101 research outputs found

    What does an interferometer really measure? Including instrument and data characteristics in the reconstruction of the 21cm power spectrum

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    Combining the visibilities measured by an interferometer to form a cosmological power spectrum is a complicated process in which the window functions play a crucial role. In a delay-based analysis, the mapping between instrumental space, made of per-baseline delay spectra, and cosmological space is not a one-to-one relation. Instead, neighbouring modes contribute to the power measured at one point, with their respective contributions encoded in the window functions. To better understand the power spectrum measured by an interferometer, we assess the impact of instrument characteristics and analysis choices on the estimator by deriving its exact window functions, outside of the delay approximation. Focusing on HERA as a case study, we find that observations made with long baselines tend to correspond to enhanced low-k tails of the window functions, which facilitate foreground leakage outside the wedge, whilst the choice of bandwidth and frequency taper can help narrow them down. With the help of simple test cases and more realistic visibility simulations, we show that, apart from tracing mode mixing, the window functions can accurately reconstruct the power spectrum estimator of simulated visibilities. We note that the window functions depend strongly on the chromaticity of the beam, and less on its spatial structure - a Gaussian approximation, ignoring side lobes, is sufficient. Finally, we investigate the potential of asymmetric window functions, down-weighting the contribution of low-k power to avoid foreground leakage. The window functions presented in this work correspond to the latest HERA upper limits for the full Phase I data. They allow an accurate reconstruction of the power spectrum measured by the instrument and can be used in future analyses to confront theoretical models and data directly in cylindrical space.Comment: 18 pages, 18 figures, submitted to MNRAS. Comments welcome

    Direct Optimal Mapping Image Power Spectrum and its Window Functions

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    The key to detecting neutral hydrogen during the epoch of reionization (EoR) is to separate the cosmological signal from the dominating foreground radiation. We developed direct optimal mapping (Xu et al. 2022) to map interferometric visibilities; it contains only linear operations, with full knowledge of point spread functions from visibilities to images. Here we present an FFT-based image power spectrum and its window functions based on direct optimal mapping. We use noiseless simulation, based on the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA) Phase I configuration, to study the image power spectrum properties. The window functions show <10−11<10^{-11} power leakage from the foreground-dominated region into the EoR window; the 2D and 1D power spectra also verify the separation between the foregrounds and the EoR. Furthermore, we simulated visibilities from a uvuv-complete array and calculated its image power spectrum. The result shows that the foreground--EoR leakage is further suppressed below 10−1210^{-12}, dominated by the tapering function sidelobes; the 2D power spectrum does not show signs of the horizon wedge. The uvuv-complete result provides a reference case for future 21cm cosmology array designs.Comment: Submitted to Ap

    Direct Optimal Mapping for 21cm Cosmology: A Demonstration with the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array

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    Motivated by the desire for wide-field images with well-defined statistical properties for 21cm cosmology, we implement an optimal mapping pipeline that computes a maximum likelihood estimator for the sky using the interferometric measurement equation. We demonstrate this direct optimal mapping with data from the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization (HERA) Phase I observations. After validating the pipeline with simulated data, we develop a maximum likelihood figure-of-merit for comparing four sky models at 166MHz with a bandwidth of 100kHz. The HERA data agree with the GLEAM catalogs to <10%. After subtracting the GLEAM point sources, the HERA data discriminate between the different continuum sky models, providing most support for the model of Byrne et al. 2021. We report the computation cost for mapping the HERA Phase I data and project the computation for the HERA 320-antenna data; both are feasible with a modern server. The algorithm is broadly applicable to other interferometers and is valid for wide-field and non-coplanar arrays.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables, published on Ap

    Distinctive Left-Sided Distribution of Adrenergic-Derived Cells in the Adult Mouse Heart

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    Adrenaline and noradrenaline are produced within the heart from neuronal and non-neuronal sources. These adrenergic hormones have profound effects on cardiovascular development and function, yet relatively little information is available about the specific tissue distribution of adrenergic cells within the adult heart. The purpose of the present study was to define the anatomical localization of cells derived from an adrenergic lineage within the adult heart. To accomplish this, we performed genetic fate-mapping experiments where mice with the cre-recombinase (Cre) gene inserted into the phenylethanolamine-n-methyltransferase (Pnmt) locus were cross-mated with homozygous Rosa26 reporter (R26R) mice. Because Pnmt serves as a marker gene for adrenergic cells, offspring from these matings express the β-galactosidase (βGAL) reporter gene in cells of an adrenergic lineage. βGAL expression was found throughout the adult mouse heart, but was predominantly (89%) located in the left atrium (LA) and ventricle (LV) (p<0.001 compared to RA and RV), where many of these cells appeared to have cardiomyocyte-like morphological and structural characteristics. The staining pattern in the LA was diffuse, but the LV free wall displayed intermittent non-random staining that extended from the apex to the base of the heart, including heavy staining of the anterior papillary muscle along its perimeter. Three-dimensional computer-aided reconstruction of XGAL+ staining revealed distribution throughout the LA and LV, with specific finger-like projections apparent near the mid and apical regions of the LV free wall. These data indicate that adrenergic-derived cells display distinctive left-sided distribution patterns in the adult mouse heart

