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1. The Global Magneto-Ionic Medium Survey (GMIMS): the brightest polarized region in the southern sky at 75 cm and its implications for Radio Loop II

Author

Bryan Gaensler, Jennifer West, Wolfgang Reich, Susan E. Clark, Cameron Van Eck, Jiaxin Han, Naomi McClure-Griffiths, John M. Dickey, Christoph Federrath, M. Wolleben, Marijke Haverkorn, Alec J. M. Thomson, A. Ordog, J. L. Campbell, T. L. Landecker, Luke Pratley, Ettore Carretti, Alex S. Hill, and S. A. Mao

Subjects
Astronomy, media_common.quotation_subject, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, Spectral line, law.invention, symbols.namesake, law, 0103 physical sciences, Faraday effect, Angular resolution, 010306 general physics, Faraday cage, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, media_common, Physics, polarization, Horizon, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Polarization (waves), Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Magnetic field, radio continuum: ISM, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, Sky, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), symbols, ISM: magnetic fields, ISM: bubbles
Abstract

Using the Global Magneto-Ionic Medium Survey (GMIMS) Low-Band South (LBS) southern sky polarization survey, covering 300 to 480 MHz at 81 arcmin resolution, we reveal the brightest region in the Southern polarized sky at these frequencies. The region, G150-50, covers nearly 20deg$^2$, near (l,b)~(150 deg,-50 deg). Using GMIMS-LBS and complementary data at higher frequencies (~0.6--30 GHz), we apply Faraday tomography and Stokes QU-fitting techniques. We find that the magnetic field associated with G150-50 is both coherent and primarily in the plane of the sky, and indications that the region is associated with Radio Loop II. The Faraday depth spectra across G150-50 are broad and contain a large-scale spatial gradient. We model the magnetic field in the region as an expanding shell, and we can reproduce both the observed Faraday rotation and the synchrotron emission in the GMIMS-LBS band. Using QU-fitting, we find that the Faraday spectra are produced by several Faraday dispersive sources along the line-of-sight. Alternatively, polarization horizon effects that we cannot model are adding complexity to the high-frequency polarized spectra. The magnetic field structure of Loop II dominates a large fraction of the sky, and studies of the large-scale polarized sky will need to account for this object. Studies of G150-50 with high angular resolution could mitigate polarization horizon effects, and clarify the nature of G150-50., 25 pages, 14 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Published
2021

2. Sub-arcsecond imaging with the International LOFAR Telescope I. Foundational calibration strategy and pipeline

Author

Martin J. Hardcastle, H. Paas, Matthias Hoeft, J. Moldon, R. Pizzo, Arthur Corstanje, A. Kappes, S. Mooney, John McKean, Gottfried Mann, Pietro Zucca, Harvey Butcher, M. Pandey-Pommier, Joseph R. Callingham, A. Nelles, S. Duscha, Marco Iacobelli, Aleksander Shulevski, V. N. Pandey, Ph. Zarka, Annalisa Bonafede, S. Badole, M. Ruiter, Ashish Asgekar, Hanna Rothkaehl, M. P. van Haarlem, P. Kukreti, Wolfgang Reich, Michel Tagger, J. M. Anderson, Marian Soida, A. H. W. M. Coolen, Judith H. Croston, Olaf Wucknitz, Neal Jackson, Heino Falcke, W. N. Brouw, Jochen Eislöffel, Philip Best, A. Drabent, F. Sweijen, F. de Gasperin, Dominik J. Schwarz, Cyril Tasse, J. B. R. Oonk, J. M. Griessmeier, Benedetta Ciardi, S. Damstra, A. J. van der Horst, Stefan J. Wijnholds, C. Groeneveld, E. Jütte, D. Engels, I. M. Avruch, Ralph A. M. J. Wijers, Léon V. E. Koopmans, Timothy W. Shimwell, Emanuela Orru, Andrzej Krankowski, R. J. van Weeren, Leah K. Morabito, A. W. Gunst, I. van Bemmel, D. Venkattu, Mark J. Bentum, Adam T. Deller, Christian Vocks, George K. Miley, John Conway, M. A. Garrett, M. Bondi, Matthias Kadler, E. Bonnassieux, H. J. A. Röttgering, API Other Research (FNWI), High Energy Astrophys. & Astropart. Phys (API, FNWI), Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA (UMR_8109)), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Paris (UP), Unité Scientifique de la Station de Nançay (USN), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO), Galaxies, Etoiles, Physique, Instrumentation (GEPI), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon (CRAL), École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique = Laboratory of Space Studies and Instrumentation in Astrophysics (LESIA), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), European Commission, European Research Council, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España), Science and Technology Facilities Council (UK), Astronomy, and Kapteyn Astronomical Institute

