835 research outputs found
DiFX2: A more flexible, efficient, robust and powerful software correlator
Software correlation, where a correlation algorithm written in a high-level
language such as C++ is run on commodity computer hardware, has become
increasingly attractive for small to medium sized and/or bandwidth constrained
radio interferometers. In particular, many long baseline arrays (which
typically have fewer than 20 elements and are restricted in observing bandwidth
by costly recording hardware and media) have utilized software correlators for
rapid, cost-effective correlator upgrades to allow compatibility with new,
wider bandwidth recording systems and improve correlator flexibility. The DiFX
correlator, made publicly available in 2007, has been a popular choice in such
upgrades and is now used for production correlation by a number of
observatories and research groups worldwide. Here we describe the evolution in
the capabilities of the DiFX correlator over the past three years, including a
number of new capabilities, substantial performance improvements, and a large
amount of supporting infrastructure to ease use of the code. New capabilities
include the ability to correlate a large number of phase centers in a single
correlation pass, the extraction of phase calibration tones, correlation of
disparate but overlapping sub-bands, the production of rapidly sampled
filterbank and kurtosis data at minimal cost, and many more. The latest version
of the code is at least 15% faster than the original, and in certain situations
many times this value. Finally, we also present detailed test results
validating the correctness of the new code.Comment: 28 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in PAS
VLA Observations of Single Pulses from the Galactic Center Magnetar
We present the results of a 7-12 GHz phased-array study of the Galactic
center magnetar J1745-2900 with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA).
Using data from two 6.5 hour observations from September 2014, we find that the
average profile is comprised of several distinct components at these epochs and
is stable over day timescales and GHz frequencies. Comparison with
additional phased VLA data at 8.7 GHz shows significant profile changes on
longer timescales. The average profile at 7-12 GHz is dominated by the jitter
of relatively narrow pulses. The pulses in each of the four main profile
components seen in September 2014 are uncorrelated in phase and amplitude,
though there is a small but significant correlation in the occurrence of pulses
in two of the profile components. Using the brightest pulses, we measure the
dispersion and scattering parameters of J1745-2900. A joint fit of 38 pulses
gives a 10 GHz pulse broadening time of and a dispersion measure of . Both of these results are consistent with previous measurements,
which suggests that the scattering and dispersion measure of J1745-2900 may be
stable on timescales of several years.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, published in Ap
Gold nanoparticle interactions with endothelial cells cultured under physiological conditions
PEGylated gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have an extended circulation time after intravenous injection in vivo and exhibit favorable properties for biosensing, diagnostic imaging, and cancer treatment. No impact of PEGylated AuNPs on the barrier forming properties of endothelial cells (ECs) has been reported, but recent studies demonstrated that unexpected effects on erythrocytes are observed. Almost all studies to date have been with static-cultured ECs. Herein, ECs maintained under physiological cyclic stretch and flow conditions and used to generate a blood–brain barrier model were exposed to 20 nm PEGylated AuNPs. An evaluation of toxic effects, cell stress, the release profile of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and blood–brain barrier properties showed that even under physiological conditions no obvious effects of PEGylated AuNPs on ECs were observed. These findings suggest that 20 nm-sized, PEGylated AuNPs may be a useful tool for biomedical applications, as they do not affect the normal function of healthy ECs after entering the blood stream
Locating the intense interstellar scattering towards the inner Galaxy
We use VLBA+VLA observations to measure the sizes of the scatter-broadened
images of 6 of the most heavily scattered known pulsars: 3 within the Galactic
Centre (GC) and 3 elsewhere in the inner Galactic plane. By combining the
measured sizes with temporal pulse broadening data from the literature and
using the thin-screen approximation, we locate the scattering medium along the
line of sight to these 6 pulsars. At least two scattering screens are needed to
explain the observations of the GC sample. We show that the screen inferred by
previous observations of SGR J1745-2900 and Sgr A*, which must be located far
from the GC, falls off in strength on scales < 0.2 degree. A second scattering
component closer to (< 2 kpc) or even (tentatively) within (< 700 pc) the GC
produces most or all of the temporal broadening observed in the other GC
pulsars. Outside the GC, the scattering locations for all three pulsars are ~2
kpc from Earth, consistent with the distance of the Carina-Sagittarius or
Scutum spiral arm. For each object the 3D scattering origin coincides with a
known HII region (and in one case also a supernova remnant), suggesting that
such objects preferentially cause the intense interstellar scattering seen
towards the Galactic plane. We show that the HII regions should contribute >
25% of the total dispersion measure (DM) towards these pulsars, and calculate
reduced DM distances. Those distances for other pulsars lying behind HII
regions may be similarly overestimated.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, MNRAS, in pres
The first resolved imaging of milliarcsecond-scale jets in Circinus X-1
We present the first resolved imaging of the milliarcsecond-scale jets in the
neutron star X-ray binary Circinus X-1, made using the Australian Long Baseline
Array. The angular extent of the resolved jets is ~20 milliarcseconds,
corresponding to a physical scale of ~150 au at the assumed distance of 7.8
kpc. The jet position angle is relatively consistent with previous
arcsecond-scale imaging with the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The radio
emission is symmetric about the peak, and is unresolved along the minor axis,
constraining the opening angle to be less than 20 degrees. We observe evidence
for outward motion of the components between the two halves of the observation.
