!
Welcome!
Welcome to issue 2 of the e-
MERLIN newsletter. We will be
publishing e-MERLIN-related
news and science highlights,
including calls for proposals,
adverts for summer schools and
links to e-MERLIN partners like
the EVN and ORP. If you would
like to contribute to the e-MERLIN
newsletter, please get in touch at:
emerlin.support@jb.man.ac.uk "
Mini-jets inside a radio
mini-halo
Radio mini-halos are found in the
centres of some galaxy clusters.
They emit diffuse synchrotron
emission that is thought to arise
from the re-acceleration of
electrons or protons to higher
energies. For RX J1720.1+2638,
an active central nucleus may
also be contributing to the
emission. e-MERLIN observations
show that RX J1720.1+2638 has
sub-kpc-scale radio jets which
may extend over larger scales.
This discovery requires further
modelling for radio mini-halo
emission to understand the
dominant processes involved in
causing the mini-halo."
Read the full paper here (Perrott
et al. 2023, MNRAS, 520, 1, L1-L4"
Observing the “BOAT” with e-MERLIN
The deaths of massive stars can result in powerful
explosions in the form of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs).
These GRBs are associated with multi-wavelength
emission and a long-lived radio jet that moves close to
the speed of light. Rapid discovery of GRBs from
satellites enables radio observations minutes after their
initial discovery and therefore gives radio astronomers
an insight into the shocks caused by the jet interacting
with its environment."
On 9 October 2022, GRB 221009A was detected by the
Fermi satellite, and was swiftly dubbed the “Brightest of
all time” or the “BOAT”, for short. GRB 221009A was so
bright that TeV emission was detected and disturbances
were measured in the upper atmosphere. e-MERLIN
observations joined in with a host of other radio facilities
to characterise the radio emission within a week of the
initial GRB detection, including a synchrotron self-
absorption peak moving through the multi-frequency
data."
Read the full paper here (Bright, Rhodes et al. 2023,
Accepted to Nature)"
User Newsletter
Issue 2 19 April 2023!
Multi-frequency radio light curve of the BOAT
Come see us at NAM!
e-MERLIN will have a presence
at the upcoming National
Astronomical Meeting (NAM)
2023 in Cardiff. "
e-MERLIN follow-up of
the fourth jetted TDE
Stars orbiting near galactic
nuclei run the risk of being
ripped apart by the gravitational
influence of the supermassive
black hole. This is what
happened to the star that led to
the multi-wavelength transient
and tidal disruption event (TDE),
AT2022cmc. e-MERLIN joined a
multi-facility campaign to track
the evolution of what is only the
fourth `jetted’ TDE. The early
radio evolution showed signs of
Doppler boosting, whereby the
observed radiation is boosted as
a result of the material moving at
relativistic velocities, and can
only be explained by viewing
the emission down the jet axis."
Read the full paper here
(Rhodes et al. 2023, MNRAS,
521, 1 389-395)."
Separating AGN from star formation
in SPARCS North
The SKA PAthfinder Radio Continuum Surveys
(SPARCS) will provide large-area reference surveys in
order to decouple star-formation from active galactic
nuclei (AGN) in distant galaxies. They will enable the
study of galaxy evolution, cosmology and determine
the key science questions for the SKA.
By using e-MERLIN and the EVN together as one
instrument, resolutions of 10-100 milliarcseconds can
be achieved, which is equivalent to 9 pc – 0.3 kpc at
𝑧∼1.25. Using such high spatial resolution data, 11
sources have been detected in the Northern SPARCS
field from a targeted sample of 52 known radio
sources from previous observations with e-MERLIN. "
This study is the first of its kind for any of the SPARCS
reference fields and these results will inform future
SKA observations, in relation to survey/instrument
biases, de-coupling AGN and star-formation and
addressing key technical verification challenges for
SKA pathfinders (and VLBI) such as data processing
and source flux density scaling.
Read the full paper here (N’jeri et al. 2023, MNRAS,
519, 2, 1732-1744)."
e-MERLIN Cycle 16 call for
proposals
The e-MERLIN cycle 16 call for proposals has
been announced. All information can be found
here. The deadline for proposals is 13:59 UT on
Thursday 18th May 2023 Click here to get to the
the submission portal.
SPARCS-North as seen by VLASS and e-MERLIN
Come see us at NAM!
e-MERLIN will be at the
National Astronomical Meeting
(NAM) 2023 in Cardiff. Some of
our operations team will be in
the exhibitors’ hall and we will
also be involved in a session on
SKA pathfinders for early career
researchers. Find out more
here.
www.e-merlin.ac.uk
e-MERLIN gets involved with the UK
SKA Science Regional Centre
In preparation for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA),
Science Regional Centres (SRCs) are being developed
in various locations around the world to enable SKA
science. e-MERLIN, as the UK's SKA pathfinder
facility, will be working closely with the UK’s SKA SRC
with several JBCA/JBO and e-MERLIN scientists
involved in its development and operations. In January
2023, funding was granted by the UKRI-STFC for a
consortium including University of Manchester to
develop the UKSRC. The goal is to provide the tools
and support for UK scientists to exploit the scientific
promise of the SKA, and its Pathfinders and
Precursors, and provide the sole route to access and
analyse future SKA datasets."
“The close collaboration between UKSRC and e-
MERLIN will be mutually beneficial: enabling e-
MERLIN users to benefit as early adopters of UKSRC
facilities and the UKSRC to be developed with access
to SKA pathfinder data and the e-MERLIN user-
community"$said Rob Beswick, Head of Science
Support and Operations, e-MERLIN and Deputy
Director of the UKSRC. As part of the wider SRC
Network with international partners, the new
platforms, tools and data workflows will provide huge
benefits to the SKA pathfinder/precursor user-
community. "
You can keep up with the UKSRC development on
their website here or on Twitter here.!
Announcements
MeerKAT 2023 Call for
Proposals. Deadline 3 May
2023. Click here for further
information"
ALMA Cycle 10 Call for
Proposals. Deadline 10 May
2023. Click here for further
information "
EVN Call for Proposals.
Deadline 1 June 2023. Click
here for further information"
Meetings/Workshops
LOFAR Family Meeting !
Olsztyn, Poland, 12-16 June
2023. Click here for further
information
CASA-VLBI Workshop
Dwingeloo, Netherlands, 5-9
June 2023, Click here for more
details"
RAS National Astronomical
Meeting Cardiff, Wales, 3-7 July
2023, Click here for more details"
European Astronomical
Society Annual Meeting 2023
Krakow, Poland, 10-14 July
2023, Click here for more details
