413 research outputs found
Alternative Adaptive Filter Structures for Improved Radio Frequency Interference Cancellation in Radio Astronomy
In radio astronomy, reference signals from auxiliary antennas that receive
only the radio frequency interference (RFI) can be modified to model the RFI
environment at the astronomy receivers. The RFI can then be canceled from the
astronomy signal paths. However, astronomers typically only require signal
statistics. If the RFI statistics are changing slowly, the cancellation can be
applied to the signal correlations at a much lower rate than is required for
standard adaptive filters. In this paper we describe five canceler setups;
precorrelation and postcorrelation cancelers that use one or two reference
signals in different ways. The theoretical residual RFI and added noise levels
are examined and are demonstrated using microwave television RFI at the
Australia Telescope Compact Array. The RFI is attenuated to below the system
noise, a reduction of at least 20 dB. While dual-reference cancelers add more
reference noise than single-reference cancelers, this noise is zero-mean and
only adds to the system noise, decreasing the sensitivity. The residual RFI
that remains in the output of single-reference cancelers (but not
dual-reference cancelers) sets a nonzero noise floor that does not act like
random system noise and may limit the achievable sensitivity. Thus,
dual-reference cancelers often result in superior cancellation. Dual-reference
precorrelation cancelers require a double-canceler setup to be useful and to
give equivalent results to dual-reference postcorrelation cancelers.Comment: 11 pages created using emulateap
Polarization observations in a low synchrotron emission field at 1.4 GHz
We present the first observation of the diffuse polarized synchrotron
radiation of a patch () in the BOOMERanG field,
one of the areas with the lowest CMB foreground emission. The work has been
carried out with the Australia Telescope Compact Array at 1.4 GHz with 3.4
arcmin resolution and sensitivity of mJy beam. The mean
polarized signal has been found to be mK, nearly one order of magnitude below than in the Galactic
Plane.
Extrapolations to frequencies of interest for cosmological investigations
suggest that polarized synchrotron foreground noise should allow the detection
of the CMB Polarization --mode already at 32 GHz and make us confident that,
at 90 GHz, it is accessible with no relevant foreground contamination. Last but
not least, even the --mode detection for is not ruled out in
such a low emission patch.Comment: Uses emulateapj.sty, onecolfloat.sty, 5 pages 4 fig., accepted for
publication in ApJ
Discovery of circularly polarised radio emission from SS 433
We report the discovery of circularly polarised radio emission from the
radio-jet X-ray binary SS 433 with the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The
flux density spectrum of the circular polarization, clearly detected at four
frequencies between 1 - 9 GHz, has a spectral index of (-0.9 +/- 0.1). Multiple
components in the source and a lack of very high spatial resolution do not
allow a unique determination of the origin of the circular polarization, nor of
the spectrum of fractional polarization. However, we argue that the emission is
likely to arise in the inner regions of the binary, possibly via
propagation-induced conversion of linear to circular polarization, and the
fractional circular polarization of these regions may be as high as 10%.
Observations such as these have the potential to investigate the composition,
whether pairs or baryonic, of the ejecta from X-ray binaries.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Testing the Mutually Enhanced Magicity Effect in Nuclear Incompressibility via the Giant Monopole Resonance in the Pb Isotopes
Using inelastic -scattering at extremely forward angles, including
, the strength distributions of the isoscalar giant monopole resonance
(ISGMR) have been measured in the Pb isotopes in order to
examine the proposed mutually enhanced magicity (MEM) effect on the nuclear
incompressibility. The MEM effect had been suggested as a likely explanation of
the "softness" of nuclear incompressibility observed in the ISGMR measurements
in the Sn and Cd isotopes. Our experimental results rule out any manifestation
of the MEM effect in nuclear incompressibility and leave the question of the
softness of the open-shell nuclei unresolved still.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physics Letters B. Very minor changes in
tex
A Deep WSRT 1.4 GHz Radio Survey of the Spitzer Space Telescope FLSv Region
The First Look Survey (FLS) is the first scientific product to emerge from
the Spitzer Space Telescope. A small region of this field (the verification
strip) has been imaged very deeply, permitting the detection of cosmologically
distant sources. We present Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT)
observations of this region, encompassing a ~1 sq. deg field, centred on the
verification strip (J2000 RA=17:17:00.00, DEC=59:45:00.000). The radio images
reach a noise level of ~ 8.5 microJy/beam - the deepest WSRT image made to
date. We summarise here the first results from the project, and present the
final mosaic image, together with a list of detected sources. The effect of
source confusion on the position, size and flux density of the faintest sources
in the source catalogue are also addressed. The results of a serendipitous
search for HI emission in the field are also presented. Using a subset of the
data, we clearly detect HI emission associated with four galaxies in the
central region of the FLSv. These are identified with nearby, massive galaxies.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures (fig.3 in a separate gif file). Accepted for
publication in A&A. The full paper and the related material can be downloaded
from http://www.astron.nl/wsrt/WSRTsurveys/WFLS
Infalling Gas Towards the Galactic Center
VLA maps of ammonia emission were made for the Galactic Center region. The
NH3(1,1) and NH3(2,2) transitions were observed in three 2' x 2' fields
covering Sgr A* and the region 3' immediately south of it. In the central 3
parsecs surrounding Sgr A* we find emission which appears to be associated with
the circumnuclear disk (CND), both morphologically and kinematically. This
