4,168 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
WSRT and VLA Observations of the 6 cm and 2 cm lines of H2CO in the direction of W 58 C1(ON3) and W 58 C2
Absorption in the J{K-K+} = 2{11}-2{12} transition of formaldehyde at 2 cm
towards the ultracompact HII regions C1 and C2 of W 58 has been observed with
the VLA with an angular resolution of ~0.2'' and a velocity resolution of ~1
km/s. The high resolution continuum image of C1 (ON 3) shows a partial shell
which opens to the NE. Strong H2CO absorption is observed against W 58 C1. The
highest optical depth (tau > 2) occurs in the SW portion of C1 near the edge of
the shell, close to the continuum peak. The absorption is weaker towards the
nearby, more diffuse compact HII region C2, tau<~0.3. The H2CO velocity (-21.2
km/s) towards C1 is constant and agrees with the velocity of CO emission,
mainline OH masers, and the H76 alpha recombination line, but differs from the
velocity of the 1720 MHz OH maser emission (~-13 km/s). Observations of the
absorption in the J{K-K+} = 1{10}-1{11} transition of formaldehyde at 6 cm
towards W 58 C1 and C2 carried out earlier with the WSRT at lower resolution
(~4''x7'') show comparable optical depths and velocities to those observed at 2
cm. Based on the mean optical depth profiles at 6 cm and 2 cm, the volume
density of molecular hydrogen n(H2) and the formaldehyde column density N(H2CO)
were determined. The n(H2) is ~6E4 /cm**3 towards C1. N(H2CO) for C1 is ~8E14
/cm**2 while that towards C2 is ~8E13 /cm**2.Comment: AJ in press Jan 2001, 14 pages plus 6 figures (but Fig. 1 has 4
separate parts, a through d). Data are available at
http://adil.ncsa.uiuc.edu/document/00.HD.0
Synthesis, characterisation and biological activity of gold(III) catecholate and related complexes
The reactions of the cyclometallated gold(III) complexes [LAuClâ] [L=2-(dimethylaminomethyl)phenyl, 2-benzylpyridyl or 2-anilinopyridyl] with catechol, tetrachlorocatechol, or the cyclic α,ÎČ-diketone SCH(CO2Et)C(O)C(O)CH(CO2Et) give stable complexes containing five-membered Au-O-C-C-O rings. These represent the first examples of well-characterised gold(III) catecholate complexes. Similarly, reactions with 2-acetamidophenol [HOCâHâNHC(O)CHâ] give complexes with the related Au---N---C---C---O ring. The complexes were characterised by NMR spectroscopy, electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry, elemental microanalysis, and in the case of the complex [(2-benzylpyridyl)Au{OCâHâNC(O)CHâ}] by an X-ray crystal structure determination. Several complexes show high activity towards P388 murine leukemia cells
Chromosome mapping: radiation hybrid data and stochastic spin models
This work approaches human chromosome mapping by developing algorithms for
ordering markers associated with radiation hybrid data. Motivated by recent
work of Boehnke et al. [1], we formulate the ordering problem by developing
stochastic spin models to search for minimum-break marker configurations. As a
particular application, the methods developed are applied to 14 human
chromosome-21 markers tested by Cox et al. [2]. The methods generate
configurations consistent with the best found by others. Additionally, we find
that the set of low-lying configurations is described by a Markov-like ordering
probability distribution. The distribution displays cluster correlations
reflecting closely linked loci.Comment: 26 Pages, uuencoded LaTex, Submitted to Phys. Rev. E,
[email protected], [email protected]
The Linear Polarization of Sagittarius A* I. VLA Spectro-polarimetry at 4.8 and 8.4 GHz
Synchrotron radiation from active galactic nuclei (AGN) is often highly
polarized. We present a search for linear polarization with the Very Large
Array (VLA) at 4.8 GHz and 8.4 GHz from the nearest AGN, Sagittarius A*. As a
part of this study we used spectro-polarimetric data that were sensitive to a
rotation measure (RM) as large as 3.5 x 10^6 rad m^-2 at 4.8 GHz and 1.5 x 10^7
rad m^-2 at 8.4 GHz. The upper limit to the linear polarization of Sgr A* over
a broad range of RM is 0.2% at both frequencies. We also present continuum
observations with the VLA at 4.8 GHz which give an upper limit of 0.1% for RMs
less than 10^4 rad m^-2. We conclude that depolarization is unlikely to occur
in the Galacter Center scattering medium. However, it is possible for
depolarization to occur in the accretion region of Sgr A* if the outer scale of
turbulence is small enough. We also consider the implications of a very low
intrinsic polarization for Sgr A*.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journal, August 20, 1999, Vol 521 #
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