The Celestial Reference Frame at 24 and 43 GHz. II. Imaging

We have measured the sub-milli-arcsecond structure of 274 extragalactic sources at 24 and 43 GHz in order to assess their astrometric suitability for use in a high frequency celestial reference frame (CRF). Ten sessions of observations with the Very Long Baseline Array have been conducted over the course of $\sim$5 years, with a total of 1339 images produced for the 274 sources. There are several quantities that can be used to characterize the impact of intrinsic source structure on astrometric observations including the source flux density, the flux density variability, the source structure index, the source compactness, and the compactness variability. A detailed analysis of these imaging quantities shows that (1) our selection of compact sources from 8.4 GHz catalogs yielded sources with flux densities, averaged over the sessions in which each source was observed, of about 1 Jy at both 24 and 43 GHz, (2) on average the source flux densities at 24 GHz varied by 20%-25% relative to their mean values, with variations in the session-to-session flux density scale being less than 10%, (3) sources were found to be more compact with less intrinsic structure at higher frequencies, and (4) variations of the core radio emission relative to the total flux density of the source are less than 8% on average at 24 GHz. We conclude that the reduction in the effects due to source structure gained by observing at higher frequencies will result in an improved CRF and a pool of high-quality fiducial reference points for use in spacecraft navigation over the next decade.Comment: 63 pages, 18 figures, 6 tables, accepted by the Astronomical Journa

The First Very Long Baseline Interferometric SETI Experiment

The first Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) conducted with Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) is presented. By consideration of the basic principles of interferometry, we show that VLBI is efficient at discriminating between SETI signals and human generated radio frequency interference (RFI). The target for this study was the star Gliese 581, thought to have two planets within its habitable zone. On 2007 June 19, Gliese 581 was observed for 8 hours at 1230-1544 with the Australian Long Baseline Array. The dataset was searched for signals appearing on all interferometer baselines above five times the noise limit. A total of 222 potential SETI signals were detected and by using automated data analysis techniques, were ruled out as originating from the Gliese 581 system. From our results we place an upper limit of 7 MW/Hz on the power output of any isotropic emitter located in the Gliese 581 system, within this frequency range. This study shows that VLBI is ideal for targeted SETI, including follow-up observations. The techniques presented are equally applicable to next-generation interferometers, such as the long baselines of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).Comment: 34 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables. Accepted on 25/05/2012 for publication in The Astronomical Journa

Momentum dependence in the dynamically assisted Sauter-Schwinger effect

Recently it has been found that the superposition of a strong and slow electric field with a weaker and faster pulse can significantly enhance the probability for non-perturbative electron-positron pair creation out of the vacuum -- the dynamically assisted Sauter-Schwinger effect. Via the WKB method, we estimate the momentum dependence of the pair creation probability and compare it to existing numerical results. Besides the theoretical interest, a better understanding of this pair creation mechanism should be helpful for the planned experiments aiming at its detection.Comment: 4 pages RevTeX, 1 figur

Characterisation of Long Baseline Calibrators at 2.3 GHz

We present a detailed multi-epoch analysis of 31 potential southern hemisphere radio calibrators that were originally observed as part of a program to maintain the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF). At radio wavelengths, the primary calibrators are Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), powerful radio emitters which exist at the centre of most galaxies. These are known to vary at all wavelengths at which they have been observed. By determining the amount of radio source structure and variability of these AGN, we determine their suitability as phase calibrators for long baseline radio interferometry at 2.3 GHz. For this purpose, we have used a set of complementary metrics to classify these 31 southern sources into five categories pertaining to their suitability as VLBI calibrators. We find that all of the sources in our sample would be good interferometric calibrators and almost ninety per cent would be very good calibrators.Comment: 9 pages, 7 Figures, accepted MNRA

VLBI measurement of the secular aberration drift

While analyzing decades of very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) data, we detected the secular aberration drift of the extragalatic radio source proper motions caused by the rotation of the Solar System barycenter around the Galactic center. Our results agree with the predicted estimate to be 4-6 micro arcseconds per year ({\mu}as/yr) towards {\alpha} = 266\circ and {\delta} = -29\circ. In addition, we tried to detect the quadrupole systematics of the velocity field. The analysis method consisted of three steps. First, we analyzed geodetic and astrometric VLBI data to produce radio source coordinate time series. Second, we fitted proper motions of 555 sources with long observational histories over the period 1990-2010 to their respective coordinate time series. Finally, we fitted vector spherical harmonic components of degrees 1 and 2 to the proper motion field. Within the error bars, the magnitude and the direction of the dipole component agree with predictions. The dipole vector has an amplitude of 6.4 \pm 1.5 {\mu}as/yr and is directed towards equatorial coordinates {\alpha} = 263\circ and {\delta} = -20\circ. The quadrupole component has not been detected. The primordial gravitational wave density, integrated over a range of frequencies less than 10-9 Hz, has a limit of 0.0042 h-2 where h is the normalized Hubble constant is H0/(100 km s-1)