PACO Faint Sample: 159 Radio Source Observations for CMB Contamination Studies

The South Ecliptic Pole region contains observations of 159 radio sources with 20-GHz flux densities >= 200 mJy. The Planck-ATCA Co-eval Observations (PACO) project collected data between 4.5 and 40 GHz for 482 sources, with this faint sample catalog containing 674 observations of 152 sources. Observations were conducted almost simultaneously with the Planck satellite between July 2009 and August 2010 by the Australia Telescope Compact Array.

Use Cases

• Analyzing radio source spectral properties and steepening at high frequencies based on multi-frequency observations from 4.5 to 40 GHz
• Studying source variability over time by comparing with earlier AT20G measurements, which show an approximate 40% rms amplitude at 20 GHz
• Extending source counts at ~33 and ~40 GHz to fainter flux densities by a factor of ~5 to improve control on CMB map contamination
• Comparing catalog reliability with the Planck Early Release Compact Source Catalogue, which contains 57 of the sources

Strengths

• Observations were conducted almost simultaneously with the Planck satellite, providing co-eval data across a wide frequency range
• The catalog contains 674 observations of 152 sources, enabling analysis of individual source observations
• Data allows extension of source counts at key frequencies by a factor of ~5 downwards in flux density
• Comparison with the Planck ERCSC confirms a reliability better than 95% for that catalog

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown for the main catalog, which may limit suitability assessment
• The sample is restricted to the South Ecliptic Pole region (ecliptic latitude < -75 degrees), which may limit generalizability

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Observations collected with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) between 4.5 and 40 GHz

Time Range

2009 July to 2010 August

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 19:59:23.961809; freshness should be verified

Geography

South Ecliptic Pole region (ecliptic latitude < -75 degrees) with 3h < RA < 9h, Dec. < -30 degrees