Subjects
Astronomy, Pipeline (computing), active, Field of view, Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, law.invention, high angular resolution, radiation mechanisms, law, galaxies, active, galaxies, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, media_common, Physics, [SDU.ASTR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], Astrometry, Interferometry, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, high angular resolution, jets, active [Galaxies], media_common.quotation_subject, galaxies: active, FOS: Physical sciences, Telescope, 0103 physical sciences, Calibration, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), Remote sensing, non-thermal [Radiation mechanisms], non-thermal radiation, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, techniques: high angular resolution, active galaxies, Astronomy and Astrophysics, LOFAR, radiation mechanisms: non-thermal, galaxies: jets, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, high angular resolution [Techniques], non-thermal, radiation mechanisms, [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics], Space and Planetary Science, Sky, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), non-thermal, galaxies, jets, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, jets [Galaxies], techniques, jets of galaxies
Abstract

Full list of authors: Morabito, L. K.; Jackson, N. J.; Mooney, S.; Sweijen, F.; Badole, S.; Kukreti, P.; Venkattu, D.; Groeneveld, C.; Kappes, A.; Bonnassieux, E.; Drabent, A.; Iacobelli, M.; Croston, J. H.; Best, P. N.; Bondi, M.; Callingham, J. R.; Conway, J. E.; Deller, A. T.; Hardcastle, M. J.; McKean, J. P.; Miley, G. K.; Moldon, J.; Röttgering, H. J. A.; Tasse, C.; Shimwell, T. W.; van Weeren, R. J.; Anderson, J. M.; Asgekar, A.; Avruch, I. M.; van Bemmel, I. M.; Bentum, M. J.; Bonafede, A.; Brouw, W. N.; Butcher, H. R.; Ciardi, B.; Corstanje, A.; Coolen, A.; Damstra, S.; de Gasperin, F.; Duscha, S.; Eislöffel, J.; Engels, D.; Falcke, H.; Garrett, M. A.; Griessmeier, J.; Gunst, A. W.; van Haarlem, M. P.; Hoeft, M.; van der Horst, A. J.; Jütte, E.; Kadler, M.; Koopmans, L. V. E.; Krankowski, A.; Mann, G.; Nelles, A.; Oonk, J. B. R.; Orru, E.; Paas, H.; Pandey, V. N.; Pizzo, R. F.; Pandey-Pommier, M.; Reich, W.; Rothkaehl, H.; Ruiter, M.; Schwarz, D. J.; Shulevski, A.; Soida, M.; Tagger, M.; Vocks, C.; Wijers, R. A. M. J.; Wijnholds, S. J.; Wucknitz, O.; Zarka, P.; Zucca, P., The International LOFAR Telescope is an interferometer with stations spread across Europe. With baselines of up to ~2000 km, LOFAR has the unique capability of achieving sub-arcsecond resolution at frequencies below 200 MHz. However, it is technically and logistically challenging to process LOFAR data at this resolution. To date only a handful of publications have exploited this capability. Here we present a calibration strategy that builds on previous high-resolution work with LOFAR. It is implemented in a pipeline using mostly dedicated LOFAR software tools and the same processing framework as the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS). We give an overview of the calibration strategy and discuss the special challenges inherent to enacting high-resolution imaging with LOFAR, and describe the pipeline, which is publicly available, in detail. We demonstrate the calibration strategy by using the pipeline on P205+55, a typical LoTSS pointing with an 8 h observation and 13 international stations. We perform in-field delay calibration, solution referencing to other calibrators in the field, self-calibration of these calibrators, and imaging of example directions of interest in the field. We find that for this specific field and these ionospheric conditions, dispersive delay solutions can be transferred between calibrators up to ~1.5° away, while phase solution transferral works well over ~1°. We also demonstrate a check of the astrometry and flux density scale with the in-field delay calibrator source. Imaging in 17 directions, we find the restoring beam is typically ~0.3′′ ×0.2′′ although this varies slightly over the entire 5 deg2 field of view. We find we can achieve ~80–300 μJy bm−1 image rms noise, which is dependent on the distance from the phase centre; typical values are ~90 μJy bm−1 for the 8 h observation with 48 MHz of bandwidth. Seventy percent of processed sources are detected, and from this we estimate