VPHAS+: The VST/OMEGACAM Photometric H-alpha Survey of the Southern Galactic Plane
VPHAS+ has been provisionally approved by the ESO OPC as a public survey to be carried out on the newly-commissioned VLT Survey Telescope (VST) from 2009. This is the southern counterpart to IPHAS, with the difference that data will be obtained in four broadband filters (u'g'r'i') in addition to narrowband Hα. VPHAS+ will be a survey of very wide application.
The types of point source VPHAS+ (r' < 21) can reveal:
- Wolf-Rayet stars
- luminous blue variables (P Cygni and η Car like objects)
- rapidly evolving post-AGB stars
- Be stars of all types (including young Herbig stars)
- improved statistics on clustered and field T Tau stars
- a range of interacting binary stars (symbiotics, 'supersoft' compact binaries, WD/NS/BH accreting binaries generally)
- single white dwarfs and large numbers of early A-type stars by dint of their strong Hα absorption (VPHAS+)
Because of the Hα selection for ionized stars and their nebulae, these surveys will increase the stock of known OB and T associations. So, as well as stimulating a better understanding of stellar evolution, SHS and VPHAS+ have roles to play in the quest to clarify the Galaxy's structure as a spiral star-forming galaxy.
VPHAS+ will also provide high spatial resolution imaging of ionized nebulae.
VPHAS+ will be the digital successor to the AAO UK Schmidt Southern Galactic Plane Survey. We have carried out some spectroscopic follow-up of candidate emission line objects drawn from its archive, the SHS, in the magnitude range 11 < R < 15.
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