Brightness Temperature Distribution Research Articles

Unveiling the Small-scale Jets in the Rapidly Growing Supermassive Black Hole IZw1

Accretion of black holes at near-Eddington or super-Eddington rates represents the most powerful episode driving black hole growth, potentially occurring across various types of objects. However, the physics governing accretion and jet–disk coupling in such states remains unclear, primarily due to the difficulty in detecting associated jets, which may emit extremely weakly or exhibit episodic behavior. Only a few near/super-Eddington systems have demonstrated radio activity, and it remains uncertain whether jets exist and what their properties are in super-Eddington active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and ultraluminous X-ray sources. This uncertainty stems mainly from the complex radio emission mix, which includes contributions from jets, star formation activity, photoionized gas, accretion disk wind, and coronal activity. In this work, we conducted high-resolution, very long baseline interferometry observations to investigate jets in the highly accreting narrow-line Seyfert I system I Zw 1. Our observations successfully revealed small-scale jets (with a linear size of ∼45 pc) at both 1.5 and 5 GHz, based on the high radio brightness temperature, radio morphology, and spectral index distribution. Additionally, the parsec-scale jet observed in I Zw 1 displays a knotted morphology reminiscent of other sources accreting at similar rates. In summary, the high accretion rates and jet properties observed in the AGN I Zw 1 may support the AGN/X-ray binary analogy in this extreme state.

Recovering the gas properties of protoplanetary disks through parametric visibility modeling: MHO 6

The composition and distribution of the gas in a protoplanetary disk plays a key role in shaping the outcome of the planet formation process. Observationally, the recovery of information such as the emission height and brightness temperature from interferometric data is often limited by the imaging processes. To overcome the limitations of image-reconstruction when analyzing gas emission from interferometric observations, we have introduced a parametric model to fit the main observable properties of the gaseous disk component in the visibility plane. This approach is also known as parametric visibility modeling. We applied our parametric visibility modeling to the gas brightness distribution of the molecular line emission from 12CO J=3-2 and 13CO J=3-2 in the disk around MHO\,6, a very-low-mass star in the Taurus star-forming Region. To improve the flux fidelity of our parametric models, we combined models with different pixel resolution before the computation of their visibilities, referred to as ``nesting images.'' When we apply our parametric visibility modeling to MHO\,6, with independent fits to the emission from its CO isopotologues, the models return the same consistent results for the stellar mass, disk geometry, and central velocity. The surface height and brightness temperature distribution are also recovered. When compared to other disks, MHO\,6 surface height is among the most elevated surfaces, consistent with the predictions for disks around very-low-mass stars. This work demonstrates the feasibility of running rapidly iterable parametric visibility models in moderate resolution and sensitivity interferometric observations. More importantly, this methodology opens the analysis of disk's gas morphology to observations where image-based techniques are unable to robustly operate, as in the case of the compact disk around MHO\,6.

TANAMI: Tracking active galactic nuclei with austral milliarcsecond interferometry

Context. With the emergence of very high energy astronomy (VHE; E > 100 GeV), new open questions were presented to astronomers studying the multi-wavelength emission from blazars. Answers to these open questions, such as the Doppler crisis, and finding the location of the high-energy activity have eluded us thus far. Recently, quasi-simultaneous multi-wavelength monitoring programs have shown considerable success in investigating blazar activity. Aims. Such quasi-simultaneous observations across the electromagnetic spectrum became possible thanks to the launch of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope in 2008. In addition, with very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations, we can resolve the central parsec region of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and compare morphological changes to γ-ray activity in order to study high-energy-emitting blazars. To achieve our goals, we need sensitive, long-term VLBI monitoring of a complete sample of VHE-detected AGN. Methods. We performed VLBI observations of TeV-detected AGN and high-likelihood neutrino associations as of December of 2021 with the Long Baseline Array (LBA) and other southern-hemisphere radio telescopes at 2.3 GHz. Results. In this paper, we present first light TANAMI S-band images, focusing on the TeV-detected subsample of the full TANAMI sample. In addition to these VHE-detected sources, we show images of two flux density calibrators and two additional sources included in the observations. We study the redshift, 0.1–100 GeV photon flux, and S-band core brightness temperature distributions of the TeV-detected objects, and find that flat-spectrum radio quasars and low-synchrotron-peaked sources on average show higher brightness temperatures than high-synchrotron-peaked BL Lacs. Sources with bright GeV γ-ray emission also show higher brightness temperature values than γ-low sources. Conclusions. Long-term monitoring programs are crucial for studying the multiwavelength properties of AGN. With the successful detection of even the faintest sources, with flux densities below 50 mJy, future work will entail kinematic analysis and spectral studies both at 2.3 and 8.4 GHz to investigate the connection between the radio and γ-ray activity of these objects.

