4,025 research outputs found
Unbiased flux calibration methods for spectral-line radio observations
Position and frequency switching techniques used for the removal of the
bandpass dependence of radio astronomical spectra are presented and discussed
in detail. Both methods are widely used, although the frequency dependence of
the system temperature and/or noise diode is often neglected. This leads to
systematic errors in the calibration that potentially have a significant impact
on scientific results, especially when using large-bandwidth receivers or
performing statistical analyses. We present methods to derive an unbiased
calibration using a noise diode, which is part of many heterodyne receivers. We
compare the proposed methods and describe the advantages and bottlenecks of the
various approaches. Monte Carlo simulations are used to qualitatively
investigate both systematics and the error distribution of the reconstructed
flux estimates about the correct flux values for the new methods but also the
'classical' case. Finally, the determination of the frequency-dependent noise
temperature of the calibration diode using hot-cold measurements or
observations of well-known continuum sources is also briefly discussed.Comment: 25 pages, 30 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
Is 0716+714 a superluminal blazar?
We present an analysis of new and old high frequency VLBI data collected
during the last 10 years at 5--22 GHz. For the jet components in the mas-VLBI
jet, two component identifications are possible. One of them with
quasi-stationary components oscillating about their mean positions. Another
identification scheme, which formally gives the better expansion fit, yields
motion with for km s Mpc and .
This model would be in better agreement with the observed rapid IDV and the
expected high Lorentz-factor, deduced from IDV.Comment: 2 pages, 3 figures, appears in: Proceedings of the 6th European VLBI
Network Symposium held on June 25th-28th in Bonn, Germany. Edited by: E. Ros,
R.W. Porcas, A.P. Lobanov, and J.A. Zensu
Environmental control on coccolithophore morphology : do modern species yield information that is transferable to the geological past?
It is generally assumed that calcareous nannofossils conserve palaeoenvironmental information from the time of their formation. Changes in coccolith morphology can result from physiological responses to environmental drivers. Temperature, salinity, nutrient concentration, light and carbonate chemistry are among the environmental drivers that impact extant coccolithophores and may alter coccolith size, as well as coccosphere size and morphology. Many palaeoreconstruction studies have assessed the biological responses of living coccolithophore species to environmental drivers with the expectation that it is possible to use this information for calibrating the biomineralisation responses of ancient coccolithophores. However, there is a large uncertainty concerning whether the morphological responses of living coccolithophores to environmental changes are similar to the morphological responses of fossil species, when you consider the fact that millions of years of evolutionary adaptation lie between the extant species and their fossilised ancestors. In order to test this caveat, we examined four extant species (Emiliania huxleyi, Gephyrocapsa oceanica , Coccolithus pelagicus subsp. braarudii and Pleurochrysis carterae), which have been evolutionarily distinct for millions of years. We cultured them under changing environmental conditions in order to evaluate any changes in coccolith morphology. Our underlying hypothesis was that if the species showed a uniform reaction to any of the tested environmental drivers, then this would suggests that the same response may well occur over geological timescales, and that coccolith morphological changes could serve as a palaeo-proxy for that particular driver. Our experiments demonstrated that the four species had no common response to changing light intensity, Mg/Ca, nutrient content or temperature with respect to coccolith size. These results revealed the difficulties in using coccolith size as a proxy for environmental drivers. One exception was an increase in malformations when coccolithophores were grown under excess CO2 , and these data provided evidence that this response variable can be used as a palaeo-proxy for episodes of acute carbonate chemistry perturbations
Recommended from our members
Crystal structure of 3,3-bis(tert-butyl-cyclopentadienyl)-bicyclo[3.1.0] hex-3-zircona-1(5)-ene-6-nickela-6,6-bis(triphenylphosphine), (C 9H13)2(ZrC4H4)Ni(C 18H15P)2
C58H60NiP2Zr, monoclinic, P12 1/n1 (no. 14), a = 12.378(3) Ă
= 10.353(2) Ă
, c = 38.031(8) Ă
, ÎČ = 95.74(3)°, V= 4849.2 Ă
, Z = 4, R gt(F) = 0.023, wRref(F2) = 0.054, T = 200 K. © by Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag
Statistical equilibrium in simple exchange games I
Simple stochastic exchange games are based on random allocation of finite
resources. These games are Markov chains that can be studied either
analytically or by Monte Carlo simulations. In particular, the equilibrium
distribution can be derived either by direct diagonalization of the transition
matrix, or using the detailed balance equation, or by Monte Carlo estimates. In
this paper, these methods are introduced and applied to the
Bennati-Dragulescu-Yakovenko (BDY) game. The exact analysis shows that the
statistical-mechanical analogies used in the previous literature have to be
revised.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, submitted to EPJ
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Crystal structure of ÎŒ-oxo-bis(Ï- 1,2-bis(trimethylsilyl) vinylhafnocene) benzene solvate, [C2H{Si(CH3) 3}2Hf(C5H5)2] 2O ·C6H6
C42H64Hf2OSi4, monoclinic, P121/c1 (no. 14), a = 11.442(1) Ă
= 9.7998(6) Ă
, c = 19.827(2) Ă
, ÎČ = 95.229(7)°, V = 2213.9 Ă
, Z = 2, R gt(F) = 0.017, wRref(F2)=0.037, T=200K. © by Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag,
Spectral Properties of the Core and the VLBI-Jets of Cygnus A
We present a detailed VLBI study of the spectral properties of the inner core
region of the radio galaxy Cygnus A at 5 GHz, 15 GHz, 22 GHz, 43 GHz and 86
GHz. Our observations include an epoch using phase-referencing at 15 GHz and 22
GHz and the first successful VLBI observations of Cygnus A at 86 GHz. We find a
pronounced two-sided jet structure, with a steep spectrum along the jet and an
inverted spectrum towards the counter-jet. The inverted spectrum and the
frequency-dependent jet-to-counter-jet ratio suggest that the inner counter-jet
is covered by a circum-nuclear absorber as it is proposed by the unified
scheme.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings of the 7th EVN Symposium held in
Toledo, Spain in October 2004, needs evn2004.cl
ASTEROID SIZING BY RADIOGALAXY OCCULTATION AT 5 GHZ
Stellar occultations by asteroids observed at visual wavelengths have been an important tool for studying the size and shape of asteroids and for revising the orbital parameters of asteroids. At radio frequencies, a shadow of an asteroid on the Earth is dominated by diffraction effects. Here, we show, for the first time, that a single observation of an occultation of a compact radio source at a frequency of 5 GHz can be used to derive the effective size of the occulting object and to derive the distance between the observer and the center of the occultation path on the Earth. The derived diameter of the occulting object, asteroid (115) Thyra, is 75 +/- 6 km. The observed occultation profile shows features that cannot be explained by diffraction of a single asteroid.Peer reviewe
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