    Search for the Epoch of Reionisation with HERA: Upper Limits on the Closure Phase Delay Power Spectrum

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    Radio interferometers aiming to measure the power spectrum of the redshifted 21 cm line during the Epoch of Reionisation (EoR) need to achieve an unprecedented dynamic range to separate the weak signal from overwhelming foreground emissions. Calibration inaccuracies can compromise the sensitivity of these measurements to the effect that a detection of the EoR is precluded. An alternative to standard analysis techniques makes use of the closure phase, which allows one to bypass antenna-based direction-independent calibration. Similarly to standard approaches, we use a delay spectrum technique to search for the EoR signal. Using 94 nights of data observed with Phase I of the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA), we place approximate constraints on the 21 cm power spectrum at z=7.7z=7.7. We find at 95% confidence that the 21 cm EoR brightness temperature is ≤\le(372)2^2 "pseudo" mK2^2 at 1.14 "pseudo" hh Mpc−1^{-1}, where the "pseudo" emphasises that these limits are to be interpreted as approximations to the actual distance scales and brightness temperatures. Using a fiducial EoR model, we demonstrate the feasibility of detecting the EoR with the full array. Compared to standard methods, the closure phase processing is relatively simple, thereby providing an important independent check on results derived using visibility intensities, or related.Comment: 16 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication by MNRA

    Large-scale sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 genomes from one region allows detailed epidemiology and enables local outbreak management.

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    The COVID-19 pandemic has spread rapidly throughout the world. In the UK, the initial peak was in April 2020; in the county of Norfolk (UK) and surrounding areas, which has a stable, low-density population, over 3200 cases were reported between March and August 2020. As part of the activities of the national COVID-19 Genomics Consortium (COG-UK) we undertook whole genome sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 genomes present in positive clinical samples from the Norfolk region. These samples were collected by four major hospitals, multiple minor hospitals, care facilities and community organizations within Norfolk and surrounding areas. We combined clinical metadata with the sequencing data from regional SARS-CoV-2 genomes to understand the origins, genetic variation, transmission and expansion (spread) of the virus within the region and provide context nationally. Data were fed back into the national effort for pandemic management, whilst simultaneously being used to assist local outbreak analyses. Overall, 1565 positive samples (172 per 100 000 population) from 1376 cases were evaluated; for 140 cases between two and six samples were available providing longitudinal data. This represented 42.6 % of all positive samples identified by hospital testing in the region and encompassed those with clinical need, and health and care workers and their families. In total, 1035 cases had genome sequences of sufficient quality to provide phylogenetic lineages. These genomes belonged to 26 distinct global lineages, indicating that there were multiple separate introductions into the region. Furthermore, 100 genetically distinct UK lineages were detected demonstrating local evolution, at a rate of ~2 SNPs per month, and multiple co-occurring lineages as the pandemic progressed. Our analysis: identified a discrete sublineage associated with six care facilities; found no evidence of reinfection in longitudinal samples; ruled out a nosocomial outbreak; identified 16 lineages in key workers which were not in patients, indicating infection control measures were effective; and found the D614G spike protein mutation which is linked to increased transmissibility dominates the samples and rapidly confirmed relatedness of cases in an outbreak at a food processing facility. The large-scale genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2-positive samples has provided valuable additional data for public health epidemiology in the Norfolk region, and will continue to help identify and untangle hidden transmission chains as the pandemic evolves.The sequencing costs were funded by the COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium which is supported by funding from the Medical Research Council (MRC) part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) and Genome Research Limited, operating as the Wellcome Sanger Institute

    Characterization Of Inpaint Residuals In Interferometric Measurements of the Epoch Of Reionization

