114 research outputs found
Suppressed carrier full-spectrum combining
A technique to accomplish full spectrum arraying where all the telemetry power is put into the subcarrier sidebands (suppressed carrier) is described. The matched filter needed in each antenna prior to cross correlation for deriving the coherence delay and phase offsets is an open loop version of the telemetry phase lock loop provided in the Advanced Digital Receiver. In analogy with a Costas loop telemetry receiver, a squaring loss is derived, and a signal to noise ratio for the cross correlation loop phase is presented
Determination of intercontinental baselines and Earth orientation using VLBI
A series of experiments was conducted during the last decade to explore the capability of very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) to measure the crustal and rotational motions of the Earth with accuracies at the centimeter level. The observing stations are those of NASA's Deep Space Network in California, Spain and Australia. A multiparameter fit to the observed values of delay and delay rate yields radio source positions, polar motion, universal time, the precession constant, baseline vectors, and solid Earth tides. Source positions are obtained with formal errors of the order of 0''.01. UT1-UTC and polar motion are determined at 49 epochs, with formal error estimates for the more recent data of 0.5 msec for UT1-UTC and 2 to 6 mas for polar motion. Intercontinental baseline lengths are determined with formal errors of 5 to 10 cm. The Love numbers and Earth tide phase lag agree with the commonly accepted values
Station-Keeping Requirements for Constellations of Free-Flying Collectors Used for Astronomical Imaging in Space
The accuracy requirements on station-keeping for constellations of
free-flying collectors coupled as (future) imaging arrays in space for
astrophysics applications are examined. The basic imaging element of these
arrays is the two-element interferometer. Accurate knowledge of two quantities
is required: the \textit{projected baseline length}, which is the distance
between the two interferometer elements projected on the plane tranverse to the
line of sight to the target; and the \textit{optical path difference}, which is
the difference in the distances from that transverse plane to the beam
combiner. ``Rules-of-thumb'' are determined for the typical accuracy required
on these parameters. The requirement on the projected baseline length is a
\textit{knowledge} requirement and depends on the angular size of the targets
of interest; it is generally at a level of half a meter for typical stellar
targets, decreasing to perhaps a few centimeters only for the widest attainable
fields of view. The requirement on the optical path difference is a
\textit{control} requirement and is much tighter, depending on the bandwidth of
the signal; it is at a level of half a wavelength for narrow (few %) signal
bands, decreasing to for the broadest bandwidths expected
to be useful. Translation of these requirements into engineering requirements
on station-keeping accuracy depends on the specific details of the collector
constellation geometry. Several examples are provided to guide future
application of the criteria presented here. Some implications for the design of
such collector constellations and for the methods used to transform the
information acquired into images are discussed.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, accepted 6/29/07 for the August 2007 issue of
PAS
VLBI measurements of radio source positions at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
The results of approximately 1300 observations of 67 radio sources are presented. Most of the measurements were made at the stations of the Deep Space Network in California, Spain, and Australia at wavelengths of 13.1 and 3.6 cm, between 1971 and 1978. The formal errors in the derived source positions are generally in the neighborhood of 0.01 seconds of arc and the positions agree fairly well with those previously published
Evidence for universal structure in galactic halos
The late infall of dark matter onto a galaxy produces structure (such as
caustics) in the distribution of dark matter in the halo. We argue that such
structure is likely to occur generically on length scales proportional to , where is the age of the universe and is the
rotation velocity of the galaxy. A set of 32 extended galactic rotation curves
is analyzed. For each curve, the radial coordinate is rescaled according to
, where we choose . A
linear fit to each rescaled rotation curve is subtracted, and the residuals are
binned and averaged. The sample shows significant features near and . This is consistent with the predictions of the
self-similar caustic ring model of galactic halos.Comment: 4 pages, LaTeX, 1 epsf figur
The alignment of molecular cloud magnetic fields with the spiral arms in M33
The formation of molecular clouds, which serve as stellar nurseries in
galaxies, is poorly understood. A class of cloud formation models suggests that
a large-scale galactic magnetic field is irrelevant at the scale of individual
clouds, because the turbulence and rotation of a cloud may randomize the
orientation of its magnetic field. Alternatively, galactic fields could be
strong enough to impose their direction upon individual clouds, thereby
regulating cloud accumulation and fragmentation, and affecting the rate and
efficiency of star formation. Our location in the disk of the Galaxy makes an
assessment of the situation difficult. Here we report observations of the
magnetic field orientation of six giant molecular cloud complexes in the
nearby, almost face-on, galaxy M33. The fields are aligned with the spiral
arms, suggesting that the large-scale field in M33 anchors the clouds.Comment: to appear in Natur
CO(1-0), CO(2-1) and Neutral Gas in NGC 6946: Molecular Gas in a Late-Type, Gas Rich, Spiral Galaxy
We present "On The Fly" maps of the CO(1-0) and CO(2-1) emission covering a
10' X 10' region of the NGC 6946. Using our CO maps and archival VLA HI
observations we create a total gas surface density map, Sigma_gas, for NGC
6946. The predominantly molecular inner gas disk transitions smoothly into an
atomic outer gas disk, with equivalent atomic and molecular gas surface
densities at R = 3.5' (6 kpc). We estimate that the total H2 mass is 3 X 10^9
Mo, roughly 1/3 of the interstellar hydrogen gas mass, and about 2% of the
dynamical mass of the galaxy at our assumed distance of 6 Mpc. The value of the
CO(2-1)/CO(1-0) line ratio ranges from 0.35 to 2; 50% of the map is covered by
very high ratio, >1, gas. The very high ratios are predominantly from interarm
regions and appear to indicate the presence of wide-spread optically thin gas.
