91 research outputs found
A GPU based real-time software correlation system for the Murchison Widefield Array prototype
Modern graphics processing units (GPUs) are inexpensive commodity hardware
that offer Tflop/s theoretical computing capacity. GPUs are well suited to many
compute-intensive tasks including digital signal processing.
We describe the implementation and performance of a GPU-based digital
correlator for radio astronomy. The correlator is implemented using the NVIDIA
CUDA development environment. We evaluate three design options on two
generations of NVIDIA hardware. The different designs utilize the internal
registers, shared memory and multiprocessors in different ways. We find that
optimal performance is achieved with the design that minimizes global memory
reads on recent generations of hardware.
The GPU-based correlator outperforms a single-threaded CPU equivalent by a
factor of 60 for a 32 antenna array, and runs on commodity PC hardware. The
extra compute capability provided by the GPU maximises the correlation
capability of a PC while retaining the fast development time associated with
using standard hardware, networking and programming languages. In this way, a
GPU-based correlation system represents a middle ground in design space between
high performance, custom built hardware and pure CPU-based software
correlation.
The correlator was deployed at the Murchison Widefield Array 32 antenna
prototype system where it ran in real-time for extended periods. We briefly
describe the data capture, streaming and correlation system for the prototype
array.Comment: 11 pages, to appear in PAS
Direction-Dependent Polarised Primary Beams in Wide-Field Synthesis Imaging
The process of wide-field synthesis imaging is explored, with the aim of
understanding the implications of variable, polarised primary beams for
forthcoming Epoch of Reionisation experiments. These experiments seek to detect
weak signatures from redshifted 21cm emission in deep residual datasets, after
suppression and subtraction of foreground emission. Many subtraction algorithms
benefit from low side-lobes and polarisation leakage at the outset, and both of
these are intimately linked to how the polarised primary beams are handled.
Building on previous contributions from a number of authors, in which
direction-dependent corrections are incorporated into visibility gridding
kernels, we consider the special characteristics of arrays of fixed dipole
antennas operating around 100-200 MHz, looking towards instruments such as the
Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Arrays
(HERA). We show that integrating snapshots in the image domain can help to
produce compact gridding kernels, and also reduce the need to make complicated
polarised leakage corrections during gridding. We also investigate an
alternative form for the gridding kernel that can suppress variations in the
direction-dependent weighting of gridded visibilities by 10s of dB, while
maintaining compact support.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in JA
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The ParsecâScale Accretion Disk in NGC 3393
We present a Very Long Baseline Interferometry image of the water maser emission in the nuclear region of NGC 3393. The maser emission has a linear distribution oriented at a position angle of ~â34°, perpendicular to both the kiloparsec-scale radio jet and the axis of the narrow-line region. The position-velocity diagram displays a red-blue asymmetry about the systemic velocity and the estimated dynamical center, and is thus consistent with rotation. Assuming Keplerian rotation in an edge-on disk, we obtain an enclosed mass of ( within 0.36 ± 0.02 pc (1.48 ± 0.06 mas), which corresponds to a mean mass density of . We also report the measurement with the Green Bank Telescope of a velocity drift, a manifestation of centripetal acceleration within the disk, of in the maser feature, which is most likely located along the line of sight to the dynamical center of the system. From the acceleration of this feature, we estimate a disk radius of 0.17 ± 0.02 pc, which is smaller than the inner disk radius (0.36 ± 0.02 pc) of emission that occurs along the midline (i.e., the line of nodes). The emission along the line of sight to the dynamical center evidently occurs much closer to the center than the emission from the disk midline, contrary to the situation in the archetypal maser systems NGC 4258 and NGC 1068. The outer radius of the disk as traced by the masers along the midline is about 1.5 pc.Astronom
Probing the Magnetic Field at Sub-Parsec Radii in the Accretion Disk of NGC 4258
We present an analysis of polarimetric observations at 22 GHz of the water
vapor masers in NGC 4258 obtained with the VLA and the GBT. We do not detect
any circular polarization in the spectrum indicative of Zeeman-induced
splitting of the maser lines of water, a non-paramagnetic molecule. We have
improved the 1-sigma upper limit estimate on the toroidal component of the
magnetic field in the circumnuclear disk of NGC 4258 at a radius of 0.2 pc from
300 mG to 90 mG. We have developed a new method for the analysis of spectra
with blended features and derive a 1-sigma upper limit of 30 mG on the radial