Heterostructure transistor for an energy-efficient low-noise radiothermograph amplifier based on monolithic integrated circuits

Currently, there is a growing interest in medical practice in such a method of diagnostic human internal organs as microwave radiothermometry. However, a number of strict requirements are imposed on the parameters of radiometric receivers, which are the main elements of a radiothermograph, including the amplification path. The problem lies in the fact that the amplifying path of the radiothermograph consumes, with transistors available on the market, an unacceptably large amount of energy, which leads to an increase in heat generation and, as a result, to the introduction of additional errors in measurements. Therefore, in order to increase the reliability of the radiothermograph, it is necessary to develop a basic transistor for MIC amplifier with reduced power consumption. Using numerical modeling methods, the parameters of an energy-efficient transistor on the proposed heterostructure were researched. As a result of optimizing the transistor design based on the presented strict requirements for the parameters, a calculated steepness characteristic was obtained, clearly showing the increased amplifying properties of the proposed transistor in the low-current region, which directly leads to the possibility of a significant reduction in current consumption of the entire chip. A significant increase in transconductance of the proposed transistor design indicates the possibility of using this promising element base as part of microwave radiometers, which will allow combining the principles of multi-channel, multi-frequency and miniaturization in one radiometric complex and will lead to an expansion of its functionality and a significant reduction in size. The research was carried out with the financial support of the Russian science Foundation in the framework of agreement No. 19-19-00349-П in the theme: “A method and a multichannel multifrequency microwave radiothermography on the basis of monolithic integrated circuits for finding the 3D distribution and dynamics of brightness temperature in the depths of the human body”.

A 1D Bayesian inversion of microwave radiances using several radiative properties of solid hydrometeors

AbstractNumerical weather prediction centers increasingly make use of cloudy and rainy microwave radiances. Currently, the high microwave frequencies are simulated using simplified assumptions regarding the radiative properties of frozen hydrometeors. In particular, one single particle shape is often used for all precipitating frozen particles, all over the globe, and for all cloud types. In this paper, a multi‐SSP (single scattering properties) approach for 1D Bayesian inversions is examined. Two experiments were set up: (1) one with three SSPs and (2) one with the previous SSPs plus one which leads to very cold brightness temperature distributions. For that purpose, we used observations from the GPM Microwave Imager radiometer over 2 months period and forecasts from the Météo‐France convective scale AROME model. The results showed that mixtures of SSP are chosen by the inversion method for meteorological conditions with low scattering and that a single particle is chosen for those with high scattering to perform the inversions. Despite the fact that no specific weather scenes were found to be associated with a particular SSP the most efficient scattering particles can be favored for some of them.

First results of Antarctic sea ice type retrieval from active and passive microwave remote sensing data