that we should be able to image roughly 900 sources per LoTSS pointing. This equates to ~ 3 million sources in the northern sky, which LoTSS will entirely cover in the next several years. Future optimisation of the calibration strategy for efficient post-processing of LoTSS at high resolution makes this estimate a lower limit. © ESO 2022., This work made use of the Dutch national e-infrastructure with the support of the SURF Cooperative using grant no. EINF-262 LKM is grateful for support from the Medical Research Council (grant MR/T042842/1). S.M. acknowledges support from the Governmentof Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme. E.B. acknowledges support from the ERC-ERG grant DRANOEL, n.714245. A.D. acknowledges support by the BMBF Verbundforschung under the grant 052020. J.H.C. acknowledges support from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (ST/R000794/1). P.N.B. is grateful for support from the UK STFC via grant ST/R000972/1. J.R.C. thanks the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO) for support via the Talent Programme Veni grant. M.J.H. acknowledges support from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (ST/R000905/1). J.P.M. acknowledges support from the NetherlandsOrganization for Scientific Research (NWO, project number 629.001.023) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS, project number 114A11KYSB20170054). J.M. acknowledges financial support from the State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU through the “Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa” award to the Instituto de Astrofísicade Andalucía (SEV-2017-0709) and from the grant RTI2018-096228-B-C31 (MICIU/FEDER, EU). R.J.v.W. acknowledges support from the ERC Starting Grant ClusterWeb 804208. D.J.S. acknowledges support by the GermanFederal Ministry for Science and Research BMBF-Verbundforschungsprojekt D-LOFAR 2.0 (grant numbers 05A20PB1). LOFAR (van Haarlem et al. 2013) is the Low Frequency Array designed and constructed by ASTRON. It has observing, data processing, and data storage facilities in several countries, that are owned by various parties (each with their own funding sources), and that are collectively operated by the ILT foundation under a joint scientific policy. The ILT resources have benefitted from the following recent major funding sources: CNRS-INSU, Observatoire de Paris and Université d’Orléans, France; BMBF, MIWF-NRW, MPG, Germany; Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation (DBEI), Ireland; NWO, The Netherlands; The Science and Technology Facilities Council, UK; Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Poland.

Published
2022
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3. New continuum and polarization observations of the Cygnus Loop with FAST II. Images and analyses

Author

Xiao-Hui Sun, Xu-Yang Gao, Wolfgang Reich, Peng Jiang, Di Li, Huirong Yan, and Xiang-Hua Li

Subjects
Space and Planetary Science, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies
Abstract

We present total-intensity and polarized-intensity images of the Cygnus Loop supernova remnant (SNR) observed by the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). The high angular-resolution and high-sensitivity images enable us to thoroughly compare the properties of the northern part with the southern part of the SNR. The central filament in the northern part and the southern part have a similar foreground rotation measure, meaning their distances are likely similar. The polarization analysis indicates that the random magnetic field is larger than the regular field in the northern part, but negligible in the southern part. The total-intensity image is decomposed into components of various angular scales, and the brightness-temperature spectral index of the shell structures in the northern part is similar to that in the southern part in the component images. All these evidence suggest that the northern and southern part of the Cygnus Loop are situated and thus evolved in different environments of interstellar medium, while belonging to the same SNR., Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication at RAA

Published
2022
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4. A global view on star formation: The GLOSTAR Galactic plane survey IV. Radio continuum detections of young stellar objects in the Galactic Centre region

