The Radio Fundamental Catalogue
data release rfc_2024d


DOI: 10.25966/dhrk-zh08

The Radio Fundamental Catalogue, data release rfc_2024d, presents positions of compact radio sources and estimates of other parameters using all available VLBI observations at 8.6 GHz and 2.2 GHz, as well at 5 and 22 GHz from 1980.04.11 through 2025.09.01 , in total, 21763 observing sessions, including 74 observing sessions of 1189 dedicated absolute astrometry programs.

Methods of data analysis are described in full detail in Petrov & Kovalev, "The Radio Fundamental Catalog", 2025, The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 276:38 (51pp), doi: 10.3847/1538-4365/ad8c36.

Positions of 21949 sources were adjusted in a single least square solution using 27,933,307 fused group delays. Technical description of the solution is available here.

Astrometric Results

  1. The Radio Fundamental Catalogue, data release rfc_2024d, contains source positions, their uncertainties, estimates of the correlated flux density integrated from images, estimates of the correlated flux density of unresolved components, naturally weighted CLEAN images in GIF and in fits format at 2.2, 4.4, 8, 15, and 23 GHz (S, C, X, U, and K bands); plots of the correlated flux density as a function of the length of the baseline projection to the source plane; and files with calibrated uv fringe visibility data in FITS format. It is available in three forms:

    1. ASCII: rfc_2024d_cat.txt

    2. HTML: rfc_2024d_cat.html (64 Mb). NB: loading the catalogue takes time, please be patient.

    3. KEY:    rfc_2024d_cat.key in key-format format that can be used as an a priori file for VLBI SCHED scheduling software package.

    Images and estimates of correlated flux densities are available for 20486 sources from this catalogue.

  2. The multi-band extension of the rfc_2024d catalogue. (7 Mb) The catalogue contains offsets of source positions derived from single-band and dual-band observations with respect to rfc positions as well and their uncertainties.

  3. Cross-match table of rfc_2024d catalogue against 14 large surveys .

  4. Summary of of the statistics of association of the of rfc_2024d catalogue.

Interactive VLBI calibrator search tool

    VLBI calibrator search among sources in the rfc_2024d catalogue.

Statistics of observing campaigns

  1. Statistics of astronomic campaigns used in solution rfc_2024d.

  2. Brief campaign description.

  3. Statistics of the number of sources observed and detected per campaign.

  4. List of sources that were observed only in a given campaign.

  5. List of campaigns a given source was observed.

  6. Statistics of detections per campaign.

  7. List of experiment names and expriment codes of astrometric experiments.

  8. List of experiment names and experiment codes of 24-hr geodetic experiments.

  9. List of experiment names and experiment codes of 1-hr geodetic experiments.

  10. list of radio sources that were observed, but have not detected at 4 or 8 GHz.

  11. List of pairs of sources with angular separation less than 1 arcminute.

  12. List of sources with non-canonical designators.

  13. List of sources with non-canonical common names.

Astrophysics Information

  1. 130,228 Images and calibrated uv data for 20486 compact sources at S, C, X, U, K, Q, and W bands in one compressed tar.bz2 file is available (157 Gb). For many sources images for more than one epoch are available.

  2. Single dish spectrum for 17,352 sources from published results determined with the use of the CATS database. NB: the estimates of flux density are NOT simultaneous. Since the majority of sources are variable, these estimates of the spectrum are not always reliable. Estimates of spectrum for some sources may be wrong due to errors in the database of singe dish flux measurements.

Geophysics Results

Station positions and velocities

Positions of 232 stations and their velocities were estimated as global parameters. Station positions are given on epoch 2000.01.01. Boundary conditions were selected in such a way that source positions, station positions and velocities are compatible with IERS C04 series of the Earth orientation parameters IERS C04 time series.

Station positions catalogue Format description
Station velocity catalogue Format description
Empirical model of aharmonic non-linear site motion Format description
Empirical model of harmonic site motion Format description

Antenna axis offsets

Antenna axis offsets from LSQ estimation     rfc_2024d.axof

Earth orientation parameters

Pole coordinates X, Y, UT1 angle, and their rate, daily correction to the nutation in longitude and nutation in obliquity were estimated for each session separately.

EOP time series in ERM format Format description
EOP harmonic constituents in HEO format Format description

Earth orientation parameters

This table contains the series of the series of the Earth Orientation Parameters.

Statistics

Wrms for each session of fused data Format description
Wrms for each session at X/S and X/C Format description
Wrms for each session at S-band only Format description
Wrms for each session at C-band only Format description
Wrms for each session at X-band only Format description
Wrms for each session at K-band only Format description
 
List of detected sources using fused data  
List of detected sources at sessions in X/C and X/S bands  
List of detected sources at S-band at each session  
List of detected sources at C-band at each session  
List of detected sources at X-band at each session  
List of detected sources at K-band at each session  
 
Summary of detected sources using fused data  
Summary of detected sources at X/S and X/C astrometric sessions  
Summary of observed sources at S-band  
Summary of observed sources at C-band  
Summary of observed sources at X-band  
Summary of observed sources at K-band  

Miscellaneous

Control file for batch Solve solution. Description of Solve batch control language.
Usage policy: you can download files for research purposes, you can put links to this Web page, but you cannot post any part of content of this Web page on ftp or http servers without prior written permission from authors.

Acknowledgments

The use of Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) data is acknowledged. VLBA is operated by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, which is a facility of the National Science Foundation, and operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. The use of the VLBA under the US Naval Observatory's time allocation is acknowledged. This work supports USNO's ongoing research into the celestial reference frame and geodesy. These data were retrieved from the VLBA public archive.

The use of Long Baseline Array (LBA) data is acknowledged. The LBA is a part of the Australia Telescope National Facility which is funded by the Commonwealth of Australia for operation as a National Facility managed by CSIRO.

The use of European VLBI Network (EVN) data is acknowledged. The European VLBI Network is a joint facility of independent European, African, Asian, and North American radio astronomy institutes.

The use of Korean and VLBI Exploration for Astrometry VLBI Networks (KVN and KaVa) data The KVN and VERA are operated by the the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.

Back to the Radio Fundamental Catalogue.


Web page was prepared by Leonid Petrov ()
Last update: 2025.02.22_10:46:23