Abstract. Polar sea ice is one of the Earth's climate components that has been significantly affected by the recent trend of global warming. While the sea ice area in the Arctic has been decreasing at a rate of about 4 % per decade, the multi-year ice (MYI), also called perennial ice, is decreasing at a faster rate of 10 %–15 % per decade. On the other hand, the sea ice area in the Antarctic region was slowly increasing at a rate of about 1.5 % per decade until 2014, and since then it has fluctuated without a clear trend. However, no data about ice type areas are available from that region, particularly for MYI. Due to differences in the physical and crystalline structural properties of sea ice and snow between the two polar regions, it has become difficult to identify ice types in the Antarctic. Until recently,no satellite retrieval scheme was ready to monitor the distribution and temporal development of Antarctic ice types, particularly MYI, throughout the freezing season and on timescales of several years. In this study, we have adapted a method for retrieving Arctic sea ice types and partial concentrations using microwave satellite observations to fit the Antarctic sea ice conditions. The core of the retrieval method is a mathematical scheme that needs empirical distributions of the microwave brightness temperature and backscatter input parameters for the different ice types. The first circumpolar, long-term time series of Antarctic sea ice types (MYI, first-year ice, and young ice) is being established, and so far covers the years 2013–2021. Qualitative comparison with (a) synthetic aperture radar data, (b) charts of the development stage of the sea ice, and (c) the Antarctic polynya distribution data show that the retrieved ice types, in particular the MYI, are reasonable. Although there are still some shortcomings, the new retrieval allows insight into the interannual evolution and dynamics of Antarctic sea ice types for the first time. The current time series can in principle be extended backwards to start in the year 2002 and can be continued with current and future sensors.

Flame Characteristics of Gasoline and a Water-in-Gasoline Mixture under a Controllable High-Temperature Thermal Atmosphere.

This study explores the flame characteristics of gasoline and a water-in-gasoline mixture and provides some optimization suggestions for the control strategy of water-in-gasoline mixture injection in the internal combustion Rankine cycle engines. The influences of co-flow temperature, injection pressure condition, and water content on the flame characteristics were investigated under a controllable high-temperature thermal atmosphere, including flame pattern, liftoff height, brightness, and local peak temperature distribution. Results obtained show that the water content has the most significant effect on the flame characteristics. The flame pattern gradually changes from slender to lumpy as the water content rises, while the high-temperature zone increases and becomes uniform. There is an appropriate water content range of 10-20% in which the flame characteristics are generally better. Furthermore, as the water content increases from 20 to 30%, the flame characteristics deteriorate, with a sharp decrease in the maximum flame temperature and brightness.

A Near-Field Imaging Algorithm Based on Angular Spectrum Theory for Synthetic Aperture Interferometric Radiometer

For the near-field synthetic aperture interferometric radiometer (SAIR), the Fourier transform relationship between the visibility function and the near-field brightness temperature (BT) distribution is not valid. It is a challenging task for near-field SAIR imaging to realize very close-range accurate imaging with a large field of view (FOV). This article presents a new SAIR near-field imaging algorithm based on the angular spectrum theory to realize the passive millimeter-wave (PMMW) imaging, called synthetic-angular-spectrum imaging (SASI) algorithm. This SASI algorithm mainly addresses data samples of a 4-D visibility function acquired from planar arrays. First, we invert 4-D visibility samples into the angular spectrum domain via the Fourier transformation. The obtained angular spectrum data cannot be directly used to estimate the near-field BT distribution. Second, a dedicated phase factor compensation is adopted for handling this problem. The dimension-reducing accumulation is employed to generate the synthetic angular spectrum (SAS) of near-field BT distribution. Finally, we reconstruct the BT image by using the generated SAS data. Simulation and experiment results show that the presented SASI algorithm has the superiority on image reconstruction quality, especially for the off-axis regions, compared with the existing near-field SAIR imaging methods.

Evaluation of Modeled Hyperspectral Infrared Spectra Against All-Sky AIRS Observations Using Different Cloud Overlap Schemes.

Hyperspectral infrared sounding contains information about clouds, which plays an important role in modulating Earth's climate. However, there is a great deal of uncertainty in modeling the radiative effect of clouds due to its complex dependence on various parameters. Therefore, cloudy scenarios are often neglected in retrievals of infrared spectral measurements and in data assimilation. One‐dimensional radiative transfer (RT) models have a limited capability to represent the cloud three‐dimensional multilayer structure. This issue is typically resolved by using a multiple independent column approach, which is computationally demanding. Therefore, it is necessary to find a balance between computational speed and accuracy for infrared RT all‐sky radiance simulations. In this study, we utilize the Community Radiative Transfer Model with four different cloud overlap schemes and compare against observations made by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) using a statistical metric called the first Wasserstein distance. Our results show that the average cloud overlap scheme performs the best and successfully predicts the overall probability distribution of brightness temperature over nonfrozen oceans for a wide range of wavelengths. The mean absolute differences are less than 0.7 K for 846 selected AIRS channels between 790 cm−1 and 1231 cm−1.

