MeerGAL: the MeerKAT Galactic Plane Survey

Abstract

Radio surveys of the Milky Way galaxy have transformed our understanding of star formationand stellar evolution. However, due to strong dependence of ?survey cost? on frequency mostlarge area surveys have so far been carried out at low frequencies (∼ a few GHz). These surveysselect against dense plasma as the free-free turnover frequency scales directly with electrondensity which means that there are significant biases against the detection of the youngest anddensest HII regions, Young Stellar Objects, jets, winds and Planetary Nebulae. Here we describethe MeerKAT Large Project MeerGAL, which aims to address this issue by making the first sensitivehigh frequency, high resolution multi-epoch survey of the Galactic Plane. Together withits Northern Hemisphere sister project KuGARS (the Ku-band Galactic Reconnaissance Survey),MeerGAL will revolutionise the study of massive star formation and stellar evolution, Galacticstructure, and variability.