Maps of the number of HI clouds along the line of sight at high galactic latitude

Characterizing the structure of the Galactic Interstellar Medium (ISM) in three dimensions is of high importance for accurate modeling of dust emission as a foreground to the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). At high Galactic latitude, where the total dust content is low, accurate maps of the 3D structure of the ISM are lacking. We develop a method to quantify the complexity of the distribution of dust along the line of sight with the use of HI line emission. The method relies on a Gaussian decomposition of the HI spectra to disentangle the emission from overlapping components in velocity. We use this information to create maps of the number of clouds along the line of sight. We apply the method to: (a) the high-galactic latitude sky and (b) the region targeted by the BICEP/Keck experiment. In the North Galactic Cap pixels are occupied by 3 clouds on average, while in the South the number falls to 2.5. The statistics of the number of clouds are affected by Intermediate-Velocity Clouds (IVCs), primarily in the North. The presence of IVCs results in detectable features in the dust emission measured by \textit{Planck}. We investigate the complexity of HI spectra in the BICEP/Keck region and find evidence for the existence of multiple components along the line of sight. The data and software are made publicly available, and can be used to inform CMB foreground modeling and 3D dust mapping.Comment: 28 pages (including appendices), 19 figures, submitted to AAS journals, comments welcom

Extreme Starlight Polarization in a Region with Highly Polarized Dust Emission

Galactic dust emission is polarized at unexpectedly high levels, as revealed by Planck. The origin of the observed $\simeq 20\%$ polarization fractions can be identified by characterizing the properties of optical starlight polarization in a region with maximally polarized dust emission. We measure the R-band linear polarization of 22 stars in a region with a submillimeter polarization fraction of $\simeq 20$. A subset of 6 stars is also measured in the B, V and I bands to investigate the wavelength dependence of polarization. We find that starlight is polarized at correspondingly high levels. Through multiband polarimetry we find that the high polarization fractions are unlikely to arise from unusual dust properties, such as enhanced grain alignment. Instead, a favorable magnetic field geometry is the most likely explanation, and is supported by observational probes of the magnetic field morphology. The observed starlight polarization exceeds the classical upper limit of $\left[p_V/E\left(B-V\right)\right]_{\rm max} = 9$%mag$^{-1}$ and is at least as high as 13%mag$^{-1}$ that was inferred from a joint analysis of Planck data, starlight polarization and reddening measurements. Thus, we confirm that the intrinsic polarizing ability of dust grains at optical wavelengths has long been underestimated.Comment: Accepted by A&AL, data to appear on CDS after publication. 6 page

Maps of the Number of H I Clouds along the Line of Sight at High Galactic Latitude

Characterizing the structure of the Galactic interstellar medium (ISM) in three dimensions is of high importance for accurate modeling of dust emission as a foreground to the cosmic microwave background (CMB). At high Galactic latitude, where the total dust content is low, accurate maps of the 3D structure of the ISM are lacking. We develop a method to quantify the complexity of the distribution of dust along the line of sight with the use of H i line emission. The method relies on a Gaussian decomposition of the H i spectra to disentangle the emission from overlapping components in velocity. We use this information to create maps of the number of clouds along the line of sight. We apply the method to (a) the high Galactic latitude sky and (b) the region targeted by the BICEP/Keck experiment. In the north Galactic cap we find on average three clouds per 0.2 square degree pixel, while in the south the number falls to 2.5. The statistics of the number of clouds are affected by intermediate-velocity clouds (IVCs), primarily in the north. IVCs produce detectable features in the dust emission measured by Planck. We investigate the complexity of H i spectra in the BICEP/Keck region and find evidence for the existence of multiple components along the line of sight. The data (doi: 10.7910/DVN/8DA5LH) and software are made publicly available and can be used to inform CMB foreground modeling and 3D dust mapping

Eliminating artefacts in polarimetric images using deep learning

Polarization measurements done using Imaging Polarimeters such as the Robotic Polarimeter are very sensitive to the presence of artefacts in images. Artefacts can range from internal reflections in a telescope to satellite trails that could contaminate an area of interest in the image. With the advent of wide-field polarimetry surveys, it is imperative to develop methods that automatically flag artefacts in images. In this paper, we implement a Convolutional Neural Network to identify the most dominant artefacts in the images. We find that our model can successfully classify sources with 98 per cent true positive and 97 per cent true negative rates. Such models, combined with transfer learning, will give us a running start in artefact elimination for near-future surveys like WALOP

