5,642 research outputs found
Atmospheric turbulence in phase-referenced and wide-field interferometric images: Application to the SKA
Phase referencing is a standard calibration procedure in radio
interferometry. It allows to detect weak sources by using quasi-simultaneous
observations of closeby sources acting as calibrators. Therefore, it is assumed
that, for each antenna, the optical paths of the signals from both sources are
similar. However, atmospheric turbulence may introduce strong differences in
the optical paths of the signals and affect, or even waste, phase referencing
for cases of relatively large calibrator-to-target separations and/or bad
weather. The situation is similar in wide-field observations, since the random
deformations of the images, mostly caused by atmospheric turbulence, have
essentially the same origin as the random astrometric variations of
phase-referenced sources with respect to the phase center of their calibrators.
In this paper, we present the results of a Monte Carlo study of the astrometric
precision and sensitivity of an interferometric array (a realization of the
Square Kilometre Array, SKA) in phase-referenced and wide-field observations.
These simulations can be extrapolated to other arrays by applying the
corresponding corrections. We consider several effects from the turbulent
atmosphere (i.e., ionosphere and wet component of the troposphere) and also
from the antenna receivers. We study the changes in dynamic range and
astrometric precision as a function of observing frequency, source separation,
and strength of the turbulence. We find that, for frequencies between 1 and 10
GHz, it is possible to obtain images with high fidelity, although the
atmosphere strongly limits the sensitivity of the instrument compared to the
case with no atmosphere. Outside this frequency window, the dynamic range of
the images and the accuracy of the source positions decrease. [...] (Incomplete
abstract. Please read manuscript.)Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A
Chaotic Diffusion in the Gliese-876 Planetary System
Chaotic diffusion is supposed to be responsible for orbital instabilities in
planetary systems after the dissipation of the protoplanetary disk, and a
natural consequence of irregular motion. In this paper we show that resonant
multi-planetary systems, despite being highly chaotic, not necessarily exhibit
significant diffusion in phase space, and may still survive virtually unchanged
over timescales comparable to their age.Using the GJ-876 system as an example,
we analyze the chaotic diffusion of the outermost (and less massive) planet. We
construct a set of stability maps in the surrounding regions of the Laplace
resonance. We numerically integrate ensembles of close initial conditions,
compute Poincar\'e maps and estimate the chaotic diffusion present in this
system. Our results show that, the Laplace resonance contains two different
regions: an inner domain characterized by low chaoticity and slow diffusion,
and an outer one displaying larger values of dynamical indicators. In the outer
resonant domain, the stochastic borders of the Laplace resonance seem to
prevent the complete destruction of the system. We characterize the diffusion
for small ensembles along the parameters of the outermost planet. Finally, we
perform a stability analysis of the inherent chaotic, albeit stable Laplace
resonance, by linking the behavior of the resonant variables of the
configurations to the different sub-structures inside the three-body resonance.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA
The resolved structure of the extragalactic supernova remnant SNR 4449-1
We present very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations of the
milliarcsecond-scale radio structure of the supernova remnant SNR 44491 in
the galaxy NGC 4449. This young and superluminous remnant was observed at 1.6
GHz (\,cm) with the European VLBI Network. The observations
confirm earlier identifications of this object with a supernova remnant (SNR)
while revealing a somewhat different morphology compared with the structure
reported by Bietenholz et al. from VLBI observations at 1.4 GHz. This
difference is discussed here in the context of structural sensitivity of both
observations. The 1.6 GHz image yields accurate estimates of the size (0.0422
arcsec 0.0285 arcsec and 0.8 0.5 pc) and age (55 yr) of
SNR 44491. With a total flux of 6.1 0.6 mJy measured in the VLBI
image, the historical lightcurve of the source can be well represented by a
power-law decay with a power index of 1.19 0.07. The SNR exhibits a
decline rate of the radio emission of 2.2 0.1 yr and a radio
luminosity of 1.74 10 erg s.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, MNRAS preprint, arXiv:1309.401
Assessment of a high-resolution central scheme for the solution of the relativistic hydrodynamics equations
We assess the suitability of a recent high-resolution central scheme
developed by Kurganov & Tadmor (2000) for the solution of the relativistic
hydrodynamics equations. The novelty of this approach relies on the absence of
Riemann solvers in the solution procedure. The computations we present are
performed in one and two spatial dimensions in Minkowski spacetime. Standard
numerical experiments such as shock tubes and the relativistic flat-faced step
test are performed. As an astrophysical application the article includes
two-dimensional simulations of the propagation of relativistic jets using both
Cartesian and cylindrical coordinates. The simulations reported clearly show
the capabilities of the numerical scheme to yield satisfactory results, with an
accuracy comparable to that obtained by the so-called high-resolution
shock-capturing schemes based upon Riemann solvers (Godunov-type schemes), even
well inside the ultrarelativistic regime. Such central scheme can be
straightforwardly applied to hyperbolic systems of conservation laws for which
the characteristic structure is not explicitly known, or in cases where the
exact solution of the Riemann problem is prohibitively expensive to compute
numerically. Finally, we present comparisons with results obtained using
various Godunov-type schemes as well as with those obtained using other
high-resolution central schemes which have recently been reported in the
literature.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, to appear in A&
VLBI observations of SN2011dh: imaging of the youngest radio supernova
We report on the VLBI detection of supernova SN2011dh at 22GHz using a subset
of the EVN array. The observations took place 14 days after the discovery of
the supernova, thus resulting in a VLBI image of the youngest radio-loud
supernova ever. We provide revised coordinates for the supernova with
milli-arcsecond precision, linked to the ICRF. The recovered flux density is a
factor 2 below the EVLA flux density reported by other authors at the same
frequency and epoch of our observations. This discrepancy could be due to
extended emission detected with the EVLA or to calibration problems in the VLBI
and/or EVLA observations.Comment: Letter. Accepted in A&
Lending Petri nets and contracts
Choreography-based approaches to service composition typically assume that,
after a set of services has been found which correctly play the roles
prescribed by the choreography, each service respects his role. Honest services
are not protected against adversaries. We propose a model for contracts based
on a extension of Petri nets, which allows services to protect themselves while
still realizing the choreography. We relate this model with Propositional
Contract Logic, by showing a translation of formulae into our Petri nets which
preserves the logical notion of agreement, and allows for compositional
verification
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