299 research outputs found
Opportunities for maser studies with the Square Kilometre Array
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is the radio telescope of the next
generation, providing an increase in sensitivity and angular resolution of two
orders of magnitude over existing telescopes. Currently, the SKA is expected to
span the frequency range 0.1-25 GHz with capabilities including a wide
field-of-view and measurement of polarised emission. Such a telescope has
enormous potential for testing fundamental physical laws and producing
transformational discoveries. Important science goals include using H2O
megamasers to make precise estimates of H0, which will anchor the extragalactic
distance scale, and to probe the central structures of accretion disks around
supermassive black holes in AGNs, to study OH megamasers associated with
extreme starburst activity in distant galaxies and to study with unprecedented
precision molecular gas and star formation in our Galaxy.Comment: 5 pages, to appear in: IAU Symposium 242 Astrophysical Masers and
their Environment
Optical properties of materials at low temperature and their application to optical detection
A lumped model to represent the photodielectric effect is developed. An analog simulation for a sample in a microwave cavity with a static magnetic field is developed. A system to measure continuously the PDE is analyzed. A performance factor to compared PD detectors versus ac photoconductors is computed. The operating conditions are defined for the appropriate noise conditions. The detectivity of the detector is found to be limited by the semiconductor sample noise
New H_(2)O masers in Seyfert and FIR bright galaxies: III. The southern sample
Context. A relationship between the water maser detection rate and far infrared (FIR) flux densities was established as a result of two 22 GHz maser surveys in a complete sample of galaxies (Dec > −30°) with flux densities of >50 Jy and >30 Jy.
Aims. We attempted to discover new maser sources and investigate the galaxies hosting the maser spots by extending previous surveys to southern galaxies with particular emphasis on the study of their nuclear regions.
Methods. A sample of 12 galaxies with Dec 50 Jy was observed with the 70-m telescope of the Canberra deep space communication complex (CDSCC) at Tidbinbilla (Australia) in a search for water maser emission. The average 3σ noise level of the survey was 15 mJy for a 0.42 km s^(−1) channel, corresponding to a detection threshold of ∼0.1 L_☉ for the isotropic maser luminosity at a distance of 25 Mpc.
Results. Two new detections are reported: a kilomaser with an isotropic luminosity L_(H_(2)O) ~ 5 L_☉ in NGC 3620 and a maser with about twice this luminosity in the merger system NGC 3256. The detections have been followed-up by continuum and spectral line interferometric observations with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). In NGC 3256, a fraction (about a third) of the maser emission originates in two hot spots associated with star formation activity, which are offset from the galactic nuclei of the system. The remaining emission may originate in weaker centres of maser activity distributed over the central 50". For NGC 3620, the water maser is coincident with the nuclear region of the galaxy. Our continuum observations indicate that the nature of the nuclear emission is probably linked to particularly intense star formation. Including the historical detection in NGC 4945, the water maser detection rate in the southern sample is 15% (3/20), consistent with the northern sample. The high rate of maser detections in the complete all-sky FIR sample (23%, 15/65) confirms the existence of a link between overall FIR flux density and maser phenomena. A relation between H_(2)O and OH masers in the FIR sample is also discussed
The association between water kilomasers and compact radio sources in the starburst galaxy NGC2146
We report the detection of 22 GHz water vapor emission toward the starburst
galaxy NGC2146, made using the Effelsberg 100-m telescope. Interferometric
observations with the Very Large Array (VLA) show that a part of the emission
originates from two prominent sites of star formation that are associated with
compact radio continuum sources, likely ultra-compact HII regions. It is
concluded that the emission arises from the most luminous and distant water
`kilomasers' detected so far. Our data increase the number of water maser
detections in northern galaxies (Dec > -30 deg) with 100 micron IRAS point
source fluxes > 50 Jy to 18%.Comment: 4 pages including 3 figures, accepted for publication in A&A Lette
Observations of extragalactic masers in bright IRAS sources
We report the first results of an ongoing survey at 22 GHz with the 100-m
Effelsberg telescope to search for water maser emission in bright IRAS sources.
We have detected water vapor emission in IC 342. The maser, associated with a
star forming region ~10-15 arcsec west of the nucleus, consists of a single 0.5
km/s wide feature and reaches an isotropic luminosity of 0.01 L(sun) (D = 1.8
Mpc). Our detection raises the detection rate among northern galaxies with IRAS
point source fluxes S(100micron) > 50 Jy to 16%.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures. Proceeding of the conference "SRT: the impact of
large antennas on Radio Astronomy and Space Science", Cagliari, Italy, 7-10
Nov. 2001, Eds. Porceddu et al. Needs srt_style.st
The innermost region of the water megamaser radio galaxy 3C403
The standard unified scheme of active galactic nuclei requires the presence
of high column densities of gas and dust potentially obscuring the central
engine. So far, few direct subarcsecond resolution studies of this material
have been performed toward radio galaxies. The goal of this paper is to
elucidate the nuclear environment of the prototypical X-shaped Fanaroff-Riley
type II radio galaxy 3C403, the only powerful radio galaxy known to host a
water megamaser. Very Large Array A-array and single-dish Green Bank and
Effelsberg 1.3 cm measurements were performed to locate and monitor the water
maser emission. Very Long Baseline Interferometry 6 cm continuum observations
were taken to analyze the spatial structure of the nuclear environment at even
smaller scales, while the CO J=1-0 and 2-1 transitions were observed with the
IRAM 30-m telescope to search for thermal emission from a spatially extended,
moderately dense gas component.[abridged]Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures, accepted by A&A. For a version with high
quality figures, see http://erg.ca.astro.it/~atarchi/3C403
Energy Efficient Adaptive Network Coding Schemes for Satellite Communications
In this paper, we propose novel energy efficient adaptive network coding and
modulation schemes for time variant channels. We evaluate such schemes under a
realistic channel model for open area environments and Geostationary Earth
Orbit (GEO) satellites. Compared to non-adaptive network coding and adaptive
rate efficient network-coded schemes for time variant channels, we show that
our proposed schemes, through physical layer awareness can be designed to
transmit only if a target quality of service (QoS) is achieved. As a result,
such schemes can provide remarkable energy savings.Comment: Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social
Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, 24 March 201
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