430 research outputs found
First Results from SPARO: Evidence for Large-Scale Toroidal Magnetic Fields in the Galactic Center
We have observed the linear polarization of 450 micron continuum emission
from the Galactic center, using a new polarimetric detector system that is
operated on a 2 m telescope at the South Pole. The resulting polarization map
extends ~ 170 pc along the Galactic plane and ~ 30 pc in Galactic latitude, and
thus covers a significant fraction of the central molecular zone. Our map shows
that this region is permeated by large-scale toroidal magnetic fields. We
consider our results together with radio observations that show evidence for
poloidal fields in the Galactic center, and with Faraday rotation observations.
We compare all of these observations with the predictions of a magnetodynamic
model for the Galactic center that was proposed in order to explain the
Galactic Center Radio Lobe as a magnetically driven gas outflow. We conclude
that the observations are basically consistent with the model.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, submitted to ApJ Let
Statistical Assessment of Shapes and Magnetic Field Orientations in Molecular Clouds through Polarization Observations
We present a novel statistical analysis aimed at deriving the intrinsic
shapes and magnetic field orientations of molecular clouds using dust emission
and polarization observations by the Hertz polarimeter. Our observables are the
aspect ratio of the projected plane-of-the-sky cloud image, and the angle
between the mean direction of the plane-of-the-sky component of the magnetic
field and the short axis of the cloud image. To overcome projection effects due
to the unknown orientation of the line-of-sight, we combine observations from
24 clouds, assuming that line-of-sight orientations are random and all are
equally probable. Through a weighted least-squares analysis, we find that the
best-fit intrinsic cloud shape describing our sample is an oblate disk with
only small degrees of triaxiality. The best-fit intrinsic magnetic field
orientation is close to the direction of the shortest cloud axis, with small
(~24 deg) deviations toward the long/middle cloud axes. However, due to the
small number of observed clouds, the power of our analysis to reject
alternative configurations is limited.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Overview of a New NASA Activity Focused on Planetary Defense
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has initiated a new Planetary Defense research activity, led by the NASA Ames Research Center. The objective of the effort is to provide tools for reliably assessing the impact damage that Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) could inflict on the Earth. This research will support decisions regarding appropriate mitigation action in the event that an impact threat is discovered. The activity includes four interrelated tasks: PHA characterization, physics-based simulations of atmospheric entry breakup, simulations of surface damage due to airbursts, land impacts, or tsunamis, and an integrated assessment of the overall risks posed by potential PHA strikes. This paper outlines the objectives, research approaches, products, and interrelations of the activity's four tasks, and presents an overview of their current progress and preliminary results. Companion papers in this conference provide additional details of the work in the four task areas
Navegando no terreno disputado da política e prática da formação de professores: Os autores respondem a SCALE
Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE) provided a commentary on the manuscripts in the first part of this special issue, which highlighted the benefits of edTPA and the necessity for such assessment programs to improve teacher education and strengthen teaching practices. In turn, the authors responded to the SCALE commentary. The authors’ responses raise concerns about equity, fairness, and unintended consequences of teacher performance assessments. These responses highlight the need for continued dialogue on ways to improve teacher education and strengthen the teaching profession.Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning and Equity (SCALE) ofreció un comentario sobre los manuscritos en la primera parte de esta edicion especial, que destacó los beneficios de edTPA y la necesidad de dichos programas de evaluación para mejorar la formación docente y para fortalecer las prácticas docentes. A la vez, los autores respondieron al comentario SCALE. Las respuestas de los autores plantean inquietudes sobre la equidad, la rectitud y las consecuencias involuntarias de las evaluaciones del desempeño docente. Estas respuestas revelan la necesidad de un diálogo continuo sobre las formas de mejorar la formación docente y fortalecer la profesión docente.Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning and Equity Stanford (SCALE) ofereceu um comentário sobre os manuscritos na primeira parte desta edição especial, que destacou os benefícios do edTPA e a necessidade de tais programas de avaliação para melhorar a formação de professores e fortalecer práticas de ensino. Ao mesmo tempo, os autores responderam ao comentário SCALE. As respostas dos autores levantam preocupações sobre equidade, retidão e as conseqüências involuntárias das avaliações de desempenho dos professores. Essas respostas revelam a necessidade de um diálogo contínuo sobre formas de melhorar a formação de professores e fortalecer a profissão docente
Tracking and imaging gamma ray experiment (TIGRE) for 1 to 100 MEV gamma ray astronomy
A large international collaboration from the high energy astrophysics community has proposed the Tracking and Imaging Gamma Ray Experiment (TIGRE) for future space observations. TIGRE will image and perform energy spectroscopy measurements on celestial sources of gamma rays in the energy range from 1 to 100 MeV. This has been a difficult energy range experimentally for gamma ray astronomy but is vital for the future considering the recent exciting measurements below 1 and above 100 MeV. TIGRE is both a double scatter Compton and gamma ray pair telescope with direct imaging of individual gamma ray events.
