Broad-band radio circular polarization spectrum of the relativistic jet in PKS B2126-158

We present full Stokes radio polarization observations of the quasar PKS B2126−158 (z = 3.268) from 1 to 10 GHz using the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The source has large fractional circular polarization (CP), mc ≡ |V|/I, detected at high significance across the entire band (from 15 to 90σ per 128 MHz subband). This allows us to construct the most robust CP spectrum of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) jet to date. We find mc ∝ ν+0.60 ± 0.03 from 1.5 to 6.5 GHz, with a peak of mc ∼ 1 per cent before the spectrum turns over somewhere between 6.5 and 8 GHz, above which mc ∝ ν−3.0 ± 0.4. The fractional linear polarization (LP;p) varies from 0.2 to ∼1 per cent across our frequency range and is strongly anticorrelated with the fractional CP, with a best-fitting power law giving mc ∝ p−0.24 ± 0.03. This is the first clear relation between the observed LP and CP of an AGN jet, revealing the action of Faraday conversion of LP to CP within the jet. More detailed modelling in conjunction with high spatial resolution observations are required to determine the true driving force behind the conversion (i.e. magnetic twist or internal Faraday rotation). In particular determining whether the observed Faraday rotation is internal or entirely external to the jet is key to this goal. The simplest interpretation of our observations favours some internal Faraday rotation, implying that Faraday rotation-driven conversion of LP to CP is the dominant CP generation mechanism. In this case, a small amount of vector-ordered magnetic field along the jet axis is required, along with internal Faraday rotation from the low-energy end of the relativistic electron energy spectrum in an electron–proton-dominated jet

Complex Faraday depth structure of active galactic nuclei as revealed by broad-band radio polarimetry

We present a detailed study of the Faraday depth structure of four bright (>1 Jy), strongly polarized, unresolved radio-loud quasars. The Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) was used to observe these sources with 2 GHz of instantaneous bandwidth from 1.1 to 3.1 GHz. This allowed us to spectrally resolve the polarization structure of spatially unresolved radio sources, and by fitting various Faraday rotation models to the data, we conclusively demonstrate that two of the sources cannot be described by a simple rotation measure (RM) component modified by depolarization from a foreground Faraday screen. Our results have important implications for using background extragalactic radio sources as probes of the Galactic and intergalactic magneto-ionic media as we show how RM estimations from narrow-bandwidth observations can give erroneous results in the presence of multiple interfering Faraday components. We postulate that the additional RM components arise from polarized structure in the compact inner regions of the radio source itself and not from polarized emission from galactic or intergalactic foreground regions. We further suggest that this may contribute significantly to any RM time variability seen in RM studies on these angular scales. Follow-up, high-sensitivity very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations of these sources will directly test our predictions

The redshift evolution of extragalactic magnetic fields

Large scale structure and cosmologyGalaxie

Calibration of Tuffak polycarbonate track detector for identification of relativistic nuclei

We discuss response of Tuffak polycarbonate to relativistic heavy nuclei using two methods, measurement of the minor axis diameter and of the length of the track cone, to determine charge resolution. At Z = 92 (0.95 GeV/u 238U) both methods give about 0.9e charge resolution for a single cone measurement. Multiple cone measurements along the ion's trajectory have yielded a charge resolution [sigma]z [les] 0.25e (16 cones) when stripping foils (Cu) are interleaved between plastic sheets to minimize sheet-to-sheet charge state correlations. As the charge of the incident ion decreases to Z [approximate] 52-57, the single-cone charge resolution improves ([sigma]z ~ 0.29e). The angular response of Tuffak is fairly constant for zenith angles of incidence from 0[deg] to 48[deg]. Range measurements of stopping relativistic 238U in Tuffak deviate by ~5% from that predicted by the Bethe-Bloch formula, as expected from recent relativistic calculations. We conclude that Tuffak is an excellent track detector for identification of nuclear charges of relativistic heavy nuclei with 50 Z <= 92.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/24979/1/0000406.pd

Application of phage display to high throughput antibody generation and characterization.

We have created a high quality phage display library containing over 1010 human antibodies and describe its use in the generation of antibodies on an unprecedented scale. We have selected, screened and sequenced over 38,000 recombinant antibodies to 292 antigens, yielding over 7,200 unique clones. 4,400 antibodies were characterized by specificity testing and detailed sequence analysis and the data/clones are available online. Sensitive detection was demonstrated in a bead based flow cytometry assay. Furthermore, positive staining by immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays was found for 37% (143/381) of antibodies. Thus, we have demonstrated the potential of and illuminated the issues associated with genome-wide monoclonal antibody generation.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

The LOFAR Two Meter Sky Survey: Deep Fields, I -- Direction-dependent calibration and imaging

The Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) is an ideal instrument to conduct deep extragalactic surveys. It has a large field of view and is sensitive to large-scale and compact emission. It is, however, very challenging to synthesize thermal noise limited maps at full resolution, mainly because of the complexity of the low-frequency sky and the direction dependent effects (phased array beams and ionosphere). In this first paper of a series, we present a new calibration and imaging pipeline that aims at producing high fidelity, high dynamic range images with LOFAR High Band Antenna data, while being computationally efficient and robust against the absorption of unmodeled radio emission. We apply this calibration and imaging strategy to synthesize deep images of the Boötes and Lockman Hole fields at ∼150 MHz, totaling ∼80 and ∼100 h of integration, respectively, and reaching unprecedented noise levels at these low frequencies of .30 and .23 µJy beam−1 in the inner ∼3 deg2 . This approach is also being used to reduce the LOTSS-wide data for the second data release

Possible discovery of Calvera's supernova remnant

Stars and planetary system

Metal-THINGS: On the Metallicity and Ionization of ULX Sources in NGC 925

Galaxie

The Galactic Faraday rotation sky 2020

Galaxie