Velocity models inferred from p-waves travel time curves in south Aegean

Με σκοπό τη δημιουργία μοντέλων ταχύτητας στην περιοχή του νοτίου Αιγαίου, χρησιμοποιούμε τις καταγραφές σεισμών κατά τη χρονική περίοδο από 1η Ιανουαρίου έως 3Ιη Αυγούστου 2005 από ένα νέο τηλεμετρικό δίκτυο που εγκαταστάθηκε και λειτουργεί στην περιοχή της Κρήτης. Τα μοντέλα ταχύτητας κατασκευάζονται από τις καμπύλες χρόνων διαδρομής των επιμηκών κυμάτων και χρησιμοποιούνται σε συνδυασμό με τις χρονικές διορθώσεις στο χρόνο άφιξης των σεισμικών κυμάτων σε κάθε σεισμολογικό σταθμό του δικτύου για τον ακριβή προσδιορισμό των εστιακών παραμέτρων των σεισμών που έχουν καταγραφεί στην περιοχή του νοτίου Αιγαίου με τη χρήση του προγράμματος HYPOINVERSE. Συνδυάζοντας όλες τις διαθέσιμες πληροφορίες από τη βιβλιογραφία και τα αποτελέσματα της παρούσας μελέτης προσδοκούμε να συμβάλουμε στην αποσαφήνιση του σεισμοτεκτονικού προτύπου της περιοχής καθώς και της γεωμετρίας της καταδυόμενης λιθόσφαιρας της ανατολικής Μεσογείου.The seismicity recorded during Ist January to 31st August 2005 from a new telemetry network installed and operating on the island of Crete, is used in an effort to obtain new velocity models for the area of south Aegean. The models are constructed from the P-waves travel time curves and are later used for the events relocation with the HYPOINVERSE algorithm and station delays calculation. Furthermore, results are discussed and compared with the ones derived from other significant previous works presented the last years. We anticipate by combining all the available information from the literature and the analysis of our data set to contribute to the seismotectonic modeling of the study area and to construct a most complete image of the geometry of the subducted plate

MAPPING OF CODA ATTENUATION AT THE EXTEND OF THE NATIONAL SEISMOLOGICAL NETWORK OF GREECE

Coda decay rates of 538 vertical components corresponding to local earthquakes which occurred in Greece during the period 1998 to 1999 were used to deduce the coda quality factor (Qc) characteristics in the Hellenic area. The seismograms have been selected from a broader sample of 776 records obtained at 8 stations of the National Seismographic Network operated by the Institute of Geodynamics of the National Observatory of Athens. Earthquake magnitudes range from 2.5 to 4.0; epicentral distances and depths are smaller than 100 km and 40 km, respectively. Using the Single Back Scattering model, the dependence of Qc on frequencies between 1 and 10 Hz has been investigated at each station and the usual Qc =Qo f relationships have been deduced. The spatial distribution of Qo has been drawn using waves that sample approximately equivalent ellipsoidal volumes with semiminor axis up to 100 km. The corresponding map shows a decreasing trend in SN direction

RoboPol: a four-channel optical imaging polarimeter

We present the design and performance of RoboPol, a four-channel optical polarimeter operating at the Skinakas Observatory in Crete, Greece. RoboPol is capable of measuring both relative linear Stokes parameters q and u (and the total intensity I) in one sky exposure. Though primarily used to measure the polarization of point sources in the R band, the instrument features additional filters (B, V, and I), enabling multiwavelength imaging polarimetry over a large field of view (13.6′ × 13.6′). We demonstrate the accuracy and stability of the instrument throughout its 5 yr of operation. Best performance is achieved within the central region of the field of view and in the R band. For such measurements the systematic uncertainty is below 0.1 per cent in fractional linear polarization, p (0.05 per cent maximum likelihood). Throughout all observing seasons the instrumental polarization varies within 0.1 per cent in p and within ∼1° in polarization angle