Author

Andreas Brunthaler, W. D. Cotton, Henrik Beuther, Timea Csengeri, Jagadheep D. Pandian, Michael Rugel, S. N. X. Medina, James Urquhart, Wolfgang Reich, Rohit Dokara, M. Schultheis, Nirupam Roy, A. Y. Yang, Jens Kauffmann, Karl M. Menten, H. Nguyen, Sergio A. Dzib, G. Nandakumar, Gisela N. Ortiz-León, Friedrich Wyrowski, Y. Gong, and Thushara Pillai

Subjects
Physics, H II region, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Infrared, Star formation, Young stellar object, Continuum (design consultancy), FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Context (language use), Astrophysics, Galactic plane, 01 natural sciences, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Wavelength, Space and Planetary Science, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), 0103 physical sciences, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract

The Central Molecular Zone (CMZ), a $\sim$200 pc sized region around the Galactic Centre, is peculiar in that it shows a star formation rate (SFR) that is suppressed with respect to the available dense gas. To study the SFR in the CMZ, young stellar objects (YSOs) can be investigated. Here we present radio observations of 334 2.2 $\mu$m infrared sources that have been identified as YSO candidates. Our goal is to investigate the presence of centimetre wavelength radio continuum counterparts to this sample of YSO candidates which we use to constrain the current SFR in the CMZ. As part of the GLOSTAR survey, D-configuration VLA data was obtained for the Galactic Centre, covering -2$^{\circ}, Comment: To be published in A&A. 26 pages, 3 tables in the text, 12 figures in the text, 9 figures in the Appendix

Published
2021

5. A global view on star formation: The GLOSTAR Galactic plane survey - II. Supernova remnants in the first quadrant of the Milky Way

Author

Carlos Carrasco-González, Timea Csengeri, Sergio A. Dzib, Gisela N. Ortiz-León, Michael Rugel, Rohit Dokara, S. N. X. Medina, Leroy Anderson, Friedrich Wyrowski, James Urquhart, S. J. Billington, Y. Gong, Andreas Brunthaler, Nirupam Roy, Wolfgang Reich, A. Y. Yang, Henrik Beuther, Karl M. Menten, C. H. R. Chen, W. D. Cotton, Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux [Pessac] (LAB), and Université de Bordeaux (UB)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
HII regions, Milky Way, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Population, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, surveys, QB460, 0103 physical sciences, Surface brightness, education, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, ISM: supernova remnants, Physics, High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), education.field_of_study, polarization, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Star formation, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Galactic plane, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Interstellar medium, Supernova, radio continuum: ISM, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], Radio wave
Abstract

Context. The properties of the population of Galactic supernova remnants (SNRs) are essential to our understanding of the dynamics of the interstellar medium (ISM) in the Milky Way. However, the completeness of the catalog of Galactic SNRs is expected to be only ${\sim}30\%$, with on order 700 SNRs yet to be detected. Deep interferometric radio continuum surveys of the Galactic plane help in rectifying this apparent deficiency by identifying low surface brightness SNRs and compact SNRs that have not been detected in previous surveys. However, SNRs are routinely confused with H II regions, which can have similar radio morphologies. Radio spectral index, polarization, and emission at mid-infrared (MIR) wavelengths can help distinguish between SNRs and H II regions. Aims. We aim to identify SNR candidates using continuum images from the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array GLObal view of the STAR formation in the Milky Way (GLOSTAR) survey. Methods. GLOSTAR is a C-band (4--8 GHz) radio wavelength survey of the Galactic plane covering $358^{\circ} \leq l \leq 60^{\circ}, |b| \leq 1^{\circ}$. The continuum images from this survey, which resulted from observations with the most compact configuration of the array, have an angular resolution of $18''$. We searched for SNRs in these images to identify known SNRs, previously identified SNR candidates, and new SNR candidates. We study these objects in MIR surveys and the GLOSTAR polarization data to classify their emission as thermal or nonthermal. Results. We identify 157 SNR candidates, of which 80 are new. Polarization measurements provide evidence of nonthermal emission from 9 of these candidates. We find that two previously identified candidates are filaments. We also detect emission from 91 of the 94 known SNRs in the survey region. Four of these are reclassified as H II regions following detection in MIR surveys. (Abridged), Comment: To be published in A&A. 36 pages, 22 figures in text, 80 figures in Appendix. Revision 1: grammar, position information of one object, other minor changes. Revision 2: added arXiv link to the main GLOSTAR paper

