Arcminute Angular Resolution Research Articles

The Simons Observatory: science goals and forecasts

The Simons Observatory (SO) is a new cosmic microwave background experiment being built on Cerro Toco in Chile, due to begin observations in the early 2020s. We describe the scientific goals of the experiment, motivate the design, and forecast its performance. SO will measure the temperature and polarization anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background in six frequency bands centered at: 27, 39, 93, 145, 225 and 280 GHz. The initial configuration of SO will have three small-aperture 0.5-m telescopes and one large-aperture 6-m telescope, with a total of 60,000 cryogenic bolometers. Our key science goals are to characterize the primordial perturbations, measure the number of relativistic species and the mass of neutrinos, test for deviations from a cosmological constant, improve our understanding of galaxy evolution, and constrain the duration of reionization. The small aperture telescopes will target the largest angular scales observable from Chile, mapping ≈ 10% of the sky to a white noise level of 2 μK-arcmin in combined 93 and 145 GHz bands, to measure the primordial tensor-to-scalar ratio, r, at a target level of σ(r)=0.003. The large aperture telescope will map ≈ 40% of the sky at arcminute angular resolution to an expected white noise level of 6 μK-arcmin in combined 93 and 145 GHz bands, overlapping with the majority of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope sky region and partially with the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument. With up to an order of magnitude lower polarization noise than maps from the Planck satellite, the high-resolution sky maps will constrain cosmological parameters derived from the damping tail, gravitational lensing of the microwave background, the primordial bispectrum, and the thermal and kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effects, and will aid in delensing the large-angle polarization signal to measure the tensor-to-scalar ratio. The survey will also provide a legacy catalog of 16,000 galaxy clusters and more than 20,000 extragalactic sources.

Chandra observations of the HII complex G5.89-0.39 and TeV gamma-ray source HESSJ1800-240B

We present the results of our investigation, using a Chandra X-ray observation, into the stellar population of the massive star formation region G5.89-0.39, and its potential connection to the coincident TeV gamma-ray source HESSJ1800-240B. G5.89-0.39 comprises two separate HII regions G5.89-0.39A and G5.89-0.39B (an ultra-compact HII region). We identified 159 individual X-ray point sources in our observation using the source detection algorithm wavdetect. 35 X-ray sources are associated with the HII complex G5.89-0.39. The 35 X-ray sources represent an average unabsorbed luminosity (0.3–10 keV) of ∼1030.5erg/s, typical of B7–B5 type stars. The potential ionising source of G5.89-0.39B known as Feldt's star is possibly identified in our observation with an unabsorbed X-ray luminosity suggestive of a B7–B5 star. The stacked energy spectra of these sources is well-fitted with a single thermal plasma APEC model with kT ∼ 5 keV, and column density NH=2.6×1022cm−2 (AV∼10). The residual (source-subtracted) X-ray emission towards G5.89-0.39A and B is about 30% and 25% larger than their respective stacked source luminosities. Assuming this residual emission is from unresolved stellar sources, the total B-type-equivalent stellar content in G5.89-0.39A and B would be 75 stars, consistent with an earlier estimate of the total stellar mass of hot stars in G5.89-0.39. We have also looked at the variability of the 35 X-ray sources in G5.89-0.39. Ten of these sources are flagged as being variable. Further studies are needed to determine the exact causes of the variability, however the variability could point towards pre-main sequence stars. Such a stellar population could provide sufficient kinetic energy to account for a part of the GeV to TeV gamma-ray emission in the source HESSJ1800-240B. However, future arc-minute angular resolution gamma-ray imaging will be needed to disentangle the potential gamma-ray components powered by G5.89-0.39 from those powered by the W28 SNR.

Acceleration of petaelectronvolt protons in the Galactic Centre.

Galactic cosmic rays reach energies of at least a few petaelectronvolts (of the order of 10(15) electronvolts). This implies that our Galaxy contains petaelectronvolt accelerators ('PeVatrons'), but all proposed models of Galactic cosmic-ray accelerators encounter difficulties at exactly these energies. Dozens of Galactic accelerators capable of accelerating particles to energies of tens of teraelectronvolts (of the order of 10(13) electronvolts) were inferred from recent γ-ray observations. However, none of the currently known accelerators--not even the handful of shell-type supernova remnants commonly believed to supply most Galactic cosmic rays--has shown the characteristic tracers of petaelectronvolt particles, namely, power-law spectra of γ-rays extending without a cut-off or a spectral break to tens of teraelectronvolts. Here we report deep γ-ray observations with arcminute angular resolution of the region surrounding the Galactic Centre, which show the expected tracer of the presence of petaelectronvolt protons within the central 10 parsecs of the Galaxy. We propose that the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* is linked to this PeVatron. Sagittarius A* went through active phases in the past, as demonstrated by X-ray outburstsand an outflow from the Galactic Centre. Although its current rate of particle acceleration is not sufficient to provide a substantial contribution to Galactic cosmic rays, Sagittarius A* could have plausibly been more active over the last 10(6)-10(7) years, and therefore should be considered as a viable alternative to supernova remnants as a source of petaelectronvolt Galactic cosmic rays.

