157 research outputs found
Mapping the hot gas temperature in galaxy clusters using X-ray and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich imaging
We propose a method to map the temperature distribution of the hot gas in galaxy clusters that uses resolved images of the thermal Sunyaev-Zelâdovich (tSZ) effect in combination with X-ray data. Application to images from the New IRAM KIDs Array (NIKA) and XMM-Newton allows us to measure and determine the spatial distribution of the gas temperature in the merging cluster MACS J0717.5+3745, at z = 0.55. Despite the complexity of the target object, we find a good morphological agreement between the temperature maps derived from X-ray spectroscopy only â using XMM-Newton (TXMM) and Chandra (TCXO) â and the new gas-mass-weighted tSZ+X-ray imaging method (TSZX). We correlate the temperatures from tSZ+X-ray imaging and those from X-ray spectroscopy alone and find that TSZX is higher than TXMM and lower than TCXO by ~ 10% in both cases. Our results are limited by uncertainties in the geometry of the cluster gas, contamination from kinetic SZ (~10%), and the absolute calibration of the tSZ map (7%). Investigation using a larger sample of clusters would help minimise these effects
Mexico-UK Sub-millimeter Camera for AsTronomy
MUSCAT is a large format mm-wave camera scheduled for installation on the
Large Millimeter Telescope Alfonso Serrano (LMT) in 2018. The MUSCAT focal
plane is based on an array of horn coupled lumped-element kinetic inductance
detectors optimised for coupling to the 1.1mm atmospheric window. The detectors
are fed with fully baffled reflective optics to minimize stray-light
contamination. This combination will enable background-limited performance at
1.1 mm across the full 4 arcminute field-of-view of the LMT. The easily
accessible focal plane will be cooled to 100 mK with a new closed cycle
miniature dilution refrigerator that permits fully continuous operation. The
MUSCAT instrument will demonstrate the science capabilities of the LMT through
two relatively short science programmes to provide high resolution follow-up
surveys of Galactic and extra-galactic sources previously observed with the
Herschel space observatory, after the initial observing campaigns. In this
paper, we will provide an overview of the overall instrument design as well as
an update on progress and scheduled installation on the LMT.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Journal of Low Temperature Detector
BFORE: The B-mode Foreground Experiment
The B-mode Foreground Experiment (BFORE) is a proposed NASA balloon project
designed to make optimal use of the sub-orbital platform by concentrating on
three dust foreground bands (270, 350, and 600 GHz) that complement
ground-based cosmic microwave background (CMB) programs. BFORE will survey ~1/4
of the sky with 1.7 - 3.7 arcminute resolution, enabling precise
characterization of the Galactic dust that now limits constraints on inflation
from CMB B-mode polarization measurements. In addition, BFORE's combination of
frequency coverage, large survey area, and angular resolution enables science
far beyond the critical goal of measuring foregrounds. BFORE will constrain the
velocities of thousands of galaxy clusters, provide a new window on the cosmic
infrared background, and probe magnetic fields in the interstellar medium. We
review the BFORE science case, timeline, and instrument design, which is based
on a compact off-axis telescope coupled to >10,000 superconducting detectors.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, conference proceedings published in Journal of
Low Temperature Physic
Non-parametric deprojection of NIKA SZ observations: Pressure distribution in the Planck-discovered cluster PSZ1 G045.85+57.71
The determination of the thermodynamic properties of clusters of galaxies at
intermediate and high redshift can bring new insights into the formation of
large-scale structures. It is essential for a robust calibration of the
mass-observable scaling relations and their scatter, which are key ingredients
for precise cosmology using cluster statistics. Here we illustrate an
application of high resolution arcsec) thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (tSZ)
observations by probing the intracluster medium (ICM) of the \planck-discovered
galaxy cluster \psz\ at redshift , using tSZ data obtained with the
NIKA camera, which is a dual-band (150 and 260~GHz) instrument operated at the
IRAM 30-meter telescope. We deproject jointly NIKA and \planck\ data to extract
the electronic pressure distribution from the cluster core () to its outskirts () non-parametrically for the
first time at intermediate redshift. The constraints on the resulting pressure
profile allow us to reduce the relative uncertainty on the integrated Compton
parameter by a factor of two compared to the \planck\ value. Combining the tSZ
data and the deprojected electronic density profile from \xmm\ allows us to
undertake a hydrostatic mass analysis, for which we study the impact of a
spherical model assumption on the total mass estimate. We also investigate the
radial temperature and entropy distributions. These data indicate that \psz\ is
a massive ( M) cool-core cluster.
