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This will be the last triennial report from Commission 50 under that label, because of the reorganization of the IAU at the end of the triennial period. Fortunately, site protection was recognized as an important ongoing function of the IAU, and the work of the Commission is continuing as Commission C.B7. The Commission has its primary association with Division B because of the technical aspects of its work and association with ground-based facilities, while it has the support of Division C as an Inter-Division Commission because of the strong need for educating the public on the issues.

Supernova remnants (SNRs) are powerful particle accelerators. As a supernova (SN) blast wave propagates through the circumstellar medium (CSM), electrons and protons scatter across the shock and gain energy by entrapment in the magnetic field. The accelerated particles generate further magnetic field fluctuations and local amplification, leading to cosmic ray production. The wealth of data from Supernova 1987A is providing a template of the SN-CSM interaction, and an important guide to the radio detection and identification of core-collapse SNe based on their spectral properties. Thirty years after the explosion, radio observations of SNR 1987A span from 70 MHz to 700 GHz. We review extensive observing campaigns with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), and follow-ups with other radio telescopes. Observations across the radio spectrum indicate rapid changes in the remnant morphology, while current ATCA and ALMA observations show that the SNR has entered a new evolutionary phase., 10 pages, 7 figure, accepted for publication in the Proceedings of IAU Symposium No. 331, "SN 1987A, 30 years later - Cosmic Rays and Nuclei from Supernovae and their aftermaths", 2017, eds. M. Renaud et al

We report the results of Long Baseline Array observations made in 2001 of ten southern sources proposed by Mattox et al. as counterparts to EGRET >100 MeV gamma-ray sources. Source structures are compared with published data where available and possible superluminal motions identified in several cases. The associations are examined in the light of Fermi observations, indicating that the confirmed counterparts tend to have radio properties consistent with other identifications, including flat radio spectral index, high brightness temperature, greater radio variability, and higher core dominance.

During February 2016, CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science and the Max-Planck-Institute for Radio Astronomy installed, commissioned and carried out science observations with a phased array feed (PAF) receiver system on the 64m diameter Parkes radio telescope. Here we demonstrate that the PAF can be used for pulsar observations and we highlight some unique capabilities. We demonstrate that the pulse profiles obtained using the PAF can be calibrated and that multiple pulsars can be simultaneously observed. Significantly, we find that an intrinsic polarisation leakage of -31dB can be achieved with a PAF beam offset from the centre of the field of view. We discuss the possibilities for using a PAF for future pulsar observations and for searching for fast radio bursts with the Parkes and Effelsberg telescopes., 10 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables. It has been accepted for publication in PASA

We present results from a multiwavelength study of the blazar PKS 1954-388 at radio, UV, X-ray, and gamma-ray energies. A RadioAstron observation at 1.66 GHz in June 2012 resulted in the detection of interferometric fringes on baselines of 6.2 Earth-diameters. This suggests a source frame brightness temperature of greater than 2x10^12 K, well in excess of both equipartition and inverse Compton limits and implying the existence of Doppler boosting in the core. An 8.4 GHz TANAMI VLBI image, made less than a month after the RadioAstron observations, is consistent with a previously reported superluminal motion for a jet component. Flux density monitoring with the Australia Telescope Compact Array confirms previous evidence for long-term variability that increases with observing frequency. A search for more rapid variability revealed no evidence for significant day-scale flux density variation. The ATCA light-curve reveals a strong radio flare beginning in late 2013 which peaks higher, and earlier, at higher frequencies. Comparison with the Fermi gamma-ray light-curve indicates this followed ~9 months after the start of a prolonged gamma-ray high-state -- a radio lag comparable to that seen in other blazars. The multiwavelength data are combined to derive a Spectral Energy Distribution, which is fitted by a one-zone synchrotron-self-Compton (SSC) model with the addition of external Compton (EC) emission., Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures

As the remnant of Supernova (SN) 1987A has been getting brighter over time, new observations at high frequencies have allowed imaging of the radio emission at unprecedented detail. We present a new radio image at 44 GHz of the supernova remnant (SNR), derived from observations performed with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) in 2011. The diffraction-limited image has a resolution of $349\times225$ mas, which is the highest achieved to date in high-dynamic range images of the SNR. We also present a new image at 18 GHz, also derived from ATCA observations performed in 2011, which is super-resolved to $0./!/!^{\prime\prime}25$. The new 44 and 18 GHz images yield the first high-resolution spectral index map of the remnant. The comparison of the 44 GHz image with contemporaneous X-ray and H$\alpha$ observations allows further investigations of the nature of the remnant asymmetry and sheds more light into the progenitor hypotheses and SN explosion. In light of simple free-free absorption models, we discuss the likelihood of detecting at 44 GHz the possible emission originating from a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) or a compact source in the centre of the remnant., Comment: 4 pages, to appear in the proceedings of IAU Symposium 296, "Supernova Environmental Impacts" (eds Ray and McCray)

The activities of the Commission have continued to focus on controlling unwanted light and radio emissions at observatory sites, monitoring of conditions at observatory sites, and education and outreach. Commission members have been active in securing new legislation in several locations to further the protection of observatory sites as well as in the international regulation of the use of the radio spectrum and the protection of radio astronomical observations.

