Search

We conducted a search for |$\textrm {H}\, \scriptstyle \mathrm{I}$| emission of the gas-rich galaxies in the Vela region (260° ≤ ℓ ≤ 290°, −2° ≤ b ≤ 1°) to explore the Vela Supercluster (VSCL) at V hel ∼ 18 000  |$\rm km\, s^{-1}$|⁠ , largely obscured by Galactic dust. Within the mostly Radio Frequency Interference-free band (250 < V hel < 25 000  |$\rm km\, s^{-1}$|⁠) of MeerKAT, the analysis focuses on 157 hexagonally distributed pointings extracted from the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory MeerKAT Galactic Plane Survey located in the Vela region (Vela−SMGPS). These were combined into 10 contiguous mosaics, covering an ∼90 square degrees area. Among the 843 |$\textrm {H}\, \scriptstyle \mathrm{I}$| detected sources, 39 were previously discovered in the H  i Parkes Zone of Avoidance survey (V hel < 12 000  |$\rm km\, s^{-1}$|⁠ ; rms ∼ 6  |$\rm mJy\, beam^{-1}$|⁠). With the improved rms level of the Vela−SMGPS, i.e. 0.29–0.56  |$\rm mJy\, beam^{-1}$|⁠ , our study unveils nearly 12 times more detections (471 candidates) in that same velocity range. We furthermore could identify 187 galaxy candidates with an |$\textrm {H}\, \scriptstyle \mathrm{I}$| mass limit reaching |$\log (M_{\rm HI}/\rm {\rm M}_{\odot }) = 9.44$| in the VSCL velocity range V hel ∼ 19 500 ± 3500  |$\rm km\, s^{-1}$|⁠. We find indications of two wall-like overdensities that confirm the original suspicion that these walls intersect at low latitudes around longitudes of ℓ ∼ 272°–278°. We also find a strong signature most likely associated with the Hydra/Antlia extension and evidence of a previously unknown narrow filament at V hel ∼ 12 000 |$\rm km\, s^{-1}$|⁠. This paper demonstrates the efficiency of systematic |$\textrm {H}\, \scriptstyle \mathrm{I}$| surveys with the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) precursor MeerKAT, even in the most obscured part of the Zone of Avoidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]