Observations of the neutral atomic hydrogen (H i) in the nuclear starburst galaxy NGC 4945 with MeerKAT are presented. We find a large amount of halo gas, previously missed by H i observations, accounting for 6.8 per cent of the total H i mass. This is most likely gas blown into the halo by star formation. Our maps go down to a 3 sigma column density level of 5 x 10(18) cm(-2). We model the H i distribution using tilted-ring fitting techniques and find a warp on the galaxy's approaching and receding sides. The H i in the northern side of the galaxy appears to be suppressed. This may be the result of ionization by the starburst activity in the galaxy, as suggested by a previous study. The origin of the warp is unclear but could be due to past interactions or ram pressure stripping. Broad, asymmetric H i absorption lines extending throughout the H i emission velocity channels are present towards the nuclear region of NGC 4945. Such broad lines suggest the existence of a nuclear ring moving at a high circular velocity. This is supported by the clear rotation patterns in the H i absorption velocity field. The asymmetry of the absorption spectra can be caused by outflows or inflows of gas in the nuclear region of NGC 4945. The continuum map shows small extensions on both sides of the galaxy's major axis that might be signs of outflows resulting from the starburst activity.

ABSTRACT The infrared-radio correlation (IRRC) underpins many commonly used radio luminosity–star formation rate (SFR) calibrations. In preparation for the new generation of radio surveys, we revisit the IRRC of low-z galaxies by (a) drawing on the best currently available infrared (IR) and 1.4 GHz radio photometry, plus ancillary data over the widest possible area, and (b) carefully assessing potential systematics. We compile a catalogue of ∼9500, z < 0.2 galaxies and derive their 1.4 GHz radio (L1.4), total IR, and monochromatic IR luminosities in up to seven bands, allowing us to parametrize the wavelength dependence of monochromatic IRRCs from 22–500 µm. For the first time for low-z samples, we quantify how poorly matched IR and radio survey depths bias measured median IR/radio ratios, $\overline{q}_{\mathrm{TIR}}$, and discuss the level of biasing expected for low-z IRRC studies in ASKAP/MeerKAT fields. For our subset of ∼2000 high-confidence star-forming galaxies, we find a median $\overline{q}_{\mathrm{TIR}}$ of 2.54 (scatter: 0.17 dex). We show that $\overline{q}_{\mathrm{TIR}}$ correlates with L1.4, implying a non-linear IRRC with slope 1.11 ± 0.01. Our new L1.4–SFR calibration, which incorporates this non-linearity, reproduces SFRs from panchromatic SED fits substantially better than previous IRRC-based recipes. Finally, we match the evolutionary slope of recently measured $\overline{q}_{\mathrm{TIR}}$–redshift trends without having to invoke redshift evolution of the IRRC. In this framework, the redshift evolution of $\overline{q}_{\mathrm{TIR}}$ reported at GHz frequencies in the literature is the consequence of a partial, redshift-dependent sampling of a non-linear IRRC obeyed by low-z and distant galaxies.

ABSTRACT ESO 149-G003 is a close-by, isolated dwarf irregular galaxy. Previous observations with the ATCA indicated the presence of anomalous neutral hydrogen ($\rm{H{\small I}}$) deviating from the kinematics of a regularly rotating disc. We conducted follow-up observations with the MeerKAT radio telescope during the 16-dish Early Science programme as well as with the MeerLICHT optical telescope. Our more sensitive radio observations confirm the presence of anomalous gas in ESO 149-G003, and further confirm the formerly tentative detection of an extraplanar $\rm{H{\small I}}$ component in the galaxy. Employing a simple tilted-ring model, in which the kinematics is determined with only four parameters but including morphological asymmetries, we reproduce the galaxy’s morphology, which shows a high degree of asymmetry. By comparing our model with the observed $\rm{H{\small I}}$, we find that in our model, we cannot account for a significant (but not dominant) fraction of the gas. From the differences between our model and the observed data cube, we estimate that at least 7–8 per cent of the $\rm{H{\small I}}$ in the galaxy exhibits anomalous kinematics, while we estimate a minimum mass fraction of less than 1 per cent for the morphologically confirmed extraplanar component. We investigate a number of global scaling relations and find that, besides being gas-dominated with a neutral gas-to-stellar mass ratio of 1.7, the galaxy does not show any obvious global peculiarities. Given its isolation, as confirmed by optical observations, we conclude that the galaxy is likely currently acquiring neutral gas. It is either re-accreting gas expelled from the galaxy or accreting pristine intergalactic material.

MeerKATHI is the current development name for a radio-interferometric data reduction pipeline, assembled by an international collaboration. We create a publicly available end-to-end continuum- and line imaging pipeline for MeerKAT and other radio telescopes. We implement advanced techniques that are suitable for producing high-dynamic-range continuum images and spectroscopic data cubes. Using containerization, our pipeline is platform-independent. Furthermore, we are applying a standardized approach for using a number of different of advanced software suites, partly developed within our group. We aim to use distributed computing approaches throughout our pipeline to enable the user to reduce larger data sets like those provided by radio telescopes such as MeerKAT. The pipeline also delivers a set of imaging quality metrics that give the user the opportunity to efficiently assess the data quality.