Cryogenics on the stratospheric terahertz observatory (STO)

The Stratospheric TeraHertz Observatory (STO) is a NASA funded, Long Duration Balloon experiment designed to address a key problem in modern astrophysics: understanding the Life Cycle of the Interstellar Medium. STO surveys a section of the Galactic plane in the dominant interstellar cooling line at 1.9 THz and the important star formation tracer at 1.46 THz, at ∼1 arc minute angular resolution, sufficient to spatially resolve atomic, ionic, and molecular clouds at 10 kpc. The STO instrument package uses a liquid helium cryostat to maintain the THz receiver at < 9 K and to cool the low noise amplifiers to < 20 K. The first STO mission (STO-1) flew in January of 2012 and the second mission (STO-2) is planned for December 2015. For the STO-2 flight a cryocooler will be added to extend the mission lifetime. This paper discusses the integration of the STO instrument into an existing cryostat and the cryogenic aspects of the launch and operation of the STO balloon mission in the challenging Antarctic environment.

A 24 μm POINT SOURCE CATALOG OF THE GALACTIC PLANE FROMSPITZER/MIPSGAL

In this contribution, we describe the applied methods to construct a 24 micron based point source catalog derived from the image data of the MIPSGAL 24 micron Galactic Plane Survey and the corresponding data products. The high quality catalog product contains 933,818 sources, with a total of 1,353,228 in the full archive catalog. The source tables include positional and photometric informa- tion derived from the 24 micron images, source quality and confusion flags and coun- terpart photometry from matched 2MASS, GLIMPSE, and WISE point sources. Completeness decay data cubes are constructed at 1 arcminute angular resolution that describe the varying background levels over the MIPSGAL field and the ability to extract sources of a given magnitude from this background. The completeness decay cubes are included in the set of data products. We present the results of our efforts to verify the astrometric and photometric calibration of the catalog, and present several analyses of minor anomalies in these measurements to justify adopted mitigation strategies.

Science with the Murchison Widefield Array

AbstractSignificant new opportunities for astrophysics and cosmology have been identified at low radio frequencies. The Murchison Widefield Array is the first telescope in the southern hemisphere designed specifically to explore the low-frequency astronomical sky between 80 and 300 MHz with arcminute angular resolution and high survey efficiency. The telescope will enable new advances along four key science themes, including searching for redshifted 21-cm emission from the EoR in the early Universe; Galactic and extragalactic all-sky southern hemisphere surveys; time-domain astrophysics; and solar, heliospheric, and ionospheric science and space weather. The Murchison Widefield Array is located in Western Australia at the site of the planned Square Kilometre Array (SKA) low-band telescope and is the only low-frequency SKA precursor facility. In this paper, we review the performance properties of the Murchison Widefield Array and describe its primary scientific objectives.

Cherenkov telescopes as optical telescopes for bright sources: today’s specialized 30-m telescopes?

Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) use large-aperture (~ 10 - 30 m) optical telescopes with arcminute angular resolution to detect TeV gamma-rays in the atmosphere. I show that IACTs are well-suited for optical observations of bright sources (V <= 8 - 10), because these sources are brighter than the sky background. Their advantages are especially great on rapid time-scales. Thus, IACTs are ideal for studying many phenomena optically, including transiting exoplanets and the brightest gamma-ray bursts. In principle, an IACT could achieve millimagnitude photometry of these objects with second-long exposures. I also consider the potential for optical spectroscopy with IACTs, finding that their poor angular resolution limits their usefulness for high spectral resolutions, unless complex instruments are developed. The high photon collection rate of IACTs is potentially useful for precise polarimetry. Finally, I briefly discuss the broader possibilities of extremely large, low resolution telescopes, including a 10" resolution telescope and spaceborne telescopes.

