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VLASSICK: The VLA Sky Survey in the Central Kiloparsec
Preprint   Open access

VLASSICK: The VLA Sky Survey in the Central Kiloparsec

E. A. C Mills, A Ginsburg, J. M. D Kruijssen, L Sjouwerman, C. C Lang, S. A Mao, A Walsh, M Su, S. N Longmore, J-H Zhao, …
01/14/2014
DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.1401.3418
url
https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.1401.3418View
Preprint (Author's original)This preprint has not been evaluated by subject experts through peer review. Preprints may undergo extensive changes and/or become peer-reviewed journal articles. Open Access

Abstract

At a distance of 8 kpc, the center of our Galaxy is the nearest galactic nucleus, and has been the subject of numerous key projects undertaken by great observatories such as Chandra, Spitzer, and Herschel. However, there are still no surveys of molecular gas properties in the Galactic center with less than 30" (1 pc) resolution. There is also no sensitive polarization survey of this region, despite numerous nonthermal magnetic features apparently unique to the central 300 parsecs. In this paper, we outline the potential the VLASS has to fill this gap. We assess multiple considerations in observing the Galactic center, and recommend a C-band survey with 10 micro-Jy continuum RMS and sensitive to molecular gas with densities greater than 10^4 cm^{-3}, covering 17 square degrees in both DnC and CnB configurations ( resolution ~5"), totaling 750 hours of observing time. Ultimately, we wish to note that the upgraded VLA is not just optimized for fast continuum surveys, but has a powerful correlator capable of simultaneously observing continuum emission and dozens of molecular and recombination lines. This is an enormous strength that should be fully exploited and highlighted by the VLASS, and which is ideally suited for surveying the center of our Galaxy.
 Physics - Astrophysics of Galaxies

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