O mistério do Local Cosmic Void | Cadernos de Astronomia

Effects of local cosmic inhomogeneities on the gravitational wave event rate

The local universe is highly inhomogeneous and anisotropic. We live in a relatively sparse region of the Laniakea supercluster at the edge of a large 80 Mpc-wide void. We study the effect of these inhomogeneities on the measured gravitational wave event rates. In particular, we estimate how the measured merger rate of compact binaries is biased by the local matter distribution. The effect of the inhomogeneities on the merger rate is suppressed by the low angular resolution of gravitational wave detectors coupled with their smoothly decreasing population-averaged sensitivity with distance. We estimate the effect on the compact binary coalescence event rate to be at most 6% depending of the chirp mass of the target binary system and the sensitivity and orientation of the detectors.

The SARAO MeerKAT 1.3 GHz Galactic Plane Survey

We present the SARAO MeerKAT Galactic Plane Survey (SMGPS), a 1.3 GHz continuum survey of almost half of the Galactic Plane (251°$\le l \le$ 358°and 2°$\le l \le$ 61°at $|b| \le 1.5°$). SMGPS is the largest, most sensitive and highest angular resolution 1 GHz survey of the Plane yet carried out, with an angular resolution of 8" and a broadband RMS sensitivity of $\sim$10--20 $μ$ Jy/beam. Here we describe the first publicly available data release from SMGPS which comprises data cubes of frequency-resolved images over 908--1656 MHz, power law fits to the images, and broadband zeroth moment integrated intensity images. A thorough assessment of the data quality and guidance for future usage of the data products are given. Finally, we discuss the tremendous potential of SMGPS by showcasing highlights of the Galactic and extragalactic science that it permits. These highlights include the discovery of a new population of non-thermal radio filaments; identification of new candidate supernova remnants, pulsar wind nebulae and planetary nebulae; improved radio/mid-IR classification of rare Luminous Blue Variables and discovery of associated extended radio nebulae; new radio stars identified by Bayesian cross-matching techniques; the realisation that many of the largest radio-quiet WISE HII region candidates are not true HII regions; and a large sample of previously undiscovered background HI galaxies in the Zone of Avoidance.

A search for new dwarf galaxies outside the nearby groups

We undertook a search for new nearby dwarf galaxies outside the known groups in the Local Volume using the data on DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys. In a wide sky area of $\sim$5000 square degrees directed toward the Local Void, we found only 12 candidates to nearby low mass galaxies. Almost all of them are classified as irregular or transition type dwarfs. Additionally, we examined areas of the sky exposed with the Hyper Suprime Camera of the Subaru telescope ($\sim$700 square degrees) and found nine more candidates to nearby dwarfs. Finally, nine candidates to the Local Volume were selected by us from the Zaritsky's SMUDG catalog that contains 7070 ultra-diffuse objects automatically detected in the whole area of the DESI surveys. We estimated a fraction of quiescent dSph galaxies in the general cosmic field to be less than 10 percent.

HI Galaxy Signatures in the SARAO MeerKAT Galactic Plane Survey -- II. The Local Void and its substructure

The Local Void is one of the nearest large voids, located at a distance of 23 Mpc. It lies largely behind the Galactic Bulge and is therefore extremely difficult to observe. We use HI 21 cm emission observations from the SARAO MeerKAT Galactic Plane Survey (SMGPS) to study the Local Void and its surroundings over the Galactic longitude range 329$^{\circ}< \ell <$ 55$^{\circ}$, Galactic latitude $|b| <$ 1.5$^{\circ}$, and redshift $cz <$ 7500 km/s. We have detected 291 galaxies to median rms sensitivity of 0.44 mJy per beam per 44 km/s channel. We find 17 galaxies deep inside the Void, 96 at the border of the Void, while the remaining 178 galaxies are in average density environments. The extent of the Void is ~ 58 Mpc. It is severely under-dense for the longitude range 350$^{\circ}< \ell <$ 35$^{\circ}$ up to redshift $z <$ 4500 km/s. The galaxies in the Void tend to have \HI masses that are lower (by approximately 0.25 dex) than their average density counterparts. We find several potential candidates for small groups of galaxies, of which two groups (with 3 members and 5 members) in the Void show signs of filamentary substructure within the Void.