Constraints on the proper motion of the radio-emitting components suggest that
they are only mildly relativistic, although we cannot definitively rule out the
presence of the unseen, ultra-relativistic (Lorentz factor >15) flow previously
inferred to exist in this system.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters. 6 pages, 4 figure
Five new real-time detections of Fast Radio Bursts with UTMOST
We detail a new fast radio burst (FRB) survey with the Molonglo Radio
Telescope, in which six FRBs were detected between June 2017 and December 2018.
By using a real-time FRB detection system, we captured raw voltages for five of
the six events, which allowed for coherent dedispersion and very high time
resolution (10.24 s) studies of the bursts. Five of the FRBs show temporal
broadening consistent with interstellar and/or intergalactic scattering, with
scattering timescales ranging from 0.16 to 29.1 ms. One burst, FRB181017, shows
remarkable temporal structure, with 3 peaks each separated by 1 ms. We searched
for phase-coherence between the leading and trailing peaks and found none,
ruling out lensing scenarios. Based on this survey, we calculate an all-sky
rate at 843 MHz of events sky day to a fluence
limit of 8 Jy-ms: a factor of 7 below the rates estimated from the Parkes and
ASKAP telescopes at 1.4 GHz assuming the ASKAP-derived spectral index
(). Our results suggest that FRB
spectra may turn over below 1 GHz. Optical, radio and X-ray followup has been
made for most of the reported bursts, with no associated transients found. No
repeat bursts were found in the survey.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, submitted to MNRA
Two-Screen Scattering in CRAFT FRBs
Temporal broadening is a commonly observed property of fast radio bursts
(FRBs), associated with turbulent media which cause radiowave scattering.
Similarly to dispersion, scattering is an important probe of the media along
the line of sight to an FRB source, such as the circum-burst or circum-galactic
mediums (CGM). Measurements of characteristic scattering times alone are
insufficient to constrain the position of the dominant scattering media along
the line of sight. However, where more than one scattering screen exists,
Galactic scintillation can be leveraged to form strong constraints. We quantify
the scattering and scintillation in 10 FRBs with 1) known host galaxies and
redshifts and 2) captured voltage data enabling high time resolution analysis,
obtained from the Commensal Real-time ASKAP (Australian Square Kilometre Array
Pathfinder) Fast Transient survey science project (CRAFT). We find strong
evidence for two screens in three cases. For FRBs 20190608B and 20210320C, we
find evidence for scattering screens less than approximately 16.7 and 3000 kpc
respectively, from their sources. For FRB 20201124A we find evidence for a
scattering screen at 26 kpc. Each of these measures is consistent with
the scattering occurring in the host ISM (inter-stellar medium) or CGM. If
pulse broadening is assumed to be contributed by the host galaxy ISM or
circum-burst environment, the definitive lack of observed scintillation in four
FRBs in our sample suggests that existing models may be over-estimating
scattering times associated with the Milky Way's ISM, similar to the
anomalously low scattering observed for FRB 20201124A.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, 1 table. Submitted to MNRA
Enzymatic reduction and oxidation of fibre-bound azo-dyes
A new customer and environmental friendly method of hair bound dye decolouration was developed. Biotransformation of the azo-dyes Flame Orange and Ruby Red was studied using different oxidoreductases. The pathways of azo dye conversion by these enzymes were investigated and the intermediates and metabolites were identified and characterised using UV–vis spectroscopy, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry (MS). Laccase from Pycnoporus cinnabarinus, manganese peroxidase (MnP) from Nematoloma frowardii and the novel Agrocybe aegerita peroxidase (AaP) were found to use a similar mechanism to convert azo dyes. They N-demethylated the dyes and concomitantly polymerized them to some extent. On the other hand the mechanism for cleavage of the azo bond by azo-reductases of Bacillus cereus and B. subtilis was based on reduction of the azo bond at the expense of NAD(P)H
e-VLBI observations of Circinus X-1: monitoring of the quiescent and flaring radio emission on AU scales
A recent detection of the peculiar neutron star X-ray binary Circinus X-1
with electronic very long baseline interferometry (e-VLBI) prompted the
suggestion that compact, non-variable radio emission persists through the
entire 16.6-day orbit of the binary system. We present the results of a high
angular resolution monitoring campaign conducted with the Australian Long
Baseline Array in real-time e-VLBI mode. e-VLBI observations of Circinus X-1
were made on alternate days over a period of 20 days covering the full binary
orbit. A compact radio source associated with Circinus X-1 was clearly detected
at orbital phases following periastron passage but no compact radio emission
was detected at any other orbital phase, ruling out the presence of a
persistent, compact emitting region at our sensitivity levels. The jet was not
resolved at any epoch of our 1.4-GHz monitoring campaign, suggesting that the
ultrarelativistic flow previously inferred to exist in this source is likely to
be dark. We discuss these findings within the context of previous radio
monitoring of Circinus X-1.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 7 pages, 5 figure
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