289 research outputs found
Acknowledgment of Referees Maderas-Cienc Tecnol 2022-2023
We gratefully acknowledgements the referees listed below of Maderas-Cienc Tecnol. We thank you for reviewing the manuscripts for Maderas-Cienc Tecnol journal. We appreciate your time and effort in reviewing and greatly value your assistance as a reviewers for Maderas-Cienc Tecnol journal
GRAVITY: The AO-Assisted, Two-Object Beam-Combiner Instrument
We present the proposal for the infrared adaptive optics (AO) assisted,
two-object, high-throughput, multiple-beam-combiner GRAVITY for the VLTI. This
instrument will be optimized for phase-referenced interferometric imaging and
narrow-angle astrometry of faint, red objects. Following the scientific
drivers, we analyze the VLTI infrastructure, and subsequently derive the
requirements and concept for the optimum instrument. The analysis can be
summarized with the need for highest sensitivity, phase referenced imaging and
astrometry of two objects in the VLTI beam, and infrared wavefront-sensing.
Consequently our proposed instrument allows the observations of faint, red
objects with its internal infrared wavefront sensor, pushes the optical
throughput by restricting observations to K-band at low and medium spectral
resolution, and is fully enclosed in a cryostat for optimum background
suppression and stability. Our instrument will thus increase the sensitivity of
the VLTI significantly beyond the present capabilities. With its two fibers per
telescope beam, GRAVITY will not only allow the simultaneous observations of
two objects, but will also push the astrometric accuracy for UTs to 10
micro-arcsec, and provide simultaneous astrometry for up to six baselines.Comment: 12 pages, to be published in the Proceedings of the ESO Workshop on
"The Power of Optical/IR Interferometry: Recent Scientific Results and 2nd
Generation VLTI Instrumentation", eds. F. Paresce, A. Richichi, A. Chelli and
F. Delplancke, held in Garching, Germany, 4-8 April 200
Astrometry with the VLTI: calibration of the Fringe Sensor Unit for the PRIMA astrometric camera
The future PRIMA facility at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) in astrometric mode offers the possibility to perform relative narrow-angle astrometry with 10 micro-arcsecond accuracy. This is achieved with a dual-beam interferometer concept, where a reference star and the scientific target, confined in a 60 arcsecond field, are observed simultaneously. The angular separation of the two stellar objects gives rise to an optical delay in the interferometer, which is measured by the Fringe Sensor Unit (FSU) and an internal laser metrology. PRIMA is using two FSU fringe detectors, each observing the interference of stellar beams coming from one of the two objects and measuring the corresponding phase and group delay. The astrometric observable, yielding the angular separation, is deduced from the group delay difference observed between the two objects. In addition, the FSU phase delay estimate is used as error signal for the fringe stabilisation loop of the VLTI. Both functions of the FSU require high precision fringe phase measurements with a goal of 1 nm rms (corresponding to λ/2000). These can only be achieved by applying a calibration procedure prior to the observing run. We discuss the FSU measurement principle and the applied algorithms. The calibration strategy and the methods used to derive the calibration parameters are presented. Special attention is given to the achieved measurement linearity and repeatability. The quality of the FSU calibration is crucial in order to achieve the ultimate accuracy and to fulfill the primary objective of PRIMA astrometry: the detection and characterisation of extrasolar planetary system
Infrared interferometry to spatially and spectrally resolve jets in X-ray binaries
Infrared interferometry is a new frontier for precision ground based
observing, with new instrumentation achieving milliarcsecond (mas) spatial
resolutions for faint sources, along with astrometry on the order of 10
microarcseconds. This technique has already led to breakthroughs in the
observations of the supermassive black hole at the Galactic centre and its
orbiting stars, AGN, and exo-planets, and can be employed for studying X-ray
binaries (XRBs), microquasars in particular. Beyond constraining the orbital
parameters of the system using the centroid wobble and spatially resolving jet
discrete ejections on mas scales, we also propose a novel method to discern
between the various components contributing to the infrared bands: accretion
disk, jets and companion star. We demonstrate that the GRAVITY instrument on
the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) should be able to detect a
centroid shift in a number of sources, opening a new avenue of exploration for
the myriad of transients expected to be discovered in the coming decade of
radio all-sky surveys. We also present the first proof-of-concept GRAVITY
observation of a low-mass X-ray binary transient, MAXI J1820+070, to search for
extended jets on mas scales. We place the tightest constraints yet via direct
imaging on the size of the infrared emitting region of the compact jet in a
hard state XRB.Comment: 12 Pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
The GRAVITY fringe tracker: correlation between optical path residuals and atmospheric parameters
After the first year of observations with the GRAVITY fringe tracker, we
compute correlations between the optical path residuals and atmospheric and
astronomical parameters. The median residuals of the optical path residuals are