Published
2021
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6. Radio properties of the optically identified supernova remnant G107.0+9.0

Author

Patricia Reich, X. Y. Gao, and Wolfgang Reich

Subjects
Physics, High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), Line-of-sight, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Context (language use), Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Galactic plane, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, law.invention, Radio telescope, Supernova, Space and Planetary Science, law, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), Surface brightness, Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Faraday cage, Supernova remnant, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics
Abstract

The vast majority of Galactic supernova remnants (SNRs) were detected by their synchrotron radio emission. Recently, the evolved SNR G107.0+9.0 with a diameter of about 3~deg or 75~pc up to 100~pc in size was optically detected with an indication of faint associated radio emission. This SNR requires a detailed radio study. We aim to search for radio emission from SNR G107.0+9.0 by analysing new data from the Effelsberg 100-m and the Urumqi 25-m radio telescopes in addition to available radio surveys. Radio SNRs outside of the Galactic plane, where confusion is rare, must be very faint if they have not been identified so far. Guided by the H$\alpha$ emission of G107.0+9.0, we separated its radio emission from the Galactic large-scale emission. Radio emission from SNR G107.0+9.0 is detected between 22~MHz and 4.8~GHz with a steep non-thermal spectrum, which confirms G107.0+9.0 as an SNR. Its surface brightness is among the lowest known for Galactic SNRs. Polarised emission is clearly detected at 1.4~GHz but is fainter at 4.8~GHz. We interpret the polarised emission as being caused by a Faraday screen associated with G107.0+9.0 and its surroundings. Its ordered magnetic field along the line of sight is below 1~$\mu$G. At 4.8~GHz, we identified a depolarised filament along the western periphery of G107.0+9.0 with a magnetic field strength along the line of sight $B{_{||}} \sim 15~\mu$G, which requires magnetic field compression. G107.0+9.0 adds to the currently small number of known, evolved, large-diameter, low-surface-brightness Galactic SNRs. We have shown that such objects can be successfully extracted from radio-continuum surveys despite the dominating large-scale diffuse Galactic emission., Comment: 8 pages, 12 figures, accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysics

Published
2021
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7. A polarization study of the supernova remnant CTB 80

Author

X. Y. Gao, Xiaohui Sun, Wolfgang Reich, and Xianghua Li

Subjects
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), Physics, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Galactic plane, Polarization (waves), Rotation, 01 natural sciences, Pulsar wind nebula, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Intensity (physics), Pulsar, Space and Planetary Science, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), 0103 physical sciences, Supernova remnant, Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics
Abstract

We present a radio polarization study of the supernova remnant CTB 80 based on images at 1420 MHz from the Canadian Galactic plane survey, at 2695 MHz from the Effelsberg survey of the Galactic plane, and at 4800 MHz from the Sino-German 6cm polarization survey of the Galactic plane. We obtained a rotation measure (RM) map using polarization angles at 2695 MHz and 4800 MHz as the polarization percentages are similar at these two frequencies. RM exhibits a transition from positive values to negative values along one of the shells hosting the pulsar PSR B1951+32 and its pulsar wind nebula. The reason for the change of sign remains unclear. We identified a partial shell structure, which is bright in polarized intensity but weak in total intensity. This structure could be part of CTB 80 or part of a new supernova remnant unrelated to CTB 80., 12 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in RAA

Published
2020

8. New continuum and polarization observations of the Cygnus Loop with FAST I. Data processing and verification

Author

Xiao-Hui Sun, Mei-Niang Meng, Xu-Yang Gao, Wolfgang Reich, Peng Jiang, Di Li, Hui-Rong Yan, and Xiang-Hua Li