A Survey of the polarized emission from the Galactic plane at 1420 MHz with arcminute angular resolution

Context: Observations of polarized emission are a significant source of information on the magnetic field that pervades the Interstellar Medium of the Galaxy. Despite the acknowledged importance of the magnetic field in interstellar processes, our knowledge of field configurations on all scales is seriously limited. Aims: This paper describes an extensive survey of polarized Galactic emission at 1.4 GHz that provides data with arcminute resolution and complete coverage of all structures from the broadest angular scales to the resolution limit, giving information on the magneto-ionic medium over a wide range of interstellar environments. Methods: Data from the DRAO Synthesis Telescope, the Effelsberg 100-m Telescope, and the DRAO 26-m Telescope have been combined. Angular resolution is ~1' and the survey extends from l = 66 deg to l = 175 deg over a range -3 deg < b < 5 deg along the northern Galactic plane, with a high-latitude extension from l = 101 deg to l = 116 deg up to b = 17.5 deg. This is the first extensive polarization survey to present aperture-synthesis data combined with data from single antennas, and the techniques developed to achieve this combination are described. Results: The appearance of the extended polarized emission at 1.4 GHz is dominated by Faraday rotation along the propagation path, and the diffuse polarized sky bears little resemblance to the total-intensity sky. There is extensive depolarization, arising from vector averaging on long lines of sight, from HII regions, and from diffuse ionized gas seen in H-alpha images. Preliminary interpretation is presented of selected polarization features on scales from parsecs (the planetary nebula Sh 2-216) to hundreds of parsecs (a supperbubble GSH 166-01-17) to kiloparsecs (polarized emission in the direction of Cygnus X).

The polarized emission from the galactic plane at arcminute angular resolution

AbstractAs part of the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey (CGPS) we have imaged the polarized emission from the plane of the Milky Way at 1420 MHz, covering 1200 square degrees with arc-minute resolution. Structure on all scales is represented by combining aperture-synthesis data with single-antenna data. The survey depicts the Magneto-Ionic Medium at a resolution that matches images of other components of the Interstellar Medium within the CGPS database (http://www4.cadc.hia.nrc.gc.ca).

Optical Reflectance Measurements for Commonly Used Reflectors

When simulating light collection in scintillators, modeling the angular distribution of optical light reflectance from surfaces is very important. Since light reflectance is poorly understood, either purely specular or purely diffuse reflectance is generally assumed. In this paper we measure the optical reflectance distribution for eleven commonly used reflectors. A 440 nm, output power stabilized, un-polarized laser is shone onto a reflector at a fixed angle of incidence. The reflected light's angular distribution is measured by an array of silicon photodiodes. The photodiodes are movable to cover 2pi of solid angle. The light-induced current is, through a multiplexer, read out with a digital multimeter. A LabVIEW program controls the motion of the laser and the photodiode array, the multiplexer, and the data collection. The laser can be positioned at any angle with a position accuracy of 10 arc minutes. Each photodiode subtends 6.3 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">deg</sup> , and the photodiode array can be positioned at any angle with up to 10 arc minute angular resolution. The dynamic range for the current measurements is 10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">5</sup> :1. The measured light reflectance distribution was measured to be specular for several ESR films as well as for aluminum foil, mostly diffuse for polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tape and titanium dioxide paint, and neither specular nor diffuse for Lumirrorreg, Melinexreg and Tyvekreg. Instead, a more complicated light distribution was measured for these three materials.

The Bispectrum of Redshifted 21 Centimeter Fluctuations from the Dark Ages

Brightness temperature fluctuations in the redshifted 21 cm background from the cosmic dark ages are generated by irregularities in the gas density distribution and can thus be used to determine the statistical properties of density fluctuations in the early universe. Here we derive the most general expansion of brightness temperature fluctuations up to second order in terms of all the possible sources of spatial fluctuations. We then focus on the three-point statistics and compute the angular bispectrum of brightness temperature fluctuations generated prior to the epoch of hydrogen reionization. For simplicity, we neglect redshift-space distortions. We find that low-frequency radio experiments with arcminute angular resolution can easily detect non-Gaussianity produced by nonlinear gravity, with high signal-to-noise ratio. The bispectrum thus provides a unique test of the gravitational instability scenario for structure formation and can be used to measure the cosmological parameters. Detecting the signature of primordial non-Gaussianity produced during or right after an inflationary period is more challenging but still possible. An ideal experiment limited by cosmic variance only and with an angular resolution of a few arcseconds has the potential to detect primordial non-Gaussianity with a nonlinearity parameter of fNL ~ 1. Additional sources of error such as weak lensing and an imperfect foreground subtraction could severely hamper the detection of primordial non-Gaussianity, which will benefit from the use of optimal estimators combined with tomographic techniques.

