The VLA-COSMOS Survey:
I. Radio Identifications from the Pilot Project
E. Schinnerer, C.L. Carilli, N.Z. Scoville, M. Bondi, P. Ciliegi,
P. Vettolani, O. Le Fevre, A.M. Koekemoer, F. Bertoldi, C.D. Impey
We present a catalog of 246 radio sources found in the central 1
degree of the COSMOS field at 1.4GHz. The VLA pilot project data have
a resolution of 1.9"x1.6" and an rms noise limit of about 25-100
uJy/beam covering 0.837 sqrdeg. About 20 radio sources are clearly
extended and most of them appear to be double-lobed radio galaxies. We
find evidence for a cluster of 7 radio sources with an extent of ~10'
southeast of the COSMOS field center. This VLA pilot project was
undertaken to demonstrate the feasibility of wide-field mosaicking at
2'' resolution at 1.4GHz. The 7-point mosaic data was used to develop
the techniques necessary for reduction and analysis. These data will
provide the initial astrometric frame for the optical (ground- and
space-based) data of the COSMOS 2 sqrdeg survey. In addition, it
demonstrates the feasibility of obtaining deep radio imaging of this
field at 1.4GHz, since no radio emission peak above 13 mJy/beam has
been detected within the area covered as well as no strong side-lobes
from sources surrounding the COSMOS field. Comparison of the number
counts to other deep radio surveys shows that the COSMOS field is a
representative deep field in the radio domain.
Published (2004, AJ, 128, 1974)