34,999 research outputs found
Molecular Line Profile Fitting with Analytic Radiative Transfer Models
We present a study of analytic models of starless cores whose line profiles
have ``infall asymmetry,'' or blue-skewed shapes indicative of contracting
motions. We compare the ability of two types of analytical radiative transfer
models to reproduce the line profiles and infall speeds of centrally condensed
starless cores whose infall speeds are spatially constant and range between 0
and 0.2 km s-1. The model line profiles of HCO+ (J=1-0) and HCO+ (J=3-2) are
produced by a self-consistent Monte Carlo radiative transfer code. The analytic
models assume that the excitation temperature in the front of the cloud is
either constant (``two-layer'' model) or increases inward as a linear function
of optical depth (``hill'' model). Each analytic model is matched to the line
profile by rapid least-squares fitting.
The blue-asymmetric line profiles with two peaks, or with a blue shifted peak
and a red shifted shoulder, can be well fit by the ``HILL5'' model (a five
parameter version of the hill model), with an RMS error of 0.02 km s-1. A peak
signal to noise ratio of at least 30 in the molecular line observations is
required for performing these analytic radiative transfer fits to the line
profiles.Comment: 48 pages, 20 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Universal analytic properties of noise. Introducing the J-Matrix formalism
We propose a new method in the spectral analysis of noisy time-series data
for damped oscillators. From the Jacobi three terms recursive relation for the
denominators of the Pad\'e Approximations built on the well-known Z-transform
of an infinite time-series, we build an Hilbert space operator, a J-Operator,
where each bound state (inside the unit circle in the complex plane) is simply
associated to one damped oscillator while the continuous spectrum of the
J-Operator, which lies on the unit circle itself, is shown to represent the
noise. Signal and noise are thus clearly separated in the complex plane. For a
finite time series of length 2N, the J-operator is replaced by a finite order
J-Matrix J_N, having N eigenvalues which are time reversal covariant. Different
classes of input noise, such as blank (white and uniform), Gaussian and pink,
are discussed in detail, the J-Matrix formalism allowing us to efficiently
calculate hundreds of poles of the Z-transform. Evidence of a universal
behaviour in the final statistical distribution of the associated poles and
zeros of the Z-transform is shown. In particular the poles and zeros tend, when
the length of the time series goes to infinity, to a uniform angular
distribution on the unit circle. Therefore at finite order, the roots of unity
in the complex plane appear to be noise attractors. We show that the
Z-transform presents the exceptional feature of allowing lossless undersampling
and how to make use of this property. A few basic examples are given to suggest
the power of the proposed method.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure
Systematic Continuum Errors in the Lyman-Alpha Forest and The Measured Temperature-Density Relation
Continuum fitting uncertainties are a major source of error in estimates of
the temperature-density relation (usually parametrized as a power-law, ) of the inter-galactic medium (IGM) through the
flux probability distribution function (PDF) of the Lyman- forest.
Using a simple order-of-magnitude calculation, we show that few percent-level
systematic errors in the placement of the quasar continuum due to e.g. a
uniform low-absorption Gunn-Peterson component, could lead to errors in
of order unity. This is quantified further using a simple
semi-analytic model of the Lya forest flux PDF. We find that
under-(over-)estimates in the continuum level can lead to a lower (higher)
measured value of . Within current observational uncertainties,
continuum biases double the error in from to within our model. We argue that steps
need to be taken to directly estimate the level of continuum bias in order to
make recent claims of an inverted \tdr\ more robust.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures. Accepted by Ap
CMB power spectrum estimation using noncircular beams
The measurements of the angular power spectrum of the Cosmic Microwave
Background (CMB) anisotropy has proved crucial to the emergence of cosmology as
a precision science in recent years. In this remarkable data rich period, the
limitations to precision now arise from the the inability to account for finer
systematic effects in data analysis. The non-circularity of the experimental
beam has become progressively important as CMB experiments strive to attain
higher angular resolution and sensitivity. We present an analytic framework for
studying the leading order effects of a non-circular beam on the CMB power
spectrum estimation. We consider a non-circular beam of fixed shape but
variable orientation. We compute the bias in the pseudo- power spectrum
estimator and then construct an unbiased estimator using the bias matrix. The
covariance matrix of the unbiased estimator is computed for smooth,
non-circular beams. Quantitative results are shown for CMB maps made by a
\emph{hypothetical} experiment with a non-circular beam comparable to our fits
to the WMAP beam maps described in the appendix and uses a \emph{toy} scan
strategy. We find that significant effects on CMB power spectrum can arise due
to non-circular beam on multipoles comparable to, and beyond, the inverse
average beam-width where the pseudo- approach may be the method of choice
due to computational limitations of analyzing the large datasets from current
and near future CMB experiments.Comment: 23 pages, 12 eps figures, uses RevTeX 4. Matches version accepted to
Phys. Rev. D. Corrected minor typographical error in the final expression
[eqn (3.23)] (post publication
Bayesian methods of astronomical source extraction
We present two new source extraction methods, based on Bayesian model
selection and using the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). The first is a
source detection filter, able to simultaneously detect point sources and
estimate the image background. The second is an advanced photometry technique,
which measures the flux, position (to sub-pixel accuracy), local background and
point spread function. We apply the source detection filter to simulated
Herschel-SPIRE data and show the filter's ability to both detect point sources
and also simultaneously estimate the image background. We use the photometry
method to analyse a simple simulated image containing a source of unknown flux,
position and point spread function; we not only accurately measure these
parameters, but also determine their uncertainties (using Markov-Chain Monte
Carlo sampling). The method also characterises the nature of the source
(distinguishing between a point source and extended source). We demonstrate the
effect of including additional prior knowledge. Prior knowledge of the point
spread function increase the precision of the flux measurement, while prior
knowledge of the background has onlya small impact. In the presence of higher
noise levels, we show that prior positional knowledge (such as might arise from
a strong detection in another waveband) allows us to accurately measure the
source flux even when the source is too faint to be detected directly. These
methods are incorporated in SUSSEXtractor, the source extraction pipeline for
the forthcoming Akari FIS far-infrared all-sky survey. They are also
implemented in a stand-alone, beta-version public tool that can be obtained at
http://astronomy.sussex.ac.uk/rss23/sourceMiner\_v0.1.2.0.tar.gzComment: Accepted for publication by ApJ (this version compiled used
emulateapj.cls
CMB anisotropy power spectrum using linear combinations of WMAP maps
In recent years the goal of estimating different cosmological parameters
precisely has set new challenges in the effort to accurately measure the
angular power spectrum of CMB. This has required removal of foreground
contamination as well as detector noise bias with reliability and precision.