180 nm on the ATs and 270 nm on the UTs. The residuals are uncorrelated with
the target magnitudes for Kmag below 5.5 on ATs (9 on UTs). The correlation
with the coherence time is however extremely clear, with a drop-off in fringe
tracking performance below 3 ms.Comment: submitted to SPIE Astronomical Telescopes & Instrumentation 201
En nombre de la ciencia: Entre el rigor y la pasión
La gestión editorial de una revista científica es rigor científico, que conlleva una elevada responsabilidad, que, entre otras actividades, incluye mantener la visibilidad de la revista, en adición al proceso de revisión por pares y al cumplimiento de la periodicidad. Pero también es pasión científica, por lo nuevo, por lo porvenir, que mitigan los múltiples roles, esto es, como investigador, gestor de proyectos de investigación, autor de artículos científicos, examinador de papers, guía de tesis, docencia directa, además de otras labores administrativas, sin contar la soledad de la incomprensión editorial
Intense Star-formation and Feedback at High Redshift: Spatially-resolved Properties of the z=2.6 Submillimeter Galaxy SMMJ14011+0252
We present a detailed analysis of the spatially-resolved properties of the
lensed submillimeter galaxy SMMJ14011+0252 at z=2.56, combining deep
near-infrared integral-field data obtained with SPIFFI on the VLT with other
multi-wavelength data sets. The broad characteristics of SMMJ14011+0252 are in
agreement with what is expected for the early evolution of local massive
spheroidal galaxies. From continuum and line flux, velocity, and dispersion
maps, we measure the kinematics, star-formation rates, gas densities, and
extinction for individual subcomponents. The star formation intensity is
similar to low-redshift ``maximal starbursts'', while the line fluxes and the
dynamics of the emission line gas provide direct evidence for a
starburst-driven wind with physical properties very similar to local
superwinds. We also find circumstantial evidence for "self-regulated" star
formation within J1. The relative velocity of the bluer companion J2 yields a
dynamical mass estimate for J1 within about 20 kpc, M_dyn \sim 1\times 10^{11}
M_sun. The relative metallicity of J2 is 0.4 dex lower than in J1n/s,
suggesting different star formation histories. SED fitting of the continuum
peak J1c confirms and substantiates previous suggestions that this component is
a z=0.25 interloper. When removing J1c, the stellar continuum and H-alpha line
emission appear well aligned spatially in two individual components J1n and
J1s, and coincide with two kinematically distinct regions in the velocity map,
which might well indicate a merging system. This highlights the close
similarity between SMGs and ULIRGs, which are often merger-driven maximal
starbursts, and suggests that the intrinsic mechanisms of star-formation and
related feedback are similar to low-redshift strongly star-forming systems.Comment: Some of the figures changed from b/w to colo
Mid-infrared interferometry with K band fringe-tracking I. The VLTI MIDI+FSU experiment
Context: A turbulent atmosphere causes atmospheric piston variations leading
to rapid changes in the optical path difference of an interferometer, which
causes correlated flux losses. This leads to decreased sensitivity and accuracy
in the correlated flux measurement. Aims: To stabilize the N band
interferometric signal in MIDI (MID-infrared Interferometric instrument), we
use an external fringe tracker working in K band, the so-called FSU-A (fringe
sensor unit) of the PRIMA (Phase-Referenced Imaging and Micro-arcsecond
Astrometry) facility at VLTI. We present measurements obtained using the newly
commissioned and publicly offered MIDI+FSU-A mode. A first characterization of
the fringe-tracking performance and resulting gains in the N band are
presented. In addition, we demonstrate the possibility of using the FSU-A to
measure visibilities in the K band. Methods: We analyzed FSU-A fringe track
data of 43 individual observations covering different baselines and object K
band magnitudes with respect to the fringe-tracking performance. The N band
group delay and phase delay values could be predicted by computing the relative
change in the differential water vapor column density from FSU-A data.
Visibility measurements in the K band were carried out using a scanning mode of
the FSU-A. Results: Using the FSU-A K band group delay and phase delay
measurements, we were able to predict the corresponding N band values with high
accuracy with residuals of less than 1 micrometer. This allows the coherent
integration of the MIDI fringes of faint or resolved N band targets,
respectively. With that method we could decrease the detection limit of
correlated fluxes of MIDI down to 0.5 Jy (vs. 5 Jy without FSU-A) and 0.05 Jy
(vs. 0.2 Jy without FSU-A) using the ATs and UTs, respectively. The K band
visibilities could be measured with a precision down to ~2%.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures, Accepted for publication in A&
GCIRS16SW: a massive eclipsing binary in the Galactic Center
We report on the spectroscopic monitoring of GCIRS16SW, an Ofpe/WN9 star and
LBV candidate in the central parsec of the Galaxy. SINFONI observations show
strong daily spectroscopic changes in the K band. Radial velocities are derived
from the HeI 2.112 um line complex and vary regularly with a period of 19.45
days, indicating that the star is most likely an eclipsing binary. Under
various assumptions, we are able to derive a mass of ~ 50 Msun for each
component.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, ApJ Letters accepte
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