J/A+A/708/L12 NIKA2 PCCS2 catalog (Berta+, 2026)
NIKA2 unveils and pinpoints the Planck compact sources.
Berta S., Desert F.-X., Ladjelate B., Adam R., Ade, P., Ajeddig, H.,
Amarantidis, S., Andre P., Aussel H., Beelen A., Benoit A., Bethermin M.,
Bongiovanni A., Bounmy J., Bourrion O., Calvo M., Catalano A.,
Cherouvrier D., De Petris M., Doyle S., Driessen E.F.C., Ejlali G.,
Ferragamo A., Gomez A., Goupy J., Hanser C., Katsioli S., Keruzore F.,
Kramer C., Lagache G., Leclercq S., Lestrade J.F., Macias-Perez J.F.,
Madden S.C., Maury A., Mayet F., Monfardini A., Moyer-Anin A.,
Munoz-Echeverria M., Myserlis I., Paliwal A., Perotto L., Pisano G.,
Ponthieu N., Reveret V., Rigby A.J., Ritacco A., Roussel H., Ruppin F.,
Sanchez-Portal M., Savorgnano S., Schuster K., Sievers A., Tucker C.,
Zylka R.
<Astron. Astrophys. 708, L12 (2026)>
=2026A&A...708L..12B 2026A&A...708L..12B (SIMBAD/NED BibCode)
ADC_Keywords: Galaxy catalogs ; Surveys ; Radio sources ; QSOs ; Galaxies, radio
Keywords: catalogues - surveys - galaxies: active - quasars: general -
radio continuum: general
Abstract:
The Planck Catalogue of Compact Sources (PCCS2) is an unbiased census
of the millimetre sky at sub-Jansky levels, and thus a valuable
resource for studies of galaxy evolution. Nevertheless, its
application to extra-galactic studies is hindered by its limited
angular resolution of few arcminutes. In order to open the PCCS2 for
an in-depth exploitation, understanding their nature is paramount: are
they active galactic nuclei, dusty star forming galaxies,
proto-clusters, chance alignments? Improving the positional
information and angular resolution will also be beneficial in this
quest. Here we aim to unveil the PCCS2 sources in the northern
hemisphere. We observed the bright end of the 143 and 217GHz PCCS2 at
Dec≥-41.2 degrees with the New IRAM KID Arrays 2 camera (NIKA2) at
1.2mm (260GHz) and 2.0mm (150GHz). The sample includes 487 targets.
Map making and source extraction have been carried out with the latest
version of the NIKA2 data reduction software. NIKA2 detected 54% and
77% of the targets at 1.2 and 2.0mm. More than 95% are point-like
sources, five are resolved in two components, and only 4% are extended
at the resolution of NIKA2. By cross-matching the NIKA2 catalogue to
the NASA Extragalactic Database, the redshift of ∼86% of the sources
was found, covering the range from z∼0 to 3.4, with a median z=0.77.
The number density of the 143 GHz PCCS2 is 0.029deg-2, in good
agreement with model predictions. Roughly 80% of these sources are
QSOs or AGN, with a median NIKA2 spectral index alpha=-1.15, typical
of non-thermal synchrotron emission. With a positional accuracy
smaller than 3.0-arcsec, and an angular resolution of 11.6 and
18.0-arcsec at 1.2 and 2.0mm, respectively, the NIKA2 PCCS2 catalogue
is hereby released to the community.
Description:
NIKA2 catalog of the 492 PCCS targets observed with NIKA2, including
the NIKA2 1.2 and 2.0mm photometry, position and point-like/extended
morphology, the identification on the NED database, and a QSO flag
when available.