Radiance-based assessment of bulk microphysics models with seven hydrometeor species in forecasting Super-typhoon Lekima (2019) near landfall

Extreme precipitation concerning typhoons brings great losses to coastal cities every year. How to accurately describe the natural cloud and precipitation processes in model remains a major challenge in typhoon forecasts. Observations found rain and hail can both exist under severe typhoon convections. But current operational forecasting models fail to take hail into consideration in super-typhoon prediction. This study assesses the performances of five typical bulk microphysical schemes (BMSs) of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model in the forecast of Super-typhoon Lekima (2019) near landfall. Unlike other microphysical schemes, all the selected BMSs in this study incorporate seven hydrometeor species including hail, which can represent the hydrometeor distribution within natural super-storm more realistically as supported by field observational facts. Through statistical-physical evaluation processes and using radar-satellite joint observations, the goal is to identify the best scheme to accurately forecast Super-typhoon Lekima and to find the future avenue to possible microphysical scheme improvement. It is found that the WRF double-moment 7-class (WDM7) scheme exhibits the smallest root mean square error (RMSE) of approximately 1.5 for both composite reflectivity and brightness temperature signatures, and predicts the closest macro-physical hydrometeors structure, amplitude and location to observations. Moreover, the azimuthal mean brightness temperature distributions suggest large forecasting errors over typhoon inner rainband, with WDM7 scheme performing best. The vertical reflectivity profiles further suggest that WDM7 scheme could well characterize the updraft, water content, and cold-cloud processes, but needs further improvement in the representation of warm-cloud processes. The performances of BMSs are found to be closely related to the moments used to describe the evolution of the drop size distribution. Among all the schemes, the double-moment schemes generally perform better in simulating warm-cloud processes, while the single-moment schemes show better performance in simulating cold-cloud processes. As a partially double-moment and partially single-moment scheme, WDM7 scheme exhibits unique advantages over the others. The optimum choice of moments is an important step toward the future improvement of BMS.

A Novel Near Field Image Reconstruction Method Based on Beamforming Technique for Real-Time Passive Millimeter Wave Imaging

A Ka-band 1024-channel passive millimeter wave (PMMW) imager (BHU-1024) based on synthetic aperture interferometric radiometer (SAIR) technique has been developed by Beihang University for security screening. BHU-1024 uses linear phased array to obtain resolution in the horizontal direction and uses aperture synthesis to obtain resolution in the vertical direction. This imager is designed for detecting concealed weapons on the human body and operated under the near-field condition of the antenna array. Thus, the conventional direct Fourier imaging theory, which is based on the far-field approximation, can’t be applied any longer. In this paper, a novel near-field image reconstruction method based on the beamforming technique is proposed. In this method, we derive the near-field imaging formula by beamforming theory and demonstrate the feasibility of obtaining spatial brightness temperature distribution by beam focusing. In the design of the beamformer, we further optimize the weight vector to suppress the sidelobe levels of the synthesized beam. The results of simulation and measurement demonstrate that the proposed method is an advantageous, effective imaging method for near-field passive millimeter wave imaging. At present, the proposed method has been applied to the actual passive millimeter wave imaging system BHU-1024.

