244 research outputs found
Wilbur Norman Christiansen 1913-2007
W. N. ('Chris') Christiansen was an innovative and influential radio
astronomy pioneer. The hallmarks of his long and distinguished career in
science and engineering, spanning almost five decades, were his inventiveness
and his commitment to, and success with, large-scale projects. These projects
were the outcome of his innovative skill as physicist and engineer. Paralleling
this was his equal commitment to forging strong international links and
friendships, leading to his election as Vice-President of the International
Astronomical Union for the years 1964 to 1970, as President of the
International Union of Radio Science, URSI, from 1978 to 1981, and subsequently
as Honorary Life President in 1984, and as Foreign Secretary of the Australian
Academy of Science from 1981 to 1985. Major subsequent developments in radio
astronomy and wireless communications on the global scene stand as a legacy to
Chris's approach to his work and to the development of those who worked with
him.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure
Bernard Yarnton Mills 1920-2011
Bernie Mills is remembered globally as an influential pioneer in the evolving
field of radio astronomy. His contributions with the 'Mills Cross' at the CSIRO
Division of Radiophysics and later at the University of Sydney's School of
Physics and the development of the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope
(MOST) were widely recognised as astronomy evolved in the years 1948-1985 and
radio astronomy changed the viewpoint of the astronomer as a host of new
objects were discovered
Transient radio emisison from SAX J1808.4-3658
We report on the detection of radio emission from the accretion-powered X-ray
millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658, using the Australia Telescope Compact
Array. We detected a ~0.8 mJy source at the position of SAX J1808.4-3658 on
1998 April 27, approximately one day after the onset of a rapid decline in the
X-ray flux; no such source was seen on the previous day. We consider this
emission to be related to the radio emission from other X-ray binaries, and is
most likely associated with an ejection of material from the system. No radio
emission was detected at later epochs, indicating that if SAX J1808.4-3658 is a
radio pulsar during X-ray quiescence then its monochromatic luminosity must be
less than L(1.4 GHz) ~6 mJy/kpc^2.Comment: 6 pages, uses emulateapj.sty, one embedded PS figure. Accepted to ApJ
Letter
Discovery of circularly polarised radio emission from SS 433
We report the discovery of circularly polarised radio emission from the
radio-jet X-ray binary SS 433 with the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The
flux density spectrum of the circular polarization, clearly detected at four
frequencies between 1 - 9 GHz, has a spectral index of (-0.9 +/- 0.1). Multiple
components in the source and a lack of very high spatial resolution do not
allow a unique determination of the origin of the circular polarization, nor of
the spectrum of fractional polarization. However, we argue that the emission is
likely to arise in the inner regions of the binary, possibly via
propagation-induced conversion of linear to circular polarization, and the
fractional circular polarization of these regions may be as high as 10%.
Observations such as these have the potential to investigate the composition,
whether pairs or baryonic, of the ejecta from X-ray binaries.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Polarization observations in a low synchrotron emission field at 1.4 GHz
We present the first observation of the diffuse polarized synchrotron
radiation of a patch () in the BOOMERanG field,
one of the areas with the lowest CMB foreground emission. The work has been
carried out with the Australia Telescope Compact Array at 1.4 GHz with 3.4
arcmin resolution and sensitivity of mJy beam. The mean
polarized signal has been found to be mK, nearly one order of magnitude below than in the Galactic
Plane.
Extrapolations to frequencies of interest for cosmological investigations
suggest that polarized synchrotron foreground noise should allow the detection
of the CMB Polarization --mode already at 32 GHz and make us confident that,
at 90 GHz, it is accessible with no relevant foreground contamination. Last but
not least, even the --mode detection for is not ruled out in
such a low emission patch.Comment: Uses emulateapj.sty, onecolfloat.sty, 5 pages 4 fig., accepted for
publication in ApJ
Non-detection of a pulsar-powered nebula in Puppis A, and implications for the nature of the radio-quiet neutron star RX J0822-4300
We report on a deep radio search for a pulsar wind nebula associated with the
radio-quiet neutron star RX J0822-4300 in the supernova remnant Puppis A. The
well-determined properties of Puppis A allow us to constrain the size of any
nebula to less than 30 arcsec; however we find no evidence for such a source on
any spatial scale up to 30 arcmin. These non-detections result in an upper
limit on the radio luminosity of any pulsar-powered nebula which is three
orders of magnitude below what would be expected if RX J0822-4300 was an
energetic young radio pulsar beaming away from us, and cast doubt on a recent
claim of X-ray pulsations from this source. The lack of a radio nebula leads us
to conclude that RX J0822-4300 has properties very different from most young
radio pulsars, and that it represents a distinct population which may be as
numerous, or even more so, than radio pulsars.Comment: 5 pages, including 2 embedded EPS figures, uses emulateapj.sty.
