4,430 research outputs found
Weak value amplification: a view from quantum estimation theory that highlights what it is and what isn't
Weak value amplification (WVA) is a concept that has been extensively used in
a myriad of applications with the aim of rendering measurable tiny changes of a
variable of interest. In spite of this, there is still an on-going debate about
its true nature and whether is really needed for achieving high sensitivity.
Here we aim at solving the puzzle, using some basic concepts from quantum
estimation theory, highlighting what the use of the WVA concept can offer and
what it can not. While WVA cannot be used to go beyond some fundamental
sensitivity limits that arise from considering the full nature of the quantum
states, WVA can notwithstanding enhance the sensitivity of real detection
schemes that are limited by many other things apart from the quantum nature of
the states involved, i.e. technical noise. Importantly, it can do that in a
straightforward and easily accessible manner.Comment: 2 pages, 5 figure
86, 43, and 22 GHz VLBI Observations of 3C120
We present the first 86 GHz VLBI observations of the radio galaxy 3C~120,
together with contemporaneous 43 and 22 GHz polarimetric VLBA observations. The
very high angular resolution obtained at 86 GHz provides an upper limit to the
size of the core of 54 as (0.025 pc). This represents a direct
determination of the base of the jet which is independent of variability
arguments (which depend on uncertain estimates of the Doppler factor), and
places it below approximately one light-month. Comparison with previous VLBA
observations after a one-year interval shows pronounced changes in the
structure and polarization of the jet. Most of the components are found to
follow a curved path while undergoing a steepening of their spectra accompanied
by a decrease in total and polarized emission. However, at least one component
is observed to follow a quasi-ballistic motion, accompanied by a flattening of
its spectrum, as well as an increase in total and polarized flux. This may be
explained by its interaction with the external medium, resulting in a shock
that enhances the emission and aligns the magnetic field perpendicular to the
component motion, thereby producing an increase of the degree of polarization
from undetected values to as high as 15%. A second strong component, with the
highest degree of polarization (23%), is found to have experienced a
displacement from the ridge line of the structural position angle of the jet as
it moved downstream. We have found a mean swing to the south of the position
angle of the innermost components of between late 1996 and
1997, which may be responsible for the jet curvature observed at parsec and
kiloparsec scales.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
T35: a small automatic telescope for long-term observing campaigns
The T35 is a small telescope (14") equipped with a large format CCD camera
installed in the Sierra Nevada Observatory (SNO) in Southern Spain. This
telescope will be a useful tool for the detecting and studying pulsating stars,
particularly, in open clusters. In this paper, we describe the automation
process of the T35 and show also some images taken with the new
instrumentation.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in the special issue
"Robotic Astronomy" of Advances of Astronom
Monthly 43 GHz VLBA Polarimetric Monitoring of 3C120 over 16 Epochs: Evidence for Trailing Shocks in a Relativistic Jet
We present a 16-month sequence of monthly polarimetric 43 GHz VLBA images of
the radio galaxy 3C 120. The images probe the inner regions of the radio jet of
this relatively nearby superluminal radio galaxy at a linear resolution of 0.07
pc ( km s Mpc). We follow the
motion of a number of features with apparent velocities between 4.010.08
and . A new superluminal knot, moving at , is observed to be ejected from the core at a time
coincident with the largest flare ever observed for this source at millimeter
wavelengths. Changes in the position angle of this component, as well as a
progressive rotation of its magnetic polarization vector, suggest the presence
of a twisted (resembling a helix in projection) configuration of the underlying
jet magnetic field and jet geometry. We identify several knots that appear in
the wake of the new superluminal component, moving at proper motions
times slower than any of the other moving knots observed in 3C 120. These
features have properties similar to those of the ``trailing'' shocks seen in
relativistic, time-dependent, hydrodynamical and emission simulations of
compact jets. Such trailing compressions are triggered by pinch-mode jet-body
instabilities caused by the propagation of a strong perturbation, which we
associate with the new strong superluminal component.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal
Letter
Space VLBI Observations of 3C371
We present the first space VLBI observations of 3C~371, carried out at a
frequency of 4.8 GHz. The combination of the high resolution provided by the
orbiting antenna Highly Advanced Laboratory for Communications and Astronomy
(HALCA) and the high sensitivity of the VLBA allows imaging of the jet of
3C~371 with an angular resolution of approximately 0.26 mas, which for this
relatively nearby source corresponds to 0.4 h pc. Comparison
between two epochs separated by 66 days reveals no apparent motions in the
inner 7 mas jet structure above an upper limit of c. This
value, the absence of detectable counterjet emission from the presumably
symmetric jet, plus the presence of extended double-lobe structure, are
consistent with the knots in the jet being stationary features such as standing
shocks. The jet intensity declines with the angular distance from the core as
. This is more gradual than that derived for 3C~120,
, for which there is evidence for strong intereactions between
the jet and ambient medium. This suggests that in 3C~371 there is a greater
level of {\it in situ} acceleration of electrons and amplification of magnetic
field. We interpret sharp bends in the jet at sites of off-center knots as
further evidence for the interaction between the jet and external medium, which
may also be responsible for the generation of standing recollimation shocks.
These recollimation shocks may be responsible for the presumably stationary
components. The radio properties of 3C~371 are intermediate between those of
other radio galaxies with bright cores and those of BL Lacertae objects.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap
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