1,216 research outputs found
Near-Field Radio Holography of Large Reflector Antennas
We summarise the mathematical foundation of the holographic method of
measuring the reflector profile of an antenna or radio telescope. In
particular, we treat the case, where the signal source is located at a finite
distance from the antenna under test, necessitating the inclusion of the
so-called Fresnel field terms in the radiation integrals. We assume a ``full
phase'' system with reference receiver to provide the reference phase. We
describe in some detail the hardware and software implementation of the system
used for the holographic measurement of the 12m ALMA prototype submillimeter
antennas. We include a description of the practicalities of a measurement and
surface setting. The results for both the VertexRSI and AEC
(Alcatel-EIE-Consortium) prototype ALMA antennas are presented.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figures, to appear in IEEE Antennas and Propagation
Magazine, Vol. 49, No. 5, October 2007. Version 2 includes nice mug-shots of
the author
Imaging the Radio Photospheres of Mira Variables
We have used the VLA at 43 GHz to image the radio continuum emission from o
Ceti, R Leo, and W Hya and to precisely locate their SiO maser emission with
respect to the star. The radio continuum emission region for all three stars
has a diameter close to 5.6 AU. These diameters are similar to those measured
at infrared wavelengths in bands containing strong molecular opacity and about
twice those measured in line-free regions of the infrared spectrum. Thus, the
radio photosphere and the infrared molecular layer appear to be coextensive.
The 43 GHz continuum emission is consistent with temperatures near 1600 K and
opacity from H-minus free-free interactions. While the continuum image of o
Ceti appears nearly circular, both R Leo and W Hya display significant
elongations. The SiO masers for all three stars show partial rings with
diameters close to 8 AU.Comment: 14 pages; 3 figure
Radio Emission Signatures in the Crab Pulsar
Our high time resolution observations of individual pulses from the Crab
pulsar show that both the time and frequency signatures of the interpulse are
distinctly different from those of the main pulse. Main pulses can occasionally
be resolved into short-lived, relatively narrow-band nanoshots. We believe
these nanoshots are produced by soliton collapse in strong plasma turbulence.
Interpulses at centimeter wavelengths are very different. Their dynamic
spectrum contains regular, microsecond-long emission bands. We have detected
these bands, proportionately spaced in frequency, from 4.5 to 10.5 GHz. The
bands cannot easily be explained by any current theory of pulsar radio
emission; we speculate on possible new models.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figures, to appear in Ap
Detection of Optical Synchrotron Emission from the Radio Jet of 3C279
We report the detection of optical and ultraviolet emission from the
kiloparsec scale jet of the well-known quasar 3C~279. A bright knot, discovered
in archival V and U band {\it Hubble Space Telescope} Faint Object Camera
images, is coincident with a peak in the radio jet \sim0.6\arcsec from the
nucleus. The detection was also confirmed in Wide Field Planetary Camera-2
images. Archival Very Large Array and MERLIN radio data are also analyzed which
help to show that the high-energy optical/UV continuum, and spectrum, are
consistent with a synchrotron origin from the same population of relativistic
electrons responsible for the radio emission.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figs. accepted for publication in ApJL with minor
revision
Citrus/Cydonia Comp. Can Restore the Immunological Balance in Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis-Related Immunological Parameters In Vitro
In two in vitro studies, we examined the immunological (pathways of the) effects of Citrus/Cydonia comp. from, respectively, a healthy and an allergic donor; peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated out of peripheral blood and analyzed in vitro after polyclonal stimulation of T-cells. The differentiation capacity and the influence with regard to Th1 (IFN-γ) and Th2 (IL-5) cells were examined. Citrus/Cydonia comp. has a selective effect on the differentiation of T-cells by producing relatively more IL-10 than IL-12. By that, it also seems to have an effect on the induction of regulatory (IL-10 producing) T-cell subsets. It is in vitro capable of neutralizing (to some extent) the changes, characteristic to allergic rhinitis, with regard to the maturation, differentiation, and activity of the immune system. Thus, Citrus/Cydonia comp. can potentially restore the disturbed immune state of rhinitis patients, which essentially could be sufficient to make allergic symptoms disappear permanently
Imaging the Ionized Disk of the High-Mass Protostar Orion-I
