MeerKAT is an array composed of 64 13.5-m dishes and represents the main precursor of the SKA-mid radio telescope to which will be incorporated to form the final 197 antennas array envisaged for SKA-Mid. MeerKAT is fully involved in the SETI (Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence) project, specifically it is part of the large Breakthrough Listen telescopes network, which also includes the...
Astrochemical observations have revealed a surprisingly high level of chemical complexity, including long carbon chains, in the earliest stages of Sun-like star formation. The origin of these complex species and whether they undergo further growth, possibly contributing to the molecular complexity of planetary systems, remain open questions.
We present recent observations performed using the...
Among the variety of structures that can be observed at millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelength within disks, some present an inner cavity depleted from gas and dust. Such disks are called transitional disks (TDs). Cavities, are generally attributed to the formation and evolution of one or more giant planets (as it is the case for PDS 70), severing the connection between the outer and inner...
We introduced the Serendipitous H-ATLAS-fields Observations of Radio Extragalactic Sources (SHORES) survey, which targeted 29 fields in total intensity and polarisation within the Herschel-ATLAS Southern Galactic Field. Observations were performed with the Australia Telescope Compact Array in the 2 GHz band, with a central frequency of 2.1 GHz and 2 GHz total bandwidth. Two fields (Deep-1 and...
The release of the 4th Fermi/LAT AGN catalogue, based on more than a decade of observations, has confirmed that blazars dominate the GeV sky, accounting for 98% of the detected sources. The remaining 2% includes other AGN classes such as radio galaxies, narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies, compact steep-spectrum radio sources, and steep-spectrum radio quasars. The advent of new large-scale radio...
Active Galactic Nuclei are among the most powerful phenomena in the Universe. They play a crucial role in the formation and evolution of galaxies and, in the case of the most powerful sources, in shaping the properties of galaxy clusters.
In this work I analyse a BL Lac object, named PKS 2316-423, located at the centre of the galaxy cluster Abell S1111, using MeerKAT L-band observations....
The low-mass end of the HI mass function (HIMF) is thought to be a sensitive probe of environment-driven galaxy evolution. The general expectation is that, at low MHI, the HIMF becomes flatter as the environment density increases because of the removal of HI from small galaxies. The main challenge to measure this effect reliably is to have enough HI detections and/or go sufficiently deep in...
As an intermediate stage of the merging process, we expect to observe pairs of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), in particular at high$-z$ when the mergers were most frequent. Nevertheless, to date there is only one confirmed AGN pair at high redshift ($z=2.1$) clearly hosted by a galaxy merger, with a projected separation of 3.8 kpc. The critical population to really test galaxy (and SMBH)...
Dark matter annihilation is a possible source of relativistic electrons in galaxy clusters; these electrons, when interacting with the cluster magnetic field, can produce a diffuse synchrotron emission with properties similar to those of radio halos.
In principle, if dark matter annihilation is the main source of electrons producing the radio halos, from the halos properties it would be...
The study of protoplanetary disks and their evolution achieved major step forward in the past decades, thanks to the implementation of facilities operating at millimeter to centimeter wavelengths that allowed us to study the cold material orbiting young stars with increasing detail.
However, fundamental questions still remain regarding the mechanisms driving the evolution and dispersal of...
As a precursor to SKA-Mid, MeerKAT provides an unprecedented opportunity to study the synchrotron emission and magnetic field properties of galaxy clusters through high-sensitivity, wide-band polarimetric observations. Radio relics, elongated and polarized sources found at the outskirts of merging clusters, trace shocks in the intracluster medium (ICM) and provide key insights into particle...
Within the filamentary web that constitutes the large-scale structure of the Universe, merging galaxy clusters represent some of the most energetic events since the Big Bang. A multi-wavelength approach-combining X-ray, optical, radio, and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) observations-is essential to unravel their physics, trace their evolution, and assess the role of magnetic fields in shaping the...
EP241021a belongs to the class of X-Ray Flashes (XRFs), fast X-ray transients discovered by the BeppoSAX satellite. Diverse evidence indicates that XRFs are connected to Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) and likely represent their softer analogues. Several models have been proposed to explain the observed properties of XRFs, mostly in the context of collapsar scenario, like off-axis GRBs and...
The detection of gravitational waves (GW) from binary black holes in 2015 and of the discovery of associated GW and electromagnetic (EM) radiation from the binary neutron star merger GW 170817 have opened a new era for astrophysics. We are currently in the fourth observing cycle of gravitational interferometers, with the participation of LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA, and a new run is currently...
The rapid growth of satellite constellations in low Earth orbit is creating new challenges for protecting radio astronomy from radio frequency interference (RFI). As the largest radio observatory, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) demands rigorous even in spectrum management to secure its scientific potential. The European Committee on Radio Astronomy Frequencies (CRAF) strength the...
