2014/12/18 by J. Afonso, Afonso, Jose, Jordi Casanellas +10
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA) #Computational Physics and Python Applications #Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO) #FOS: Physical sciences #Radio Astronomy Observations and Technology
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1412.6040
openalex publication_date 2014/12/18 · openalex created_date 2022/10/04 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
One of the most challenging and exciting subjects in modern astrophysics is\nthat of galaxy formation at the epoch of reionisation. The SKA, with its\nrevolutionary capabilities in terms of frequency range, resolution and\nsensitivity, will allow to explore the first Gyr of structure formation in the\nUniverse, in particular, with the detection and study of the earliest\nmanifestations of the AGN phenomenon. The tens of QSOs that are currently known\nout to the highest redshifts (z~7), many of them exhibiting powerful radio\nemission, imply that super-massive black holes can be grown on a very short\ntimescale and support the existence of very high redshift (z > 7) radio loud\nsources - sources that have so far escaped detection. Not only would such\ndetections be paramount to the understanding of the earliest stages of galaxy\nevolution, they are necessary for the direct study of neutral hydrogen in the\nEpoch of Reionisation, through observations of the HI 21cm forest against such\nbackground sources. In order to understand how SKA and SKA1 observations can be\noptimised to reveal these earliest AGN, we have examined the effect of a hot\nCMB on the emission of powerful and young radio galaxies. By looking at the\nSKA1 capabilities, in particular in terms of wavelength coverage and\nresolution, we determine how the effects of "CMB-muting" of a radio loud source\ncan be observationally minimised and how to identify the best highest-redshift\nradio candidates. Considering different predictions for the space density of\nradio loud AGN at such redshifts, we identify the survey characteristics\nnecessary to optimize the detection and identification of the very first\ngeneration of radio loud AGN in the Universe.\n