1,326 research outputs found
TTF: a flexible approach to narrowband imaging
The Taurus Tunable Filter (TTF) is a tunable narrowband interference filter
covering wavelengths from 6300 A to the sensitivity drop-off of conventional
CCDs (9600 A), although a blue `arm' (3700-6500 A) is to be added by the end of
1997. The TTF offers monochromatic imaging at the cassegrain foci of both the
Anglo-Australian and William Herschel Telescopes, with an adjustable passband
of between 6 and 60 A. In addition, frequency switching with the TTF can be
synchronized to movement of charge (charge shuffling) on the CCD which has many
important applications in astrophysics. Here we review different modes of TTF.
We maintain a web site at http://msowww.anu.edu.au/~dhj/ttf.html describing all
aspects of TTF and its operation. In addition to general use, the instrument is
available in AAT service time. Details can be found at
http://www.aao.gov.au/local/www/jmc/service/service.html.Comment: 8 pages; Latex; 5 encapsulated postscript figures. Invited talk at
the "AAO/UKST Galactic Plane H-alpha Survey", International Workshop, Sydney,
Australi
MMTF: The Maryland-Magellan Tunable Filter
This paper describes the Maryland-Magellan Tunable Filter (MMTF) on the
Magellan-Baade 6.5-meter telescope. MMTF is based on a 150-mm clear aperture
Fabry-Perot (FP) etalon that operates in low orders and provides transmission
bandpass and central wavelength adjustable from ~5 to ~15 A and from ~5000 to
over ~9200 A, respectively. It is installed in the Inamori Magellan Areal
Camera and Spectrograph (IMACS) and delivers an image quality of ~0.5" over a
field of view of 27' in diameter (monochromatic over ~10'). This versatile and
easy-to-operate instrument has been used over the past three years for a wide
variety of projects. This paper first reviews the basic principles of FP
tunable filters, then provides a detailed description of the hardware and
software associated with MMTF and the techniques developed to observe with this
instrument and reduce the data. The main lessons learned in the course of the
commissioning and implementation of MMTF are highlighted next, before
concluding with a brief outlook on the future of MMTF and of similar facilities
which are soon coming on line.Comment: 38 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables, now accepted for publication to the
Astronomical Journa
A Tunable Echelle Imager
We describe and evaluate a new instrument design called a Tunable Echelle
Imager (TEI). In this instrument, the output from an imaging Fabry-Perot
interferometer is cross-dispersed by a grism in one direction and dispersed by
an echelle grating in the perpendicular direction. This forms a mosaic of
different narrow-band images of the same field on a detector. It offers a
distinct wavelength multiplex advantage over a traditional imaging Fabry-Perot
device.
Potential applications of the TEI include spectrophotometric imaging and
OH-suppressed imaging by rejection.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures, accepted by PAS
Spin and Charge Transport on the Surface of a Topological Insulator
We derive diffusion equations, which describe spin-charge coupled transport
on the helical metal surface of a three-dimensional topological insulator. The
main feature of these equations is a large magnitude of the spin-charge
coupling, which leads to interesting and observable effects. In particular, we
predict a new magnetoresistance effect, which manifests in a nonohmic
correction to a voltage drop between a ferromagnetic spin-polarized electrode
and a nonmagnetic electrode, placed on top of the helical metal. This
correction is proportional to the cross-product of the spin polarization of the
ferromagnetic electrode and the charge current between the two electrodes. We
also demonstrate tunability of this effect by applying a gate voltage, which
makes it possible to operate the proposed device as a transistor.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; published versio
The large scale distribution of warm ionized gas around nearby radio galaxies with jet-cloud interactions
Deep, narrow-band Halpha observations taken with the TAURUS Tunable Filter
(TTF) on the 4.2m WHT telescope are presented for two nearby radio galaxies
with strong jet-cloud interactions. Although the brightest emission line
components are closely aligned with the radio jets --- providing nearby
examples of the ``alignment effect'' most commonly observed in high redshift (z
> 0.5) radio galaxies --- lower surface brightness emission line structures are
detected at large distances (10's of kpc) from the radio jet axis. These latter
structures cannot be reconciled with anisotropic illumination of the ISM by
obscured quasar-like sources, since parts of the structures lay outside any
plausible quasar ionization cones. Rather, the distribution of the emission
lines around the fringes of the extended radio lobes suggests that the gas is
ionized either by direct interaction with the radio components, or by the
diffuse photoionizing radiation fields produced in the shocks generated in such
interactions. These observations serve to emphasise that the ionizing effects
of the radio components can extend far from the radio jet axes, and that deep
emission line imaging observations are required to reveal the true distribution
of warm gas in the host galaxies. We expect future deep imaging observations to
reveal similar structures perpendicular to the radio axes in the high-z radio
galaxies.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, to be published in MNRA
The Taurus Tunable Filter Field Galaxy Survey: Sample Selection and Narrowband Number-Counts
Recent evidence suggests a falling volume-averaged star-formation rate (SFR)
over z ~ 1. It is not clear, however, the extent to which the selection of such
samples influences the measurement of this quantity. Using the Taurus Tunable
Filter (TTF) we have obtained an emission-line sample of faint star-forming
galaxies over comparable lookback times: the TTF Field Galaxy Survey. By
selecting through emission-lines, we are screening galaxies through a quantity
that scales directly with star-formation activity for a given choice of initial
mass function. The scanning narrowband technique furnishes a galaxy sample that
differs from traditional broadband-selected surveys in both its volume-limited
nature and selection of galaxies through emission-line flux. Three discrete
wavelength intervals are covered, centered at H-alpha redshifts z = 0.08, 0.24
and 0.39.
Galaxy characteristics are presented and comparisons made with existing
surveys of both broadband and emission-line selection. When the number-counts
of emission-line objects are compared with those expected on the basis of
existing H-alpha surveys, we find an excess of ~ 3 times at the faintest
limits. While these detections are yet to be independently confirmed,
inspection of the stronger subsample of galaxies detected in both the line and
continuum (line-on-continuum subsample; 13 %) is sufficient to support an
excess population. This increase in the emission-line field population implies
higher star-formation densities over z ~ 0.4. However, further study in the
form of multi-object spectroscopic follow-up is necessary to quantify this and
confirm the faintest detections in the sample.Comment: 48 pages, 12 figures. To appear in the Astrophysical Journal. An
abridged version of the Abstract is shown her
Anharmonic mixing in a magnetic trap
We have experimentally observed re-equilibration of a magnetically trapped
cloud of metastable neon atoms after it was put in a non-equilibrium state.
Using numerical simulations we show that anharmonic mixing, equilibration due
to the collisionless dynamics of atoms in a magnetic trap, is the dominant
process in this equilibration. We determine the dependence of its time on trap
parameters and atom temperature. Furthermore we observe in the simulations a
resonant energy exchange between the radial and axial trap dimensions at a
ratio of trap frequencies \omega_r / \omega_z = 3/2. This resonance is
explained by a simple oscillator model.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
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