La Freccia Rossa: An IR-dark cloud hosting the Milky Way intermediate-mass black hole candidate

The dynamics of the high-velocity compact molecular cloud CO-0.40-0.22 have been interpreted as evidence for a $\sim10^{5}M_{\odot}$ black hole within 60 pc of Sgr A*. Recently, Oka et al. have identified a compact millimetre-continuum source, CO-0.40-0.22*, with this candidate black hole. Here we present a collation of radio and infrared data at this location. ATCA constraints on the radio spectrum, and the detection of a mid-infrared counterpart, are in tension with an Sgr A*-like model for CO-0.40-0.22* despite the comparable bolometric to Eddington luminosity ratios under the IMBH interpretation. A protostellar-disk scenario is, however, tenable. CO-0.40-0.22(*) is associated with an arrowhead-shaped infrared-dark cloud (which we call the Freccia Rossa). Radio-continuum observations reveal a candidate HII region associated with the system. If the $V_{\rm LSR}\approx70$ km s$^{-1}$ systemic velocity of CO-0.40-0.22 is common to the entire Freccia Rossa system, we hypothesise that it is the remnant of a high-velocity cloud that has plunged into the Milky Way from the Galactic halo.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to MNRAS Letter

Opening the low frequency window to the high redshift Universe

The epoch of formation of the first luminous structures (stars and galaxies) called the Comic Dawn, is one of the last unexplored periods in the history of the Universe. A new generation of radio telescopes such as LOFAR aim to revolutionize our understanding of structure formation in the early Universe by directly observing the 21-cm line of hydrogen from this epoch. Due to cosmic expansion, this 21-cm signal reaches us at low radio frequencies (50 to 200 MHz). Properly accounting for and correcting the effects of propagation through an atmospheric layer called the ionosphere is an important outstanding challenge in low frequency observations. In this thesis, I develop a mathematical framework to study ionospheric scintillation (akin to stellar twinkling) and compute its effects on radio observations of the early Universe. I find that although formidable, ionospheric corruptions do not pose a fundamental limit to achieve a detection of the 21-cm signal from the early Universe. In addition, I also demonstrate a new observational technique that uses the Moon as a temperature reference to accurately measure the spectrum of the radio sky. While this technique may in future lead to a detection of the sky-averaged 21-cm signal from the cosmic dawn, I touch upon its potential in the near future to determine lunar crustal composition and temperature at unprecedented depths

All-sky signals from recombination to reionization with the SKA

Cosmic evolution in the hydrogen content of the Universe through recombination and up to the end of reionization is expected to be revealed as subtle spectral features in the uniform extragalactic cosmic radio background. The redshift evolution in the excitation temperature of the 21-cm spin flip transition of neutral hydrogen appears as redshifted emission and absorption against the cosmic microwave background. The precise signature of the spectral trace from cosmic dawn and the epoch of reionization are dependent on the spectral radiance, abundance and distribution of the first bound systems of stars and early galaxies, which govern the evolution in the spin-flip level populations. Redshifted 21 cm from these epochs when the spin temperature deviates from the temperature of the ambient relic cosmic microwave background results in an all-sky spectral structure in the 40-200 MHz range, almost wholly within the band of SKA-Low. Another spectral structure from gas evolution is redshifted recombination lines from epoch of recombination of hydrogen and helium; the weak all-sky spectral structure arising from this event is best detected at the upper end of the 350-3050 MHz band of SKA-mid. Total power spectra of SKA interferometer elements form the measurement set for these faint signals from recombination and reionization; the inter-element interferometer visibilities form a calibration set. The challenge is in precision polarimetric calibration of the element spectral response and solving for additives and unwanted confusing leakages of sky angular structure modes into spectral modes. Herein we discuss observing methods and design requirements that make possible these all-sky SKA measurements of the cosmic evolution of hydrogen.Comment: Accepted for publication in the SKA Science Book 'Advancing Astrophysics with the Square Kilometre Array', to appear in 201

