Pilot EVN Observations of the Hubble Deep Field

Check-out the EVN HDF Press Release.

Observations of the HDF region were made with the European VLBI Network on 12-14 November 1999 at 1.6 GHz. A total of 32 hours observing time was split into two, 16 hour runs, recording data at a total sustained bit rate of 256 Mbits/sec (including {\it both} right (R) and left (L) hand circular polarisation).

Using wide-field VLBI techniques the entire HDF (and part of the Flanking Fields) was mapped out with a resolution of 20 milliarcsecond. The RMS noise level in the EVN HDF dirty images is ~ 30 -40 microJy/beam. The target fields are known MERLIN detections (S_peak > 60 microJy) lying within 3.5 arcmins of the phase centre VLA J123642+621331.

For more details about wide-field VLBI imaging... Read the Paper! .

A higher (print) quality gzip'd A3 PostScript file and a A4 PS file is also available.

The EVN clearly detects 3 radio sources: (i) the z=4.4 dust enshrouded starburst (200 microJy peak) and (ii) the bright z=1.0 classical FRI (the only classical radio source in the HDF) booming in at 360 microJy peak and (iii) an AGN embedded in a face on spiral at z=0.96.

A higher (print) quality gzip'd A3 PostScript file and a A4 PS file is also available.

A recent review of the current (and future) status of VLBI Deep, Wide-field Surveys was presented in Sardinia.

Please visit the WSRT HDF web pages for observations with a somewhat (x 1000000!) bigger beam! Recent results on the FIR-Radio correlation at high-z may be interesting.