Subjects
Space and Planetary Science, Astronomy and Astrophysics
Abstract

We report on the continuum and polarization observations of the Cygnus Loop supernova remnant (SNR) conducted by the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). FAST observations provide high angular resolution and high sensitivity images of the SNR, which will help to disentangle its nature. We obtained Stokes I, Q and U maps over the frequency range of 1.03 – 1.46 GHz split into channels of 7.63 kHz. The original angular resolution is in the range of ∼ 3 ′ − ∼ 3 ′ .8 , and we combined all the data at a common resolution of 4 ′ . The temperature scale of the total intensity and the spectral index from the in-band temperature-temperature plot are consistent with previous observations, which validates the data calibration and map-making procedures. The rms sensitivity for the band-averaged total-intensity map is about 20 mK in brightness temperature, which is at the level of confusion limit. For the first time, we apply rotation measure (RM) synthesis to the Cygnus Loop to obtain the polarization intensity and RM maps. The rms sensitivity for polarization is about 5 mK, far below the total-intensity confusion limit. We also obtained RMs of eight extragalactic sources, and demonstrate that the wide-band frequency coverage helps to overcome the ambiguity of RM determinations.

Published
2021
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9. The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey. II. First data release

Author

Eskil Varenius, Huub Röttgering, Magdalena Kunert-Bajraszewska, Ricardo Genova-Santos, Judith H. Croston, D. Nisbet, R. Lakhoo, R. Kondapally, F. Savini, Joseph R. Callingham, A. O. Clarke, H. R. Stacey, M. H. D. van der Wiel, Isabella Prandoni, Antonia Rowlinson, R. Pizzo, Gianfranco Brunetti, David Bacon, George K. Miley, Marcus Brüggen, L. Alegre, R.-J. Dettmar, C. Dumba, R. J. van Weeren, Volker Heesen, Stephen Bourke, G. Calistro Rivera, A. Botteon, J. Sabater, M. Mirmont, G. Gürkan, Andrea Merloni, Torsten A. Enßlin, Marek Jamrozy, Philip Best, A. Drabent, Marcellin Atemkeng, Glenn J. White, R. C. Vermeulen, Wolfgang Reich, Neal Jackson, Chiara Ferrari, Marco Iacobelli, Huib Intema, J. B. R. Oonk, D. N. Hoang, John Conway, A. Wilber, Marisa Brienza, T. J. Dijkema, B. Webster, M. A. Garrett, Simon Perkins, A. P. Mechev, Shane O'Sullivan, Christopher J. Conselice, I. van Bemmel, Annalisa Bonafede, Oleg Smirnov, John L. Quinn, John McKean, G. Kokotanekov, Subhash C. Mandal, Daniel J. Smith, C. L. Hale, Arti Goyal, Błażej Nikiel-Wroczyński, K. L. Emig, S. Urquhart, Marijke Haverkorn, Timothy W. Shimwell, R. Morganti, Michael W. Wise, Elizabeth K. Mahony, Beatriz Mingo, Arpad Miskolczi, C. A. Jackson, Leah K. Morabito, D. A. Rafferty, A. Saxena, C. Roskowinski, Rachel Cochrane, C. Schrijvers, M. Mevius, Wendy L. Williams, E. Bonnassieux, Rossella Cassano, Matthias Hoeft, Krzysztof T. Chyzy, Dominik J. Schwarz, B. Hugo, Robert Beswick, George Heald, C. Tasse, S. Mooney, Jeremy J. Harwood, Emanuela Orru, Martin J. Hardcastle, Kenneth Duncan, S. S. Sridhar, Cathy Horellou, Matt J. Jarvis, L. Bester, F. de Gasperin, Aleksandar Shulevski, A. Danezi, V. H. Mahatma, Galaxies, Etoiles, Physique, Instrumentation (GEPI), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA (UMR_8109)), PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Joseph Louis LAGRANGE (LAGRANGE), Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (... - 2019) (UNS), Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Astronomy, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (... - 2019) (UNS), COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Shimwell T.W., Tasse C., Hardcastle M.J., Mechev A.P., Williams W.L., Best P.N., Rottgering H.J.A., Callingham J.R., Dijkema T.J., De Gasperin F., Hoang D.N., Hugo B., Mirmont M., Oonk J.B.R., Prandoni I., Rafferty D., Sabater J., Smirnov O., Van Weeren R.J., White G.J., Atemkeng M., Bester L., Bonnassieux E., Bruggen M., Brunetti G., Chy K.T., Cochrane R., Conway J.E., Croston J.H., Danezi A., Duncan K., Haverkorn M., Heald G.H., Iacobelli M., Intema H.T., Jackson N., Jamrozy M., Jarvis M.J., Lakhoo R., Mevius M., Miley G.K., Morabito L., Morganti R., Nisbet D., Orru E., Perkins S., Pizzo R.F., Schrijvers C., Smith D.J.B., Vermeulen R., Wise M.W., Alegre L., Bacon D.J., Van Bemmel I.M., Beswick R.J., Bonafede A., Botteon A., Bourke S., Brienza M., Calistro Rivera G., Cassano R., Clarke A.O., Conselice C.J., Dettmar R.J., Drabent A., Dumba C., Emig K.L., Ensslin T.A., Ferrari C., Garrett M.A., Genova-Santos R.T., Goyal A., Gurkan G., Hale C., Harwood J.J., Heesen V., Hoeft M., Horellou C., Jackson C., Kokotanekov G., Kondapally R., Kunert-Bajraszewska M., Mahatma V., Mahony E.K., Mandal S., McKean J.P., Merloni A., Mingo B., Miskolczi A., Mooney S., Nikiel-Wroczynski B., O'Sullivan S.P., Quinn J., Reich W., Roskowinski C., Rowlinson A., Savini F., Saxena A., Schwarz D.J., Shulevski A., Sridhar S.S., Stacey H.R., Urquhart S., Van Der Wiel M.H.D., Varenius E., Webster B., and Wilber A.