Design and Development of a Ka-band Interferometer for Cryospheric Applications

Topographic maps of the earth are essential to geographic and earth science studies. In particular, mapping and estimating physical parameters of the earth’s water and ice cover are critical to global climate studies. Among these, snow, ocean and fresh water topography, snow wetness and water equivalent are of immediate interest to the scientific community. Challenges in the instrument development and deployment posed by these required measurements are twofold. Firstly, these measurements are required to have global coverage, yet maintain stringent spatial resolution and accuracy margins. Secondly, snow topography measurement requires minimal electromagnetic wave penetration through snow, hence requiring the use of millimeter-wave frequency radars. While having the advantage of smaller and lighter structures, instruments at millimeter-wave frequencies are difficult to design, evaluate and deploy due to their mechanical and electric precision requirements. This thesis presents the design, development, detailed evaluation and first deployment of a Ka-band interferometer. An overview of the theory of interferometric mapping is presented including a discussion on instrument sensitivity and accuracy. Based in this theory, a geometric and hardware configuration for a rooftop deployment is arrived at. Detailed design and evaluation of the radar receiver is documented. Lastly first results from a rooftop and ground-based deployment are presented

Stellar Systems at Low Radio Frequencies:The Discovery of Radio Exoplanets

For more than thirty years, radio astronomers have searched for auroral emission from exoplanets. With LOFAR we have recently detected strong, highly circularly polarised low-frequency (144 MHz) radio emission associated with a M-dwarf — the expected signpost of such radiation. The star itself is quiescent, with a 130-day rotation period and low X-ray luminosity. In this talk, I will detail how the radio properties of the detection imply that such emission is generated by the presence of an exoplanet in a short period orbit around the star, and our follow-up radial-velocity (RV) observations with Harps-N to confirm the exoplanet's presence. Our study highlights the powerful new and developing synergy between low-frequency radio astronomy and RV observations, with radio emission providing a strong prior on the presence of a short-period planet. I will conclude the talk detailing how the radio detection of an star-exoplanet interaction provides unique information for exoplanet climate and habitability studies, and the extension of our survey to other stellar systems

Radio masers on WX UMa : hints of a Neptune-sized planet, or magnetospheric reconnection?

RDK acknowledges funding received from the Irish Research Council (IRC) through the Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme. RDK and AAV acknowledges funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 817540, ASTROFLOW). We acknowledge the provisions of the Space Weather Modelling Framework (SWMF) code from the Center for Space Environment Modeling (CSEM) at the University of Michigan, and the computational resources of the Irish Centre for High End Computing (ICHEC), both of which were utilised in this work.The nearby M dwarf WX UMa has recently been detected at radio wavelengths with LOFAR. The combination of its observed brightness temperature and circular polarisation fraction suggests that the emission is generated via the electron-cyclotron maser instability. Two distinct mechanisms have been proposed to power such emission from low-mass stars: either a sub-Alfvénic interaction between the stellar magnetic field and an orbiting planet, or reconnection at the edge of the stellar magnetosphere. In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of both mechanisms, utilising the information about the star’s surrounding plasma environment obtained from modelling its stellar wind. Using this information, we show that a Neptune-sized exoplanet with a magnetic field strength of 10 – 100 G orbiting at ∼0.034 au can accurately reproduce the observed radio emission from the star, with corresponding orbital periods of 7.4 days. Due to the stellar inclination, a planet in an equatorial orbit is unlikely to transit the star. While such a planet could induce radial velocity semi-amplitudes from 7 to 396 m s−1, it is unlikely that this signal could be detected with current techniques due to the activity of the host star. The application of our planet-induced radio emission model here illustrates its exciting potential as a new tool for identifying planet-hosting candidates from long-term radio monitoring. We also develop a model to investigate the reconnection-powered emission scenario. While this approach produces less favourable results than the planet-induced scenario, it nevertheless serves as a potential alternative emission mechanism which is worth exploring further.PostprintPeer reviewe