway, J. Haverkorn, M. Jackson, N. Jarvis, M. McKean, J. Miley, G. Morganti, R. White, G. Wise, M. Van Bemmel, I. Beck, R. Brienza, M. Bonafede, A. Calistro Rivera, G. Cassano, R. Clarke, A. Cseh, D. Deller, A. Drabent, A. Van Driel, W. Engels, D. Falcke, H. Ferrari, C. Fröhlich, S. Garrett, M. Harwood, J. Heesen, V. Hoeft, M. Horellou, C. Israel, F. Kapinska, A. Kunert-Bajraszewska, M. McKay, D. Mohan, N. Orrú, E. Pizzo, R. Prandoni, I. Schwarz, D. Shulevski, A. Sipior, M. Smith, D. Sridhar, S. Steinmetz, M. Stroe, A. Varenius, E. Van Der Werf, P. Zensus, J. Zwart, J.
author_sort	Shimwell, T.
building	Curtin Institutional Repository
collection	Online Access
description	The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) is a deep 120–168 MHz imaging survey that will eventually cover the entire northern sky. Each of the 3170 pointings will be observed for 8 h, which, at most declinations, is sufficient to produce ~5″ resolution images with a sensitivity of ~100 μJy/beam and accomplish the main scientific aims of the survey, which are to explore the formation and evolution of massive black holes, galaxies, clusters of galaxies and large-scale structure. Owing to the compact core and long baselines of LOFAR, the images provide excellent sensitivity to both highly extended and compact emission. For legacy value, the data are archived at high spectral and time resolution to facilitate subarcsecond imaging and spectral line studies. In this paper we provide an overview of the LoTSS. We outline the survey strategy, the observational status, the current calibration techniques, a preliminary data release, and the anticipated scientific impact. The preliminary images that we have released were created using a fully automated but direction-independent calibration strategy and are significantly more sensitive than those produced by any existing large-area low-frequency survey. In excess of 44 000 sources are detected in the images that have a resolution of 25″, typical noise levels of less than 0.5 mJy/beam, and cover an area of over 350 square degrees in the region of the HETDEX Spring Field (right ascension 10h45m00s to 15h30m00s and declination 45°00′00″ to 57°00′00″).
first_indexed	2025-11-14T10:59:53Z
format	Journal Article
id	curtin-20.500.11937-74222
institution	Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category	Local University
last_indexed	2025-11-14T10:59:53Z
publishDate	2017
publisher	EDP Sciences
recordtype	eprints
repository_type	Digital Repository
spelling	curtin-20.500.11937-742222019-03-12T06:37:35Z The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey: I. Survey description and preliminary data release Shimwell, T. Röttgering, H. Best, P. Williams, W. Dijkema, T. De Gasperin, F. Hardcastle, M. Heald, G. Hoang, D. Horneffer, A. Intema, Hubertus Mahony, E. Mandal, S. Mechev, A. Morabito, L. Oonk, J. Rafferty, D. Retana-Montenegro, E. Sabater, J. Tasse, C. Van Weeren, R. Brüggen, M. Brunetti, G. Chy, K. Conway, J. Haverkorn, M. Jackson, N. Jarvis, M. McKean, J. Miley, G. Morganti, R. White, G. Wise, M. Van Bemmel, I. Beck, R. Brienza, M. Bonafede, A. Calistro Rivera, G. Cassano, R. Clarke, A. Cseh, D. Deller, A. Drabent, A. Van Driel, W. Engels, D. Falcke, H. Ferrari, C. Fröhlich, S. Garrett, M. Harwood, J. Heesen, V. Hoeft, M. Horellou, C. Israel, F. Kapinska, A. Kunert-Bajraszewska, M. McKay, D. Mohan, N. Orrú, E. Pizzo, R. Prandoni, I. Schwarz, D. Shulevski, A. Sipior, M. Smith, D. Sridhar, S. Steinmetz, M. Stroe, A. Varenius, E. Van Der Werf, P. Zensus, J. Zwart, J. The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) is a deep 120–168 MHz imaging survey that will eventually cover the entire northern sky. Each of the 3170 pointings will be observed for 8 h, which, at most declinations, is sufficient to produce ~5″ resolution images with a sensitivity of ~100 μJy/beam and accomplish the main scientific aims of the survey, which are to explore the formation and evolution of massive black holes, galaxies, clusters of galaxies and large-scale structure. Owing to the compact core and long baselines of LOFAR, the images provide excellent sensitivity to both highly extended and compact emission. For legacy value, the data are archived at high spectral and time resolution to facilitate subarcsecond imaging and spectral line studies. In this paper we provide an overview of the LoTSS. We outline the survey strategy, the observational status, the current calibration techniques, a preliminary data release, and the anticipated scientific impact. The preliminary images that we have released were created using a fully automated but direction-independent calibration strategy and are significantly more sensitive than those produced by any existing large-area low-frequency survey. In excess of 44 000 sources are detected in the images that have a resolution of 25″, typical noise levels of less than 0.5 mJy/beam, and cover an area of over 350 square degrees in the region of the HETDEX Spring Field (right ascension 10h45m00s to 15h30m00s and declination 45°00′00″ to 57°00′00″). 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/74222 10.1051/0004-6361/201629313 EDP Sciences fulltext
spellingShingle	Shimwell, T. Röttgering, H. Best, P. Williams, W. Dijkema, T. De Gasperin, F. Hardcastle, M. Heald, G. Hoang, D. Horneffer, A. Intema, Hubertus Mahony, E. Mandal, S. Mechev, A. Morabito, L. Oonk, J. Rafferty, D. Retana-Montenegro, E. Sabater, J. Tasse, C. Van Weeren, R. Brüggen, M. Brunetti, G. Chy, K. Conway, J. Haverkorn, M. Jackson, N. Jarvis, M. McKean, J. Miley, G. Morganti, R. White, G. Wise, M. Van Bemmel, I. Beck, R. Brienza, M. Bonafede, A. Calistro Rivera, G. Cassano, R. Clarke, A. Cseh, D. Deller, A. Drabent, A. Van Driel, W. Engels, D. Falcke, H. Ferrari, C. Fröhlich, S. Garrett, M. Harwood, J. Heesen, V. Hoeft, M. Horellou, C. Israel, F. Kapinska, A. Kunert-Bajraszewska, M. McKay, D. Mohan, N. Orrú, E. Pizzo, R. Prandoni, I. Schwarz, D. Shulevski, A. Sipior, M. Smith, D. Sridhar, S. Steinmetz, M. Stroe, A. Varenius, E. Van Der Werf, P. Zensus, J. Zwart, J. The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey: I. Survey description and preliminary data release
title	The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey: I. Survey description and preliminary data release
title_full	The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey: I. Survey description and preliminary data release
title_fullStr	The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey: I. Survey description and preliminary data release
title_full_unstemmed	The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey: I. Survey description and preliminary data release
title_short	The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey: I. Survey description and preliminary data release
title_sort	lofar two-metre sky survey: i. survey description and preliminary data release
url	http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/74222

The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey: I. Survey description and preliminary data release

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