Subjects
Astronomy, radio continuum: general, Flux, techniques: image processing, Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, CLUSTER ENVIRONMENTS, ST/M001229/1, Survey, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, SOUTHERN SKY, media_common, astro-ph.HE, Physics, CALIBRATION, High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), image processing [techniques], UNDERSTANDING RADIO POLARIMETRY, ST/R00109X/1, ST/P000096/1, astro-ph.CO, general [radio continuum], Catalog, Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Noise (radio), Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics, Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO), astro-ph.GA, media_common.quotation_subject, FOS: Physical sciences, Declination, surveys, 0103 physical sciences, [PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-INS-DET]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/Instrumentation and Detectors [physics.ins-det], AGN, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), STFC, ST/M001326/1, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, RCUK, Astronomy and Astrophysics, LOFAR, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Galaxy, Redshift, GALAXY, ST/M001008/1, Space and Planetary Science, Sky, IMAGING SURVEY, DISCOVERY, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), FLUX-DENSITY SCALE, Right ascension, EMISSION, [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], catalogs, astro-ph.IM
Abstract

The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) is an ongoing sensitive, high-resolution 120-168MHz survey of the entire northern sky for which observations are now 20% complete. We present our first full-quality public data release. For this data release 424 square degrees, or 2% of the eventual coverage, in the region of the HETDEX Spring Field (right ascension 10h45m00s to 15h30m00s and declination 45$^\circ$00$'$00$''$ to 57$^\circ$00$'$00$''$) were mapped using a fully automated direction-dependent calibration and imaging pipeline that we developed. A total of 325,694 sources are detected with a signal of at least five times the noise, and the source density is a factor of $\sim 10$ higher than the most sensitive existing very wide-area radio-continuum surveys. The median sensitivity is S$_{\rm 144 MHz} = 71\,\mu$Jy beam$^{-1}$ and the point-source completeness is 90% at an integrated flux density of 0.45mJy. The resolution of the images is 6$''$ and the positional accuracy is within 0.2$''$. This data release consists of a catalogue containing location, flux, and shape estimates together with 58 mosaic images that cover the catalogued area. In this paper we provide an overview of the data release with a focus on the processing of the LOFAR data and the characteristics of the resulting images. In two accompanying papers we provide the radio source associations and deblending and, where possible, the optical identifications of the radio sources together with the photometric redshifts and properties of the host galaxies. These data release papers are published together with a further $\sim$20 articles that highlight the scientific potential of LoTSS., Comment: 16 figures, 1 table and 22 pages. This paper is part of the LOFAR surveys data release 1 and has been accepted for publication in a special edition of A&A that will appear in Feb 2019, volume 622. The catalogues and images from the data release will be publicly available on lofar-surveys.org upon publication of the journal

