218,293 research outputs found
The Long Wavelength Array Software Library
The Long Wavelength Array Software Library (LSL) is a Python module that
provides a collection of utilities to analyze and export data collected at the
first station of the Long Wavelength Array, LWA1. Due to the nature of the data
format and large-N (100 inputs) challenges faced by the LWA, currently
available software packages are not suited to process the data. Using tools
provided by LSL, observers can read in the raw LWA1 data, synthesize a filter
bank, and apply incoherent de-dispersion to the data. The extensible nature of
LSL also makes it an ideal tool for building data analysis pipelines and
applying the methods to other low frequency arrays.Comment: accepted to the Journal of Astronomical Instrumentation; 24 pages, 4
figure
Surveying the Dynamic Radio Sky with the Long Wavelength Demonstrator Array
This paper presents a search for radio transients at a frequency of 73.8 MHz
(4 m wavelength) using the all-sky imaging capabilities of the Long Wavelength
Demonstrator Array (LWDA). The LWDA was a 16-dipole phased array telescope,
located on the site of the Very Large Array in New Mexico. The field of view of
the individual dipoles was essentially the entire sky, and the number of
dipoles was sufficiently small that a simple software correlator could be used
to make all-sky images. From 2006 October to 2007 February, we conducted an
all-sky transient search program, acquiring a total of 106 hr of data; the time
sampling varied, being 5 minutes at the start of the program and improving to 2
minutes by the end of the program. We were able to detect solar flares, and in
a special-purpose mode, radio reflections from ionized meteor trails during the
2006 Leonid meteor shower. We detected no transients originating outside of the
solar system above a flux density limit of 500 Jy, equivalent to a limit of no
more than about 10^{-2} events/yr/deg^2, having a pulse energy density >~ 1.5 x
10^{-20} J/m^2/Hz at 73.8 MHz for pulse widths of about 300 s. This event rate
is comparable to that determined from previous all-sky transient searches, but
at a lower frequency than most previous all-sky searches. We believe that the
LWDA illustrates how an all-sky imaging mode could be a useful operational
model for low-frequency instruments such as the Low Frequency Array, the Long
Wavelength Array station, the low-frequency component of the Square Kilometre
Array, and potentially the Lunar Radio Array.Comment: 20 pages; accepted for publication in A
Optimal light harvesting structures at optical and infrared frequencies
One-dimensional light harvesting structures with a realistic geometry
nano-patterned on an opaque metallic film are optimized to render high
transmission efficiencies at optical and infrared frequencies. Simple design
rules are developed for the particular case of a slit-groove array with a given
number of grooves that are symmetrically distributed with respect to a central
slit. These rules take advantage of the hybridization of Fabry-Perot modes in
the slit and surface modes of the corrugated metal surface. Same design rules
apply for optical and infrared frequencies. The parameter space of the groove
array is also examined with a conjugate gradient optimization algorithm that
used as a seed the geometries optimized following physical intuition. Both
uniform and nonuniform groove arrays are considered. The largest transmission
enhancement, with respect to a uniform array, is obtained for a chirped groove
profile. Such enhancement is a function of the wavelength. It decreases from
39% in the optical part of the spectrum to 15% at the long wavelength infrared.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure
Testing and optimizing MST coaxial collinear arrays, part 6.4A
Many clear-air VHF wind profiles use coaxial collinear (COCO) arrays for their antenna. A COCO array is composed of long lines of half-wave dipoles spaced one-half wavelength apart. An inexpensive method of checking a COCO array is described and its performance is optimized by measuring and then correcting the relative rf phase among its lines at their feed point. This method also gives an estimate of the rf current amplitude among the lines. The strength and location of the sidelobes in the H-plane of the array can be estimated
Multispectral scanner optical system
An optical system for use in a multispectral scanner of the type used in video imaging devices is disclosed. Electromagnetic radiation reflected by a rotating scan mirror is focused by a concave primary telescope mirror and collimated by a second concave mirror. The collimated beam is split by a dichroic filter which transmits radiant energy in the infrared spectrum and reflects visible and near infrared energy. The long wavelength beam is filtered and focused on an infrared detector positioned in a cryogenic environment. The short wavelength beam is dispersed by a pair of prisms, then projected on an array of detectors also mounted in a cryogenic environment and oriented at an angle relative to the optical path of the dispersed short wavelength beam
The detection and photometric redshift determination of distant galaxies using SIRTF's Infrared Array Camera
We investigate the ability of the Space Infrared Telescope Facility's
Infrared Array Camera to detect distant (z ~ 3)galaxies and measure their
photometric redshifts. Our analysis shows that changing the original long
wavelength filter specifications provides significant improvements in
performance in this and other areas.Comment: 28 pages incl 12 figures; to appear in June 1999 PASP. Fig.12
replaced with corrected versio
Complete eigenstates of identical qubits arranged in regular polygons
We calculate the energy eigenvalues and eigenstates corresponding to coherent
single and multiple excitations of an array of N identical qubits or two-level
atoms (TLA's) arranged on the vertices of a regular polygon. We assume only
that the coupling occurs via an exchange interaction which depends on the
separation between the qubits. We include the interactions between all pairs of
qubits, and our results are valid for arbitrary distances relative to the
radiation wavelength. To illustrate the usefulness of these states, we plot the
distance dependence of the decay rates of the n=2 (biexciton) eigenstates of an
array of 4 qubits, and tabulate the biexciton eigenvalues and eigenstates, and
absorption frequencies, line widths, and relative intensities for polygons
consisting of N=2,...,9 qubits in the long-wavelength limit.Comment: Added a figure showing how these results can be used to compute
deviations from "equal collective decoherence" approximation
Searching for Pulsars Using the Long Wavelength Array Telescope
Radio pulsars are fascinating celestial objects known to display both periodic and transient behavior. Pulsars are characterized by narrow electromagnetic radiation beams which restrict the number of pulsars visible from Earth due to the necessary alignment of the radiation beam across an observer’s line of sight. Pulsars are useful tools for a broad range of applications and provide important information about the process of stellar evolution, tests for relativistic theories of gravity and the search for low-frequency gravitational waves. Over 2,500 pulsars have been observed since their initial discovery in 1967 but the search for these objects is continuously warranted. Most pulsar discoveries rely on high time resolution and large collecting area telescopes, and long on-sky observations. In this thesis, I present results from the LWA1 Northern Celestial Cap (LNCC) pulsar survey using the Long Wavelength Array Telescope in New Mexico and discuss the challenges and opportunities. The LNCC survey is the first part of the LWA1 all sky pulsar/radio transient survey and it is focused on the least explored region of the sky: the northern celestial pole with focus on pulsars. The LNCC is one of the first large-scale pulsar surveys at low frequencies using 30 MHz to 62 MHz. Each of 320 positions in the sky have been tracked using a single beam for one hour per position. Using a pipeline that I co-developed, I processed some of the data using LoneStar5, one of the supercomputers at the Texas Advanced Computing Center. Known pulsars redetected are part of the LWA1 Pulsar Archive and are listed in this thesis
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