Thermal Tides in the Upper Cloud Layer of Venus as Deduced From the Emission Angle Dependence of the Brightness Temperature by Akatsuki/LIR

AbstractThe brightness temperature of the Venus disk obtained by Longwave Infrared Camera (LIR) on board Akatsuki shows clear limb darkening at low and middle latitudes. The profile of limb brightness reflects the vertical distributions of atmospheric temperature and the optical thickness of the cloud particles. Horizontal distributions of brightness temperature obtained by LIR during ∼5.8 Venusian years were analyzed to investigate the vertical structure of the brightness temperature distribution above the cloud tops based on the emission angle dependence of the sensing altitude. Emission angles were converted to sensing altitudes by a radiative transfer calculation with nominal temperature and cloud particle distributions based on past observations. We show a local time‐altitude cross section of the brightness temperature deviation above the cloud tops for three latitudinal zones. The derived vertical amplitude distribution of the diurnal and semidiurnal tides above ∼68 km is mostly explained by the classical theory of thermal tides. A semidiurnal tide in which the phase shifts upstream with altitude is clearly seen in the equatorial region. By applying the dispersion relation of the internal gravity wave to the observed wave structure, it was found that the zonally averaged zonal wind velocity at altitudes of 66–71 km was approximately the same as the known superrotation velocity. By comparing the observed and simulated vertical phase structures, it is suggested that the tidal wave structure seen in the equatorial cloud tops is an aspect of upward propagation of a gravity wave generated in the upper cloud layer by solar heating.

Spatio-temporal surface temperature variations detected by satellite thermal infrared images at Merapi volcano, Indonesia

Merapi volcano is located in central Java and is the most active volcano in Indonesia. Many thousands live on the volcano's flanks which itself is 28 km (17 mi) north of Yogyakarta and its 2.4 million inhabitants. Given this population at risk, and a history of 73 recorded eruptions in the past 500 years, the hazards posed by Merapi are worthy of study. Merapi is monitored by networks of on-site seismology, deformation, and gas emission instruments and, like all volcanoes globally, is also routinely observed by satellite remote sensors. Here, we conduct a temporal and spatial time series analysis of land surface temperature (LST) observations of Merapi, as derived from MODIS (1 km spatial resolution), ASTER (90 m) and Landsat (30 m) thermal infrared imagery. The time series derived from MODIS is decomposed with the Seasonal Trend Decomposition using a Loess (STL) technique and this reveals thermal anomaly peaks caused by the eruptions and a subtle rising tendency in LST since the launch of MODIS in 2000. ASTER surface temperature time series is used for the cross validation of the MODIS LST time series and again, demonstrates thermal anomaly peaks and a longer term upward trend. For a detailed delineation of thermal features at Merapi, the 30 m pixel Landsat thermal imagery derived brightness temperature (BT) distribution during the period from 1988 to 2019 is presented. Finally, change detections (i.e., pixel-by-pixel comparison) of BT distribution from 1988 to 2019 are performed to inspect the spatial temperature variations of Merapi volcano. Positive thermal anomaly areas are identified and these correspond to local heat sources revealed by seismic imaging and resistivity tomography. In summary, the satellite remote sensing approach provides insights into thermal features at a higher spatial and temporal scale than has been conducted in the past and these observations complement ongoing ground-based measurements. The results of this study will feed into both an enhanced understanding of Merapi's thermally anomalous subsurface structures and facilitation of volcano monitoring and hazard assessment.

The New Volcanic Ash Satellite Retrieval VACOS Using MSG/SEVIRI and Artificial Neural Networks: 1. Development

Volcanic ash clouds are a threat to air traffic security and, thus, can have significant societal and financial impact. Therefore, the detection and monitoring of volcanic ash clouds to enhance the safety of air traffic is of central importance. This work presents the development of the new retrieval algorithm VACOS (Volcanic Ash Cloud properties Obtained from SEVIRI) which is based on artificial neural networks, the thermal channels of the geostationary sensor MSG/SEVIRI and auxiliary data from a numerical weather prediction model. It derives a pixel classification as well as cloud top height, effective particle radius and, indirectly, the mass column concentration of volcanic ash clouds during day and night. A large set of realistic one-dimensional radiative transfer calculations for typical atmospheric conditions with and without generic volcanic ash clouds is performed to create the training dataset. The atmospheric states are derived from ECMWF data to cover the typical diurnal, annual and interannual variability. The dependence of the surface emissivity on surface type and viewing zenith angle is considered. An extensive dataset of volcanic ash optical properties is used, derived for a wide range of microphysical properties and refractive indices of various petrological compositions, including different silica contents and glass-to-crystal ratios; this constitutes a major innovation of this retrieval. The resulting ash-free radiative transfer calculations at a specific time compare well with corresponding SEVIRI measurements, considering the individual pixel deviations as well as the overall brightness temperature distributions. Atmospheric gas profiles and sea surface emissivities are reproduced with a high agreement, whereas cloudy cases can show large deviations on a single pixel basis (with 95th percentiles of the absolute deviations > 30 K), mostly due to different cloud properties in model and reality. Land surfaces lead to large deviations for both the single pixel comparison (with median absolute deviations > 3 K) and more importantly the brightness temperature distributions, most likely due to imprecise skin temperatures. The new method enables volcanic ash-related scientific investigations as well as aviation security-related applications.

