1,526 research outputs found
Composite infrared bolometers with Si_3N_4 micromesh absorbers
We report the design and performance of 300-mK composite bolometers that use micromesh absorbers and support structures patterned from thin films of low-stress silicon nitride. The small geometrical filling factor of the micromesh absorber provides 20Ă reduction in heat capacity and cosmic ray cross section relative to a solid absorber with no loss in IR-absorption efficiency. The support structure is mechanically robust and has a thermal conductance, G < 2 Ă 10^(â11) W/K, which is four times smaller than previously achieved at 300 mK. The temperature rise of the bolometer is measured with a neutron transmutation doped germanium thermistor attached to the absorbing mesh. The dispersion in electrical and thermal parameters of a sample of 12 bolometers optimized for the SunyaevâZelâdovich Infrared Experiment is ±7% in R (T), ±5% in optical efficiency, and ±4% in G
A Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect Survey for High Redshift Clusters
Interferometric observations of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect (SZE) toward
clusters of galaxies provide sensitive cosmological probes. We present results
from 1 cm observations (at BIMA and OVRO) of a large, intermediate redshift
cluster sample. In addition, we describe a proposed, higher sensitivity array
which will enable us to survey large portions of the sky. Simulated
observations indicate that we will be able to survey one square degree of sky
per month to sufficient depth that we will detect all galaxy clusters more
massive than 2x10^{14} h^{-1}_{50}M_\odot, regardless of their redshift. We
describe the cluster yield and resulting cosmological constraints from such a
survey.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, latex, contribution to VLT Opening Symposiu
Limits on Arcminute Scale Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy with the BIMA Array
We have used the Berkeley-Illinois-Maryland-Association (BIMA) millimeter
array outfitted with sensitive cm-wave receivers to search for Cosmic Microwave
Background (CMB) anisotropies on arcminute scales. The interferometer was
placed in a compact configuration which produces high brightness sensitivity,
while providing discrimination against point sources. Operating at a frequency
of 28.5 GHz, the FWHM primary beam of the instrument is 6.6 arcminutes. We have
made sensitive images of seven fields, five of which where chosen specifically
to have low IR dust contrast and be free of bright radio sources. Additional
observations with the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) millimeter array
were used to assist in the location and removal of radio point sources.
Applying a Bayesian analysis to the raw visibility data, we place limits on CMB
anisotropy flat-band power Q_flat = 5.6 (+3.0 -5.6) uK and Q_flat < 14.1 uK at
68% and 95% confidence. The sensitivity of this experiment to flat band power
peaks at a multipole of l = 5470, which corresponds to an angular scale of
approximately 2 arcminutes. The most likely value of Q_flat is similar to the
level of the expected secondary anisotropies.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, LaTex, aas2pp4.sty, ApJ submitte
Imaging the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect
We report on results of interferometric imaging of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich
Effect (SZE) with the OVRO and BIMA mm-arrays. Using low-noise cm-wave
receivers on the arrays, we have obtained high quality images for 27 distant
galaxy clusters. We review the use of the SZE as a cosmological tool. Gas mass
fractions derived from the SZE data are given for 18 of the clusters, as well
as the implied constraint on the matter density of the universe, . We
find . A best guess for the matter
density obtained by assuming a reasonable value for the Hubble constant and
also by attempting to account for the baryons contained in the galaxies as well
as those lost during the cluster formation process gives .
We also give preliminary results for the Hubble constant. Lastly, the power for
investigating the high redshift universe with a non-targeted high sensitivity
SZE survey is discussed and an interferometric survey is proposed.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, latex, contribution to Nobel Symposium "Particle
Physics and the Universe" to appear in Physica Scripta and World Scientific,
eds L. Bergstrom, P. Carlson and C. Fransso
Detailed studies of the subpicosecond kinetics in the primary electron transfer of reaction centers of Rhodopseudomonas viridis
The primary, light-induced charge separation in reaction centers of Rhodopseudomonas viridis is investigated with femtosecond time resolution. The absorption changes after direct excitation of the primary donor P at 955 nm are investigated in the time range from 100 fs to 600 ps. The experimental data, taken at various probing wavelengths, reveal one subpicosecond and two picosecond time constants: 0.65 ± 0.2 ps, 3.5 ± 0.4 ps, and 200 ± 20 ps. The previously undetected 0.65 ps kinetics can be observed clearly in the spectral range of the Qx and Qy transitions of the monomeric bacteriochlorophylls. The experimental data support the idea that the accessory bacteriochlorophyll B A participates in the electron-transfer process.
Reference
A Method for Individual Source Brightness Estimation in Single- and Multi-band Data
We present a method of reliably extracting the flux of individual sources
from sky maps in the presence of noise and a source population in which number
counts are a steeply falling function of flux. The method is an extension of a
standard Bayesian procedure in the millimeter/submillimeter literature. As in
the standard method, the prior applied to source flux measurements is derived
from an estimate of the source counts as a function of flux, dN/dS. The key
feature of the new method is that it enables reliable extraction of properties
of individual sources, which previous methods in the literature do not. We
first present the method for extracting individual source fluxes from data in a
single observing band, then we extend the method to multiple bands, including
prior information about the spectral behavior of the source population(s). The
multi-band estimation technique is particularly relevant for classifying
individual sources into populations according to their spectral behavior. We
find that proper treatment of the correlated prior information between
observing bands is key to avoiding significant biases in estimations of
multi-band fluxes and spectral behavior, biases which lead to significant
numbers of misclassified sources. We test the single- and multi-band versions
of the method using simulated observations with observing parameters similar to
that of the South Pole Telescope data used in Vieira, et al. (2010).Comment: 11 emulateapj pages, 3 figures, revised to match published versio
Limits on the Peculiar Velocities of Two Distant Clusters Using the Kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect
We report millimeter-wavelength observations of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (S-Z)
effect in two distant galaxy clusters. A relativistically correct analysis of
the S-Z data is combined with the results of X-ray observations to determine
the radial peculiar velocities v_r of the clusters. We observed Abell 2163
(z=.201) in three mm-wavelength bands centered at 2.1, 1.4, and 1.1 mm. We
report a significant detection of the thermal component of the S-Z effect seen
as both a decrement in the brightness of the CMB at 2.1 mm, and as an increment
at 1.1 mm. Including uncertainties due to the calibration of the instrument,
distribution and temperature of the IC gas, and astrophysical confusion, a
simultaneous fit to the data in all three bands gives v_r=+490 +1370/-880 km/s
at 68% confidence. We observed Abell 1689 (z=.181) in the 2.1 and 1.4 mm bands.
Including the same detailed accounting of uncertainty, a simultaneous fit to
the data in both bands gives v_r=+170 +815/-630 km/s. The limits on the
peculiar velocities of A2163 and A1689 correspond to deviations from the
uniform Hubble flow of <= 2-3%.Comment: 21 pages, 13 postscript figures, LaTeX(aaspptwo.sty), ApJ(in press
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