MIGHTEE: The Host-Galaxy Associated Catalogue of the Radio Sources in MIGHTEE Continuum Data Release 1

Abstract Radio continuum surveys provide samples of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and star forming galaxies (SFGs) to high redshifts, free of biases due to dust obscuration. However, radio detected sources require multi-wavelength counterparts to understand their intrinsic properties (e.g. redshift, stellar mass) and to study the evolution of star formation and AGN activity. In this work we present host galaxy counterparts for the MeerKAT International GHz Tiered Extragalactic Exploration (MIGHTEE) survey continuum Data Release 1 in regions with the best ancillary data (totalling 7.5 sq. deg). We combine statistical cross-matching and visual inspection to identify Ks-band selected host galaxies, and additionally combine multiple radio components into single physical objects, where needed. This results in a combined radio catalogue of ~66 000 sources, with host counterparts and redshifts identified for ~95 per cent of sources in the COSMOS field, ~91 per cent in XMM-LSS and ~90 per cent in CDFS-DEEP. This includes a significant fraction of sources with spectroscopic redshifts within the COSMOS field (~50 per cent), with ~30 and ~20 per cent in the XMM-LSS and CDFS-DEEP fields respectively. Using the cross-matched catalogue, we make an initial identification of radio-excess and star forming galaxies based on comparisons of the radio luminosities to host star formation rates. Using this split as a proxy for radio loud AGN or SFGs, we present expectations for the redshift distributions of these sources, finding broad agreement with those from deep radio luminosity functions and simulated catalogues.

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Publication Details

Journal
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Published
2026-07-24
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stag1408
Primary Topic
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
Type
article
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article

MIGHTEE: The Host-Galaxy Associated Catalogue of the Radio Sources in MIGHTEE Continuum Data Release 1

L. Marchetti, R G Varadaraj, M. Vaccari, Zara Randriamanakoto et al.
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
article

MIGHTEE: The Host-Galaxy Associated Catalogue of the Radio Sources in MIGHTEE Continuum Data Release 1

L. Marchetti, R G Varadaraj, M. Vaccari, Zara Randriamanakoto, S. I. Loubser, Francesco Sinigaglia, Kate Charlton, M. J. Hardcastle, R. A. A. Bowler, Catherine Hale, M. J. Jarvis, Eliab Malefahlo, S Lyla Jung, I. H. Whittam, L Barchiesi, E Vardoulaki, A Mazumder, L Heino, P N Best, W L Williams, M N Tudorache, E Moravec, H Pan, A Saintonge, L Verdes-Montenegro, A Matthews, L Stockenstroom, F Pozzi, N Stylianou, A A Vărăşteanu, T F Rarivoarinoro, J Delhaize, J P Moss, D J B Smith, M Rakototafika, N Netshiavha, J Hamlett
article en

Abstract

Abstract Radio continuum surveys provide samples of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and star forming galaxies (SFGs) to high redshifts, free of biases due to dust obscuration. However, radio detected sources require multi-wavelength counterparts to understand their intrinsic properties (e.g. redshift, stellar mass) and to study the evolution of star formation and AGN activity. In this work we present host galaxy counterparts for the MeerKAT International GHz Tiered Extragalactic Exploration (MIGHTEE) survey continuum Data Release 1 in regions with the best ancillary data (totalling 7.5 sq. deg). We combine statistical cross-matching and visual inspection to identify Ks-band selected host galaxies, and additionally combine multiple radio components into single physical objects, where needed. This results in a combined radio catalogue of ~66 000 sources, with host counterparts and redshifts identified for ~95 per cent of sources in the COSMOS field, ~91 per cent in XMM-LSS and ~90 per cent in CDFS-DEEP. This includes a significant fraction of sources with spectroscopic redshifts within the COSMOS field (~50 per cent), with ~30 and ~20 per cent in the XMM-LSS and CDFS-DEEP fields respectively. Using the cross-matched catalogue, we make an initial identification of radio-excess and star forming galaxies based on comparisons of the radio luminosities to host star formation rates. Using this split as a proxy for radio loud AGN or SFGs, we present expectations for the redshift distributions of these sources, finding broad agreement with those from deep radio luminosity functions and simulated catalogues.

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
University of Antananarivo (MG), Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (IT), University of Hertfordshire (GB), University of Cape Town (ZA), University of South Africa (ZA), Guizhou University (CN), Carnegie Institution for Science (US), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), University of Cambridge (GB), North-West University (ZA), Trieste Astronomical Observatory (IT), University of Manchester (GB), University of Oxford (GB), Victoria University of Wellington (NZ), Osservatorio astronomico di Bologna (IT), Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica di Bologna (IT), Royal Observatory (GB), National Institute for Theoretical Physics (ZA), Victoria University (UG), Istituto di Radioastronomia di Bologna (IT), South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (ZA), National Observatory of Athens (GR), Institute of Astronomy (RU), Flower And Green Bank (JP), Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania (IT), Carnegie Observatories (US), Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg (DE), Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bologna (IT), Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste (IT), Institute for Fundamental Physics of the Universe (IT), Astronomical Observatory (RS), Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (DE), Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (ES), National Astronomical Observatories (CN), University College London (GB), UK Astronomy Technology Centre (GB), University of the Western Cape (ZA), National Institute for Astrophysics (IT), University of Bologna (IT)
Openalex Percentile: Top 9%
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
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