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    Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) is one of the systematic challenges preventing 21cm interferometric instruments from detecting the Epoch of Reionization. To mitigate the effects of RFI on data analysis pipelines, numerous inpaint techniques have been developed to restore RFI corrupted data. We examine the qualitative and quantitative errors introduced into the visibilities and power spectrum due to inpainting. We perform our analysis on simulated data as well as real data from the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA) Phase 1 upper limits. We also introduce a convolutional neural network that capable of inpainting RFI corrupted data in interferometric instruments. We train our network on simulated data and show that our network is capable at inpainting real data without requiring to be retrained. We find that techniques that incorporate high wavenumbers in delay space in their modeling are best suited for inpainting over narrowband RFI. We also show that with our fiducial parameters Discrete Prolate Spheroidal Sequences (DPSS) and CLEAN provide the best performance for intermittent ``narrowband'' RFI while Gaussian Progress Regression (GPR) and Least Squares Spectral Analysis (LSSA) provide the best performance for larger RFI gaps. However we caution that these qualitative conclusions are sensitive to the chosen hyperparameters of each inpainting technique. We find these results to be consistent in both simulated and real visibilities. We show that all inpainting techniques reliably reproduce foreground dominated modes in the power spectrum. Since the inpainting techniques should not be capable of reproducing noise realizations, we find that the largest errors occur in the noise dominated delay modes. We show that in the future, as the noise level of the data comes down, CLEAN and DPSS are most capable of reproducing the fine frequency structure in the visibilities of HERA data.Comment: 26 pages, 18 figure

    Improved Constraints on the 21 cm EoR Power Spectrum and the X-Ray Heating of the IGM with HERA Phase I Observations

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    We report the most sensitive upper limits to date on the 21 cm epoch of reionization power spectrum using 94 nights of observing with Phase I of the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA). Using similar analysis techniques as in previously reported limits (HERA Collaboration 2022a), we find at 95% confidence that Δ2(k=0.34\Delta^2(k = 0.34 hh Mpc−1^{-1}) ≤457\leq 457 mK2^2 at z=7.9z = 7.9 and that Δ2(k=0.36\Delta^2 (k = 0.36 hh Mpc−1)≤3,496^{-1}) \leq 3,496 mK2^2 at z=10.4z = 10.4, an improvement by a factor of 2.1 and 2.6 respectively. These limits are mostly consistent with thermal noise over a wide range of kk after our data quality cuts, despite performing a relatively conservative analysis designed to minimize signal loss. Our results are validated with both statistical tests on the data and end-to-end pipeline simulations. We also report updated constraints on the astrophysics of reionization and the cosmic dawn. Using multiple independent modeling and inference techniques previously employed by HERA Collaboration (2022b), we find that the intergalactic medium must have been heated above the adiabatic cooling limit at least as early as z=10.4z = 10.4, ruling out a broad set of so-called "cold reionization" scenarios. If this heating is due to high-mass X-ray binaries during the cosmic dawn, as is generally believed, our result's 99% credible interval excludes the local relationship between soft X-ray luminosity and star formation and thus requires heating driven by evolved low-metallicity stars.Comment: 57 pages, 37 figures. Updated to match the accepted ApJ version. Corresponding author: Joshua S. Dillo

    Detection of Cosmic Structures using the Bispectrum Phase. II. First Results from Application to Cosmic Reionization Using the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array

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    Characterizing the epoch of reionization (EoR) at z≳6z\gtrsim 6 via the redshifted 21 cm line of neutral Hydrogen (HI) is critical to modern astrophysics and cosmology, and thus a key science goal of many current and planned low-frequency radio telescopes. The primary challenge to detecting this signal is the overwhelmingly bright foreground emission at these frequencies, placing stringent requirements on the knowledge of the instruments and inaccuracies in analyses. Results from these experiments have largely been limited not by thermal sensitivity but by systematics, particularly caused by the inability to calibrate the instrument to high accuracy. The interferometric bispectrum phase is immune to antenna-based calibration and errors therein, and presents an independent alternative to detect the EoR HI fluctuations while largely avoiding calibration systematics. Here, we provide a demonstration of this technique on a subset of data from the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA) to place approximate constraints on the brightness temperature of the intergalactic medium (IGM). From this limited data, at z=7.7z=7.7 we infer "1σ1\sigma" upper limits on the IGM brightness temperature to be ≤316\le 316 "pseudo" mK at κ∥=0.33\kappa_\parallel=0.33 "pseudo" hh Mpc−1^{-1} (data-limited) and ≤1000\le 1000 "pseudo" mK at κ∥=0.875\kappa_\parallel=0.875 "pseudo" hh Mpc−1^{-1} (noise-limited). The "pseudo" units denote only an approximate and not an exact correspondence to the actual distance scales and brightness temperatures. By propagating models in parallel to the data analysis, we confirm that the dynamic range required to separate the cosmic HI signal from the foregrounds is similar to that in standard approaches, and the power spectrum of the bispectrum phase is still data-limited (at ≳106\gtrsim 10^6 dynamic range) indicating scope for further improvement in sensitivity as the array build-out continues.Comment: 22 pages, 12 figures (including sub-figures). Published in PhRvD. Abstract may be slightly abridged compared to the actual manuscript due to length limitations on arXi
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