40 research outputs found
A new approach to multi-frequency synthesis in radio interferometry
We present a new approach to multi-frequency synthesis in radio astronomy.
Using Bayesian inference techniques, the new technique estimates the sky
brightness and the spectral index simultaneously. In principle, the bandwidth
of a wide-band observation can be fully exploited for sensitivity and
resolution, currently only limited by higher order effects like spectral
curvature. Employing this new approach, we further present a multi-frequency
extension to the imaging algorithm RESOLVE. In simulations, this new algorithm
outperforms current multi-frequency imaging techniques like MS-MF-CLEAN.Comment: 13 pages, 5 fugures, submitted to Astronomy and Astrophysic
Faraday caustics: Singularities in the Faraday spectrum and their utility as probes of magnetic field properties
We describe singularities in the distribution of polarized intensity as a
function of Faraday depth (i.e. the Faraday spectrum) caused by line-of-sight
(LOS) magnetic field reversals. We call these features Faraday caustics because
of their similarity to optical caustics. They appear as sharply peaked and
asymmetric profiles in the Faraday spectrum, that have a tail that extends to
one side. The direction in which the tail extends depends on the way in which
the LOS magnetic field reversal occurs (either changing from oncoming to
retreating or vice versa). We describe how Faraday caustics will form
three-dimensional surfaces that relate to boundaries between regions where the
LOS magnetic field has opposite polarity. We present examples from simulations
of the predicted polarized synchrotron emission from the Milky Way. We derive
either the probability or luminosity distribution of Faraday caustics produced
in a Gaussian magnetic field distribution as a function of their strength, F,
and find that for strong Faraday caustics P(F)\proptoF^{-3} . If fully
resolved, this distribution is also shown to depend on the Taylor microscale,
which relates to the largest scale over which dissipation is important in a
turbulent flow.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, Accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Imprints of magnetic power and helicity spectra on radio polarimetry statistics
Statistical properties of turbulent magnetic fields in radio-synchrotron
sources should imprint on the statistics of polarimetric observables. In search
of these imprints, we calculate correlation and cross-correlation functions
from a set of observables containing the total intensity I, the polarized
intensity P and the Faraday depth phi. The correlation functions are evaluated
for all combinations of observables up to fourth order in the magnetic field B.
We derive these as far as possible analytically and from first principles only
using some basic assumptions such as Gaussian statistics of the underlying
magnetic field in the observed region and statistical homogeneity. We further
assume some simplifications to reduce the complexity of the calculations, as
for a start we were interested in a proof of concept. Using this statistical
approach, we show that it is in principle possible to gain information about
the helical part of the magnetic power spectrum, namely via the correlation
functions and . Using this insight, we
construct an easy-to-use test for helicity, called LITMUS (Local Inference Test
for Magnetic fields which Uncovers heliceS). For now, all calculations are
given in a Faraday-free case, but set up in a way so that Faraday rotational
effects could be included later on.Comment: 24 pages, 4 figures; typos corrected; additional explanations in
section 1 and 2; revised and extended derivation in section 5, results
unchange
The mixed problem for the Lam\'e system in two dimensions
We consider the mixed problem for the Lam\'e system of elasticity in a
bounded Lipschitz domain . We suppose that the
boundary is written as the union of two disjoint sets, . We take traction data from the space and Dirichlet data from a
Sobolev space and look for a solution of with the
given boundary conditions. We give a scale invariant condition on and find
an exponent so that for , we have a unique solution of this
boundary value problem with the non-tangential maximal function of the gradient
of the solution in . We also establish the existence of a
unique solution when the data is taken from Hardy spaces and Hardy-Sobolev
spaces with in for some
Estimating extragalactic Faraday rotation
(abridged) Observations of Faraday rotation for extragalactic sources probe
magnetic fields both inside and outside the Milky Way. Building on our earlier
estimate of the Galactic contribution, we set out to estimate the extragalactic
contributions. We discuss the problems involved; in particular, we point out
that taking the difference between the observed values and the Galactic
foreground reconstruction is not a good estimate for the extragalactic
contributions. We point out a degeneracy between the contributions to the
observed values due to extragalactic magnetic fields and observational noise
and comment on the dangers of over-interpreting an estimate without taking into
account its uncertainty information. To overcome these difficulties, we develop
an extended reconstruction algorithm based on the assumption that the
observational uncertainties are accurately described for a subset of the data,
