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| THINGS survey | |
|---|---|
| Name | THINGS survey |
| Type | Astronomical survey |
| Subject | Neutral atomic hydrogen in nearby galaxies |
| Facility | Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array |
| Principal investigators | Fabian Walter, Elias Brinks, Robert C. Kennicutt Jr. |
| Startdate | 2003 |
| Enddate | 2008 |
| Wavelength | 21 cm |
| Targets | Nearby spiral, irregular, and dwarf galaxies |
THINGS survey
The THINGS survey is a high-resolution radio imaging program that mapped neutral atomic hydrogen (HI) in a representative sample of nearby galaxies using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, producing data that informed studies tied to Spitzer Space Telescope imaging, Hubble Space Telescope observations, and ground-based optical campaigns such as those by Subaru Telescope, Keck Observatory, and Very Large Telescope. It provided uniform HI imaging complementary to archival datasets from Green Bank Telescope and contemporary surveys like ALFALFA and the WHISP project, enabling cross-comparisons with stellar population studies by teams associated with Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Two Micron All-Sky Survey, and spectroscopic programs at Anglo-Australian Telescope.
The survey targeted nearby systems including grand-design spirals such as M51 and M83, dwarf irregulars like IC 2574 and Holmberg II, and early-type spirals including NGC 2403 and NGC 6946, providing spatial resolution and sensitivity that bridged work by the Very Large Array legacy efforts and single-dish campaigns led at Arecibo Observatory and Effelsberg Radio Telescope. Designed by a collaboration featuring scientists from institutions including the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, and University of Cambridge, it sought to link neutral gas distributions to star formation tracers mapped by GALEX, Spitzer Space Telescope, and optical imaging from Calar Alto Observatory and Kitt Peak National Observatory. The team included investigators active in projects like SINGS and THINGS-adjacent multiwavelength programs coordinated with surveys led by ROBERT C. KENNICUTT JR..
Observations used multiple VLA configurations (B, C, and D arrays) to sample spatial scales comparable to studies by Walter Baade-era observers and modern interferometric efforts such as those undertaken with the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The strategy emphasized velocity resolution and surface brightness sensitivity to resolve HI kinematics in disks previously examined with optical integral-field units on Gemini Observatory and Very Large Telescope, while matching angular scales probed by mid-infrared studies from Spitzer Space Telescope programs led by Kennicutt. Target selection balanced morphological types represented in catalogs maintained by Third Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies and photometric surveys like Sloan Digital Sky Survey, enabling joint analyses with stellar mass maps from Two Micron All-Sky Survey and ultraviolet profiles from GALEX.
Raw visibilities were calibrated and imaged with software packages used across radio astronomy such as CASA (software), with techniques analogous to self-calibration methods developed at National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The data products included moment maps (0th, 1st, 2nd) and data cubes providing channelized spectral information that could be compared to molecular gas maps from IRAM 30m Telescope, Nobeyama Radio Observatory, and interferometric CO surveys like BIMA SONG. Ancillary products aligned THINGS HI maps with optical and infrared mosaics from Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope, and photometric catalogs from Sloan Digital Sky Survey to enable multiwavelength pixel-by-pixel analyses similar to those performed in studies coordinated with SINGS and KINGFISH teams.
Key findings included spatially resolved rotation curves informing dark matter halo modeling frameworks developed using comparisons with predictions from Lambda-CDM simulations and semi-analytic models used by groups at Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and Princeton University. The survey quantified the relationship between HI surface density and star formation rate surface density in the spirit of the Kennicutt–Schmidt law studies, tying results to resolved star formation work from Hubble Space Telescope programs and ultraviolet surveys by GALEX. THINGS data revealed non-circular motions, warps, and extraplanar HI features analogous to structures studied in NGC 891 and NGC 2403, constraining feedback-driven fountain models explored by researchers at Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics. Comparisons with CO mapping campaigns such as HERACLES illuminated conversion factors between atomic and molecular phases probed in studies at IRAM and Nobeyama.
The survey established a benchmark HI dataset widely used by teams studying galaxy evolution, dark matter distribution, and ISM phase transitions, cited alongside major programs including ALFALFA, THINGS-adjacent follow-ups, and molecular surveys like HERACLES. Its publicly released cubes and moment maps influenced dynamical modeling projects at University of Groningen, University of California, Berkeley, and Cambridge University, and served as a reference for proposals to facilities including Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array and future HI instruments such as Square Kilometre Array. The multiwavelength synergies fostered collaborations with groups involved in SINGS, KINGFISH, and optical integral-field surveys like CALIFA and SAMI.
THINGS relied primarily on the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array combined with calibration and imaging pipelines refined at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and collaborative expertise from institutions such as the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, University of Cambridge, University of Arizona, Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and Texas A&M University. The project integrated data and scientific objectives with teams operating the Spitzer Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, GALEX, IRAM 30m Telescope, and ground-based optical facilities like Keck Observatory and Gemini Observatory, producing a legacy enabling follow-up studies across the electromagnetic spectrum by groups at Princeton University, University of California, San Diego, and Oxford University.
Category:Astronomical surveys