Multi‐layers of Si strip detectors are used as Compton and pair converters CsI(Tl) scintillation detectors are used as a position sensitive calorimeter. Alternatively, thick GE strip detectors may be used for the calorimeter. The Si detectors are able to track electrons and positrons through successive Si layers and measure their directions and energy losses. Compton and pair events are completely reconstructed allowing each event to be imaged on the sky. TIGRE will provide an order‐of‐magnitude improvement in discrete source sensitivity in the 1 to 100 MeV energy range and determine spectra with excellent energy and excellent angular resolutions. It’s wide field‐of‐view of π sr permits observations of the entire sky for extended periods of time over the life of the mission
CMBPol Mission Concept Study: Prospects for polarized foreground removal
In this report we discuss the impact of polarized foregrounds on a future
CMBPol satellite mission. We review our current knowledge of Galactic polarized
emission at microwave frequencies, including synchrotron and thermal dust
emission. We use existing data and our understanding of the physical behavior
of the sources of foreground emission to generate sky templates, and start to
assess how well primordial gravitational wave signals can be separated from
foreground contaminants for a CMBPol mission. At the estimated foreground
minimum of ~100 GHz, the polarized foregrounds are expected to be lower than a
primordial polarization signal with tensor-to-scalar ratio r=0.01, in a small
patch (~1%) of the sky known to have low Galactic emission. Over 75% of the sky
we expect the foreground amplitude to exceed the primordial signal by about a
factor of eight at the foreground minimum and on scales of two degrees. Only on
the largest scales does the polarized foreground amplitude exceed the
primordial signal by a larger factor of about 20. The prospects for detecting
an r=0.01 signal including degree-scale measurements appear promising, with 5
sigma_r ~0.003 forecast from multiple methods. A mission that observes a range
of scales offers better prospects from the foregrounds perspective than one
targeting only the lowest few multipoles. We begin to explore how optimizing
the composition of frequency channels in the focal plane can maximize our
ability to perform component separation, with a range of typically 40 < nu <
300 GHz preferred for ten channels. Foreground cleaning methods are already in
place to tackle a CMBPol mission data set, and further investigation of the
optimization and detectability of the primordial signal will be useful for
mission design.Comment: 42 pages, 14 figures, Foreground Removal Working Group contribution
to the CMBPol Mission Concept Study, v2, matches AIP versio
Overview of the Kepler Science Processing Pipeline
The Kepler Mission Science Operations Center (SOC) performs several critical
functions including managing the ~156,000 target stars, associated target
tables, science data compression tables and parameters, as well as processing
the raw photometric data downlinked from the spacecraft each month. The raw
data are first calibrated at the pixel level to correct for bias, smear induced
by a shutterless readout, and other detector and electronic effects. A
background sky flux is estimated from ~4500 pixels on each of the 84 CCD
readout channels, and simple aperture photometry is performed on an optimal
aperture for each star. Ancillary engineering data and diagnostic information
extracted from the science data are used to remove systematic errors in the
flux time series that are correlated with these data prior to searching for
signatures of transiting planets with a wavelet-based, adaptive matched filter.
Stars with signatures exceeding 7.1 sigma are subjected to a suite of
statistical tests including an examination of each star's centroid motion to
reject false positives caused by background eclipsing binaries. Physical
parameters for each planetary candidate are fitted to the transit signature,
and signatures of additional transiting planets are sought in the residual
light curve. The pipeline is operational, finding planetary signatures and
providing robust eliminations of false positives.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure
The Origin of the Universe as Revealed Through the Polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background
Modern cosmology has sharpened questions posed for millennia about the origin
of our cosmic habitat. The age-old questions have been transformed into two
pressing issues primed for attack in the coming decade: How did the Universe
begin? and What physical laws govern the Universe at the highest energies? The
clearest window onto these questions is the pattern of polarization in the
Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), which is uniquely sensitive to primordial
gravity waves. A detection of the special pattern produced by gravity waves
would be not only an unprecedented discovery, but also a direct probe of
physics at the earliest observable instants of our Universe. Experiments which
map CMB polarization over the coming decade will lead us on our first steps
towards answering these age-old questions.Comment: Science White Paper submitted to the US Astro2010 Decadal Survey.
Full list of 212 author available at http://cmbpol.uchicago.ed
A Millimeter-Wave Galactic Plane Survey With The BICEP Polarimeter
In addition to its potential to probe the Inflationary cosmological paradigm,
millimeter-wave polarimetry is a powerful tool for studying the Milky Way
galaxy's composition and magnetic field structure. Towards this end, presented
here are Stokes I, Q, and U maps of the Galactic plane from the millimeter-wave
polarimeter BICEP covering the Galactic longitude range 260 - 340 degrees in
three atmospheric transmission windows centered on 100, 150, and 220 GHz. The
maps sample an optical depth 1 < AV < 30, and are consistent with previous
characterizations of the Galactic millimeter-wave frequency spectrum and the
large-scale magnetic field structure permeating the interstellar medium.
Polarized emission is detected over the entire region within two degrees of the
Galactic plane and indicates that the large-scale magnetic field is oriented
parallel to the plane of the Galaxy. An observed trend of decreasing
polarization fraction with increasing total intensity rules out the simplest
model of a constant Galactic magnetic field throughout the Galaxy. Including
WMAP data in the analysis, the degree-scale frequency spectrum of Galactic
polarization fraction is plotted between 23 and 220 GHz for the first time. A
generally increasing trend of polarization fraction with electromagnetic
frequency is found, which varies from 0.5%-1.5%at frequencies below 50 GHz to
2.5%-3.5%above 90 GHz. The BICEP and WMAP data are fit to a two-component
(synchrotron and dust) model showing that the higher frequency BICEP data are
necessary to tightly constrain the amplitude and spectral index of Galactic
dust. Furthermore, the dust amplitude predicted by this two-component fit is
consistent with model predictions of dust emission in the BICEP bands
- …