2,992 research outputs found
On the Origin of Near-Infrared Extragalactic Background Light Anisotropy
Extragalactic background light (EBL) anisotropy traces variations in the
total production of photons over cosmic history, and may contain faint,
extended components missed in galaxy point source surveys. Infrared EBL
fluctuations have been attributed to primordial galaxies and black holes at the
epoch of reionization (EOR), or alternately, intra-halo light (IHL) from stars
tidally stripped from their parent galaxies at low redshift. We report new EBL
anisotropy measurements from a specialized sounding rocket experiment at 1.1
and 1.6 micrometers. The observed fluctuations exceed the amplitude from known
galaxy populations, are inconsistent with EOR galaxies and black holes, and are
largely explained by IHL emission. The measured fluctuations are associated
with an EBL intensity that is comparable to the background from known galaxies
measured through number counts, and therefore a substantial contribution to the
energy contained in photons in the cosmos.Comment: 65 pages, 29 figures, Published in Science Nov 7 2014 (includes
supplementary material
Two Transistor Current Mode Active Pixel Sensor
A novel current mode active pixel sensor for high resolution imaging is presented. The photo pixel is composed of a photodiode and two transistors: reset and transconductance amplifier transistor. The switch transistor is moved outside the pixel, allowing for lower pixel pitch and increased linearity of the output photocurrent. The increased linearity of the image sensor has greatly reduced spatial variations across the image after correlated double sampling and the column fix pattern noise is 0.35% of the saturated current. A discussion on theoretical temporal noise limitations of this design is also presented
Low Fixed Pattern Noise Current-mode Imager Using Velocity Saturated Readout Transistors
This paper described a novel current-mode active pixel sensor (APS) imager. Conversion of photodiode voltage to output current is done using transistors operating in velocity saturation region. The high output impedance of this region makes it more suitable for current-sourcing operation than the linear region. The transistors also exhibit high linearity, allowing us to suppress fixed pattern noise (FPN) by correcting for both offset and gain variations among pixels. Experimental results on the fabricated 110Ă—200 pixel array are presented. With conventional correlated double sampling (CDS), FPN is reduced from 3.8% to 0.85%. Further reduction requires compensation of gain variations, and results in a final FPN of 0.19%. A triple sampling approach is introduced to implement the described correction in hardware
Gemini multi-conjugate adaptive optics system review II: Commissioning, operation and overall performance
The Gemini Multi-conjugate Adaptive Optics System - GeMS, a facility
instrument mounted on the Gemini South telescope, delivers a uniform, near
diffraction limited images at near infrared wavelengths (0.95 microns- 2.5
microns) over a field of view of 120 arc seconds. GeMS is the first sodium
layer based multi laser guide star adaptive optics system used in astronomy. It
uses five laser guide stars distributed on a 60 arc seconds square
constellation to measure for atmospheric distortions and two deformable mirrors
to compensate for it. In this paper, the second devoted to describe the GeMS
project, we present the commissioning, overall performance and operational
scheme of GeMS. Performance of each sub-system is derived from the
commissioning results. The typical image quality, expressed in full with half
maximum, Strehl ratios and variations over the field delivered by the system
are then described. A discussion of the main contributor to performance
limitation is carried-out. Finally, overheads and future system upgrades are
described.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Linear Current-Mode Active Pixel Sensor
A current mode CMOS active pixel sensor (APS) providing linear light-to-current conversion with inherently low fixed pattern noise (FPN) is presented. The pixel features adjustable-gain current output using a pMOS readout transistor in the linear region of operation. This paper discusses the pixel’s design and operation, and presents an analysis of the pixel’s temporal noise and FPN. Results for zero and first-order pixel mismatch are presented. The pixel was implemented in a both a 3.3 V 0.35 µm and a 1.8 V 0.18 µm CMOS process. The 0.35 µm process pixel had an uncorrected FPN of 1.4%/0.7% with/without column readout mismatch. The 0.18 µm process pixel had 0.4% FPN after delta-reset sampling (DRS). The pixel size in both processes was 10 X 10 µm2, with fill factors of 26% and 66%, respectively
A CMOS Linear Voltage/Current Dual-Mode Imager
We present a CMOS image sensor capable of both voltage- and current-mode operations. Each pixel on the image has a single transistor acting as either source follower for voltage readout, or transconductor for current readout. The two modes share the same readout lines, but have their own correlated double sampling (CDS) units for noise suppression. We also propose a novel current-mode readout technique using a velocity saturated short-channel transistor, which achieves high linearity. The 300x200 image array is a mixture of 3 types of pixels with identical photodiodes and access switches; while the readout transistors are sized for their designated mode of operation. This ensures a fair comparison on the performance of the different modes
Design and construction of a Cherenkov imager for charge measurement of nuclear cosmic rays
A proximity focusing Cherenkov imager called CHERCAM, has been built for the
charge measurement of nuclear cosmic rays with the CREAM instrument. It
consists of a silica aerogel radiator plane across from a detector plane
equipped with 1,600 1" diameter photomultipliers. The two planes are separated
by a ring expansion gap. The Cherenkov light yield is proportional to the
charge squared of the incident particle. The expected relative light collection
accuracy is in the few percents range. It leads to an expected single element
separation over the range of nuclear charge Z of main interest 1 < Z < 26.