We present observations and models of the kinematics and the distribution of the neutral hydrogen (HI) in the isolated dwarf irregular galaxy, Wolf-Lundmark-Melotte (WLM). We observed WLM with the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) and as part of the MeerKAT Early Science Programme, where 16 dishes were available. The HI disc of WLM extends out to a major axis diameter of 30 arcmin (8.5 kpc), and a minor axis diameter of 20 arcmin (5.6 kpc) as measured by the GBT. We use the MeerKAT data to model WLM using the TiRiFiC software suite, allowing us to fit different tilted-ring models and select the one that best matches the observation. Our final best-fitting model is a flat disc with a vertical thickness, a constant inclination and dispersion, and a radially-varying surface brightness with harmonic distortions. To simulate bar-like motions, we include second-order harmonic distortions in velocity in the tangential and the vertical directions. We present a model with only circular motions included and a model with non-circular motions. The latter describes the data better. Overall, the models reproduce the global distribution and the kinematics of the gas, except for some faint emission at the 2-sigma level. We model the mass distribution of WLM with a pseudo-isothermal (ISO) and a Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) dark matter halo models. The NFW and the ISO models fit the derived rotation curves within the formal errors, but with the ISO model giving better reduced chi-square values. The mass distribution in WLM is dominated by dark matter at all radii.

We present the SCUBA-2 850 mu m component of JINGLE, the new JCMT large survey for dust and gas in nearby galaxies, which with 193 galaxies is the largest targeted survey of nearby galaxies at 850 mu m. We provide details of our SCUBA-2 data reduction pipeline, optimized for slightly extended sources, and including a calibration model adjusted to match conventions used in other far-infrared (FIR) data. We measure total integrated fluxes for the entire JINGLE sample in 10 infrared/submillimetre bands, including all WISE, Herschel-PACS, Herschel-SPIRE, and SCUBA-2 850 mu m maps, statistically accounting for the contamination by CO(J = 3-2) in the 850 mu m band. Of our initial sample of 193 galaxies, 191 are detected at 250 mu m with a >= 5 sigma significance. In the SCUBA-2 850 mu m band we detect 126 galaxies with >= 3 sigma significance. The distribution of the JINGLE galaxies in FIR/sub-millimetre colour-colour plots reveals that the sample is not well fit by single modified-blackbody models that assume a single dust-emissivity index (beta). Instead, our new 850 mu m data suggest either that a large fraction of our objects require beta < 1.5, or that a model allowing for an excess of sub-mm emission (e.g. a broken dust emissivity law, or a very cold dust component less than or similar to 10 K) is required. We provide relations to convert FIR colours to dust temperature and beta for JINGLE-like galaxies. For JINGLE the FIR colours correlate more strongly with star-formation rate surface-density rather than the stellar surface-density, suggesting heating of dust is greater due to younger rather than older stellar-populations, consistent with the low proportion of early-type galaxies in the sample.

Abstract We have examined the relationship between star formation and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by fitting the spectral energy distributions (SED) of AKARI selected galaxies. PAHs are excited by the ultraviolet (UV) photons of young stars and can trace star formation in galaxies, but they are disassociated by the strong UV radiation in starbursts. AKARI covered the mid-infrared, where the PAHs emit their radiation, with a high density of photometric bands. These observations allow us to estimate the star formation rate and the PAH mass fraction of the dust in galaxies. In the future the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will also make measurements in this wavelength range. This research can therefore be considered as a pathfinder to similar studies that will come later from JWST observations.

We have examined the relationship between star formation and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in a variety of galaxies. PAHs are excited by the ultraviolet photons of young stars, but they are disassociated by strong UV radiation in starbursts. Therefore their emission (which is in the wavelength range covered by AKARI) can be used as a star formation tracer in main sequence galaxies. We selected our targets in the ELAIS N1 field with AKARI detections, matched them with the Herschel Point Source Catalog, and collected other publicly available photometric data. Their spectral energy distributions (SEDs) were fitted, and several parameters of the galaxies were estimated, e.g., star formation rate (SFR), stellar mass, and the fraction of PAHs compared to dust mass (q(PAH)), and we examined the relationships between these parameters. The final sample consisted of 48 galaxies, with redshifts from 0.04 to 2.36. The estimated q(PAH) values were lower on average than typical values in the literature. This could be due to various reasons, such as low metallicity, or ongoing active galactic nucleus or starburst activity. Of our sample, 83% of the objects fell in the star-forming main sequence of galaxies, while only 8% could be considered as starbursts. We found a decreasing q(PAH) trend with increasing A(V) and consequently L-IR, suggesting the possible presence of compact star-forming regions. We compared the q(PAH) values with the known relations of the PAH luminosities, but they did not always follow the same trends (SFR, L-IR), and showed only slight correlation with the PAH luminosities.

Using infrared data from the Herschel Space Observatory and Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array 3 GHz observations in the COSMOS field, we investigate the redshift evolution of the infrared radio correlation (IRRC) for star-forming galaxies (SFGs) we classify as either spheroid- or disc-dominated based on their morphology. The sample predominantly consists of disc galaxies with stellar mass greater than or similar to 10(10)M(circle dot), and residing on the star-forming main sequence (MS). After the removal of AGN using standard approaches. we observe a significant difference between the redshift evolution of the median IR/radio ratio (q) over bar (TIR) of (i) a sample of ellipticals, plus discs with a substantial bulge component ("spheroid-dominated' SFGs) and, (ii) virtually pure discs and irregular systems ('disc-dominated' SFGs). The spheroid-dominated population follows a declining R versus z trend similar to that measured in recent evolutionary studies of the IRRC. However, for disc-dominated galaxies, where radio and IR emission should be linked to star formation in the most straightforward way, we measure very little change in (q) over bar (TIR). This suggests that low-redshift calibrations of radio emission as a star formation rate (SFR) tracer may remain valid out to at least z similar or equal to 1-1.5 for pure star-forming systems. We find that the different redshift evolution of (RIR for the spheroid- and disc-dominated sample is mainly due to an increasing radio excess for spheroid-dominated galaxies at z greater than or similar to 0.8, hinting at some residual AGN activity in these systems. This finding demonstrates that in the absence of AGN, the IRRC is independent of redshift, and that radio observations can therefore be used to estimate SFRs at all redshifts for genuinely star-forming galaxies.