AMI Galactic Plane Survey at 16 GHz: I -- Observing, mapping and source extraction

TL;DR

The AMIGPS provides high-resolution, high-sensitivity images of the outer Galactic plane at 16 GHz, enabling detailed studies of Galactic sources with a comprehensive data release covering 868 square degrees.

Contribution

This paper presents the first data release of the AMIGPS, detailing the observing, mapping, and source extraction techniques for a large, sensitive Galactic plane survey at 16 GHz.

Findings

Most sensitive Galactic plane survey at >1.4 GHz

Coverage of 868 deg^2 of the Galactic plane

High-resolution, arcminute images at milli-Jansky sensitivity

Abstract

The AMI Galactic Plane Survey (AMIGPS) is a large area survey of the outer Galactic plane to provide arcminute resolution images at milli-Jansky sensitivity in the centimetre-wave band. Here we present the first data release of the survey, consisting of 868 deg^2 of the Galactic plane, covering the area 76 deg \lessapprox l \lessapprox 170 deg between latitudes of |b| \lessapprox 5 deg, at a central frequency of 15.75 GHz (1.9 cm). We describe in detail the drift scan observations which have been used to construct the maps, including the techniques used for observing, mapping and source extraction, and summarise the properties of the finalized datasets. These observations constitute the most sensitive Galactic plane survey of large extent at centimetre-wave frequencies greater than 1.4 GHz.