271 research outputs found
GRAVITY: the Calibration Unit
We present in this paper the design and characterisation of a new sub-system
of the VLTI 2nd generation instrument GRAVITY: the Calibration Unit. The
Calibration Unit provides all functions to test and calibrate the beam combiner
instrument: it creates two artificial stars on four beams, and dispose of four
delay lines with an internal metrology. It also includes artificial stars for
the tip-tilt and pupil guiding systems, as well as four metrology pick-up
diodes, for tests and calibration of the corresponding sub-systems. The
calibration unit also hosts the reference targets to align GRAVITY to the VLTI,
and the safety shutters to avoid the metrology light to propagate in the
VLTI-lab. We present the results of the characterisation and validtion of these
differrent sub-units.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures. Proceeding of SPIE 9146 "Optical and Infrared
Interferometry IV
The GRAVITY metrology system: modeling a metrology in optical fibers
GRAVITY is the second generation VLT Interferometer (VLTI) instrument for
high-precision narrow-angle astrometry and phase-referenced interferometric
imaging. The laser metrology system of GRAVITY is at the heart of its
astrometric mode, which must measure the distance of 2 stars with a precision
of 10 micro-arcseconds. This means the metrology has to measure the optical
path difference between the two beam combiners of GRAVITY to a level of 5 nm.
The metrology design presents some non-common paths that have consequently to
be stable at a level of 1 nm. Otherwise they would impact the performance of
GRAVITY. The various tests we made in the past on the prototype give us hints
on the components responsible for this error, and on their respective
contribution to the total error. It is however difficult to assess their exact
origin from only OPD measurements, and therefore, to propose a solution to this
problem. In this paper, we present the results of a semi-empirical modeling of
the fibered metrology system, relying on theoretical basis, as well as on
characterisations of key components. The modeling of the metrology system
regarding various effects, e.g., temperature, waveguide heating or mechanical
stress, will help us to understand how the metrology behave. The goals of this
modeling are to 1) model the test set-ups and reproduce the measurements (as a
validation of the modeling), 2) determine the origin of the non-common path
errors, and 3) propose modifications to the current metrology design to reach
the required 1nm stability.Comment: 20 pages, 19 figures. Proceeding of SPIE 9146 "Optical and Infrared
Interferometry IV
Super-resolution in map-making based on a physical instrument model and regularized inversion. Application to SPIRE/Herschel
We investigate super-resolution methods for image reconstruction from data
provided by a family of scanning instruments like the Herschel observatory. To
do this, we constructed a model of the instrument that faithfully reflects the
physical reality, accurately taking the acquisition process into account to
explain the data in a reliable manner. The inversion, ie the image
reconstruction process, is based on a linear approach resulting from a
quadratic regularized criterion and numerical optimization tools. The
application concerns the reconstruction of maps for the SPIRE instrument of the
Herschel observatory. The numerical evaluation uses simulated and real data to
compare the standard tool (coaddition) and the proposed method. The inversion
approach is capable to restore spatial frequencies over a bandwidth four times
that possible with coaddition and thus to correctly show details invisible on
standard maps. The approach is also applied to real data with significant
improvement in spatial resolution.Comment: Astronomy & Astrophysic
A search for broad infrared recombination lines in NGC 1068
We report infrared spectroscopy of the prototypical Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC
1068, aiming at detection of broad components of hydrogen recombination lines
that originate in the obscured broad-line region. Using the Short Wavelength
Spectrometer on board the Infrared Space Observatory, we have observed for the
first time the regions of Brackett beta 2.626um and Pfund alpha 7.460um, and
present improved data for Brackett alpha 4.052um. No significant broad
components are detected, implying an equivalent visual extinction to the
broad-line region of at least 50 magnitudes and an obscuring column density of
at least 10^23 cm^-2. While consistent with a highly obscured broad-line
region, as required by the classical unified scenario, these limits are not yet
significant enough to discriminate strongly between different torus models or
to constrain properties of the gas causing the very large X-ray obscuration. We
discuss the systematic limitations of infrared broad-line region searches and
suggest that Brackett alpha may often be the most favorable transition for