Accepted to ApJ Letters (minor changes made following referee's report
The Complex Wind Torus and Jets of PSR B1706-44
We report on Chandra ACIS imaging of the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) of the
young Vela-like PSR B1706-44, which shows the now common pattern of an
equatorial wind and polar jets. The structure is particularly rich, showing a
relativistically boosted termination shock, jets with strong confinement, a
surrounding radio/X-ray PWN and evidence for a quasi-static `bubble nebula'.
The structures trace the pulsar spin geometry and illuminate its possible
relation to SNR G343.1-2.3. We also obtain improved estimates of the pulsar
flux and nebular spectrum, constraining the system age and energetics.Comment: To appear in the Astrophysical Journal. 15pp, 4 figures in 7 file
Pictor A (PKS 0518-45) - From Nucleus to Lobes
We present radio and optical imaging and kinematic data for the radio galaxy
Pictor A, including HST continuum and [OIII], emission-line images (at a
resolution of 25 - 100 mas) and ground-based imaging and spectroscopy (at a
resolution of ~ 1.5". The radio data include 3 cm Australia Telescope images of
the core, at a resolution comparable to that of the optical, ground-based
images, and a VLBI image of a jet in the compact core (at a resolution of 2 -
25 mas), which seems to align with a continuum ``jet'' found in the HST images.
The core radio jet, the HST optical continuum ``jet'', and the NW H-alpha
filaments all appear to point toward the optical-synchrotron hot-spot in the NW
lobe of this object and are associated with a disrupted velocity field in the
extended ionized gas. The ground-based spectra which cover this trajectory also
yield line ratios for the ionized gas which have anomalously low [NII] (6564),
suggesting either a complex, clumpy structure in the gas with a higher
cloud-covering factor at larger radii and with denser clouds than is found in
the nuclear regions of most NLRG and Seyfert 2 galaxies, or some other,
unmodeled, mechanism for the emergent spectrum from this region. The H-alpha
emission-line filaments to the N appear to be associated with a 3 cm radio
continuum knot which lies in a gap in the filaments ~ 4" from the nucleus.
Altogether, the data in this paper provide good circumstantial evidence for
non-disruptive redirection of a radio jet by interstellar gas clouds in the
host galaxy.Comment: 19 pages, 6 ps.gz fig pages, to appear in the Ap.J. Supp
The Southern Galactic Plane Survey: The Test Region
The Southern Galactic Plane Survey (SGPS) is a project to image the HI line
emission and 1.4 GHz continuum in the fourth quadrant of the Milky Way at high
resolution using the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) and the Parkes
Radio Telescope. In this paper we describe the survey details and goals,
present lambda 21-cm continuum data, and discuss HI absorption and emission
characteristics of the SGPS Test Region (325.5 deg < l < 333.5 deg; -0.5 deg <
b < +3.5 deg). We explore the effects of massive stars on the interstellar
medium (ISM) through a study of HI shells and the HI environments of HII
regions and supernova remnants. We find an HI shell surrounding the HII region
RCW 94 which indicates that the region is embedded in a molecular cloud. We
give lower limits for the kinematic distances to SNRs G327.4+0.4 and G330.2+1.0
of 4.3 kpc and 4.9 kpc, respectively. We find evidence of interaction with the
surrounding HI for both of these remnants. We also present images of a possible
new SNR G328.6-0.0. Additionally, we have discovered two small HI shells with
no counterparts in continuum emission.Comment: 17 pages, 7 embedded EPS figures, 10 low-res jpeg figures, uses
emulateapj5.sty. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal.
Version with all full resolution figures embedded is available at
http://www.astro.umn.edu/~naomi/sgps/papers/SGPS.ps.g
Radio Emission from GRO J1655-40 during the 1994 Jet Ejection Episodes
We report multifrequency radio observations of GRO J1655-40 obtained with the
Australia Telescope Compact Array, the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope
and the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory at the time of the major
hard X-ray and radio outbursts in 1994 August-September. The radio emission
reached levels of the order of a few Jy and was found to be linearly polarized
by up to 10%, indicating a synchrotron origin. The light curves are in good
agreement with those measured with the VLA, but our closer time sampling has
revealed two new short-lived events and significant deviations from a simple
exponential decay. The polarization data show that the magnetic field is well
ordered and aligned at right angles to the radio jets for most of the
monitoring period. The time evolution of the polarization cannot be explained
solely in terms of a simple synchrotron bubble model, and we invoke a hybrid
`core-lobe' model with a core which contributes both synchrotron and free-free
emission and `lobes' which are classical synchrotron emitters.Comment: 36 pages, 5 tables, 9 figures; accepted for publication in Ap
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