We report the results of a successful 7 hour 1.4 GHz VLBI experiment using two new stations, ASKAP-29 located in Western Australia and WARK12M located on the North Island of New Zealand. This was the first geodetic VLBI observing session with the participation of these new stations. We have determined the positions of ASKAP-29 and WARK12M. Random errors on position estimates are 150-200 mm for the vertical component and 40-50 mm for the horizontal component. Systematic errors caused by the unmodeled ionosphere path delay may reach 1.3 m for the vertical component., 11 pages, 6 flgures, 4 tables

In recent years, numerous efforts have been devoted to unravel the connection between accretion flow and jets in accreting compact objects. Here we report new constraints on these issues, through the long term study of the radio and X-ray behaviour of the black hole candidate H 1743–322. This source is known to be one of the “outliers” of the universal radio/X-ray correlation, i.e. a group of stellar mass accreting black holes displaying fainter radio emission for a given X-ray luminosity, than expected from the correlation. In this work we find, at high X-ray luminosity in the hard state, a tight radio/X-ray correlation with an unusual steep slope of b = 1.38 ± 0.03. This correlation then breaks below ~5 × 10−3LEdd (M/10M⊙)−1 in X-rays and becomes shallower. When compared with radio/X-ray data from other black hole X-ray binaries, we see that the deviant points of H 1743–322 join the universal correlation and seem to follow it at low luminosity. Based on these results, we investigate several hypotheses that could explain both the b ~ 1.4 slope and the transition toward the universal correlation.

PKS 1257—326 is one of three quasars known to show unusually large and rapid, intra-hour intensity variations, as a result of scintillation in the turbulent Galactic interstellar medium. We have measured time delays in the variability pattern arrival times at the VLA and the ATCA, as well as an annual cycle in the time-scale of variability for this source. Results of the two-station time delay observations are presented here. Implications for the scintillation of this source are discussed in the light of these results, together with results from two years of monitoring with the ATCA.

SummarySN1987A has an intrinsic radio luminosity some four orders of magnitude less than SN1993J at maximum, largely a reflection of the tenuous wind . from the progenitor of SN1987A before explosion. Both remnants have an edge-brightened, ring-like morphology though, in the case of SN1987A, the expansion rate is currently only around 3500 km s−1. The flux density of the remnant of SN1987A continues to rise at all measured radio frequencies. Its spectral index is gradually flattening, indicating its transition into the supernova remnant phase. A campaign to increase the resolution of radio imaging by observing at higher frequencies is underway with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA).

We are undertaking an observational program using the ATCA to monitor the intraday variability (IDV) of a sample of sources at 4.8 and 8.6 GHz. The sources were selected to include the known strong southern IDV sources plus a number of sources whose IDV was recently discovered. The present monitoring program will extend over a full year in order to search for any annual cycle that may be present in the long-term IDV characteristics of these sources. In this paper we discuss the observing strategy and data analysis, and present the first results from our observations.

The accumulation of evidence now strongly favours interstellar scintillation (ISS) as the principal mechanism causing intra-day variability (IDV) at cm wavelengths. While ISS reduces the implied brightness temperatures, they remain uncomfortably high. The distance to the scattering screen is an important parameter in determining the actual brightness temperature encountered. The high brightness temperatures, the presence of strong and variable circular polarization and the observed lifetimes of a decade or more for several IDV sources, pose significant problems for synchrotron theory. “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.” William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

The first VLBI images of H2O maser emission in the Circinus Galaxy AGN show both a warped, edge-on accretion disk and an outflow 0.1 to 1 pc from the central engine. The inferred central mass is 1.3 × 106 M⊙, while the disk mass may be on the order of 105 M⊙, based on a nearly Keplerian rotation curve. The bipolar, wide-angle outflow appears to contain “bullets” ejected from within < 0.1 pc of the central mass. The positions of filaments and bullets observed in the AGN ionization cone on kpc-scales suggest that the disk channels the flow to a radius of ∼ 0.4 pc, at which the flow appears to disrupt the disk.

We present results of the ATCA IDV Survey of southern extragalactic radio sources. We discuss briefly the properties of the 22 new intraday variable sources discovered in the Survey. The follow-up observations of a few extreme examples of strong intraday variability are presented. We find that the characteristics of the total flux density fluctuations at different wavelengths are consistent with intersteller scintillations (ISS) of the microarcsecondsize soorten components. However, the scintillating components of a few extreme IDVs are characterized by the brightness temperatures far exceeding the TB = 1012 K limit. The relativistic beaming invoked in such sources would require Doppler factors up to as high as δ ~ 103.

Intra-day variability (IDV) of active galactic nuclei (AGN) has been detected from gamma-ray energies to radio wavelengths. At high energies, such variability appears to be intrinsic to the sources themselves. However, at radio wavelengths, brightness temperatures as high as 1018 to 1021 K are encountered if the IDV is intrinsic to the source. We discuss here the accumulating evidence showing that, at radio wavelengths where the highest brightness temperatures are encountered, interstellar scintillation (ISS) is the principal mechanism causing IDV. While ISS reduces the implied brightness temperatures, they still remain uncomfortably high.

