e-MERLIN / VLBI National Radio Astronomy Facility

e-MERLIN science Legacy programme

The e-MERLIN Legacy programme

The e-MERGE Survey: e-MERlin Galaxy Evolution Survey

Principle Investigators:
Tom Muxlow [PI](JBCA, Manchester), Ian Smail (Durham) and Ian McHardy (Southampton)

Time Allocation: 918 hours (e-MERLIN including Lovell Telescope)
Tier 0: 180 hours (L-band)
Tier 1: 738 hours (360 hours at L-band, 378 hours at C-band)

Data Working Groups:
Isabella Prandoni (INAF) Lead for High Frequency Survey area
Steve Rawlings (Oxford) Lead for Simulations area
Rob Ivison (ROE) Lead for Source Extraction area
Simon Garrington (JBCA Manchester) Lead for Data Handling area

Co-Investigators include:-
Filipe Abdalla (UCL), Dave Alexander (Durham), Vinod Arumugam (Edinburgh), David Bacon (Portsmouth), Alicia Berciano Alba (Groningen, NL), Philip Best (Edinburgh), Rob Beswick (Manchester), Andy Biggs (ALMA, ESO), Marco Bondi (INAF, IT), Marica Branchesi (INAF, IT), Sarah Bridle (UCL), Scott Chapman (IoA, Cambridge), Benjamin Clement (Marseille, FR), Kristen Coppin (Durham), Judith Croston (Hertfordshire), Hans de Ruiter (INAF, IT) Phil Diamond (Manchester) Tom Dwelly (Southampton), Mike Garrett (ASTRON, NL) Timothy Garn (Edinburgh), Simon Garrington (Manchester), Jim Geach (Durham), Gabriele Giovannini (INAF, IT), Loretta Gregorini (INAF, IT), Ros Hopwood (OU), Eduardo Ibar (Edinburgh), Myungshin Im (Seoul Nat. Univ., South Korea), Rob Ivison (ATC, Edinburgh), Matt Jarvis (Hertfordshire), Kirsten Knudsen (Bonn, D), Jean-Paul Kneib (Marseille, FR), Leon Koopmans (Groningen, NL), Andy Lawrence (ROE), Yuichi Matsuda (Durham), Hideo Matsuhara (ISAS, Japan), Ian McHardy (Southampton), Raffaella Morganti (ASTRON, NL), Angela Mortier (Edinburgh), Tom Muxlow (Manchester), Mattia Negrello (OU), Seb Oliver (Sussex), Mat Page (MSSL), Paola Parma (INAF, IT), Chris Pearson (RAL), Miguel Perez-Torres (IAA, ES), Isabella Prandoni (INAF, IT) Robert Priddey (Hertforshire), Steve Rawlings (Oxford), Johan Richard (Durham), Anita Richards (Manchester), Isaac Roseboom (Sussex), Huub Rottgering (Leiden, NL), Hans de Ruiter (INAF, IT), Stephen Serjeant (OU), Nick Seymour (MSSL), Chris Simpson (LJMU), Ian Smail (Durham), Carlo Stanghellini (INAF, IT), Mark Swinbank (Durham), Toshinobu Takagi (ISAS, Japan), Tiziana Venturi (INAF, IT), Takehiko Wada (ISAS, Japan), Glen White (OU), Olaf Wucknitz (Bonn, D), Alessandra Zanichelli (INAF, IT)

Abstract

We propose an ambitious Legacy survey to exploit e-MERLIN's unique combination of sensitivity and spatial resolution to study the formation and evolution of star-forming galaxies and AGN out to redshifts of z > 5. These observations will provide a powerful, obscuration-independent tool for measuring the massive star formation and AGN activity in high-redshift galaxies, hence tracing the development of the stellar populations and the black hole growth in the first massive galaxies. With a resolution of 50-200 mas in C- and L-Bands, corresponding to < 0.5-1.5kpc at z > 1, e-MERLIN gives us our first truly reliable view of the distribution of star-formation within typical galaxies at the epoch where the bulk of the stars in the present-day Universe were being formed. e-MERLIN will disentangle the relative contributions of AGN and star-formation, an essential step given the apparently simultaneous growth of the black holes and stellar populations in galaxies. To achieve these goals, we have developed a strategy comprising of nested tiers, which together provide a single, coherent survey addressing fundamental questions about the formation and joint evolution of AGN and galaxies. The completed survey will provide a homogeneous data product with lasting legacy value for the whole astronomical community.



Full proposal (pdf), as originally submitted, prior to time allocation