Simulation of microwave spatial field of atmospheric brightness temperature under discontinuous cumulus cloudiness

Planck’s model for random discontinuous cloud fields generation in a three-dimensional computational domain is considered. An algorithm has been developed for computation a 2D picture of downwelling microwave radiation brightness temperature distribution from altitude profiles of the main meteorological parameters, including liquid water profile obtained during the generation of cloud field. The inverse problem of integral moisture content parameters distribution retrieval by means of dual-frequency method is solved. Systematic errors in the cloud liquid water content estimation associated with the use of a homogeneous flat-layered model of the cloud field, which ignores its real, inhomogeneous structure, are investigated.

Tropical Cyclone Center Positioning Using Single Channel Microwave Satellite Observations of Brightness Temperature

Satellite observations of brightness temperature from the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) and Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS) humidity sounding channels can provide relatively high horizontal resolution information about cloud and atmospheric moisture in the troposphere, thus revealing the structures of tropical cyclones (TCs). There is usually a high brightness temperature in a TC eye region and low brightness temperature reflecting spiral rain bands. An azimuthal spectral analysis method is used as a center-fixing algorithm to determine the TC center objectively using the brightness temperature observations of the ATMS humidity-sounding channel 18 (183.31 ± 7.0 GHz) and MHS humidity-sounding channel 5 (190.31 GHz). The position in the brightness temperature field encompassing a TC that achieves the largest symmetric component is regarded as the TC center. Two Atlantic hurricanes in 2012, Hurricanes Sandy and Isaac, are first used to analyze the performance of the TC center-fixing technique. Compared with the National Hurricane Center best track, the root-mean-square differences of the center fixing results for Hurricanes Sandy and Isaac are less than 47.3 and 34.3 km, respectively. It is found that the uncertainty of the TC center-fixing algorithm and thus the difference from the best track increases when the brightness temperature distribution within a TC is significantly asymmetric. Then, the TC center-fixing technique is validated for all tropical storms and hurricanes over Northern Atlantic and Western Pacific in 2019. Compared with the best track data, the root-mean-square differences for tropical storms and hurricanes are 33.81 and 26.20 km, respectively. The demonstrated successful performance of the proposed TC center-fixing algorithm to use the single channel of microwave humidity sounders for TC positioning is important for vortex initialization in operational hurricane forecasts.

Analysis of the October 2014 subtropical cyclone using the WRF and the HARMONIE-AROME numerical models: Assessment against observations

Subtropical cyclones (STCs) are low-pressure systems characterized by having a thermal hybrid structure and sharing tropical and extratropical characteristics. These cyclones are widely studied due to their harmful impacts, in some cases, similar to those caused by hurricanes or tropical storms. From a numerical modeling point of view, they are considered a challenge on account of their rapid intensification. That is the reason why this paper analyzes the simulations of the STC that occurred in October 2014 near the Canary Islands through two high-resolution numerical models: Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) and HARMONIE-AROME. In this study, the simulations obtained with both models of this STC are analyzed versus different observational data. METAR data are used to validate some surface simulated variables throughout the STC life while soundings are chosen to study the tropospheric behavior. Finally, MSG-SEVIRI satellite brightness temperature is used to be compared to those brightness temperatures simulated by both models to give information of the cloud top spatial structure of this atmospheric system. The 2 m temperature, 2 m dew-point temperature, and 10 m wind speed variables do not show significant deviations when carrying out the validation of both models against the available METAR data. It is outstanding the good results found for the HARMONIE-AROME model when analyzing the temperature sounding for both analyzed dates. Additionally, regarding the wind speed sounding, better results are presented in general by the HARMONIE-AROME model, being the WRF model slightly better during the pre-STC stage. Moreover, the skillfulness of the HARMONIE-AROME model is highlighted when simulating the infrared brightness temperature and cloud distribution compared to the WRF model.

