WBHGP6CM - New Catalog of Compact 6cm Sources in the Galactic Plane

Overview

This table contains the New Catalog of Compact Radio (6-cm) Sources in the Galactic Plane of White et al. (2005). Archival data were combined with more recent observations of the Galactic plane using the Very Large Array to create two new catalogs of compact centimetric radio sources. The 20-cm source catalog (available in the HEASARC Browse system as the table WBHGP20CM) covers a longitude range from -20 to +120 degrees in Galactic longitude l; the latitude coverage varies from b = +/- 0.8 to +/- 2.7 degrees. The total survey area is about 331 square degrees; coverage is 90% complete at a flux density threshold of about 14 mJy, and over 5000 sources are recorded. The 6-cm catalog described here covers 43 square degrees in the region -10 degrees < l <42 degrees, |b| < 0.4 degrees to a 90% completeness threshold of 2.9 mJy; over 2700 sources are found. Both surveys have an angular resolution of about 6". These catalogs provide a 30% (at 20 cm) to 50% (at 6 cm) increase in the number of high-reliability compact sources in the Galactic plane, as well as greatly improved astrometry, uniformity, and reliability; they should prove useful for comparison with new mid- and far-infrared surveys of the Milky Way.

The images from which this catalog was constructed are available at the MAGPIS web site, http://third.ucllnl.org/gps

Catalog Bibcode

2005AJ....130..586W

References

New catalogs of compact radio sources in the galactic plane.
    White R.L., Becker R.H., Helfand D.J.
   <Astron. J., 130, 586-596 (2005)>
   =2005AJ....130..586W

Provenance

This table was created by the HEASARC in July 2006 based on the combination of CDS tables J/AJ/130/586 table5.dat and table6.dat.

HEASARC Implementation

As implied above, this HEASARC table contains both the primary 6-cm catalog, comprising (i) 2729 compact sources detected at a significance of > 5.5 sigma, (ii) 179 20-cm sources that fell in the 6-cm survey area but lack 6-cm counterparts, and (iii) 3 sources fainter than 5.5 sigma at 6 cm but which have 20-cm counterparts, and hence are deemed to be reliably detected, which was contained in Table 5 of the published paper, and the faint source catalog of 551 6-cm sources that were detected at a significance between 5.0 and 5.5 sigma, which were listed in Table 6 of the paper. The HEASARC has created a new parameter, dubbed source_type, which is set to 'Primary' for the Table 5 sources and to 'Faint' for the Table 6 sources.

There are five 6-cm sources that match two 20-cm sources and which are each listed twice in this table, i.e., once for each possible 20-cm counterpart. The HEASARC has created a new parameter called ctrpart_number in order to make this feature of the table more explicit: the value of this parameter is set to 1 for the first entry for a given 6-cm source, and to 2 for the second entry.

Parameters

Name
The name of the radio source using the '[WBH2005] G' prefix recommended by the Dictionary of Nomenclature of Celestial Objects and based on the Galactic longitude and latitude of the source.

RA
The Right Ascension of the radio source in the selected equinox. This was given in J2000.0 equatorial coordinates to a precision of 0.001 seconds of time in the original table. The position comes from the 6-cm survey, except for 20-cm only sources.

Dec
The Declination of the radio source in the selected equinox. This was given in J2000.0 equatorial coordinates to a precision of 0.01 arcseconds in the original table. The position comes from the 6-cm survey, except for 20-cm only sources.

LII
The Galactic Longitude of the radio source.

BII
The Galactic Latitude of the radio source.

Sidelobe_Probability
The probability that the 6-cm source is a sidelobe of a nearby bright object. This field is populated only for the Table 5 sources (source_type = 'Primary'). The catalog authors advise caution when interpreting the 6-cm sidelobe probablilities.

Flux_6_cm
The peak flux density of the radio source at 6 cm, in mJy. There are 179 20-cm sources that fall in the 6-cm survey area but which lack 6-cm counterparts: these have been given null values for this parameter.

Int_Flux_6_cm
The integrated flux density of the radio source at 6 cm, in mJy. There are 179 20-cm sources that fall in the 6-cm survey area but which lack 6-cm counterparts: these have been given null values for this parameter.

Flux_6_cm_Error
The computed RMS in the 6-cm map at the source position, in mJy. The RMS flux density is listed for both surveys even when a source is not present at both wavelengths.

Major_Axis
The major axis, in arcseconds, derived from an elliptical Gaussian fit to the 6-cm source.

Minor_Axis
The minor axis, in arcseconds, derived from an elliptical Gaussian fit to the 6-cm source.

Position_Angle
The position angle, in degrees, derived from an elliptical Gaussian fit to the 6-cm source.

Field_Name
The name of the field containing the source. The field name comes from the 6-cm survey, except for 20-cm only sources.

Source_Flag
This source flag parameter has the following values:

      o     = in their original catalog (Zoonematkermani et al. 1990, Cat.
               <J/ApJS/74/181>; Helfand et al. 1992ApJS...80..211H);
      OH    = not continuum sources but instead are detected through their 1611
               MHz OH maser emission (Becker, White & Proctor
               1992AJ....103..544B);
      c     = in the old 6-cm catalog;
      l     = in the old 20-cm catalog;
      cl    = in both of the old catalogs;
      blank = in neither catalog;
      20    = 20cm-only source very close to the 6cm survey edge.

Sidelobe_Prob_20cm
Probability 20cm Source Is Sidelobe

Flux_20_cm
The peak flux density of the radio source at 20 cm, in mJy. This field is populated only for the Table 5 sources (source_type = 'Primary').

Int_Flux_20_cm
The integrated flux density of the radio source at 20 cm, in mJy. This field is populated only for the Table 5 sources (source_type = 'Primary').

Flux_20_cm_Error
The computed RMS in the map at the source position, in mJy. The RMS flux density is listed for both surveys even when a source is not present at both wavelengths. This field is populated only for the Table 5 sources (source_type = 'Primary').

Source_Type
As noted above, this HEASARC table contains both the primary 6-cm catalog, comprising (i) 2729 compact sources detected at a significance of > 5.5 sigma, (ii) 179 20-cm sources that fell in the 6-cm survey area but lack 6-cm counterparts, and (iii) 3 sources fainter than 5.5 sigma at 6 cm but which have 20-cm counterparts, and hence are deemed to be reliably detected, which was contained in Table 5 of the published paper, and the faint source catalog of 551 6-cm sources that were detected at a significance between 5.0 and 5.5 sigma, which were listed in Table 6 of the paper. The HEASARC has created the source_type parameter which is set to 'Primary' for the Table 5 sources and to 'Faint' for the Table 6 sources.

Ctrpart_Number
Those 6-cm sources that match more than one 20-cm source are listed multiple times in this table, i.e., once for each possible 20-cm counterpart. The HEASARC has created this parameter in order to make more explicit this feature: its value is set to 1 for the first entry and 2 for the second entry. There are only 5 6-cm sources, in fact, which have 2 20-cm counterpart sources.

Contact Person

Questions regarding the WBHGP6CM database table can be addressed to the HEASARC Help Desk.

Page Author: Browse Software Development Team
Last Modified: Monday, 16-Sep-2024 17:36:39 EDT