13,144 research outputs found
Calibration System with Cryogenically-Cooled Loads for CMB Polarization Detectors
We present a novel system to calibrate millimeter-wave polarimeters for CMB
polarization measurements. This technique is an extension of the conventional
metal mirror rotation approach, however it employs cryogenically-cooled
blackbody absorbers. The primary advantage of this system is that it can
generate a slightly polarized signal ( mK) in the laboratory; this is
at a similar level to that measured by ground-based CMB polarization
experiments observing a 10 K sky. It is important to reproduce the
observing condition in the laboratry for reliable characterization of
polarimeters before deployment. In this paper, we present the design and
principle of the system, and demonstrate its use with a coherent-type
polarimeter used for an actual CMB polarization experiment. This technique can
also be applied to incoherent-type polarimeters and it is very promising for
the next-generation CMB polarization experiments.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures Submitted to RS
Innovative Demodulation Scheme for Coherent Detectors in CMB Experiments
We propose an innovative demodulation scheme for coherent detectors used in
cosmic microwave background polarization experiments. Removal of non-white
noise, e.g., narrow-band noise, in detectors is one of the key requirements for
the experiments. A combination of modulation and demodulation is used to
extract polarization signals as well as to suppress such noise. Traditional
demodulation, which is based on the two- point numerical differentiation, works
as a first-order high pass filter for the noise. The proposed demodulation is
based on the three-point numerical differentiation. It works as a second-order
high pass filter. By using a real detector, we confirmed significant
improvements of suppression power for the narrow-band noise. We also found
improvement of the noise floor.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure
Discovery of a wandering radio jet base after a large X-ray flare in the blazar Markarian 421
We investigate the location of the radio jet bases ("radio cores") of blazars
in radio images, and their stationarity by means of dense very long baseline
interferometry (VLBI) observations. In order to measure the position of a radio
core, we conducted 12 epoch astrometric observation of the blazar Markarian 421
with the VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry at 22 GHz immediately after a
large X-ray flare, which occurred in the middle of 2011 September. For the
first time, we find that the radio core is not stationary but rather changes
its location toward 0.5 mas downstream. This angular scale corresponds to the
de-projected length of a scale of Schwarzschild radii (Rs) at the
distance of Markarian~421. This radio-core wandering may be a new type of
manifestation associated with the phenomena of large X-ray flares.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, has been published in ApJ Letter
Enhanced Polarized Emission from the One-Parsec-Scale Hotspot of 3C 84 as a Result of the Interaction with Clumpy Ambient Medium
We present Very Long Baseline Array polarimetric observations of the
innermost jet of 3C84 (NGC1275) at 43GHz. A significant
polarized emission is detected at the hotspot of the innermost re-started jet,
which is located 1 pc south from the radio core. While the previous
report presented a hotspot at the southern end of the western limb, the hotspot
location has been moved to the southern end of the eastern limb. Faraday
rotation is detected within an entire bandwidth of the 43-GHz band. The
measured rotation measure (RM) is at most
(6.31.9)radm and might be slightly time
variable on the timescale of a month by a factor of a few. Our measured RM and
the RM previously reported by the CARMA and SMA observations cannot be
consistently explained by the spherical accretion flow with a power-law
profile. We propose that a clumpy/inhomogeneous ambient medium is responsible
for the observed rotation measure. Using equipartition magnetic field, we
derive the electron density of cm. Such an electron
density is consistent with the cloud of narrow line emission region around the
central engine. We also discuss the magnetic field configuration from black
hole scale to pc scale and the origin of low polarization.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
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