This work is part of a pilot study aiming at optimizing the treatment of the
NIKA2 tSZ large program dedicated to the follow-up of SZ-discovered clusters at
intermediate and high redshifts. (abridged)Comment: 16 pages, 10 figure
NIKA 2: next-generation continuum/polarized camera at the IRAM 30 m telescope and its prototype
NIKA 2 (New Instrument of Kids Array) is a next generation continuum and
polarized instrument successfully installed in October 2015 at the IRAM 30 m
telescope on Pico-Veleta (Granada, Spain). NIKA 2 is a high resolution
dual-band camera, operating with frequency multiplexed LEKIDs (Lumped Element
Kinetic Inductance Detectors) cooled at 100 mK. Dual color images are obtained
thanks to the simultaneous readout of a 1020 pixels array at 2 mm and 1140 x 2
pixels arrays at 1.15 mm with a final resolution of 18 and 12 arcsec
respectively, and 6.5 arcmin of Field of View (FoV). The two arrays at 1.15 mm
allow us to measure the linear polarization of the incoming light. This will
place NIKA 2 as an instrument of choice to study the role of magnetic fields in
the star formation process. The NIKA experiment, a prototype for NIKA 2 with a
reduced number of detectors (about 400 LEKIDs) and FoV (1.8 arcmin), has been
successfully operated at the IRAM 30 telescope in several open observational
campaigns. The performance of the NIKA 2 polarization setup has been
successfully validated with the NIKA prototype.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, proceeding for the conference: Extragalactic
radio surveys 201
First polarised light with the NIKA camera
NIKA is a dual-band camera operating with 315 frequency multiplexed LEKIDs
cooled at 100 mK. NIKA is designed to observe the sky in intensity and
polarisation at 150 and 260 GHz from the IRAM 30-m telescope. It is a
test-bench for the final NIKA2 camera. The incoming linear polarisation is
modulated at four times the mechanical rotation frequency by a warm rotating
multi-layer Half Wave Plate. Then, the signal is analysed by a wire grid and
finally absorbed by the LEKIDs. The small time constant (< 1ms ) of the LEKID
detectors combined with the modulation of the HWP enables the
quasi-simultaneous measurement of the three Stokes parameters I, Q, U,
representing linear polarisation. In this paper we present results of recent
observational campaigns demonstrating the good performance of NIKA in detecting
polarisation at mm wavelength.Comment: 7 pages, Proceeding for Journal of Low Temperature Physic
Empirical modelling of the BLASTPol achromatic half-wave plate for precision submillimetre polarimetry
A cryogenic achromatic half-wave plate (HWP) for submillimetre astronomical polarimetry
has been designed, manufactured, tested and deployed in the Balloon-borne Large-Aperture
Submillimeter Telescope for Polarimetry (BLASTPol). The design is based on the five-slab
Pancharatnam recipe and itworks in thewavelength range 200â600 ÎŒm, making it the broadestband
HWP built to date at (sub)millimetre wavelengths. The frequency behaviour of the HWP
has been fully characterized at room and cryogenic temperatures with incoherent radiation
from a polarizing Fourier transform spectrometer. We develop a novel empirical model, complementary
to the physical and analytical ones available in the literature, that allows us to
recover the HWP Mueller matrix and phase shift as a function of frequency and extrapolated
to 4 K. We show that most of the HWP non-idealities can be modelled by quantifying one
wavelength-dependent parameter, the position of the HWP equivalent axes, which is then readily
implemented in a map-making algorithm. We derive this parameter for a range of spectral
signatures of input astronomical sources relevant to BLASTPol, and provide a benchmark
example of how our method can yield improved accuracy on measurements of the polarization
angle on the sky at submillimetre wavelengths
Instrumental performance and results from testing of the BLAST-TNG receiver, submillimeter optics, and MKID arrays
Polarized thermal emission from interstellar dust grains can be used to map
magnetic fields in star forming molecular clouds and the diffuse interstellar
medium (ISM). The Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope for
Polarimetry (BLASTPol) flew from Antarctica in 2010 and 2012 and produced
degree-scale polarization maps of several nearby molecular clouds with
arcminute resolution. The success of BLASTPol has motivated a next-generation
instrument, BLAST-TNG, which will use more than 3000 linear polarization
sensitive microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs) combined with a 2.5m
diameter carbon fiber primary mirror to make diffraction-limited observations
at 250, 350, and 500 m. With 16 times the mapping speed of BLASTPol,
sub-arcminute resolution, and a longer flight time, BLAST-TNG will be able to
examine nearby molecular clouds and the diffuse galactic dust polarization
spectrum in unprecedented detail. The 250 m detector array has been
integrated into the new cryogenic receiver, and is undergoing testing to
establish the optical and polarization characteristics of the instrument.
