PROFESSOR NEERAJ GUPTA

Deep galaxy surveys have revealed that the global star formation rate (SFR) density in the universe peaks at 1 < z < 2 and sharply declines towards z = 0. But a clear picture of the underlying processes, in particular the evolution of cold atomic (~100 K) and molecular gas phases, that drive such a strong evolution is yet to emerge. The MeerKAT Absorption Line Survey (MALS) will use MeerKAT’s L- and UHF-band receivers to carry out the most sensitive dust-unbiased search of HI 21-cm and OH 18-cm absorption lines at 0 < z < 2. This will unravel the processes driving the steep evolution in the SFR density. The survey would also provide an unbiased census of cold gas associated with AGNs, and will simultaneously deliver highly competitive HI emission, radio continuum and polarization surveys. In this talk, the speaker will present key science objectives and survey design of MALS. The commissioning and early results from a pilot project to search for absorption lines using upgraded-GMRT will also be presented.