QUIJOTE scientific results -- XIII. Intensity and polarization study of supernova remnants in the QUIJOTE-MFI wide survey: CTB 80, Cygnus Loop, HB 21, CTA 1, Tycho and HB 9

We use the new QUIJOTE-MFI wide survey (11, 13, 17 and 19 GHz) to produce spectral energy distributions (SEDs), on an angular scale of 1 deg, of the supernova remnants (SNRs) CTB 80, Cygnus Loop, HB 21, CTA 1, Tycho and HB 9. We provide new measurements of the polarized synchrotron radiation in the microwave range. For each SNR, the intensity and polarization SEDs are obtained and modelled by combining QUIJOTE-MFI maps with ancillary data. In intensity, we confirm the curved power law spectra of CTB 80 and HB 21 with a break frequency $\nu_{\rm b}$ at 2.0$^{+1.2}_{-0.5}$ GHz and 5.0$^{+1.2}_{-1.0}$ GHz respectively; and spectral indices respectively below and above the spectral break of $-0.34\pm0.04$ and $-0.86\pm0.5$ for CTB 80, and $-0.24\pm0.07$ and $-0.60\pm0.05$ for HB 21. In addition, we provide upper limits on the Anomalous Microwave Emission (AME), suggesting that the AME contribution is negligible towards these remnants. From a simultaneous intensity and polarization fit, we recover synchrotron spectral indices as flat as $-0.24$, and the whole sample has a mean and scatter of $-0.44\pm0.12$. The polarization fractions have a mean and scatter of $6.1\pm1.9$\%. When combining our results with the measurements from other QUIJOTE studies of SNRs, we find that radio spectral indices are flatter for mature SNRs, and particularly flatter for CTB 80 ($-0.24^{+0.07}_{-0.06}$) and HB 21 ($-0.34^{+0.04}_{-0.03}$). In addition, the evolution of the spectral indices against the SNRs age is modelled with a power-law function, providing an exponent $-0.07\pm0.03$ and amplitude $-0.49\pm0.02$ (normalised at 10 kyr), which are conservative with respect to previous studies of our Galaxy and the Large Magellanic Cloud.Comment: 33 pages, 15 figure, 15 tables. Submitted to MNRAS. QUIJOTE data maps available at https://research.iac.es/proyecto/quijot

The clustering of galaxies in the completed SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: cosmological analysis of the DR12 galaxy sample

We present cosmological results from the final galaxy clustering data set of the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey, part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III. Our combined galaxy sample comprises 1.2 million massive galaxies over an effective area of 9329 $deg^2$ and volume of 18.7 $Gpc^3$, divided into three partially overlapping redshift slices centred at effective redshifts 0.38, 0.51, and 0.61. We measure the angular diameter distance DM and Hubble parameter H from the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) method after applying reconstruction to reduce non-linear effects on the BAO feature. Using the anisotropic clustering of the pre-reconstruction density field, we measure the product DM*H from the Alcock-Paczynski (AP) effect and the growth of structure, quantified by $f{\sigma}8(z)$, from redshift-space distortions (RSD). We combine measurements presented in seven companion papers into a set of consensus values and likelihoods, obtaining constraints that are tighter and more robust than those from any one method. Combined with Planck 2015 cosmic microwave background measurements, our distance scale measurements simultaneously imply curvature ${\Omega}_K =0.0003+/-0.0026$ and a dark energy equation of state parameter w = -1.01+/-0.06, in strong affirmation of the spatially flat cold dark matter model with a cosmological constant (${\Lambda}$CDM). Our RSD measurements of $f{\sigma}_8$, at 6 per cent precision, are similarly consistent with this model. When combined with supernova Ia data, we find H0 = 67.3+/-1.0 km/s/Mpc even for our most general dark energy model, in tension with some direct measurements. Adding extra relativistic species as a degree of freedom loosens the constraint only slightly, to H0 = 67.8+/-1.2 km/s/Mpc. Assuming flat ${\Lambda}$CDM we find ${\Omega}_m = 0.310+/-0.005$ and H0 = 67.6+/-0.5 km/s/Mpc, and we find a 95% upper limit of $0.16 eV/c^2$ on the neutrino mass sum

The wide-field, multiplexed, spectroscopic facility WEAVE : survey design, overview, and simulated implementation

Funding for the WEAVE facility has been provided by UKRI STFC, the University of Oxford, NOVA, NWO, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), the Isaac Newton Group partners (STFC, NWO, and Spain, led by the IAC), INAF, CNRS-INSU, the Observatoire de Paris, Région Île-de-France, CONCYT through INAOE, Konkoly Observatory (CSFK), Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (MPIA Heidelberg), Lund University, the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP), the Swedish Research Council, the European Commission, and the University of Pennsylvania.WEAVE, the new wide-field, massively multiplexed spectroscopic survey facility for the William Herschel Telescope, will see first light in late 2022. WEAVE comprises a new 2-degree field-of-view prime-focus corrector system, a nearly 1000-multiplex fibre positioner, 20 individually deployable 'mini' integral field units (IFUs), and a single large IFU. These fibre systems feed a dual-beam spectrograph covering the wavelength range 366-959 nm at R ∼ 5000, or two shorter ranges at R ∼ 20,000. After summarising the design and implementation of WEAVE and its data systems, we present the organisation, science drivers and design of a five- to seven-year programme of eight individual surveys to: (i) study our Galaxy's origins by completing Gaia's phase-space information, providing metallicities to its limiting magnitude for ∼ 3 million stars and detailed abundances for ∼ 1.5 million brighter field and open-cluster stars; (ii) survey ∼ 0.4 million Galactic-plane OBA stars, young stellar objects and nearby gas to understand the evolution of young stars and their environments; (iii) perform an extensive spectral survey of white dwarfs; (iv) survey  ∼ 400 neutral-hydrogen-selected galaxies with the IFUs; (v) study properties and kinematics of stellar populations and ionised gas in z 1 million spectra of LOFAR-selected radio sources; (viii) trace structures using intergalactic/circumgalactic gas at z > 2. Finally, we describe the WEAVE Operational Rehearsals using the WEAVE Simulator.PostprintPeer reviewe