Recently, a novel {\em model-independent} method for the estimation of CMB
angular power spectrum solely from multi-frequency observations has been
proposed and implemented on the first year WMAP data by Saha et al. 2006. All
previous estimates of power spectrum of CMB are based upon foreground templates
using data sets from different experiments. However our methodology
demonstrates that {\em CMB angular spectrum can be reliably estimated with
precision from a self contained analysis of the WMAP data}. In this work we
provide a detailed description of this method. We also study and identify the
biases present in our power spectrum estimate. We apply our methodoly to
extract the power spectrum from the WMAP 1 year and 3 year data.Comment: 38 pages, 17 figure
Statistics of gamma-ray point sources below the Fermi detection limit
An analytic relation between the statistics of photons in pixels and the
number counts of multi-photon point sources is used to constrain the
distribution of gamma-ray point sources below the Fermi detection limit at
energies above 1 GeV and at latitudes below and above 30 degrees. The derived
source-count distribution is consistent with the distribution found by the
Fermi collaboration based on the first Fermi point source catalogue. In
particular, we find that the contribution of resolved and unresolved active
galactic nuclei (AGN) to the total gamma-ray flux is below 20% - 25%. In the
best fit model, the AGN-like point source fraction is 17% +- 2%. Using the fact
that the Galactic emission varies across the sky while the extra-galactic
diffuse emission is isotropic, we put a lower limit of 51% on Galactic diffuse
emission and an upper limit of 32% on the contribution from extra-galactic weak
sources, such as star-forming galaxies. Possible systematic uncertainties are
discussed.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figures, 1 table; v2: clarifications and references
added, v3: more detailed presentation of the metho
On the detection of spectral ripples from the Recombination Epoch
Photons emitted during the epochs of Hydrogen () and Helium recombination ( for HeII
HeI, for HeIII
HeII) are predicted to appear as broad, weak spectral distortions of the Cosmic
Microwave Background. We present a feasibility study for a ground-based
experimental detection of these recombination lines, which would provide an
observational constraint on the thermal ionization history of the Universe,
uniquely probing astrophysical cosmology beyond the last scattering surface. We
find that an octave band in the 2--6 GHz window is optimal for such an
experiment, both maximizing signal-to-noise ratio and including sufficient line
spectral structure. At these frequencies the predicted signal appears as an
additive quasi-sinusoidal component with amplitude about nK that is
embedded in a sky spectrum some nine orders of magnitude brighter. We discuss
an algorithm to detect these tiny spectral fluctuations in the sky spectrum by
foreground modeling. We introduce a \textit{Maximally Smooth} function capable
of describing the foreground spectrum and distinguishing the signal of
interest. With Bayesian statistical tests and mock data we estimate that a
detection of the predicted distortions is possible with 90\% confidence by
observing for 255 days with an array of 128 radiometers using cryogenically
cooled state-of-the-art receivers. We conclude that detection is in principle
feasible in realistic observing times; we propose APSERa---Array of Precision
Spectrometers for the Epoch of Recombination---a dedicated radio telescope to
detect these recombination lines.Comment: 33 pages, 16 figures, submitted to ApJ, comments welcom
Characterization of the Crab Pulsar's Timing Noise
We present a power spectral analysis of the Crab pulsar's timing noise,
mainly using radio measurements from Jodrell Bank taken over the period
1982-1989. The power spectral analysis is complicated by nonuniform data
sampling and the presence of a steep red power spectrum that can distort power
spectra measurement by causing severe power ``leakage''. We develop a simple
windowing method for computing red noise power spectra of uniformly sampled
data sets and test it on Monte Carlo generated sample realizations of red
power-law noise. We generalize time-domain methods of generating power-law red
noise with even integer spectral indices to the case of noninteger spectral
indices. The Jodrell Bank pulse phase residuals are dense and smooth enough
that an interpolation onto a uniform time series is possible. A windowed power
spectrum is computed revealing a periodic or nearly periodic component with a
period of about 568 days and a 1/f^3 power-law noise component with a noise
strength of 1.24 +/- 0.067 10^{-16} cycles^2/sec^2 over the analysis frequency
range 0.003 - 0.1 cycles/day. This result deviates from past analyses which
characterized the pulse phase timing residuals as either 1/f^4 power-law noise
or a quasiperiodic process. The analysis was checked using the Deeter
polynomial method of power spectrum estimation that was developed for the case
of nonuniform sampling, but has lower spectral resolution. The timing noise is
consistent with a torque noise spectrum rising with analysis frequency as f
implying blue torque noise, a result not predicted by current models of pulsar
timing noise. If the periodic or nearly periodic component is due to a binary
companion, we find a companion mass > 3.2 Earth masses.Comment: 53 pages, 9 figures, submitted to MNRAS, abstract condense
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