News: The deadline for abstract submission is 2 March 2021. The SS1 abstract peer review process will be done anonymously to avoid bias; please avoid identifying information in the abstract.

Apertif is a new phased-array feed for the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT), greatly increasing its field of view and turning it into a natural survey instrument. On 1 July 2019, the Apertif legacy surveys commenced. These are a time-domain survey and a two-tiered imaging survey, with a shallow and medium-deep component. The time-domain survey is searching for new fast radio bursts (FRBs) and monitoring known FRBs to identify repeating sources and improve their localization. The imaging surveys provide neutral hydrogen (HI), radio continuum and polarization data products across a bandwidth of 300 MHz, corresponding to a redshift of 0.26 for HI. The key science goals to be accomplished by by Apertif include localization of FRBs (including real-time public alerts), the role of environment and interaction on galaxy properties and gas removal, finding the smallest galaxies, connecting cold gas to AGN, understanding the faint radio population, and studying magnetic fields in galaxies. The Apertif surveys operate at 1.4 GHz, providing over a decade of frequency coverage when combined with LOFAR. The science to be done with the Apertif surveys, and the practical running of the surveys and handling data products, serve in preparation for the science and surveys to be undertaken with the Square Kilometre Array. With the two year mark of survey operations occurring during the EAS 2021 meeting, it is a perfect time to host a special session focused on this Dutch facility. This special session has the following goals:
1. Share scientific results from the first two years of Apertif survey observations, including time-domain, radio continuum, radio polarization, and neutral hydrogen studies.
2. Highlight the available public legacy data
3. Encourage EAS scientific members to use the Apertif survey legacy data
4. Prepare the EAS scientific community for use of radio legacy survey data products in preparation for the SKA

Programme

• Time domain
• Radio continuum and polarization
• Neutral hydrogen and line observations

Invited speakers

• Alexander Kutkin: The first Apertif imaging surveys data release
• Inés Pastor Marazuela: Apertif time domain overview and highlights
• Isabel Pérez: WEAVE-Apertif
• Shane O'Sullivan: Apertif-LOFAR synergies

Scientific organisers

Betsey Adams (ASTRON, co-chair)
Joeri van Leeuwen (ASTRON, co-chair)
Manu Orru (ASTRON, co-chair)
Jesus Falcon-Barroso (IAC)
Cathy Horellou (Chalmers University of Technology)
Martin Hardcastle (University of Hertfordshire)
Laura Spitler (MPIfR)

Contact

Please contact any of the co-chairs for more information:
Betsey Adams: adams @ astron.nl
Joeri van Leeuwen: leeuwen @ astron.nl
Manu Orru: orru @ astron.nl