Submillimetre/TeraHertz Astronomy at Dome C with CEA filled bolometer array

Submillimetre/TeraHertz (e.g. 200, 350, 450 microns) astronomy is the prime technique to unveil the birth and early evolution of a broad range of astrophysical objects. A major obstacle to carry out submm observations from ground is the atmosphere. Preliminary site testing and atmospheric transmission models tend to demonstrate that Dome C could offer the best conditions on Earth for submm/THz astronomy. The CAMISTIC project aims to install a filled bolometer-array camera with 16x16 pixels on IRAIT at Dome C and explore the 200-$\mu$m windows for potential ground-based observations.Comment: 6 page

ASTRI Mini-Array SCADA/Central Control software system: Statement of Work

The ASTRI Mini-Array (MA) is an INAF ground-based project to construct, deploy and operate a set of nine identical dual-mirror Cherenkov gamma-ray telescopes. The ASTRI Mini-Array will exploit the imaging atmospheric Cherenkov technique to measure the energy, direction and arrival time of gamma-ray photons arriving at the Earth from astrophysical sources. The ASTRI Mini-Array will also perform Stellar Hambury-Brown intensity interferometry and direct measurements of cosmic rays. The site selected for the installation and operation of the ASTRI Mini-Array is the Observatorio del Teide in Tenerife (Spain). This Statement of Work (SoW) describes the activities and the deliverables and work logic necessary for the provision of the “Central Control software system” required by INAF (referred to as “the Customer”) in the context of the ASTRI Mini-Array Project. This SoW will serve as an applicable document throughout the execution of the work by the Contractor to provide the core packages of the ASTRI Central Control software system design, development, integration, and on-site deployment, acceptance and maintenance during the warranty period

Relative Timing of Variability of Blazars at X‐Ray and Lower Frequencies

The rich X‐ray light curves of blazars obtained with RXTE allow meaningful correlation analyses with longer wavelengths. This reveals strong connections of variations across the electromagnetic spectrum. In 3C 279, PKS 1510‐089, and BL Lac, the characteristics of the X‐ray variability change along with the projected direction of the compact jet. Outbursts in the radio, IR, or optical often precede flares at high energies. A period of pronounced variability in BL Lac in late 2000 occurs at both optical and X‐ray frequencies, with the X‐ray spectral index steepening. A superluminal radio knot is ejected during this event. The implication of our monitoring results is that the IR to X‐ray (as well as γ‐ray) emission is cospatial with the compact radio jet, most likely occurring in the superluminal knots. In the radio galaxy 3C 120, in which the X‐rays probably come mainly from a hot accretion‐disk corona, the appearance of superluminal radio knots follows (by 4 weeks) dips in the X‐ray emission, as in microquasars but on longer timescales. The delay implies that the core of the radio jet, as seen in mm‐wave VLBA images, lies at least 0.4 pc from the central engine, consistent with models in which the jet flow accelerates far from the black hole. The quasar 3C 273 may be an interesting hybrid case in which contributions to the X‐ray emission may come from both the jet and corona. The power spectral density has a low‐frequency break that, in analogy with black‐hole binary systems, implies a mass of the central black hole of 3 – 6 × 108 M☉, similar to that obtained by reverberation mapping of emission‐line variability. © 2004 American Institute of PhysicsPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87866/2/167_1.pd