File Summary:
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FileName Lrecl Records Explanations
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ReadMe 80 . This file
nika2pc2.dat 414 492 Catalog of NIKA2 PCCS2 sources
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See also:
J/A+A/594/A26 : Second Planck Catalogue of Compact Sources (PCCS2)
(Planck+, 2016)
Byte-by-byte Description of file: nika2pc2.dat
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Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
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2- 4 I3 --- Seq Running number
7- 17 F11.5 mJy F1 NIKA2 1.2 mm flux density (1)
20- 30 F11.5 mJy e_F1 ?=-99.99 NIKA2 1.2 mm flux density error
33- 43 F11.5 mJy F2 NIKA2 2.0 mm flux density (1)
46- 56 F11.5 mJy e_F2 ?=-99.99 NIKA2 2.0 mm flux density error
59- 71 F13.9 deg RA1deg ?=-99.99 NIKA2 1.2 mm Right Ascension (J2000)
74- 86 F13.9 deg DE1deg ?=-99.99 NIKA2 1.2 mm Declination (J2000)
89-101 F13.9 deg RA2deg ?=-99.99 NIKA2 2.0 mm Right Ascension (J2000)
104-116 F13.9 deg DE2deg ?=-99.99 NIKA2 2.0 mm Declination (J2000)
119-124 F6.1 arcsec FWHMMin1 ?=-99.9 NIKA2 1.2mm minor axis FWHM (2)
127-132 F6.1 arcsec FWHMMaj1 ?=-99.9 NIKA2 1.2mm major axis FWHM (2)
135-140 F6.1 arcsec FWHMMin2 ?=-99.9 NIKA2 2.0mm minor axis FWHM (2)
143-148 F6.1 arcsec FWHMMaj2 ?=-99.9 NIKA2 2.0mm major axis FWHM (2)
151-154 I4 --- Morph1 ? NIKA2 1.2 profile morphology flag (3)
157-160 I4 --- Morph2 ? NIKA2 2.0 profile morphology flag (3)
163-174 F12.8 deg RAdeg Planck Right Ascension (J2000)
177-188 F12.8 deg DEdeg Planck Declination (J2000)
191-195 A5 --- PCCS2 PCCS2 label from Planck catalog
198-200 I3 GHz PFreq PCCS2 frequency of Planck parent catalog
(143 or 217)
203-215 A13 --- PName PCCS2 source name in Planck catalog
218-228 F11.5 mJy F143 PCCS2 143GHz DETECTION flux density
231-241 F11.5 mJy e_F143 ?=-99.99 PCCS2 143GHz DETECTION flux density
error
244-254 F11.5 mJy F217 PCCS2 217GHz DETECTION flux density
257-267 F11.5 mJy e_F217 ?=-99.99 PCCS2 217GHz DETECTION flux density
error
270-273 I4 --- R143 ?=-100 PCCS2 143GHz reliability flag
(80 to 100) (2)
276-279 I4 --- R217 ?=-100 PCCS2 217GHz reliability flag
(80 to 100) (2)
282-286 F5.2 deg Elev Average elevation of the NIKA2 scans
289-295 F7.3 --- tau1 Average 1.2 mm sky opacity of the NIKA2 scans
298-304 F7.3 --- tau2 Average 2.0 mm sky opacity of the NIKA2 scans
307-330 A24 --- NameNED Name of the NED counterpart (4)
333-345 F13.9 deg RANdeg ?=-99.99 Right Ascension of the NED counterpart
348-360 F13.9 deg DENdeg ?=-99.99 Declination of the NED counterpart
363-368 F6.2 arcsec SepNED ?=-99.99 Separation between NIKA2 and NED
coordinates
371-379 F9.5 --- zNED ?=-99.99 Redshift of the NED counterpart (2)
382-390 F9.5 --- e_zNED ?=-99.99 Redshift error of the NED
counterpart (2)
393-411 A19 --- r_zNED Redshift reference of the NED counterpart (4)
414 I1 --- QSOflag QSO flag (values: 0=no or 1=QSO/AGN)
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Note (1): NIKA2 flux densities conventions:
- if the map is not available, the value is -99.99
- if the source is not present on the map, a flux density upper limit
is given, corresponding to - 3x the point-like uncertainty of the
map. This upper limit is negative in the catalog and the r.m.s.
uncertainty is positive
- if a source is present on the map, but its flux density is measured
with S/N<3, the value of the measured flux density is preserved,
but is multiplied by -1. The uncertainty is kept positive.
Note (2): the value is -100 or -99.99 if not available
Note (3): NIKA2 morphology flag as follows:
0 = undetected
1 = point-like
2 = double
3 = extended
-3 = extended, S/N<3,
21 = double and point-like
23 = double and extended
-23 = double and extended, S/N<3
-100 = not available
Note (4): "n/a" if not available
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Acknowledgements:
From Stefano Berta, berta(at)iram.fr
If you make use of this catalog for your research or for
pointing/focusing purposes of a millimetre/radio telescope, please be
so kind to cite Berta+ (2026) and to add the following in your
publication: "This work made use of the NIKA2 PCCS2 catalog, presented
by Berta et al. (2026)".
References:
Planck Collaboration, 2016A&A...594A..26P 2016A&A...594A..26P, Cat. J/A+A/594/A26,
Planck 2015 results. XXVI. The Second Planck Catalogue of Compact Sources
License: CC-BY-4.0 [see https://spdx.org/licenses/]
(End) Patricia Vannier [CDS] 21-Mar-2026