CHERCAM is designed to fly with the CREAM balloon experiment. The design of the
instrument and the implemented technical solutions allowing its safe operation
in high altitude conditions (radiations, low pressure, cold) are presented.Comment: 24 pages, 19 figure
Implications of the Cosmic Background Imager Polarization Data
We present new measurements of the power spectra of the E-mode of CMB
polarization, the temperature T, the cross-correlation of E and T, and upper
limits on the B-mode from 2.5 years of dedicated Cosmic Background Imager (CBI)
observations. Both raw maps and optimal signal images in the uv-plane and real
space show strong detections of the E-mode (11.7 sigma for the EE power
spectrum overall) and no detection of the B-mode. The power spectra are used to
constrain parameters of the flat tilted adiabatic Lambda-CDM models: those
determined from EE and TE bandpowers agree with those from TT, a powerful
consistency check. There is little tolerance for shifting polarization peaks
from the TT-forecast locations, as measured by the angular sound crossing scale
theta = 100 ell_s = 1.03 +/- 0.02 from EE and TE cf. 1.044 +/- 0.005 with the
TT data included. The scope for extra out-of-phase peaks from subdominant
isocurvature modes is also curtailed. The EE and TE measurements of CBI, DASI
and BOOMERANG are mutually consistent, and, taken together rather than singly,
give enhanced leverage for these tests.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, submitted to ApJ -- Accepted version. The
fine-bin spectrum, covariance matrix, and window functions are now available
on the web (suitable for use in COSMOMC) at:
http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~tjp/CBI/data2006/index.html The pipeline in the
previous version inadvertently omitted one antenna, so the new spectrum
contains ~15% more data. We emphasize that previous results were in no way
biased, and that the (small) changes to the spectrum solely reflect the
inclusion of the additional data. Numbers and figures in the paper have been
updated correspondingly. All maps now have color bar
A Search for Water in the Atmosphere of HAT-P-26b Using LDSS-3C
The characterization of a physically-diverse set of transiting exoplanets is
an important and necessary step towards establishing the physical properties
linked to the production of obscuring clouds or hazes. It is those planets with
identifiable spectroscopic features that can most effectively enhance our
understanding of atmospheric chemistry and metallicity. The newly-commissioned
LDSS-3C instrument on Magellan provides enhanced sensitivity and suppressed
fringing in the red optical, thus advancing the search for the spectroscopic
signature of water in exoplanetary atmospheres from the ground. Using data
acquired by LDSS-3C and the Spitzer Space Telescope, we search for evidence of
water vapor in the transmission spectrum of the Neptune-mass planet HAT-P-26b.
Our measured spectrum is best explained by the presence of water vapor, a lack
of potassium, and either a high-metallicity, cloud-free atmosphere or a
solar-metallicity atmosphere with a cloud deck at ~10 mbar. The emergence of
multi-scale-height spectral features in our data suggests that future
observations at higher precision could break this degeneracy and reveal the
planet's atmospheric chemical abundances. We also update HAT-P-26b's transit
ephemeris, t_0 = 2455304.65218(25) BJD_TDB, and orbital period, p =
4.2345023(7) days.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, Accepted for publication in Ap
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