Search

Dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies are key objects in near-field cosmology, especially in connection to the study of galaxy formation and evolution at small scales. In addition, dSphs are optimal targets to investigate the nature of dark matter. However, while we begin to have deep optical photometric observations of the stellar population in these objects, little is known so far about their diffuse emission at any observing frequency, and hence on thermal and non-thermal plasma possibly residing within dSphs. In this paper, we present deep radio observations of six local dSphs performed with the Australia Telescope Compact Array at 16 cm wavelength. We mosaiced a region of radius of about one degree around three "classical" dSphs, Carina, Fornax, and Sculptor, and of about half of degree around three "ultra-faint" dSphs, BootesII, Segue2, and Hercules. The rms noise level is below 0.05 mJy for all the maps. The restoring beams FWHM ranged from 4.2 x 2.5 arcseconds to 30.0 x 2.1 arcseconds in the most elongated case. A catalogue including the 1392 sources detected in the six dSph fields is reported. The main properties of the background sources are discussed, with positions and fluxes of brightest objects compared with the FIRST, NVSS, and SUMSS observations of the same fields. The observed population of radio emitters in these fields is dominated by synchrotron sources. We compute the associated source number counts at 2 GHz down to fluxes of 0.25 mJy, which prove to be in agreement with AGN count models., Comment: 18 pages, 9 figure panels. Companion papers: arXiv:1407.5482 and arXiv:1407.4948. v3: minor revision, matches version accepted in MNRAS

We present a deep radio search in the Reticulum II dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxy performed with the Australia Telescope Compact Array. Observations were conducted at 16 cm wavelength, with an rms sensitivity of 0.01 mJy/beam, and with the goal of searching for synchrotron emission induced by annihilation or decay of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). Data were complemented with observations on large angular scales taken with the KAT-7 telescope. We find no evidence for a diffuse emission from the dSph and we derive competitive bounds on the WIMP properties. In addition, we detect more than 200 new background radio sources. Among them, we show there are two compelling candidates for being the radio counterpart of the possible gamma-ray emission reported by other groups using Fermi-LAT data., 24 pages, 13 figure panels, 2 tables. v2 to match published version

Our closest neighbours, the Local Group dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies, are extremely quiescent and dim objects, where thermal and non-thermal diffuse emissions lack, so far, of detection. In order to possibly study the dSph interstellar medium, deep observations are required. They could reveal non-thermal emissions associated with the very-low level of star formation, or to particle dark matter annihilating or decaying in the dSph halo. In this work, we employ radio observations of six dSphs, conducted with the Australia Telescope Compact Array in the frequency band 1.1-3.1 GHz, to test the presence of a diffuse component over typical scales of few arcmin and at an rms sensitivity below 0.05 mJy/beam. We observed the dSph fields with both a compact array and long baselines. Short spacings led to a synthesized beam of about 1 arcmin and were used for the extended emission search. The high-resolution data mapped background sources, which in turn were subtracted in the short-baseline maps, to reduce their confusion limit. We found no significant detection of a diffuse radio continuum component. After a detailed discussion on the modelling of the cosmic-ray (CR) electron distribution and on the dSph magnetic properties, we present bounds on several physical quantities related to the dSphs, such that the total radio flux, the angular shape of the radio emissivity, the equipartition magnetic field, and the injection and equilibrium distributions of CR electrons. Finally, we discuss the connection to far-infrared and X-ray observations., Comment: 21 pages, 11 figure panels. Companion papers: arXiv:1407.5479 and arXiv:1407.4948. v3: minor revision, matches version accepted in MNRAS

We performed a deep search for radio synchrotron emissions induced by weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) annihilation or decay in six dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies of the Local Group. Observations were conducted with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) at 16 cm wavelength, with an rms sensitivity better than 0.05 mJy/beam in each field. In this work, we first discuss the uncertainties associated with the modeling of the expected signal, such as the shape of the dark matter (DM) profile and the dSph magnetic properties. We then investigate the possibility that point-sources detected in the proximity of the dSph optical center might be due to the emission from a DM cuspy profile. No evidence for an extended emission over a size of few arcmin (which is the DM halo size) has been detected. We present the associated bounds on the WIMP parameter space for different annihilation/decay final states and for different astrophysical assumptions. If the confinement of electrons and positrons in the dSph is such that the majority of their power is radiated within the dSph region, we obtain constraints on the WIMP annihilation rate which are well below the thermal value for masses up to few TeV. On the other hand, for conservative assumptions on the dSph magnetic properties, the bounds can be dramatically relaxed. We show however that, within the next 10 years and regardless of the astrophysical assumptions, it will be possible to progressively close in on the full parameter space of WIMPs by searching for radio signals in dSphs with SKA and its precursors., Comment: 17 pages, 6 figure panels. Companion papers: arXiv:1407.5479 and arXiv:1407.5482. v3: minor revision, matches published version

We present the science case and observations plan of the MeerKAT Fornax Survey, an HI and radio continuum survey of the Fornax galaxy cluster to be carried out with the SKA precursor MeerKAT. Fornax is the second most massive cluster within 20 Mpc and the largest nearby cluster in the southern hemisphere. Its low X-ray luminosity makes it representative of the environment where most galaxies live and where substantial galaxy evolution takes place. Fornax's ongoing growth makes it an excellent laboratory for studying the assembly of clusters, the physics of gas accretion and stripping in galaxies falling in the cluster, and the connection between these processes and the neutral medium in the cosmic web. We will observe a region of 12 deg$^2$ reaching a projected distance of 1.5 Mpc from the cluster centre. This will cover a wide range of environment density out to the outskirts of the cluster, where gas-rich in-falling groups are found. We will: study the HI morphology of resolved galaxies down to a column density of a few times 1e+19 cm$^{-2}$ at a resolution of 1 kpc; measure the slope of the HI mass function down to M(HI) 5e+5 M(sun); and attempt to detect HI in the cosmic web reaching a column density of 1e+18 cm$^{-2}$ at a resolution of 10 kpc., Comment: Proceedings of Science, "MeerKAT Science: On the Pathway to the SKA", Stellenbosch, 25-27 May 2016