component of the magnetic field at a radius of 0.14 pc. Assuming thermal and
magnetic pressure balance, we estimate an upper limit on the mass accretion
rate of ~10^(-3.7) M_sun/yr for a total magnetic field of less than 130 mG. We
discuss the ramifications of our results on current maser models proposed to
explain the observed maser emission structure and the consequences for current
accretion theories. We find from our magnetic field limits that the thin-disk
model and the jet-disk model are better candidates for accounting for the
extremely low-luminosity nature of NGC 4258, than models that include
advection-dominated accretion flows.Comment: 20 pages, including 10 figures and 2 tables. Accepted for publication
in the Astrophysical Journa
Scintillation in the Circinus Galaxy water megamasers
We present observations of the 22 GHz water vapor megamasers in the Circinus
galaxy made with the Tidbinbilla 70m telescope. These observations confirm the
rapid variability seen earlier by Greenhill et al (1997). We show that this
rapid variability can be explained by interstellar scintillation, based on what
is now known of the interstellar scintillation seen in a significant number of
flat spectrum AGN. The observed variability cannot be fully described by a
simple model of either weak or diffractive scintillation.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures. AJ accepte
Discovery of Candidate HO Disk Masers in AGN and Estimations of Centripetal Accelerations
Based on spectroscopic signatures, about one-third of known HO maser
sources in active galactic nuclei (AGN) are believed to arise in highly
inclined accretion disks around central engines. These "disk maser candidates"
are of interest primarily because angular structure and rotation curves can be
resolved with interferometers, enabling dynamical study. We identify five new
disk maser candidates in studies with the Green Bank Telescope, bringing the
total number published to 30. We discovered two (NGC1320, NGC17) in a survey of
40 inclined active galaxies (v_{sys}< 20000 kms^{-1}). The remaining three disk
maser candidates were identified in monitoring of known sources: NGC449,
NGC2979, NGC3735. We also confirm a previously marginal case in UGC4203. For
the disk maser candidates reported here, inferred rotation speeds are 130-500
kms^{-1}. Monitoring of three more rapidly rotating candidate disks (CG211,
NGC6264, VV340A) has enabled measurement of likely orbital centripetal
acceleration, and estimation of central masses (2-7x10^7 M_\odot) and mean disk
radii (0.2-0.4pc). Accelerations may ultimately permit estimation of distances
when combined with interferometer data. This is notable because the three AGN
are relatively distant (10000<v_{sys}<15000 kms^{-1}). As signposts of highly
inclined geometries at galactocentric radii of \sim0.1-1pc, disk masers also
provide robust orientation references that allow analysis of (mis)alignment
between AGN and surrounding galactic stellar disks, even without
interferometric mapping. We find no preference among published disk maser
candidates to lie in high-inclination galaxies, providing independent support
for conclusions that central engines and galactic plane orientations are not
correlated. (ABRIDGED)Comment: 7 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ, Dec. 10, 200
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Toward a New Geometric Distance to the Active Galaxy NGC 4258. II. Centripetal Accelerations and Investigation of Spiral Structure
We report measurements of centripetal accelerations of maser spectral components of NGC 4258 for 51 epochs spanning 1994 to 2004. This is the second paper of a series, in which the goal is the determination of a new geometric maser distance to NGC 4258, accurate to possibly ~3%. We measure accelerations using a formal analysis method that involves simultaneous decomposition of maser spectra for all epochs into multiple, Gaussian components. Components are coupled between epochs by linear drifts (accelerations) from their centroid velocities at a reference epoch. For high-velocity emission, accelerations lie in the range , indicating an origin within 13° of the disk midline (the perpendicular to the line of sight [LOS] to the black hole). Comparison of the projected positions of high-velocity emission in VLBI images with those derived from acceleration data provides evidence that masers trace real gas dynamics. High-velocity emission accelerations do not support a model of trailing shocks associated with spiral arms in the disk. However, we find strengthened evidence for spatial periodicity in high-velocity emission, of wavelength 0.75 mas. This supports suggestions of spiral structure due to density waves in the nuclear accretion disk of an active galaxy. Accelerations of low-velocity (systemic) emission lie in the range , consistent with emission originating from a concavity where the thin, warped disk is tangent to the LOS. A trend in accelerations of low-velocity emission, as a function of Doppler velocity, may be associated with disk geometry and orientation or with the presence of spiral structure.Astronom
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