NOIRCAT – the Northern HIPASS Optical/IR Catalogue

We present the Northern HIPASS (H  i Parkes All-Sky Survey) Optical/Infrared Catalogue (NOIRCAT), an optical/near-infrared (NIR) counterpart to the Northern HIPASS Catalogue (NHICAT). Of the 1002 sources in NHICAT, 655 (66 per cent) have optical counterparts with matching optical velocities. A further 85 (8 per cent) sources have optical counterparts with matching velocities from previous radio emission-line surveys. We find a correlation between the gas and stellar content of the NOIRCAT sources. Our H  i -selected sample of isolated galaxies also presents a wider range in NIR colours than previous optically selected studies of regular, isolated galaxies. All H  i detections in optically unobscured fields could be matched with either a NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database optical counterpart, or a galaxy visible in Second Palomar Observatory Sky Survey or Digitized Sky Survey images. However, as over 200 of these matched galaxies have no velocity information, further follow-up observations are needed to confirm the matches, and hence confirm or deny the existence of dark galaxies in this data set.     

The H i Parkes All Sky Survey: southern observations, calibration and robust imaging

The acquisition of H  i Parkes All Sky Survey (HIPASS) southern sky data commenced at the Australia Telescope National Facility's Parkes 64-m telescope in 1997 February, and was completed in 2000 March. HIPASS is the deepest H  i survey yet of the sky south of declination +2°, and is sensitive to emission out to 170 h₇₅⁻¹ Mpc. The characteristic root mean square noise in the survey images is 13.3 mJy. This paper describes the survey observations, which comprise 23 020 eight-degree scans of 9-min duration, and details the techniques used to calibrate and image the data. The processing algorithms are successfully designed to be statistically robust to the presence of interference signals, and are particular to imaging point (or nearly point) sources. Specifically, a major improvement in image quality is obtained by designing a median-gridding algorithm which uses the median estimator in place of the mean estimator.     

The Arecibo Galaxy Environment Survey – II. A H i view of the Abell cluster 1367 and its outskirts

We present 21 cm H  i line observations of 5 × 1 deg² centred on the local Abell cluster 1367 obtained as part of the Arecibo Galaxy Environment Survey. One hundred sources are detected (79 new H  i measurements and 50 new redshifts), more than half belonging to the cluster core and its infalling region. Combining the H  i data with Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) optical imaging, we show that our H  i selected sample follows scaling relations similar to the ones usually observed in optically selected samples. Interestingly, all galaxies in our sample appear to have nearly the same baryon fraction independently of their size, surface brightness and luminosity. The most striking difference between H  i and optically selected samples resides in their large-scale distribution: whereas optical and X-ray observations trace the cluster core very well, in H  i there is almost no evidence of the presence of the cluster. Some implications on the determination of the cluster luminosity function and H  i distribution for samples selected at different wavelength are also discussed.     

The Las Campanas/AAT rich cluster survey – I. Precision and reliability of the photometric catalogue

The Las Campanas Observatory and Anglo-Australian Telescope Rich Cluster Survey (LARCS) is a panoramic imaging and spectroscopic survey of an X-ray luminosity-selected sample of 21 clusters of galaxies at     . Charge-coupled device (CCD) imaging was obtained in B and R of typically 2° wide regions centred on the 21 clusters, and the galaxy sample selected from the imaging is being used for an on-going spectroscopic survey of the clusters with the 2dF spectrograph on the Anglo-Australian Telescope. This paper presents the reduction of the imaging data and the photometric analysis used in the survey. Based on an overlapping area of 12.3 deg² we compare the CCD-based LARCS catalogue with the photographic-based galaxy catalogue used for the input to the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS) from the APM, to the completeness of the GRS/APM catalogue,     . This comparison confirms the reliability of the photometry across our mosaics and between the clusters in our survey. This comparison also provides useful information concerning the properties of the GRS/APM. The stellar contamination in the GRS/APM galaxy catalogue is confirmed as around     per cent, as originally estimated. However, using the superior sensitivity and spatial resolution in the LARCS survey evidence is found for four distinct populations of galaxies that are systematically omitted from the GRS/APM catalogue. The characteristics of the 'missing' galaxy populations are described, reasons for their absence examined and the impact they will have on the conclusions drawn from the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey are discussed.     

Radio imaging of the Subaru/XMM–Newton Deep Field – I. The 100-μJy catalogue, optical identifications, and the nature of the faint radio source population

We describe deep radio imaging at 1.4 GHz of the 1.3-deg² Subaru/ XMM–Newton Deep Field (SXDF), made with the Very Large Array in B and C configurations. We present a radio map of the entire field, and a catalogue of 505 sources covering 0.8 deg² to a peak flux density limit of 100 μJy. Robust optical identifications are provided for 90 per cent of the sources, and suggested identifications are presented for all but 14 (of which seven are optically blank, and seven are close to bright contaminating objects). We show that the optical properties of the radio sources do not change with flux density, suggesting that active galactic nuclei (AGN) continue to contribute significantly at faint flux densities. We test this assertion by cross-correlating our radio catalogue with the X-ray source catalogue and conclude that radio-quiet AGN become a significant population at flux densities below 300 μJy, and may dominate the population responsible for the flattening of the radio source counts if a significant fraction of them are Compton-thick.     

Deep 610-MHz Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope observations of the Spitzer extragalactic First Look Survey field – I. Observations, data analysis and source catalogue

Observations of the Spitzer extragalactic First Look Survey field taken at 610 MHz with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope are presented. Seven individual pointings were observed, covering a total area of ∼4 deg² with a resolution of 5.8 × 4.7 arcsec², PA 60°. The rms noise at the centre of the pointings is between 27 and 30 μJy before correction for the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) primary beam. The techniques used for data reduction and production of a mosaicked image of the region are described, and the final mosaic, along with a catalogue of 3944 sources detected above ∼5σ, are presented. The survey complements existing radio and infrared data available for this region.     

A survey of polarization in the JVAS/CLASS flat-spectrum radio source surveys – I. The data and catalogue production

We have used the very large JVAS/CLASS 8.4-GHz surveys of flat-spectrum radio sources to obtain a large, uniformly observed and calibrated, sample of radio source polarizations. These are useful for many investigations of the properties of radio sources and the interstellar medium. We discuss comparisons with polarization measurements from this survey and from other large-scale surveys of polarization in flat-spectrum sources.