Star formation tracers are better correlated with the total neutral gas disk
than with the molecular gas by itself implying SFR is proportional to
Sigma_gas. Using the 100 FIR and 21 cm continuum from NGC 6946 as star
formation tracers, we arrive at a gas consumption timescale of 2.8 Gyr, which
is relatively uniform across the disk. The high star formation rate at the
nucleus appears to be due to a large accumulation of molecular gas rather than
a large increase in the star formation efficiency. The mid-plane gas pressure
in the outer (R > 10 kpc) HI arms of NGC 6946 is close to the value at the
radial limit (10 kpc) of our observed CO disk. If the mid-plane gas pressure is
a factor for the formation of molecular clouds, these outer HI gas arms should
contain molecular gas which we do not see because they are beyond our detection
limit
Keck spectroscopy and Spitzer Space Telescope analysis of the outer disk of the Triangulum Spiral Galaxy M33
In an earlier study of the spiral galaxy M33, we photometrically identified
arcs or outer spiral arms of intermediate age (0.6 Gyr - 2 Gyr) carbon stars
precisely at the commencement of the HI-warp. Stars in the arcs were
unresolved, but were likely thermally-pulsing asymptotic giant branch carbon
stars. Here we present Keck I spectroscopy of seven intrinsically bright and
red target stars in the outer, northern arc in M33. The target stars have
estimated visual magnitudes as faint as V \sim 25 mag. Absorption bands of CN
are seen in all seven spectra reported here, confirming their carbon star
status. In addition, we present Keck II spectra of a small area 0.5 degree away
from the centre of M33; the target stars there are also identified as carbon
stars. We also study the non-stellar PAH dust morphology of M33 secured using
IRAC on board the Spitzer Space Telescope. The Spitzer 8 micron image attests
to a change of spiral phase at the start of the HI warp. The Keck spectra
confirm that carbon stars may safely be identified on the basis of their red
J-K_s colours in the outer, low metallicity disk of M33. We propose that the
enhanced number of carbon stars in the outer arms are an indicator of recent
star formation, fueled by gas accretion from the HI-warp reservoir.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, accepted in A&
The Ringed Spiral Galaxy NGC 4622. I. Photometry, Kinematics, and the Case for Two Strong Leading Outer Spiral Arms
The intriguing nearly face-on southern ringed spiral galaxy NGC 4622, the
first galaxy definitively shown to have leading spiral structure, is revisited
in this paper with new images from the Hubble Space Telescope's WFPC2, together
with ground-based optical and near-IR imaging, and a Fabry-Perot H-alpha
velocity field. The data provide new information on the disk/bulge/halo mix,
rotation curve, star formation in the galaxy, and the sense of winding of its
prominent spiral arms. Previously, we suggested that the weaker, inner single
arm most likely has the leading sense, based on a numerical simulation. Now,
taking advantage of HST resolution and using de Vaucouleurs' standard
extinction and reddening technique to determine the near side of the galaxy's
slightly tilted disk, we come to the more surprising conclusion that the two
strong outer arms have the leading sense. We suggest that this highly unusual
configuration may be the result of a past minor merger or mild tidal encounter.
Possible evidence for a minor merger is found in a short, central dust lane,
although this is purely circumstantial and an unrelated interaction with a
different companion could also be relevant. The leading arms may be allowed to
persist because NGC 4622 is dark halo-dominated (i.e., not ``maximum disk'' in
the inner regions) and displays a significantly rising rotation curve. The new
HST observations also reveal a rich globular cluster system in the galaxy. The
mean color of these clusters is = 1.04 and the specific frequency is
3.40.6. The luminosity function of these clusters confirms the membership
of NGC 4622 in the Centaurus Cluster.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal, February 2003
issue (LaTex, 28 pages + 38 figures, 3 in color); for gzipped postscript file
see http://bama.ua.edu/~rbuta/ngc4622/paper/paper.htm
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