COSMOS VLA 3GHz Catalog: Radio Source Catalog for Statistical Analysis

A catalog of radio sources selected down to a 5 sigma threshold from the COSMOS field, produced by NASA. The catalog is intended for statistical analyses and includes corrections detailed in the associated 2016 release paper. The total fraction of spurious sources in the full 2 square degree area is below 2.7%, but can be reduced to below 0.4% by applying a signal-to-noise ratio cut.

Use Cases

• Conducting statistical analyses of radio source populations based on the catalog's source list and provided corrections.
• Calculating source counts and completeness corrections as referenced in the Smolcic et al. 2016 paper.
• Selecting a high-fidelity subsample with minimal spurious sources by applying a signal-to-noise ratio threshold of 5.5.
• Studying the properties and distribution of spurious sources in radio survey data based on the documented fractions.

Strengths

• Catalog includes corrections for completeness and bias as detailed in the release paper.
• Total fraction of spurious sources in the full 2 square degree COSMOS field is below 2.7%.
• A high-fidelity subsample can be selected where the spurious source fraction is below 0.4%.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• An increase of spurious sources (up to 24%) is present in the lower signal-to-noise range (5.0<S/N<5.5).

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Sources selected from VLA 3GHz observations of the COSMOS field down to a 5 sigma threshold.

Time Range

Associated with a data and catalog release paper from 2016.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 18:09:41.391901; freshness should be verified

Geography

Covers the 2 square degree COSMOS field.