The wide-field, multiplexed, spectroscopic facility WEAVE: Survey design, overview, and simulated implementation

WEAVE, the new wide-field, massively multiplexed spectroscopic survey facility for the William Herschel Telescope, will see first light in late 2022. WEAVE comprises a new 2-degree field-of-view prime-focus corrector system, a nearly 1000-multiplex fibre positioner, 20 individually deployable 'mini' integral field units (IFUs), and a single large IFU. These fibre systems feed a dual-beam spectrograph covering the wavelength range 366$-$959\,nm at $R\sim5000$, or two shorter ranges at $R\sim20\,000$. After summarising the design and implementation of WEAVE and its data systems, we present the organisation, science drivers and design of a five- to seven-year programme of eight individual surveys to: (i) study our Galaxy's origins by completing Gaia's phase-space information, providing metallicities to its limiting magnitude for $\sim$3 million stars and detailed abundances for $\sim1.5$ million brighter field and open-cluster stars; (ii) survey $\sim0.4$ million Galactic-plane OBA stars, young stellar objects and nearby gas to understand the evolution of young stars and their environments; (iii) perform an extensive spectral survey of white dwarfs; (iv) survey $\sim400$ neutral-hydrogen-selected galaxies with the IFUs; (v) study properties and kinematics of stellar populations and ionised gas in $z<0.5$ cluster galaxies; (vi) survey stellar populations and kinematics in $\sim25\,000$ field galaxies at $0.3\lesssim z \lesssim 0.7$; (vii) study the cosmic evolution of accretion and star formation using $>1$ million spectra of LOFAR-selected radio sources; (viii) trace structures using intergalactic/circumgalactic gas at $z>2$. Finally, we describe the WEAVE Operational Rehearsals using the WEAVE Simulator.Comment: 41 pages, 27 figures, accepted for publication by MNRA

Microwave spectro-polarimetry of matter and radiation across space and time

From Springer Nature via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2020-07-29, accepted 2021-03-02, registration 2021-03-03, pub-print 2021-06, pub-electronic 2021-07-03, online 2021-07-03Publication status: PublishedAbstract: This paper discusses the science case for a sensitive spectro-polarimetric survey of the microwave sky. Such a survey would provide a tomographic and dynamic census of the three-dimensional distribution of hot gas, velocity flows, early metals, dust, and mass distribution in the entire Hubble volume, exploit CMB temperature and polarisation anisotropies down to fundamental limits, and track energy injection and absorption into the radiation background across cosmic times by measuring spectral distortions of the CMB blackbody emission. In addition to its exceptional capability for cosmology and fundamental physics, such a survey would provide an unprecedented view of microwave emissions at sub-arcminute to few-arcminute angular resolution in hundreds of frequency channels, a data set that would be of immense legacy value for many branches of astrophysics. We propose that this survey be carried out with a large space mission featuring a broad-band polarised imager and a moderate resolution spectro-imager at the focus of a 3.5 m aperture telescope actively cooled to about 8K, complemented with absolutely-calibrated Fourier Transform Spectrometer modules observing at degree-scale angular resolution in the 10–2000 GHz frequency range. We propose two observing modes: a survey mode to map the entire sky as well as a few selected wide fields, and an observatory mode for deeper observations of regions of specific interest

The wide-field, multiplexed, spectroscopic facility WEAVE: Survey design, overview, and simulated implementation

WEAVE, the new wide-field, massively multiplexed spectroscopic survey facility for the William Herschel Telescope, will see first light in late 2022. WEAVE comprises a new 2-degree field-of-view prime-focus corrector system, a nearly 1000-multiplex fibre positioner, 20 individually deployable 'mini' integral field units (IFUs), and a single large IFU. These fibre systems feed a dual-beam spectrograph covering the wavelength range 366−959\,nm at R∼5000, or two shorter ranges at R∼20000. After summarising the design and implementation of WEAVE and its data systems, we present the organisation, science drivers and design of a five- to seven-year programme of eight individual surveys to: (i) study our Galaxy's origins by completing Gaia's phase-space information, providing metallicities to its limiting magnitude for ∼3 million stars and detailed abundances for ∼1.5 million brighter field and open-cluster stars; (ii) survey ∼0.4 million Galactic-plane OBA stars, young stellar objects and nearby gas to understand the evolution of young stars and their environments; (iii) perform an extensive spectral survey of white dwarfs; (iv) survey ∼400 neutral-hydrogen-selected galaxies with the IFUs; (v) study properties and kinematics of stellar populations and ionised gas in z1 million spectra of LOFAR-selected radio sources; (viii) trace structures using intergalactic/circumgalactic gas at z>2. Finally, we describe the WEAVE Operational Rehearsals using the WEAVE Simulator