The IAU Working Group on Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) Mitigation was setup in the 2000 IAU GA in Manchester and its mandate was renewed at subsequent IAU GAs in 2003 and 2006. It was noted that that there are important issues related to RFI mitigation that extend beyond the regulatory function of IUCAF, and hence a more extended working group, which may include IUCAF members, was established.

We review the first six years of radio observations of Supernova 1987A. The evolution can be divided into two phases: the initial radio outburst which lasted a few weeks, and the period from mid-1990 to the present, during which the radio emission has steadily increased. Both phases can be explained by a small fraction (0.1-0.5%) of the post-shock thermal energy being converted to energy in relativistic particles and magnetic fields, which give rise to synchrotron radiation. The optical depths, densities and density profiles for the pre-shocked circumstellar material are somewhat different for the two phases, but consistent with models of the density structure of the material within the circumstellar ring. New high-resolution radio observations show that the SN shock front is already at about three-quarters of the radius of the circumstellar ring, and that there exists a bright equatorial component of emission aligned with this ring which is probably due to a polar density gradient in the ‘hourglass’ structure.

The use of stolons in competitive interactions between several species of bryozoans growing in Townsville Harbour, North Queensland is described. Stolonal growth resulted in overgrowth reversals and redirected growth in interactions between Schizoporella unicornis and Watersipora subtorquata. These results suggest that stolons may play an important role in bryozoan interactions

The Southern Hemisphere VLBI Experiment (SHEVE) program is aimed at producing high-resolution images of southern radio sources. The radio telescopes of the present SHEVE array are described below and some recent results presented.

The radio emission associated with SN 1987A appears to be synchrotron emission resulting from the acceleration of electrons at the interface between the outward moving shock wave and clumps of circumstellar material. The Australia Telescope Compact Array is now able to resolve this region, which has dimensions of ~ arcsec, revealing a slight (10%) asphericity in the distribution of the low density gas within the [OIII] circumstellar ring. Assuming that the radio emission arises from a region just behind the shock front, we deduce a mean radial expansion velocity, from 1987 to 1992, of 29 200 kms. First observed contact of the shock with the [OIII] circumstellar ring could occur as early as mid-1993, depending on the deceleration in the intervening gas. This will probably be closely followed by shock-excited optical lines, a strong X-ray outburst and a further increase in the radio emission.

The past President of Division XII, Malcolm Smith, took the chair of the business meeting of C50, in the absence of the past President of C50, Richard Wainscoat. He described the procedure of the election in 2006 of the then-time vice-president of C50, Richard Wainscoat, as President of C50, after the untimely deatch of the then-time C50 President, Hugo Schwarz. He also described the procedure for electing the incoming OC members and officers.

This is a progress report on the ATCA IDV survey of compact, flat or inverted spectrum radio sources. We found that four sources: PKS 0405–385, PKS 1034–293, PKS 1144–397, and PKS 1519–273 out of the sample of 125 show high flux density variability on the daily timescale. The characteristics of observed IDV are discussed and we reflect on its possible origin.

We have observed the nucleus of Centaurus A with the VLBA and the SHEVE arrays, individually and in combination. In sensitive experiments at 8.4 GHz which use both arrays together we have detected components in a sub-parsec-scale counterjet. The counterjet is also seen in 2.3 and 22 GHz images. The nuclear region appears to be partially obscured by a free-free absorbing structure of about 1 pc in extent. The jet axis appears to lie at a 50°–70° angle to our line of sight.

We have been observing the sub-parsec-scale radio jet in the nucleus of Centaurus A, the closest active radio galaxy, at 8.4 GHz over the last 6 years with the SHEVE array and most recently with the VLBA at 8.4 and 22.2 GHz. In this paper we will review the results of these observations and give a brief summary of our interpretation, concentrating on the evolution of the sub-parsec-scale jet structure with time; subluminal component motions and rapid short timescale evolution. A full description of this work is soon to be published in a major journal article.

PKS 1830–211 is the strongest known radio gravitational lens by almost an order of magnitude and has the potential to provide a measurement of H0, provided the lensing system can be parameterized. Attempts to identify optical counterparts, to measure redshifts, have so far proved unsuccessful and this has lead to radio and millimetre spectral line observations. We present our discovery of an absorption system at z = 0.19. A brief description is also made of our ATCA observations to measure the lensing time delay for this source.

From the combination of VLBI phase-referenced observations and Hipparcos satellite data, we have found evidence of a low-mass object orbiting the late-type star AB Doradus. The mass of the new object is near the hydrogen burning limit and will constitute a precise point for calibrating the low end of the main sequence. This represents the first detection of a low-mass stellar companion using the VLBI technique, which could become an important tool in future searches for planets and brown dwarfs orbiting other stars.

GX 339–4 has been monitored over a period of two and a half years with MOST and ATCA to investigate the flux variations and spatial structure of its radio emission. The data are summarized and discussed.