JEM–X: The X-ray monitor aboard INTEGRAL

The JEM-X monitor provides X-ray spectra and imaging with arcminute angular resolution in the 3 to 35 keV band. The good angular resolution and the low energy response of JEM-X plays an important role in the identification of gamma ray sources and in the analysis and scientific interpretation of the combined X-ray and gamma ray data. JEM-X is a coded aperture instrument consisting of two identical, coaligned telescopes. Each of the detectors has a sensitive area of 500 cm 2 , and views the sky through its own coded aperture mask. The two coded masks are inverted with respect to each other and provides an angular resolution of 3 0 across an eective field of view of about 10 diameter.

Thermal and non-thermal plasmas in the galaxy cluster 3C 129

We describe new Chandra spectroscopy data of the cluster which harbors the prototypical head radio galaxy 3C 129 and the weaker radio galaxy 3C 129.1. We combined the Chandra data with Very Large Array (VLA) radio data taken at 0.33, 5, and 8 GHz (archival data) and 1.4 GHz (new data). We also obtained new HI observations at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (DRAO) to measure the neutral Hydrogen column density the direction of the cluster with arcminute angular resolution. The Chandra observation reveals extended X-ray emission from the radio galaxy 3C 129.1 with a total luminosity of 1.5E+41 erg/s. The X-ray excess is resolved into an extended central source of ~2 arcsec (1 kpc) diameter and several point sources with an individual luminosity up to 2.1E+40 erg/s. In the case of the radio galaxy 3C 129, the Chandra observation shows, addition to core and jet X-ray emission reported an earlier paper, some evidence for extended, diffuse X-ray emission from a region east of the radio core. The 12 arcsec x 36 arcsec (6 kpc x 17 kpc) region lies in front of the radio core, the same direction into which the radio galaxy is moving. We use the radio and X-ray data to study detail the pressure balance between the non-thermal radio plasma and the thermal Intra Cluster Medium (ICM) along the tail of 3C 129 which extends over 15 arcmin (427 kpc). Depending on the assumed lower energy cutoff of the electron energy spectrum, the minimum pressure of the radio plasma lies a factor of between 10 and 40 below the ICM pressure for a large part of the tail. We discuss several possibilities to explain the apparent pressure mismatch.

S-COMPONENT SOURCES AT 21 cm WAVELENGTH IN THE RISING PHASE OF CYCLE 23

The Synthesis Radio Telescope at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory is being used to make a long-term study of the relationship between sources of the slowly-varying component at 21-cm wavelength and the active regions with which they are associated. Although the arc-minute angular resolution of the radio telescope is insufficient to map individual active regions, the unique capability of this radio telescope to map the whole solar disc in a single operation makes it useful for identifying and measuring sources of the slowly-varying component, which at this wavelength are largely due to free–free thermal emission from plasma concentrations trapped in active region magnetic fields. The brightness temperatures of the emission are higher in large, complex active regions, suggesting the plasma slab producing the emission is thicker and/or denser in such regions. We find also that the relationship between the brightness temperature and the size and complexity of the host region is a function of the phase of the 10–13-year solar activity cycle.

THE AGILE MISSION AND GAMMA-RAY ASTROPHYSICS

Gamma-ray astrophysics in the energy range between 30 MeV and 30 GeV is in desperate need of arcminute angular resolution and source monitoring capability. The AGILE Mission planned to be operational in 2004-2006 will be the only space mission entirely dedicated to gamma-ray astrophysics above 30 MeV. The main characteristics of AGILE are the simultaneous X-ray and gamma-ray imaging capability (reaching arcminute resolution) and excellent gamma-ray timing (10-100 microseconds). AGILE scientific program will emphasize a quick response to gamma-ray transients and multiwavelength studies of gamma-ray sources.

Large-Scale Motions in Superclusters: Their Imprint in the Cosmic Microwave Background.