which can overcome the degeneracy with the extragalactic contributions. We
present a probabilistic derivation of the algorithm and demonstrate its
performance using a simulation, yielding a high quality reconstruction of the
Galactic Faraday rotation foreground, a precise estimate of the typical
extragalactic contribution, and a well-defined probabilistic description of the
extragalactic contribution for each data point. We then apply this
reconstruction technique to a catalog of Faraday rotation observations. We vary
our assumptions about the data, showing that the dispersion of extragalactic
contributions to observed Faraday depths is most likely lower than 7 rad/m^2,
in agreement with earlier results, and that the extragalactic contribution to
an individual data point is poorly constrained by the data in most cases.Comment: 20 + 6 pages, 19 figures; minor changes after bug-fix; version
accepted for publication by A&A; results are available at
http://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/ift/faraday
The nature of the low-frequency emission of M51: First observations of a nearby galaxy with LOFAR
The grand-design spiral galaxy M51 was observed with the LOFAR High Frequency
Antennas (HBA) and imaged in total intensity and polarisation. This observation
covered the frequencies between 115 MHz and 175 MHz. We produced an image of
total emission of M51 at the mean frequency of 151 MHz with 20 arcsec
resolution and 0.3 mJy rms noise, which is the most sensitive image of a galaxy
at frequencies below 300 MHz so far. The integrated spectrum of total radio
emission is described well by a power law, while flat spectral indices in the
central region indicate thermal absorption. We observe that the disk extends
out to 16 kpc and see a break in the radial profile near the optical radius of
the disk. Our main results, the scale lengths of the inner and outer disks at
151 MHz and 1.4 GHz, arm--interarm contrast, and the break scales of the
radio--far-infrared correlations, can be explained consistently by CRE
diffusion, leading to a longer propagation length of CRE of lower energy. The
distribution of CRE sources drops sharply at about 10 kpc radius, where the
star formation rate also decreases sharply. We find evidence that thermal
absorption is primarily caused by HII regions. The non-detection of
polarisation from M51 at 151 MHz is consistent with the estimates of Faraday
depolarisation. Future searches for polarised emission in this frequency range
should concentrate on regions with low star formation rates.Comment: 20 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Evidence for particle re-acceleration in the radio relic in the galaxy cluster PLCKG287.0+32.9
Radio relics are diffuse radio sources observed in galaxy clusters, probably produced by shock acceleration during cluster-cluster mergers. Their large size, of the order of 1 Mpc, indicates that the emitting electrons need to be (re)accelerated locally. The usually invoked diffusive shock acceleration models have been challenged by recent observations and theory. We report the discovery of complex radio emission in the Galaxy cluster PLCKG287.0+32.9, which hosts two relics, a radio halo, and several radio filamentary emission. Optical observations suggest that the cluster is elongated, likely along an intergalactic filament, and displays a significant amount of substructure. The peculiar features of this radio relic are that (1) it appears to be connected to the lobes of a radio galaxy and (2) the radio spectrum steepens on either side of the radio relic. We discuss the origins of these features in the context of particle re-acceleration. © 2014. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
A radio ridge connecting two galaxy clusters in a filament of the cosmic web
Galaxy clusters are the most massive gravitationally bound structures in the Universe. They grow by accreting smaller structures in a merging process that produces shocks and turbulence in the intracluster gas. We observed a ridge of radio emission connecting the merging galaxy clusters Abell 0399 and Abell 0401 with the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) telescope network at 140 megahertz. This emission requires a population of relativistic electrons and a magnetic field located in a filament between the two galaxy clusters. We performed simulations to show that a volume-filling distribution of weak shocks may reaccelerate a preexisting population of relativistic particles, producing emission at radio wavelengths that illuminates the magnetic ridge
A radio ridge connecting two galaxy clusters in a filament of the cosmic web
Galaxy clusters are the most massive gravitationally bound structures in the Universe. They grow by accreting smaller structures in a merging process that produces shocks and turbulence in the intracluster gas. We observed a ridge of radio emission connecting the merging galaxy clusters Abell 0399 and Abell 0401 with the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) telescope network at 140 megahertz. This emission requires a population of relativistic electrons and a magnetic field located in a filament between the two galaxy clusters. We performed simulations to show that a volume-filling distribution of weak shocks may reaccelerate a preexisting population of relativistic particles, producing emission at radio wavelengths that illuminates the magnetic ridge