The Millimeter Astronomy Legacy Team 90GHz (MALT90) pilot survey

Abstract

We describe a pilot survey conducted with the Mopra 22m radio telescope in preparation for the Millimeter Astronomy Legacy Team Survey at 90GHz (MALT90). We identified 182 candidate dense molecular clumps using six different selection criteria and mapped each source simultaneously in 16 different lines near 90GHz. We present a summary of the data and describe how the results of the pilot survey shaped the design of the larger MALT90 survey. We motivate our selection of target sources for the main survey based on the pilot detection rates and demonstrate the value of mapping in multiple lines simultaneously at high spectral resolution. © 2011. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.