We identify high-density regions of supercluster size in high-resolution n-body simulations of a representative volume of three cold dark matter universes. By assuming that (1) the density and peculiar velocities of baryons trace those of the dark matter and that (2) the temperature of plasma is proportional to the velocity dispersion of the dark matter particles in regions where the crossing times are smaller than the supercluster free-fall time, we investigate how the thermal motions of electrons in the intracluster medium and the peculiar velocity of clusters can affect the secondary anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We show that the thermal effect dominates the kinematic effect and that the largest thermal decrements are associated with the most massive clusters in superclusters. Thus, searching for the presence of two or more nearby large CMB decrements represents a viable strategy for identifying superclusters at cosmological distances. Moreover, maps of the kinematic effect in superclusters are characterized by neighboring large peaks of opposite signs. These peaks can be as high as approximately 10 µK at the arcminute angular resolution. The simultaneous pointed observations of superclusters in the millimeter and submillimeter bands combined with the upcoming sensitive CMB experiments can separate the thermal effect contributions from the kinematic effect contributions and can constrain the evolution of the velocity field in large overdense regions.

The ALFA medium explorer mission

Abstract The frequency range below a few tens of MHz is unexplored with high angular resolution due to the opacity of Earth's ionosphere. An interferometer array in space providing arcminute angular resolution images at frequencies of a few MHz would allow a wide range of problems in solar, planetary, galactic, and extragalactic astronomy to be attacked. These include the evolution of solar radio emissions associated with shocks driven by coronal mass ejections and searches for coherent radio emission from supernova remnants and relativistic jets. In addition, it is likely that unexpected objects or emission processes will be discovered by such an instrument, as has always happened when high resolution astronomical observations first become possible in a new region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The Astronomical Low Frequency Array (ALFA) mission will consist of 16 identical small satellites forming an aperture synthesis array. The satellites will cover the surface of a spherical region ≈ 100 km in diameter, thus providing good aperture plane coverage in all directions simultaneously. The array will operate in two medes: 1) “snapshot” imaging of strong, rapidly changing sources such as solar radio bursts and 2) long-term aperture synthesis observations for maximum sensitivity, high dynamic range imaging. In both cases a large number of array elements is needed.

The Mpifr Radio Continuum Surveys and Their WWW Distribution

The observation of an area of 120° × 56° centered on RA=8h DEC=20° at 408 MHz was the first astronomical use of the MPIfR 100-m telescope (1970) and was designed to compile a complete sky survey using also data from Jodrell Bank and Parkes (Haslam et al., 1982). The observation of the northern sky at 1420 MHz started in 1972 using the Stockert 25-m telescope and was finished in 1976 (Reich and Reich 1986). This survey has been completed to an all sky survey using data from Villa Elisa (Argentina). The two surveys are absolutely calibrated. The angular resolutions are 0.8° and 0.59°, respectively. A number of surveys of the Galactic plane have been made with the 100-m telescope at arc minute angular resolution. Surveys at 2695 MHz (|b| ≤ 5°) (Reich et al. 1990, Fürst et al. 1990) and at 1410 MHz (|b| &lt; 4°) (Reich et al. 1990) are public.At medium Galactic latitudes (up to |b| = 20°) the emission consists mainly of faint extended ridges or arcs superimposed on the still dominating, about 10 times stronger, diffuse Galactic emission. They have never been investigated in a systematic way although they provide important clues for the understanding of the “disk-halo connection”. This region is covered by new observations at 1400 MHz with the 100-m telescope.

A balloon-borne coded aperture telescope for ARC-minute angular resolution at hard X-ray energies

We describe the development of a new balloon-borne telescope known as MARGIE (Minute-of-Arc Resolution Gamma ray Imaging Experiment). It is a coded aperture telescope designed to image photons (in various configurations) over the 20–600 keV range with an angular resolution approaching 1′. MARGIE will use one (or both) of two different detection plane technologies. One such technology involves the use of Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) strip detectors, for which we have successfully demonstrated a spatial resolution of < 375 μm. A second detector option is based on CsI microfiber arrays coupled to a large area silicon CCD readout array, providing spatial resolutions comparable to that of the CZT prototype. In one possible configuration, the coded mask would be 0.5 mm thick tungsten, with 0.5 mm pixels at a distance of 1.5 m from the central detector, giving an angular resolution of 1′ and a fully coded FoV of 12°.

GRABIT: a large-area, broad-bandwidth, gamma-ray imaging spectrometer for astrophysics

GRABIT is the gamma-ray bar imaging telescope, a low-energy gamma-ray (60-600 keV) imaging spectrometer that can be extended to a large area at low cost. GRABIT has a gamma-ray position-resolution of 2 mm with an energy resolution typical of alkali-halide detectors (18% at 60 keV). The complete coded-aperture telescope will have arc-minute angular resolution over a large field of view. In addition, the good energy and angular resolutions are obtained over the full bandwidth of the instrument.