BLAST-TNG will demonstrate the effectiveness of kilo-pixel MKID arrays for
applications in submillimeter astronomy. BLAST-TNG is scheduled to fly from
Antarctica in December 2017 for 28 days and will be the first balloon-borne
telescope to offer a quarter of the flight for "shared risk" observing by the
community.Comment: Presented at SPIE Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared
Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy VIII, June 29th, 201
The NIKA2 large-field-of-view millimetre continuum camera for the 30 m IRAM telescope
Context. Millimetre-wave continuum astronomy is today an indispensable tool for both general astrophysics studies (e.g. star formation, nearby galaxies) and cosmology (e.g. cosmic microwave background and high-redshift galaxies). General purpose, large-field-of-view instruments are needed to map the sky at intermediate angular scales not accessible by the high-resolution interferometers (e.g. ALMA in Chile, NOEMA in the French Alps) and by the coarse angular resolution space-borne or ground-based surveys (e.g. Planck, ACT, SPT). These instruments have to be installed at the focal plane of the largest single-dish telescopes, which are placed at high altitude on selected dry observing sites. In this context, we have constructed and deployed a three-thousand-pixel dual-band (150âGHz andâ260 GHz, respectively 2âmm and 1.15âmm wavelengths) camera to image an instantaneous circular field-of-view of 6.5âarcmin in diameter, and configurable to map the linear polarisation at 260âGHz.
Aims. First, we are providing a detailed description of this instrument, named NIKA2 (New IRAM KID Arrays 2), in particular focussing on the cryogenics, optics, focal plane arrays based on Kinetic Inductance Detectors, and the readout electronics. The focal planes and part of the optics are cooled down to the nominal 150âmK operating temperature by means of an adhoc dilution refrigerator. Secondly, we are presenting the performance measured on the sky during the commissioning runs that took place between October 2015 and April 2017 at the 30-m IRAM telescope at Pico Veleta, near Granada (Spain).
Methods. We have targeted a number of astronomical sources. Starting from beam-maps on primary and secondary calibrators we have then gone to extended sources and faint objects. Both internal (electronic) and on-the-sky calibrations are applied. The general methods are described in the present paper.
Results. NIKA2 has been successfully deployed and commissioned, performing in-line with expectations. In particular, NIKA2 exhibits full width at half maximum angular resolutions of around 11 and 17.5 arcsec at respectively 260 and 150âGHz. The noise equivalent flux densities are, at these two respective frequencies, 33±2 and 8±1 mJy s1/2. A first successful science verification run was achieved in April 2017. The instrument is currently offered to the astronomy community and will remain available for at least the following ten years
Mapping the kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect toward MACS J0717.5+3745 with NIKA
Measurement of the gas velocity distribution in galaxy clusters provides
insight into the physics of mergers, through which large scale structures form
in the Universe. Velocity estimates within the intracluster medium (ICM) can be
obtained via the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect, but its observation is
challenging both in term of sensitivity requirement and control of systematic
effects, including the removal of contaminants. In this paper we report
resolved observations, at 150 and 260 GHz, of the SZ effect toward the triple
merger MACS J0717.5+3745 (z=0.55), using data obtained with the NIKA camera at
the IRAM 30m telescope. Assuming that the SZ signal is the sum of a thermal
(tSZ) and a kinetic (kSZ) component and by combining the two NIKA bands, we
extract for the first time a resolved map of the kSZ signal in a cluster. The
kSZ signal is dominated by a dipolar structure that peaks at -5.1 and +3.4
sigma, corresponding to two subclusters moving respectively away and toward us
and coincident with the cold dense X-ray core and a hot region undergoing a
major merging event. We model the gas electron density and line-of-sight
velocity of MACS J0717.5+3745 as four subclusters. Combining NIKA data with
X-ray observations from XMM-Newton and Chandra, we fit this model to constrain
the gas line-of-sight velocity of each component, and we also derive, for the
first time, a velocity map from kSZ data (i.e. that is model-dependent). Our
results are consistent with previous constraints on the merger velocities, and
thanks to the high angular resolution of our data, we are able to resolve the
structure of the gas velocity. Finally, we investigate possible contamination
and systematic effects with a special care given to radio and submillimeter
galaxies. Among the sources that we detect with NIKA, we find one which is
likely to be a high redshift lensed submillimeter galaxy.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, accepted in A&
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