High Precision Astrometric Millimeter VLBI Using a New Method for Atmospheric Calibration

We describe a new method which achieves high precision Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) astrometry in observations at millimeter wavelengths. It combines fast frequency-switching observations, to correct for the dominant non-dispersive tropospheric fluctuations, with slow source-switching observations, for the remaining ionospheric dispersive terms. We call this method Source-Frequency Phase Referencing. Provided that the switching cycles match the properties of the propagation media, one can recover the source astrometry. We present an analytic description of the two-step calibration strategy, along with an error analysis to characterize its performance. Also, we provide observational demonstrations of a successful application with observations using the Very Long Baseline Array at 86 GHz of the pairs of sources 3C274 & 3C273 and 1308+326 & 1308+328, under various conditions. We conclude that this method is widely applicable to millimeter VLBI observations of many target sources, and unique in providing bona-fide astrometrically registered images and high precision relative astrometric measurements in mm-VLBI using existing and newly built instruments.Comment: Astronomical Journal, accepted for publicatio

Wide-angle energy-momentum spectroscopy

Light emission is defined by its distribution in energy, momentum, and polarization. Here, we demonstrate a method that resolves these distributions by means of wide-angle energy-momentum spectroscopy. Specifically, we image the back focal plane of a microscope objective through a Wollaston prism to obtain polarized Fourier-space momentum distributions, and disperse these two-dimensional radiation patterns through an imaging spectrograph without an entrance slit. The resulting measurements represent a convolution of individual radiation patterns at adjacent wavelengths, which can be readily deconvolved using any well-defined basis for light emission. As an illustrative example, we use this technique with the multipole basis to quantify the intrinsic emission rates for electric and magnetic dipole transitions in europium-doped yttrium oxide (Eu$^{3+}$:Y$_{2}$O$_{3}$) and chromium-doped magnesium oxide (Cr$^{3+}$:MgO). Once extracted, these rates allow us to reconstruct the full, polarized, two-dimensional radiation patterns at each wavelength.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Role-playing as a technique for developing self-awareness and social growth in the elementary school

Call number: LD2668 .R4 1967 D5