High Dynamic-Range Radio-Interferometric Images at 327 MHz

Radio astronomical imaging using aperture synthesis telescopes requires deconvolution of the point spread function as well as calibration of the instrumental characteristics (primary beam) and foreground (ionospheric/atmospheric) effects. These effects vary in time and also across the field of view, resulting in directionally-dependent (DD), time-varying gains. The primary beam will deviate from the theoretical estimate in real cases at levels that will limit the dynamic range of images if left uncorrected. Ionospheric electron density variations cause time and position variable refraction of sources. At low frequencies and sufficiently high dynamic range this will also defocus the images producing error patterns that vary with position and also with frequency due to the chromatic aberration of synthesis telescopes. Superposition of such residual sidelobes can lead to spurious spectral signals. Field-based ionospheric calibration as well as "peeling" calibration of strong sources leads to images with higher dynamic range and lower spurious signals but will be limited by sensitivity on the necessary short-time scales. The results are improved images although some artifacts remain.Comment: to appear in Comptes Rendus Physique (2011

Beam squint and Stokes V with off-axis feeds

Radio telescopes with off-axis feeds, such as the (E)VLA, suffer from "beam squint" in which the two orthogonal circular polarizations sampled have different pointing centers on the sky. Its effects are weak near the beam center but become increasingly important towards the edge of the antenna power pattern where gains in the two polarizations at a given sky position are significantly different. This effect has limited VLA measurements of circular polarization (Stokes V) and introduced dynamic range limiting, wide-field artifacts in images made in Stokes I. We present an adaptation of the visibility-based deconvolution CLEAN method that can correct this defect "on the fly" while imaging, correcting as well the associated self-calibration. We present two examples of this technique using the procedure "Squint" within the Obit package which allows wide-field imaging in Stokes V and reduced artifacts in Stokes I. We discuss the residual errors in these examples as well as a scheme for future correction of some of these errors. This technique can be generalized to implement temporally- and spatially-variable corrections, such as pointing and cross-polarization leakage errors.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures (five of them double), to appear in Astronomy & Astrophysics (accepted: May 9, 2008). High-resolution versions of the figures (gzipped, tar,gzipped) can be downloaded from http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~juson/technical/squint/squint_figures.g

A New Z=0 Metagalactic Ultraviolet Background Limit

We present new integral-field spectroscopy in the outskirts of two nearby, edge-on, late-type galaxies to search for the H alpha emission that is expected from the exposure of their hydrogen gas to the metagalactic ultraviolet background (UVB). Despite the sensitivity of the VIRUS-P spectrograph on the McDonald 2.7 m telescope to low surface brightness emission and the large field of view, we do not detect H alpha to 5 sigma upper limits of 6.4 x 10(-19) erg s(-1) cm(-2) arcsec(-2) in UGC 7321 and of 25 x 10(-19) erg s(-1) cm(-2) arcsec(-2) in UGC 1281 in each of the hundreds of independent spatial elements (fibers). We fit gas distribution models from overlapping 21 cm data of HI, extrapolate one scale length beyond the HI data, and estimate predicted H alpha surface brightness maps. We analyze three types of limits from the data with stacks formed from increasingly large spatial regions and compare to the model predictions: (1) single fibers, (2) convolution of the fiber grid with a Gaussian, circular kernel (10('') full width at half-maximum), and (3) the co-added spectra from a few hundred fibers over the brightest model regions. None of these methods produce a significant detection (>5 sigma) with the most stringent constraints on the Hi photoionization rate of Gamma(z = 0) < 1.7 x 10(-14) s(-1) in UGC 7321 and Gamma(z = 0) < 14 x 10(-14) s(-1) in UGC 1281. The UGC 7321 limit is below previous measurement limits and also below current theoretical models. Restricting the analysis to the fibers bound by the HI data leads to a comparable limit; the limit is Gamma(z = 0) < 2.3 x 10(-14) s(-1) in UGC 7321. We discuss how a low Lyman limit escape fraction in z similar to 0 redshift star-forming galaxies might explain this lower than predicted UVB strength and the prospects of deeper data to make a direct detection.U.S. Government NAG W-2166National Science FoundationUT David BrutonTexas Norman Hackerman Advanced Research Program 003658-0295-2007Cynthia and George Mitchell FoundationMcDonald Observator

Grabbing the 'clean slate' : The politics of the intersection of land grabbing, disasters and climate change

Land grabs in the wake of a disaster are nothing new. However this phenomenon gains certain particularities and interest when it happens within the current context of climate change policy initiatives and the global land rush. This nexus produces a new set of political processes containing new actors and alliances, legitimizations, and mechanisms of dispossession that set off a different pace for land grabs. This study explores this nexus which has the potential to swiftly reboot spatial, institutional and political land arrangements in poor communities on a large scale, globally. The gap in the scholarly literature found in the disaster – global land rush – climate change nexus was examined from the perspective of a local community devastated by the 2013 super typhoon Haiyan in central Philippines. Using a political economy lens, the study revealed that along with the dynamics of the structural and institutional environment, the interaction between the pro-reform social and state actors determines the nature, pace, extent and trajectory of the land struggle. The ‘state-society interactive’ approach highlights the political agency of both the state and social actors, particularly how they exercise their autonomy and capacity, and maximize channels within and external to the state to advance their claim. How the interplay of different institutions of climate change mitigation, land grabs and disasters interacts with the political processes of current land grabs is the focus of this study

Signatures of Galaxy-Cluster Interactions: Tully-Fisher Observations at z~0.1

We have obtained new optical imaging and spectroscopic observations of 78 galaxies in the fields of the rich clusters Abell 1413 (z = 0.14), Abell 2218 (z = 0.18) and Abell 2670 (z = 0.08). We have detected line emission from 25 cluster galaxies plus an additional six galaxies in the foreground and background, a much lower success rate than what was found (65%) for a sample of 52 lower-richness Abell clusters in the range 0.02 < z < 0.08. We have combined these data with our previous observations of Abell 2029 and Abell 2295 (both at z = 0.08), which yields a sample of 156 galaxies. We evaluate several parameters as a function of cluster environment: Tully-Fisher residuals, H-alpha equivalent width, and rotation curve asymmetry, shape and extent. Although H-alpha is more easily detectable in galaxies that are located further from the cluster cores, we fail to detect a correlation between H-alpha extent and galaxy location in those where it is detected, again in contrast with what is found in the clusters of lesser richness. We fail to detect any statistically significant trends for the other parameters in this study. The zero-point in the z~0.1 Tully-Fisher relation is marginally fainter (by 1.5 sigma) than that found in nearby clusters, but the scatter is essentially unchanged.Comment: 27 pages including 5 figures; accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa