Astrometric Research Articles

Measurement properties of all versions of the Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale (SS-QOL) 2.0: a systematic review protocol.

The aim of this review is to critically appraise and summarize the quality of the measurement properties of all versions of the Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale (SS-QOL) version 2.0. The Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale version 2.0 was developed as a comprehensive measure in assessing the quality of life of stroke survivors. The shortened version and cross-culturally translated versions are further developed in different countries. A systematic review will clarify the levels of reliability and validity of all versions. The population of interest for this review will include adult stroke survivors of either sex diagnosed with a stroke (ischemic or hemorrhagic) who have no other comorbidities affecting their quality of life. The SS-QOL version 2.0 will be the specific instrument of interest, and the quality of life of stroke survivors will be the construct of interest in this review. The measures of reliability, validity, and responsiveness will be assessed as outcomes. Only the studies evaluating the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of all versions of the SS-QOL 2.0 will be included in the review. A literature search will be conducted for published studies in MEDLINE and Embase, and unpublished data in Google Scholar and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. After a three-step search strategy, study selection will be done by two reviewers independently. Then, the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) methodology will be applied for assessment of methodological quality, data extraction, and synthesis. PROSPERO CRD42020211727.

MASTER Optical Observation of LIGO/VIRGO S200302c Event

Abstract The results of LIGO/Virgo S200302c (O3) error-box optical inspection by MASTER are presented. We observed 4242 square degrees square degrees inside 3σ error box during 1 month. We present MASTER OT J141401.39–483305.7, MASTER OT J215856.95–392909.6, MASTER OT J061642.05+435617.9, MASTER OT J052817.95+672801.4—optical transients found by the MASTER auto-detection system during this inspection as the result of a survey of large error-fields, indicating the efficiency of MASTER observational strategy.

MASTER Optical Observation of LIGO/VIRGO S200224ca Error-box

Abstract We present the results of MASTER Global Robotic Net optical observations of LIGO/Virgo S200224ca error-box (O3 set). We observed 380 square degrees inside the 3σ error box during 1 month. We present optical transients found by MASTER auto-detection system during this inspection. They are not the optical counterparts, but the result of MASTER observation strategy, that is is briefly discussed. Also we present short analysis of Swift-UVOT, -XRT transients in MASTER database since 2010.

The Wide-field VLBA Calibrator Survey: WFCS

Abstract This paper presents the results of the largest very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) absolute astrometry campaign to date of 13,645 radio source observations with the Very Long Baseline Array. Of these, 7220 have been detected, including 6755 target sources that have never been observed with VLBI before. This makes the present VLBI catalog the largest ever published. The positions of the target sources have been determined with the median uncertainty of 1.7 mas, and 15,542 images of 7171 sources have been generated. Unlike previous absolute radio astrometry campaigns, observations were made at 4.3 and 7.6 GHz simultaneously using a single wide-band receiver. Because of the fine spectral and time resolutions, the field of view was 4′–8′—much greater than the 10″–20″ in previous surveys. This made possible the use of input catalogs with low position accuracy and the detection of a compact component in extended sources. Unlike previous absolute astrometry campaigns, both steep- and flat-spectrum sources were observed. The observations were scheduled in the so-called filler mode to fill the gaps between other high-priority programs. This was achieved by the development of the totally automatic scheduling procedure.

Identification of a new ultraluminous X-ray source in NGC 1316

ABSTRACT In this study, we report identification of a new ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) named as X-7 in NGC 1316, with an unabsorbed luminosity of 2.1 × 1039 erg s−1 using the two recent Chandra archival observations. The X-7 was detected in the Chandra 2001 observation and was included in the source list of the NGC 1316 as CXOUJ032240.8−371224 with a luminosity of 5.7 × 1038 erg s−1. Present luminosity implies a luminosity increase of a factor of ∼4. The best-fitting spectral model parameters indicate that X-7 has a relatively hot disc and hard spectra. If explained by a disc blackbody model, the mass of compact object is estimated as ∼8 M⊙ which is in the range of a stellar-mass black hole. The X-7 shows a relatively long-term count rate variability while no short-term variability is observed. We also identified a unique optical candidate within 0.22 arcsec error circle at 95 per cent confidence level for X-7 using the archival HST/ACS (Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys) and HST/WFC3 (The Wide Field Camera 3) data. Absolute magnitude (MV) of this candidate is −7.8 mag. Its spectral energy distribution is adequately fitted a blackbody model with a temperature of 3100 K indicating an M type supergiant, assuming the donor star dominates the optical emission. In addition, we identified a transient ULX candidate (XT-1) located 6 arcsec away from X-7 has a (high) luminosity of ∼1039 erg s−1 with no visible optical candidate.

Optical Transients Found by MASTER during the Observation of LIGO/VIRGO S200219ac Gravitational-wave Event

Abstract We present the results of MASTER Global Robotic Net optical observations of the region within the LIGO/Virgo S200219ac error-box, triggered during the O3 run. We observed 1124 square degrees inside the 3σ error box during a half month. We present the identified optical transients found during this study, which are not related to gravitational waves, and briefly discuss the MASTER observation strategy.

Optical Transients Detected by MASTER during LIGO/VIRGO O2 Set Event

Abstract We present MASTER observations from inspecting the large error-box associated with LIGO/Virgo G270590, and our observational strategy. MASTER observed 6292 square degrees inside the 3σ error box. We present new optical sources detected during this inspection.

A search for millimeter emission from the coldest and closest brown dwarf with ALMA

Context. WISE J085510.83−071442.5 (W0855) is a unique object: with Teff ≈ 250 K it is the coldest known brown dwarf (BD), located at only ≈2.2 pc form the Sun. It is extremely faint, which makes any astronomical observations difficult. However, at least one remotely similar ultra-low-mass object, the M9 dwarf TVLM 513-46546, has been shown to be a steady radio emitter at frequencies up to 95 GHz with superimposed active states where strong, pulsed emission is observed. Aims. Our goal is to determine the millimeter radio properties of W0855 with deep observations around 93 GHz (3.2 mm) in order to investigate whether radio astrometry of this object is feasible and to measure or set an upper limit on its magnetic field. Methods. We observed W0855 for 94 min at 85.1–100.9 GHz on 24 December 2019 using 44 of the Atacama Large millimeter Array (ALMA) 12 m antennas. We used the standard ALMA calibration procedure and created the final image for our analysis by accommodating the Quasar 3C 209, the brightest nearby object by far. Furthermore, we created a light curve with a 30 s time resolution to search for pulsed emission. Results. Our observations achieve a noise RMS of 7.3 μJy beam−1 for steady emission and of 88 μJy for 30 s pulses in the aggregated bandwidth (Stokes I). There is no evidence for steady or pulsed emission from the object at the time of the observation. We derive 3σ upper limits of 21.9 μJy on the steady emission and of 264 μJy on the pulsed emission of W0855 between 85 GHz and 101 GHz. Conclusions. Together with the recent non-detection of W0855 at 4–8 GHz, our constraints on the steady and pulsed emission from W0855 confirm that the object is neither radio-loud nor magnetospherically particularly active.

Precise radio astrometry and new developments for the next generation of instruments

We present a technique-led review of the progression of precise radio astrometry, from the first demonstrations, half a century ago, until to date and into the future. We cover the developments that have been fundamental to allow high accuracy and precision astrometry to be regularly achieved. We review the opportunities provided by the next-generation of instruments coming online, which are primarily: SKA, ngVLA and pathfinders, along with EHT and other (sub)mm-wavelength arrays, Space-VLBI, Geodetic arrays and optical astrometry from GAIA. From the historical development we predict the future potential astrometric performance, and therefore the instrumental requirements that must be provided to deliver these. The next-generation of methods will allow ultra-precise astrometry to be performed at a much wider range of frequencies (hundreds of MHz to hundreds of GHz). One of the key potentials is that astrometry will become generally applicable, and therefore unbiased large surveys can be performed. The next-generation methods are fundamental in allowing this. We review the small but growing number of major astrometric surveys in the radio, to highlight the scientific impact that such projects can provide. Based on these perspectives, the future of radio astrometry is bright. We foresee a revolution coming from: ultra-high precision radio astrometry, large surveys of many objects, improved sky coverage and at new frequency bands other than those available today. These will enable the addressing of a host of innovative open scientific questions in astrophysics.

Multiwavelength Observations of 2HWC J1928+177: Dark Accelerator or New TeV Gamma-Ray Binary?

Abstract 2HWC J1928+177 is a Galactic TeV gamma-ray source detected by the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory up to ∼56 TeV. The HAWC source, later confirmed by the High Energy Stereoscopic System, still remains unidentified as a dark accelerator since there is no apparent supernova remnant or pulsar wind nebula detected in the lower-energy bands. The radio pulsar PSR J1928+1746, coinciding with the HAWC source position, has no X-ray counterpart. Our SED modeling shows that inverse Compton scattering in the putative pulsar wind nebula can account for the TeV emission only if the unseen nebula is extended beyond r ∼ 4 ′ . Alternatively, TeV gamma-rays may be produced by hadronic interactions between relativistic protons from an undetected supernova remnant associated with the radio pulsar and a nearby molecular cloud G52.9+0.1. NuSTAR and Chandra observations detected a variable X-ray point source within the HAWC error circle, potentially associated with a bright infrared (IR) source. The X-ray spectra can be fitted with an absorbed power-law model with N H = (9 ± 3) × 1022 cm−2 and ΓX = 1.6 ± 0.3 and exhibit long-term X-ray flux variability over the last decade. If the X-ray source, possibly associated with the IR source (likely an O star), is the counterpart of the HAWC source, it may be a new TeV gamma-ray binary powered by collisions between the pulsar wind and stellar wind. Follow-up X-ray observations are warranted to search for diffuse X-ray emission and determine the nature of the HAWC source.

Astrometry and infrared observations of the Mira variable stars AP Lyncis, V837 Herculis, and BX Camelopardalis: Implications for the period–luminosity relation of the Milky Way

Abstract AP Lyn and V837 Her are long-period Mira variable stars in the Milky Way. We performed VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry (VERA) phase-referenced observations towards H2O masers associated with AP Lyn and V837 Her. The annual parallaxes of AP Lyn and V837 Her were obtained to be 2.008 ± 0.038 mas and 1.090 ± 0.014 mas, corresponding to distances of 498 ± 10 pc and 917 ± 12 pc, respectively. From our multi-epoch infrared observations using the Kagoshima University 1 m telescope, we derived the mean J-, H-, and K′-band magnitudes of AP Lyn, V837 Her, and an additional long-period Mira variable BX Cam, whose parallax is known. We derived their pulsation periods to be 433 ± 1 d, 520 ± 1 d, and 458 ± 1 d, respectively, using the K′-band light curves. The MK–log P relation of long-period Mira variables seem to be violated by Mira variable stars with larger-than-expected MK values (like OZ Gem) in the Milky Way because of circumstellar extinction leading to an observed dimming effect. AP Lyn, V837 Her, and BX Cam (like OZ Gem) are dimming from the trend to O-rich stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud. This implies that the high metallicity of the Milky Way galaxy increases the opacity of the Mira-type variable stars and strengthens mass loss.

Multiple Outflows in the High-mass Cluster-forming Region G25.82–0.17

Abstract We present results of continuum and spectral line observations with Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and 22 GHz water (H2O) maser observations using the KVN (Korean VLBI Network) and VERA (VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry) array (KaVA) toward a high-mass star-forming region, G25.82–0.17. Multiple 1.3 mm continuum sources are revealed, indicating the presence of young stellar objects (YSOs) at different evolutionary stages, namely an ultracompact H ii region, G25.82–E, a high-mass young stellar object (HM-YSO), G25.82–W1, and starless cores, G25.82–W2 and G25.82–W3. Two SiO outflows, at N–S and SE–NW orientations, are identified. The CH3OH 8−1–70 E line, known to be a Class I CH3OH maser at 229 GHz, is also detected, showing a mixture of thermal and maser emission. Moreover, the H2O masers are distributed in a region ∼0.″25 shifted from G25.82–W1. The CH3OH 224–215 E line shows a compact ringlike structure at the position of G25.82–W1 with a velocity gradient, indicating a rotating disk or envelope. Assuming Keplerian rotation, the dynamical mass of G25.82–W1 is estimated to be >25 M ⊙ and the total mass of 20–84 M ⊙ is derived from the 1.3 mm continuum emission. The driving source of the N–S SiO outflow is G25.82–W1 while that of the SE–NW SiO outflow is uncertain. Detection of multiple high-mass starless/protostellar cores and candidates without low-mass cores implies that HM-YSOs could form in individual high-mass cores as predicted by the turbulent core accretion model. If this is the case, the high-mass star formation process in G25.82 would be consistent with a scaled-up version of low-mass star formation.

Optical Observations Reveal Strong Evidence for High-energy Neutrino Progenitor

Abstract We present the earliest astronomical observation of a high-energy neutrino error box of which the variability was discovered after high-energy-neutrino detection. The one robotic telescope of the MASTER global international networks automatically imaged the error box of the very high-energy-neutrino event IceCube-170922A. Observations were carried out in minutes after the IceCube-170922A neutrino event was detected by the IceCube observatory at the South Pole. MASTER found the blazar TXS 0506+056 to be in the off-state after one minute and then switched to the on-state no later than two hours after the event. The effect is observed at a 50σ significance level. We also present own a unique 16 yr light curve of blazar TXS 0506+056 (518 data set).

VEDA: VERA data analysis software for VLBI phase-referencing astrometry

Abstract We present the VEra Data Analyzer (VEDA) software package for Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) phase-referencing observations and parallax measurements. The Japanese VLBI project VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry (VERA) provides high-precision astrometric results at the 10 μas level. To achieve this precision, accurate calibration of the atmospheric phase fluctuation, the instrumental phase, and the source structural effect is required. VEDA specializes in phase-referencing data analysis, including these calibrations. In order to demonstrate its performance we analyzed H2O maser observations of W 3(OH) and Orion KL with VERA. Their parallaxes were obtained to be 0.527 ± 0.016 mas and 2.459 ± 0.029 mas, respectively. We also analyzed their data using AIPS, which is widely used for VLBI data analysis, and confirmed that the parallaxes obtained using VEDA and AIPS are coincident within 10 μas. VEDA is available for high-precision parallax and proper motion measurements of Galactic maser sources.

Trigonometric parallax of O-rich Mira variable star OZ Gem (IRAS 07308+3037): A confirmation of the difference between the P–L relations of the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Milky Way

Abstract OZ Geminorum (OZ Gem) is a galactic Mira variable in the Milky Way (MW). We measured its annual parallax with VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry to be π = 0.806 ± 0.039 mas, corresponding to a distance of D = 1.24 ± 0.06 kpc. Based on multi-epoch infrared observations with the Kagoshima University 1 m telescope, we also derived the mean J-, H-, and K′-band magnitudes of OZ Gem to be 5.75 ± 0.47 mag, 4.00 ± 0.16 mag, and 2.65 ± 0.16 mag, respectively. We derived a pulsation period of OZ Gem as 592 ± 1 d from the K′-band lightcurve. From the period–luminosity (P–L) relation and two-color diagram of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), the property of OZ Gem suggests that OZ Gem is assigned among the carbon-rich Mira variables. However, our optical spectroscopic observational results (with the 1.5 m Kanata telescope) confirmed OZ Gem to be an oxygen-rich Mira star with the detection of multiple titanium oxide transition absorption lines. We suggest that OZ Gem is a low-mass star evolving to an OH/IR star with large mass loss and dust formation. It is predicted that the lower limit to the initial mass of AGB stars for developing the C-rich surface chemistry is larger in the MW than in the LMC because of larger metallicity, and OZ Gem is likely to be the first example to prove this. Our results highlight the necessity of deriving the PL relation of the Milky Way with high accuracy.

Performance of VERA in 10 micro-arcsecond astrometry

Abstract Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) astrometry using the phase-referencing technique remains an open issue for the quantitative characterization of the observing conditions to achieve a feasible parallax precision of 10 micro-arcseconds (μas). To address this issue, we evaluated the astrometric performance of the VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry (VERA) through the parallax measurements of five distant star-forming regions under good observing conditions of close separations (${0{^{\circ}_{.}}5}$–${1{_{.}^{\circ}}3}$) and high elevations (≥50°). Their parallaxes measured 89–200 μas, corresponding to distances of 5–11 kpc with an error of 11–20 μas. Furthermore, we investigated the contributions to the position error budget and concluded that the tropospheric residual contribution is the dominant error source. We also confirmed that the astrometric error propagation strongly depends on the term $\Delta \sec Z$, which stands for the difference between $\sec Z$ of the target and its reference source, where Z is the zenith angle during the observations. We found that for a source pair with a $\Delta \sec Z$ less than 0.01 (for example, a set of a close separation of $\le {{0{^{\circ}_{.}}5}}$ and a high elevation of ≥50°), we can achieve the parallax precision of 10 μas using a typical monitoring program comprising 10 observing epochs over a span of two years.

An astrophysically motivated ranking criterion for low-latency electromagnetic follow-up of gravitational wave events

ABSTRACT We investigate the properties of the host galaxies of compact binary mergers across cosmic time. To this end, we combine population synthesis simulations together with galaxy catalogues from the hydrodynamical cosmological simulation eagle to derive the properties of the host galaxies of binary neutron star (BNS), black hole-neutron star (BHNS), and binary black hole (BBH) mergers. Within this framework, we derive the host galaxy probability, i.e. the probability that a galaxy hosts a compact binary coalescence as a function of its stellar mass, star formation rate, Ks magnitude, and B magnitude. This quantity is particularly important for low-latency searches of gravitational wave (GW) sources as it provides a way to rank galaxies lying inside the credible region in the sky of a given GW detection, hence reducing the number of viable host candidates. Furthermore, even if no electromagnetic counterpart is detected, the proposed ranking criterion can still be used to classify the galaxies contained in the error box. Our results show that massive galaxies (or equivalently galaxies with a high luminosity in Ks band) have a higher probability of hosting BNS, BHNS, and BBH mergers. We provide the probabilities in a suitable format to be implemented in future low-latency searches.

Constraints on the Circumnuclear Disk through Free–Free Absorption in the Nucleus of 3C 84 with KaVA and KVN at 43 and 86 GHz

Abstract The nearby bright radio galaxy 3C 84 at the center of the Perseus cluster is an ideal target to explore the jet in an active galactic nucleus and its parsec-scale environment. The recent research of Fujita & Nagai revealed the existence of the northern counter-jet component (N1) located 2 mas north from the central core in very long baseline interferometer (VLBI) images at 15 and 43 GHz and they are explained by the free–free absorption (FFA) due to an ionized plasma foreground. Here we report a new quasi-simultaneous observation of 3C 84 with the Korean VLBI Network (KVN) at 86 GHz and the KVN and VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry Array (KaVA) at 43 GHz in 2016 February. We succeeded the first detection of N1 at 86 GHz and the data show that N1 still has an inverted spectrum between 43 and 86 GHz with its spectral index α ( ) of 1.19 ± 0.43, while the approaching lobe component has a steep spectrum with an index of −0.54 ± 0.30. Based on the measured flux asymmetry between the counter and approaching lobes, we constrain the averaged number density of the FFA foreground n e as . Those results suggest that the observational properties of the FFA foreground can be explained by the dense ionized gas in the circumnuclear disk and/or assembly of clumpy clouds at the central ∼1 pc region of 3C 84.

Astrometry of H2O masers in the W 48 A (G35.20−01.74) H ii region with VERA: A compact disk outflow inside core H-2a

Abstract W 48 A core H-2a is one of the young massive protostellar objects in the W 48 region. We conducted multi-epoch astrometric observations of the water (H2O) masers associated with the W 48 A core H-2a with VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry (VERA). The trigonometric annual parallax of W 48 A core H-2a was measured to be 0.433 ± 0.026 mas, corresponding to a distance of $2.31^{+0.15}_{-0.13}$ kpc. This agrees with the revised parallax of 0.412 ± 0.014 mas by Wu et al. (2019, ApJ, 874, 94). We obtained the systemic proper motion and local standard of rest velocity to be (μαcos δ, μδ) = (0.26 ± 0.73, −3.87 ± 0.33) mas yr−1 and vLSR = 41.9 ± 0.9 km s−1, respectively. The distribution of the H2O masers covers an area of 70 mas × 80 mas, corresponding to 160 au × 180 au at the distance of 2.31 kpc. The internal proper motions of the H2O masers trace an east–west bipolar outflow. With the recent absolute position measurement of the 6.7 GHz methanol (CH3OH) masers and their elliptical distribution, whose major axis is perpendicular to the axis of the bipolar outflow, we suggest the presence of a disk outflow system in core H-2a. The spectral energy distribution (SED) of the driving source of core H-2a was previously reported to yield a luminosity and envelope mass of 8000 ± 1000 $W_{\odot}$ and 170 ± 30 $M_{\odot}$, respectively. Refitting the SED with the new distance, we obtained the luminosity to be 3100 ± 388 $L_{\odot}$ and derived the zero age main sequence (ZAMS) stellar mass to be 9 ± 1 $M_{\odot}$. Using our distance measurement, we derived the peculiar motion of W 48 A to be (Us, Vs, Ws) = (1 ± 4, 5 ± 6, −15 ± 5) km s−1.

The First VERA Astrometry Catalog

AbstractWe present the first astrometry catalog from the Japanese VLBI (very long baseline interferometer) project VERA (VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry). We have compiled all the astrometry results from VERA, providing accurate trigonometric-annual-parallax and proper-motion measurements. In total, 99 maser sources are listed in the VERA catalog. Among them, 21 maser sources are newly reported, while the rest of the 78 sources are referred to in previously published results or those in preparation for forthcoming papers. The accuracy in the VERA astrometry is revisited and compared with that from the other VLBI astrometry projects such as BeSSeL (The Bar and Spiral Structure Legacy) Survey and GOBELINS (the Gould’s Belt Distances Survey) with the VLBA (Very Long Baseline Array). We have confirmed that most of the astrometry results are consistent with each other, and the largest error sources are due to source structure of the maser features and their rapid variation, along with the systematic calibration errors and different analysis methods. Combined with the BeSSeL results, we estimate the up-to-date fundamental Galactic parameters of $R_{0}=7.92\pm 0.16_{\rm {stat.}}\pm 0.3_{\rm {sys.}}\:$kpc and $\Omega _{\odot }=30.17\pm 0.27_{\rm {stat.}}\pm 0.3_{\rm {sys.}}\:$km$\:$s$^{-1}\:$kpc$^{-1}$, where $R_{0}$ and $\Omega _{\odot }$ are the distance from the Sun to the Galactic center and the Sun’s angular velocity of the Galactic circular rotation, respectively.