We have imaged the enigmatic radio source-I (Orion-I) in the Orion-KL nebula
with the VLA at 43 GHz with 34 mas angular resolution. The continuum emission
is highly elongated and is consistent with that expected from a nearly edge-on
disk. The high brightness and lack of strong molecular lines from Orion-I can
be used to argue against emission from dust. Collisional ionization and H-minus
free-free opacity, as in Mira variables, require a central star with >10^5
Lsun, which is greater than infrared observations allow. However, if
significant local heating associated with accretion occurs, lower total
luminosities are possible. Alternatively, photo-ionization from an early B-type
star and p+/e- bremsstrahlung can explain our observations, and Orion-I may be
an example of ionized accretion disk surrounding a forming massive star. Such
accretion disks may not be able to form planets efficiently.Comment: 16 pages, 1 table, 3 figure
Evidence for Proportionate Partition Between the Magnetic Field and Hot Gas in Turbulent Cassiopeia A
We present a deep X-ray observation of the young Galactic supernova remnant
Cas A, acquired with the ROSAT High Resolution Imager. This high dynamic range
(232 ks) image reveals low-surface-brightness X-ray structure, which appears
qualitatively similar to corresponding radio features. We consider the
correlation between the X-ray and radio morphologies and its physical
implications. After correcting for the inhomogeneous absorption across the
remnant, we performed a point by point (4" resolution) surface brightness
comparison between the X-ray and radio images. We find a strong (r = 0.75)
log-log correlation, implying an overall relationship of . This is
consistent with proportionate partition (and possibly equipartition) between
the local magnetic field and the hot gas --- implying that Cas A's plasma is
fully turbulent and continuously amplifying the magnetic field.Comment: 8 pages with embedded bitmapped figures, Accepted by ApJ Letters
5/1/9
A Search for Active Galactic Nuclei in Sc Galaxies with H II Spectra
(Abridged) We have searched for nuclear radio emission from a statistically
complete sample of 40 Sc galaxies within 30 Mpc that are optically classified
as star-forming objects, in order to determine whether weak AGNs might be
present. Only three nuclear radio sources were detected, in NGC 864, NGC 4123,
and NGC 4535. These galaxies have peak 6-cm radio powers of 10^{20} W/Hz at
arcsecond resolution, while upper limits of the non-detected galaxies typically
range from 10^{18.4} to 10^{20} W/Hz. The three nuclear radio sources all are
resolved and appear to have diffuse morphologies, with linear sizes of ~300 pc.
This strongly indicates that circumnuclear star formation has been detected in
these three H II galaxies. Comparison with previous 20-cm VLA results for the
detected galaxies shows that the extended nuclear radio emission has a flat
spectrum in two objects, and almost certainly is generated by thermal emission
from gas ionized by young stars in the centers of those galaxies. The 6-cm
radio powers are comparable to predictions for thermal emission that are based
on the nuclear H-alpha luminosities, and imply nuclear star formation rates of
0.08-0.8 solar masses/yr, while the low-resolution NRAO VLA Sky Survey implies
galaxy-wide star formation rates of 0.3-1.0 solar masses/yr in stars above 5
solar masses. Although the presence of active nuclei powered by massive black
holes cannot be definitively ruled out, the present results suggest that they
are likely to be rare in these late-type galaxies with H II spectra.Comment: To appear in ApJ. 7 page
Radio Emission from the Intermediate-mass Black Hole in the Globular Cluster G1
We have used the Very Large Array (VLA) to search for radio emission from the
globular cluster G1 (Mayall-II) in M31. G1 has been reported by Gebhardt et al.
to contain an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) with a mass of ~2 x 10^4
solar masses. Radio emission was detected within an arcsecond of the cluster
center with an 8.4 GHz power of 2 x 10^{15} W/Hz. The radio/X-ray ratio of G1
is a few hundred times higher than that expected for a high-mass X-ray binary
in the cluster center, but is consistent with the expected value for accretion
onto an IMBH with the reported mass. A pulsar wind nebula is also a possible
candidate for the radio and X-ray emission from G1; future high-sensitivity
VLBI observations might distinguish between this possibility and an IMBH. If
the radio source is an IMBH, and similar accretion and outflow processes occur
for hypothesized ~ 1000-solar-mass black holes in Milky Way globular clusters,
they are within reach of the current VLA and should be detectable easily by the
Expanded VLA when it comes on line in 2010.Comment: ApJ Letters, accepted, 11 pages, 1 figur
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