Studies of radio galaxies and starburst galaxies using wide-field, high spatial resolution radio imaging

This thesis reports on the application of new wide-field Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) imaging techniques using real data for the first time. These techniques are used to target three specific science areas: (i) a sub-parsec-scale study of compact radio sources in nearby starburst galaxies, (ii) a study of jet interactions in active radio galaxies, and (iii) an unbiased study of the sub-arcsecond, 90 cm sky. Six local southern starburst galaxies are surveyed on sub-parsec-scales using wide-field VLBI techniques. Compact radio sources are detected in two of the most prominent galaxies, NGC 253 and NGC 4945. Modelling of the compact source spectra reveal the majority have steep spectra, associated with supernova remnants, and are significantly free-free absorbed by a dense ionised screen. Limits on the supernova rate and star formation rate in these galaxies are estimated based on source fading, source population modelling, and on source counts and sizes. No or few compact radio sources are detected in the less prominent galaxies, presumably as a result of reduced star formation and/or star formation in sparse environments that result in weak and short-lived supernovae and remnants. The hot spots and interaction regions of three active radio galaxies are studied at parsec-scales, for the first time, using wide-field VLBI imaging. The resulting images have provided the most detailed views of these regions to date. In two of the target sources, PKS 0518-458 (Pictor A) and PKS 0521-365, the hot spot emission is resolved into a set of compact components. The emission mechanisms in the hot spots are discussed based on their morphology and additional multi-wavelength data. Two overlapping 28 deg2 regions are surveyed in detail using wide-field VLBI techniques in the first systematic (and non-biased), deep, high resolution survey of the low frequency sky. This represents a field of view two orders of magnitude greater than anything previously attempted in a single pointing with VLBI. A total of 27 sources were detected as far as 2◦ from the phase centre. The results of the survey suggest that new low frequency telescopes, such as LOFAR and SKA, should detect many compact radio sources and that plans to extend these arrays to baselines of several thousand kilometres are warranted.