The Extraordinary Linear Polarisation Structure of the Southern Centaurus A Lobe Revealed by ASKAP

Craig  S. Anderson; George Heald; Shane  P. O’Sullivan; John  D. Bunton; Ettore Carretti; Aaron  P. Chippendale; Jordan  D. Collier; Jamie  S. Farnes; Bryan  M. Gaensler; Lisa Harvey-Smith; Bärbel  S. Koribalski; Tom  L. Landecker; Emil Lenc; Naomi  M. McClure-Griffiths; Daniel Mitchell; Lawrence Rudnick; Jennifer West

doi:10.3390/galaxies6040127

Galaxies (Nov 2018)

The Extraordinary Linear Polarisation Structure of the Southern Centaurus A Lobe Revealed by ASKAP

Craig S. Anderson,
George Heald,
Shane P. O’Sullivan,
John D. Bunton,
Ettore Carretti,
Aaron P. Chippendale,
Jordan D. Collier,
Jamie S. Farnes,
Bryan M. Gaensler,
Lisa Harvey-Smith,
Bärbel S. Koribalski,
Tom L. Landecker,
Emil Lenc,
Naomi M. McClure-Griffiths,
Daniel Mitchell,
Lawrence Rudnick,
Jennifer West

Affiliations

Craig S. Anderson: CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, Kensington, Perth 6151, WA, Australia
George Heald: CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, Kensington, Perth 6151, WA, Australia
Shane P. O’Sullivan: Hamburger Sternwarte, Universität Hamburg, Gojenbergsweg 112, 21029 Hamburg, Germany
John D. Bunton: CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, P.O. Box 76, Epping 1710, NSW, Australia
Ettore Carretti: INAF-Istituto di Radioastronomia, Via Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
Aaron P. Chippendale: CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, P.O. Box 76, Epping 1710, NSW, Australia
Jordan D. Collier: School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith 2751, NSW, Australia
Jamie S. Farnes: Department of Engineering Science, Oxford e-Research Centre (OeRC), University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QG, UK
Bryan M. Gaensler: Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, 50 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada
Lisa Harvey-Smith: School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith 2751, NSW, Australia
Bärbel S. Koribalski: CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, P.O. Box 76, Epping 1710, NSW, Australia
Tom L. Landecker: Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory, Herzberg Astronomy, National Research Council Canada, P.O. Box 248, Penticton, BC V2A 6K3, Canada
Emil Lenc: CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, P.O. Box 76, Epping 1710, NSW, Australia
Naomi M. McClure-Griffiths: Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University, Canberra 2611, ACT, Australia
Daniel Mitchell: CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, P.O. Box 76, Epping 1710, NSW, Australia
Lawrence Rudnick: Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
Jennifer West: Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, 50 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/galaxies6040127
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 6, no. 4
p. 127

Abstract

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We present observations of linear polarisation in the southern radio lobe of Centaurus A, conducted during commissioning of the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope. We used 16 antennas to observe a 30 square degree region in a single 12-h pointing over a 240 MHz band centred on 913 MHz. Our observations achieve an angular resolution of 26 × 33 arcseconds (480 parsecs), a maximum recoverable angular scale of 30 arcminutes, and a full-band sensitivity of 85 μ Jy beam − 1 . The resulting maps of polarisation and Faraday rotation are amongst the most detailed ever made for radio lobes, with order 10 5 resolution elements covering the source. We describe several as-yet unreported observational features of the lobe, including its detailed peak Faraday depth structure, and intricate networks of depolarised filaments. These results demonstrate the exciting capabilities of ASKAP for widefield radio polarimetry.

Published in Galaxies

ISSN: 2075-4434 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science: Astronomy
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/galaxies

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