Homogeneous vs Biased IGM: Impact on Reionization

This paper considers the impact of large scale biasing of the IGM on reionization. The two simplest but extreme scenarios for IGM biasing are: an unbiased IGM which has a constant density and an IGM with density equal to the collapsed matter density. In this work, the relationship between the IGM density and the collapsed matter density is defined through an IGM bias parameter. The two extreme scenarios of homogeneous and perfectly biased IGM are produced for two extreme values of this bias parameter. It is found that, for the same level of reionization (i.e., for same global neutral hydrogen fraction). one could get very different 21 cm brightness temperature distributions for different values of this bias parameter. These distributions could give an order of magnitude more or less power as compared to the uniform case. It is also found that there exists a critical value for the IGM bias parameter for which there could be a near washout of the structure in the 21 cm brightness temperature distribution (i.e., zero power or a nearly uniform 21 cm brightness temperature distribution). To address the problem, a new method of generating 21 cm brightness temperature maps is used. The method uses the results of n-body simulations and then employs ray tracing to obtain the 21 cm brightness temperature maps. Towards the end, a prescription for the IGM bias parameter is given. This is derived within the framework of the Press-Schechter theory.

Multi-Parameter Regularization Method for Synthetic Aperture Imaging Radiometers

Synthetic aperture imaging radiometers (SAIRs) are powerful passive microwave systems for high-resolution imaging by use of synthetic aperture technique. However, the ill-posed inverse problem for SAIRs makes it difficult to reconstruct the high-precision brightness temperature map. The traditional regularization methods add a unique penalty to all the frequency bands of the solution, which may cause the reconstructed result to be too smooth to retain certain features of the original brightness temperature map such as the edge information. In this paper, a multi-parameter regularization method is proposed to reconstruct SAIR brightness temperature distribution. Different from classical single-parameter regularization, the multi-parameter regularization adds multiple different penalties which can exhibit multi-scale characteristics of the original distribution. Multiple regularization parameters are selected by use of the simplified multi-dimensional generalized cross-validation method. The experimental results show that, compared with the conventional total variation, Tikhonov, and band-limited regularization methods, the multi-parameter regularization method can retain more detailed information and better improve the accuracy of the reconstructed brightness temperature distribution, and exhibit superior noise suppression, demonstrating the effectiveness and the robustness of the proposed method.

Multiwavelength corss-correlation and radio Doppler factor estimation of CGRaBS J2345-1555

In this paper, CGRaBS J2345-1555’s long-term radio band, gamma ray flux and optical V-band magnitude data are collected from Fermi/LAT, Catalina, and OVRO dataset. The correlation between multi-bands is evaluated by the discrete correlation function method. The results show that the correlation coefficient between gamma band and radio band is 0.53, and the time delay is about 90 days, a variation of the gamma band is about 90 days ahead of radio band; the correlation coefficient between radio band and optical V-band is 0.84, and the time delay is about –300 days, a variation of the optical V-band is about 300 days ahead of radio band; there is no significant correlation between gamma and optical V-band. These results show that the optical band is dominated by synchrotron radiation, and the time delay between the radio band and the optical band can be explained as the fact that the radiation region of the optical band is upstream, and the radio band is downstream. The gamma band and the radio band are both homologous. The distribution of brightness temperature is used to calculate the Doppler factor of the celestial body’s radio band. The averaged Doppler factor is 12.64, and it oscillates with the light curve. So the jet has obvious bunching effect, and the variation of radiation flux in radio band comes from the jet.