future searches.Comment: aastex (V4), 4 eps figures. Accepted by Ap
GRAVITY: metrology
GRAVITY is a second generation VLTI instrument, combining the light of four
telescopes and two objects simultaneously. The main goal is to obtain
astrometrically accurate information. Besides correctly measured stellar phases
this requires the knowledge of the instrumental differential phase, which has
to be measured optically during the astronomical observations. This is the
purpose of a dedicated metrology system. The GRAVITY metrology covers the full
optical path, from the beam combiners up to the reference points in the beam of
the primary telescope mirror, minimizing the systematic uncertainties and
providing a proper baseline in astrometric terms. Two laser beams with a fixed
phase relation travel backward the whole optical chain, creating a fringe
pattern in any plane close to a pupil. By temporal encoding the phase
information can be extracted at any point by means of flux measurements with
photo diodes. The reference points chosen sample the pupil at typical radii,
eliminating potential systematics due differential focus. We present the final
design and the performance estimate, which is in accordance with the overall
requirements for GRAVITY.Comment: Proceedings of SPIE, Vol. 8445, Paper No. 8445-58, 201
Mechanical activation of vinculin binding to talin locks talin in an unfolded conformation
The force-dependent interaction between talin and vinculin plays a crucial role in the initiation and growth of focal adhesions. Here we use magnetic tweezers to characterise the mechano-sensitive compact N-terminal region of the talin rod, and show that the three helical bundles R1-R3 in this region unfold in three distinct steps consistent with the domains unfolding independently. Mechanical stretching of talin R1-R3 enhances its binding to vinculin and vinculin binding inhibits talin refolding after force is released. Mutations that stabilize R3 identify it as the initial mechano-sensing domain in talin, unfolding at ~5 pN, suggesting that 5 pN is the force threshold for vinculin binding and adhesion progression
Side Chain Hydrophobicity Modulates Therapeutic Activity and Membrane Selectivity of Antimicrobial Peptide Mastoparan-X
The discovery of new anti-infective compounds is stagnating and multi-resistant bacteria continue to emerge, threatening to end the "antibiotic era". Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and lipo-peptides such as daptomycin offer themselves as a new potential class of antibiotics; however, further optimization is needed if AMPs are to find broad use as antibiotics. In the present work, eight analogues of mastoparan-X (MPX) were investigated, having side chain modifications in position 1, 8 and 14 to modulate peptide hydrophobicity. The self-association properties of the peptides were characterized, and the peptide-membrane interactions in model membranes were compared with the bactericidal and haemolytic properties. Alanine substitution at position 1 and 14 resulted in higher target selectivity (red blood cells versus bacteria), but also decreased bactericidal potency. For these analogues, the gain in target selectivity correlated to biophysical parameters showing an increased effective charge and reduction in the partitioning coefficient for membrane insertion. Introduction of an unnatural amino acid, with an octyl side chain by amino acid substitution, at positions 1, 8 and 14 resulted in increased bactericidal potency at the expense of radically reduced membrane target selectivity. Overall, optimized membrane selectivity or bactericidal potency was achieved by changes in side chain hydrophobicity of MPX. However, enhanced potency was achieved at the expense of selectivity and vice versa in all cases
The Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) on the Herschel Space Observatory
The Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) is one of the three
science instruments on ESA's far infrared and submillimetre observatory. It
employs two Ge:Ga photoconductor arrays (stressed and unstressed) with 16x25
pixels, each, and two filled silicon bolometer arrays with 16x32 and 32x64
pixels, respectively, to perform integral-field spectroscopy and imaging
photometry in the 60-210\mu\ m wavelength regime. In photometry mode, it
simultaneously images two bands, 60-85\mu\ m or 85-125\mu\m and 125-210\mu\ m,
over a field of view of ~1.75'x3.5', with close to Nyquist beam sampling in
each band. In spectroscopy mode, it images a field of 47"x47", resolved into
5x5 pixels, with an instantaneous spectral coverage of ~1500km/s and a spectral
resolution of ~175km/s. We summarise the design of the instrument, describe
observing modes, calibration, and data analysis methods, and present our
current assessment of the in-orbit performance of the instrument based on the
Performance Verification tests. PACS is fully operational, and the achieved
performance is close to or better than the pre-launch predictions
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