A deep / wide 1-2 GHz snapshot survey of SDSS Stripe 82 using the Karl
  G. Jansky Very Large Array in a compact hybrid configuration
  We have used the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array to image ~100 sq. deg. of
SDSS Stripe 82 at 1-2 GHz. The survey consists of 1,026 snapshot observations
of 2.5 minutes duration, using the hybrid CnB configuration. The survey has
good sensitivity to diffuse, low surface brightness structures and extended
radio emission, making it highly synergistic with existing 1.4 GHz radio
observations of the region. The principal data products are continuum images,
with 16 x 10 arcsecond resolution, and a catalogue containing 11,782 point and
Gaussian components resulting from fits to the thresholded Stokes-I brightness
distribution, forming approximately 8,948 unique radio sources. The typical
effective 1{\sigma} noise level is 88 {\mu}Jy / beam. Spectral index estimates
are included, as derived from the 1 GHz of instantaneous bandwidth. Astrometric
and photometric accuracy are in excellent agreement with existing narrowband
observations. A large-scale simulation is used to investigate clean bias, which
we extend into the spectral domain. Clean bias remains an issue for snapshot
surveys with the VLA, affecting our total intensity measurements at the
~1{\sigma} level. Statistical spectral index measurements are in good agreement
with existing measurements derived from matching separate surveys at two
frequencies. At flux densities below ~35{\sigma} the median in-band spectral
index measurements begin to exhibit a bias towards flatness that is dependent
on both flux density and the intrinsic spectral index. In-band spectral
curvature measurements are likely to be unreliable for all but the very
brightest components. Image products and catalogues are publicly available via
an FTP server.