central emission is connected to a long, narrow 2 pc x 10 pc streamer of clumpy
molecular gas located towards the south, which appears to be carrying gas from
the nearby 20 km/s giant molecular cloud (GMC) to the circumnuclear region. We
find a velocity gradient along the streamer, with progressively higher
velocities as the gas approaches Sgr A*. The streamer stops at the location of
the CND, where the line width of the NH3 emission increases dramatically. This
may be the kinematic signature of accretion onto the CND. The ratio of the
NH3(2,2)/NH3(1,1) emission indicates that the gas is heated at the northern tip
of the streamer, located inside the eastern edge of the CND. The morphology,
kinematics and temperature gradients of the gas all indicate that the southern
streamer is located at the Galactic Center and is interacting with the
circumnuclear region.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, accepted by The Astrophysical Journal (figure 1
contours have been corrected
High-velocity OH megamasers in IRAS 20100-4156: Evidence for a Supermassive Black Hole
We report the discovery of new, high-velocity narrow-line components of the
OH megamaser in IRAS 20100-4156. Results from the Australian Square Kilometre
Array Pathfinder (ASKAP)'s Boolardy Engineering Test Array (BETA) and the
Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) provide two independent measurements
of the OH megamaser spectrum. We found evidence for OH megamaser clumps at
409 and 562 km/s (blue-shifted) from the systemic velocity of the galaxy,
in addition to the lines previously known. The presence of such high velocities
in the molecular emission from IRAS 201004156 could be explained by a ~50 pc
molecular ring enclosing an approximately 3.8 billion solar mass black hole. We
also discuss two alternatives, i.e. that the narrow-line masers are dynamically
coupled to the wind driven by the active galactic nucleus or they are
associated with two separate galactic nuclei. The comparison between the BETA
and ATCA spectra provides another scientific verification of ASKAP's BETA. Our
data, combined with previous measurements of the source enabled us to study the
variability of the source over a twenty-six year period. The flux density of
the brightest OH maser components has reduced by more than a factor of two
between 1988 and 2015, whereas a secondary narrow-line component has more than
doubled in the same time. Plans for high-resolution VLBI follow-up of this
source are discussed, as are prospects for discovering new OH megamasers during
the ASKAP early science program.Comment: Accepted to MNRAS. Seven pages, three figure
Multi-Frequency Synthesis of VLBI Images Using a Generalized Maximum Entropy Method
A new multi-frequency synthesis algorithm for reconstructing images from
multi-frequency VLBI data is proposed. The algorithm is based on a generalized
maximum-entropy method, and makes it possible to derive an effective spectral
correction for images over a broad frequency bandwidth, while simultaneously
reconstructing the spectral-index distribution over the source. The results of
numerical simulations demonstrating the capabilities of the algorithm are
presented.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figure
A transient relativistic radio jet from Cygnus X-1
We report the first observation of a transient relativistic jet from the
canonical black hole candidate, Cygnus X-1, obtained with the Multi-Element
Radio-Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN). The jet was observed in only one
of six epochs of MERLIN imaging of the source during a phase of repeated X-ray
spectral transitions in 2004 Jan--Feb, and this epoch corresponded to the
softest 1.5-12 keV X-ray spectrum. With only a single epoch revealing the jet,
we cannot formally constrain its velocity. Nevertheless, several lines of
reasoning suggest that the jet was probably launched 0.5-4.0 days before this
brightening, corresponding to projected velocities of 0.2c < v_app < 1.6c, and
an intrinsic velocity of > 0.3c. We also report the occurrence of a major radio
flare from Cyg X-1, reaching a flux density of ~120 mJy at 15 GHz, and yet not
associated with any resolvable radio emission, despite a concerted effort with
MERLIN. We discuss the resolved jet in terms of the recently proposed 'unified
model' for the disc-jet coupling in black hole X-ray binaries, and tentatively
identify the 'jet line' for Cyg X-1. The source is consistent with the model in
the sense that a steady jet appears to persist initially when the X-ray
spectrum starts softening, and that once the spectral softening is complete the
core radio emission is suppressed and transient ejecta / shock observed.
However, there are some anomalies, and Cyg X-1 clearly does not behave like a
normal black hole transient in progressing to the canonical soft / thermal
state once the ejection event has happened.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
A Survey of Extragalactic Faraday Rotation at High Galactic Latitude: The Vertical Magnetic Field of the Milky Way towards the Galactic Poles
We present a study of the vertical magnetic field of the Milky Way towards
the Galactic poles, determined from observations of Faraday rotation toward
more than 1000 polarized extragalactic radio sources at Galactic latitudes |b|
> 77 degs, using the Westerbork Radio Synthesis Telescope and the Australia
Telescope Compact Array. We find median rotation measures (RMs) of 0.0 +/- 0.5
rad/m^2 and +6.3 +/- 0.7 rad/m^2 toward the north and south Galactic poles,
respectively, demonstrating that there is no coherent vertical magnetic field
in the Milky Way at the Sun's position. If this is a global property of the
Milky Way's magnetism, then the lack of symmetry across the disk rules out pure
dipole or quadrupole geometries for the Galactic magnetic field. The angular
fluctuations in RM seen in our data show no preferred scale within the range ~
0.1 to 25 degs. The observed standard deviation in RM of ~ 9 rad/m^2 then
implies an upper limit of ~1microGauss on the strength of the random magnetic
field in the warm ionized medium at high Galactic latitudes.Comment: 38 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables Accepted for publication in ApJ,
Electronic versions of Tables 1 and 2 are available via email from the first
autho
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