PMN - Parkes-MIT-NRAO (PMN) Surveys

Overview

The PMN database contains data from the Parkes-MIT-NRAO (PMN) Southern, Zenith, Tropical and Equatorial surveys. These surveys were made using the Parkes 64-m radio telescope at a frequency of 4850 Hz with the NRAO multibeam receiver mounted at the prime focus (for a full description of the observations see Griffith & Wright, 1993, Paper I). These surveys had a spatial resolution (full width half-maximum: FWHM) of approximately 4.2 arcminutes and were made during 1990 June and November. The PMN surveys were divided into several zones. These zones are listed below, together with approximate flux limits and survey areas:

    Zone Name   DEC limits (degrees)  Flux limits   Area (sr)

    SOUTHERN     -87.5< dec <-37     20 to 50 mJy       2.50
    ZENITH       -37  < dec <-29           72 mJy       0.67
    TROPICAL     -29  < dec < -9.5         42 mJy       2.01
    EQUATORIAL    -9.5< dec <+10.0         40 mJy       1.90

A point source catalog was compiled directly from each of the survey zones by using an optimum filter method, as described by Griffith & Wright in detail in Paper 1. In addition, a set of images was produced for each zone in a manner very similar to that used by Condon et al. for the northern survey (CDS Catalog VIII/40): See e.g. Paper 4. These maps have an effective resolution (FWHM) of about 5 arcmin. For more details, refer to the publications listed in the References Section for the relevant zone.

Catalog Bibcode

1994ApJS...91..111W

References

The Parkes-MIT-NRAO (PMN) Surveys:
I.  The 4850 MHz Surveys and data reduction
     Griffith M.R., Wright A.E.
    <Astron. J. 105, 1666 (1993)>
II. Source catalog for the Southern Survey
     Wright A.E., Griffith M.R., Burke B.F., Ekers R.D.
    <Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 91, 111 (1994)>
III. Source catalog for the Tropical Survey
     Griffith M.R., Wright A.E., Burke B.F., Ekers R.D.
    <Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 90, 179 (1994)>
VI. Source Catalog for the Equatorial Survey
     Griffith M.R., Wright A.E., Burke B.F., Ekers R.D.
    <Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 97, 347 (1995)>
VIII. Source catalog for the Zenith survey
     Wright A.E., Griffith M.R., Hunt A.J., Troup E., Burke B.F., Ekers R.D.
    <Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 103, 145 (1996)>

Provenance

This updated version of the PMN database was created by the HEASARC in January 2001 based on CDS Catalog VIII/38.

Copyright

The Australia Telescope National Facility asserts copyright to this material. However, permission is granted for publication and reproduction for scholarly, educational, and private non-commercial use.

Inquiries for potential commercial uses should be addressed to:

        Dr A.E. Wright,  Parkes Observatory,
        PO Box 276, Parkes NSW, 2870, Australia

Parameters

Name
The J2000 equatorial coordinates-derived source name. The names in this catalog were derived from their J2000 coordinates, together with the prefix 'PMN' denoting the Parkes-MIT-NRAO survey; the letter, 'J', in front of the numerical string denotes that the equinox and equator is J2000. For a few objects, the name (but not the sources) would be duplicate: in such cases an 'A' or 'B' has been appended to the name so as to differentiate them.

RA
The right ascension of the radio source in the selected equinox. In the original CDS table this was given in J2000 coordinates to a precision of 0.1 seconds of time.

Dec
The declination of the radio source in the selected equinox. In the original CDS table this was given in J2000 coordinates to a precision of 1 arcsecond.

LII
The Galactic longitude of the radio source.

BII
The Galactic latitude of the radio source.

Flux_4850_MHz
The 4850-MHz flux density in milliJanskies (mJy) derived from the fixed-width fit method described in Griffiths and Wright (1993, AJ, 105, 1666, Paper I), i.e., fitting a two-dimensional Gaussian with a fixed beamwidth of 4.2 arcminutes. Notice that the flux density obtained this way will overestimate the peak flux of a slightly extended source.

Flux_4850_MHz_Error
The estimated standard error of the fixed-width fit flux density, in milliJanskies (mJy). A standard error > 99 mJy is listed as 99 mJy because of space limitations in the originating catalog.

GFlux
The 4850-MHz flux density in in milliJanskies (mJy) derived from the general-width fit method described in Griffiths and Wright (1993, AJ, 105, 1666, Paper I), i.e., for sources having flux densities >= 100 mJy and positions within 3 arcminutes of the local maxima based on the fixed-width fits, fitting a two-dimensional Gaussian having peak flux density, position, semi-major axis, semi-minor axis, and position angle as free parameters.

GFlux_Error
The estimated standard error of the general-width fit flux density, in milliJanskies (mJy). A standard error > 99 mJy is listed as 99 mJy because of space limitations in the originating catalog.

Width_1
The semi-major axis of the fitted Gaussian from the general-width fit, in Half-Width Half-Maximum (HWHM) beamwidths: thus, a value of 1.0 is equivalent to 2.1 arcminutes.

Width_2
The semi-minor axis of the fitted Gaussian from the general-width fit, in Half-Width Half-Maximum (HWHM) beamwidths: thus, a value of 1.0 is equivalent to 2.1 arcminutes.

Position_Angle
The position angle of the semi-major axis, measured eastwards from the north direction, in degrees.

Spect_Index
The spectral index SI of the radio source, computed using the PMN flux density at 4850 MHz and the 2700-MHz flux density from the PKSCAT90 Catalog (CDS Catalog VIII/15), for sources common to both catalogs. This index is defined by the relation Flux Density ~ Frequency^(SI).

Session_Flag
The observation session flag indicating the session in which the object was observed: 'J' indicates the June 1990 session and 'N' the November 1990 session.

Extended_Flag
The extended source flag: an 'X' indicates that the source is probably extended. This information is only available for sources whose fixed-width fit fluxes, before the flux bias corrections, were stronger than 100 mJy.

Galplane_Flag
The Galactic Plane flag: a 'G' indicates that the source lies within 10 degrees of the Galactic Plane.

Zenith_Flag
The zenith flag: a 'Z' indicates that the source was observed within 6 degrees of the Parkes telescope's zenith (latitide of -33 degrees) and has a flux < 60 mJy.

Solar_Flag
The solar contamination flag: an 'S' indicates that the source lies within 5 degrees of solar contamination from the telescope's sidelobes, and thus that the data listed may be of lower quality.

Pkscat90_Flag
The PKSCAT90 flag: a 'P' indicates that the source lies within 2 arcminutes of a source listed in the PKSCAT90 database (CDS Catalog VIII/15), and is probably the same object.

Molonglo_Flag
The Molonglo flag: an 'M' indicates that this source lies within 2 arcminutes of a source listed in the Molonglo 408 MHz Catalog (CDS Catalog VIII/16: available at the HEASARC under the name of the MRC), and is probably the same object.

Zone
The survey zone flag, with possible values of [S]outhern, [T]ropical, [E]quatorial, and [Z]enith. This parameter was created by the HEASARC to indicate which survey a particular radio source was listed in.

Contact Person

Questions regarding the PMN database table can be addressed to the HEASARC Help Desk.

Page Author: Browse Software Development Team
Last Modified: Monday, 16-Sep-2024 17:33:06 EDT