Published
2019
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10. A low-frequency view of mixed-morphology supernova remnant VRO 42.05.01, and its neighbourhood

Author

Marco Iacobelli, Jacco Vink, Glenn J. White, I.M. Polderman, Marijke Haverkorn, Ping Zhou, Wolfgang Reich, M. Arias, V. Domcek, J. B. R. Oonk, High Energy Astrophys. & Astropart. Phys (API, FNWI), and Gravitation and Astroparticle Physics Amsterdam

Subjects
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), Physics, Spectral index, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Astronomy, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, LOFAR, Astrophysics, Low frequency, Galactic plane, 01 natural sciences, Radio spectrum, Supernova, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, 0103 physical sciences, Radio frequency, Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Supernova remnant, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics
Abstract

Mixed-morphology supernova remnants (MM SNRs) are a mysterious class of objects that display thermal X-ray emission within their radio shell. They are an older class of SNRs, and as such are profoundly affected by the environment into which they evolve. VRO 42.05.01 is a MM SNR of puzzling morphology in the direction of the Galactic anticentre. Low-frequency radio observations of supernova remnants are sensitive to synchrotron electrons accelerated in the shock front. We aim to compare the low-frequency emission to higher frequency observations to understand the environmental and shock acceleration conditions that have given rise to the observed properties of this source. We present a LOFAR High Band Antenna map centred at 143 MHz of the region of the Galactic plane centred at $l = 166^\rm{o}, b = 3.5^\rm{o}$ at 143 MHz, with a resolution of 148'' and an rms noise of 4.4 mJy bm$^{-1}$ . Our map is sensitive to scales as large as $6^\rm{o}$. We compared the LOw Frequency ARay (LOFAR) observations to archival higher frequency radio, infrared, and optical data to study the emission properties of the source in different spectral regimes. We did this both for the SNR and for OA 184, an H II region within our field of view. We find that the radio spectral index of VRO 42.05.01 increases at low radio frequencies; i.e. the LOFAR flux is higher than expected from the measured spectral index value at higher radio frequencies. This observed curvature in the low-frequency end of the radio spectrum occurs primarily in the brightest regions of the source, while the fainter regions present a roughly constant power-law behaviour between 143 MHz and 2695 MHz. We favour an explanation for this steepening whereby radiative shocks have high compression ratios and electrons of different energies probe different length scales across the shocks, therefore sampling regions of different compression ratios., Comment: Accepted in A&A

Published
2019
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11. A global view on star formation: the GLOSTAR Galactic plane survey

Author

J. D. Pandian, Y. Gong, Andreas Brunthaler, Nirupam Roy, S. N. X. Medina, Gisela N. Ortiz-León, A. Y. Yang, Henrik Beuther, Wolfgang Reich, W. D. Cotton, Friedrich Wyrowski, Rohit Dokara, Karl M. Menten, Timea Csengeri, S. A. Dzib, James Urquhart, Michael Rugel, H. Nguyen, and C. König

Subjects
Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Milky Way, Young stellar object, Population, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, law.invention, Luminosity, law, QB460, 0103 physical sciences, Astrophysics::Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, Continuum (set theory), Maser, education, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR), Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, Physics, education.field_of_study, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Star formation, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Galactic plane, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA)
Abstract

The Cygnus X complex is covered by the Global View of Star Formation in the Milky Way (GLOSTAR) survey, an unbiased radio-wavelength Galactic plane survey, in 4--8 GHz continuum radiation and several spectral lines. The GLOSTAR survey observed the 6.7~GHz transition of methanol (CH$_3$OH), an exclusive tracer of high-mass young stellar objects. Using the Very Large Array in both the B and D configurations, we observed an area in Cygnus~X of $7^{\rm o}\times3^{\rm o}$ in size and simultaneously covered the methanol line and the continuum, allowing cross-registration. We detected thirteen sources with Class~II methanol maser emission and one source with methanol absorption. Two methanol maser sources are newly detected; in addition, we found four new velocity components associated with known masers. Five masers are concentrated in the DR21 ridge and W75N. We determined the characteristics of the detected masers and investigated the association with infrared, (sub)millimeter, and radio continuum emission. All maser sources are associated with (sub)millimeter dust continuum emission, which is consistent with the picture of masers tracing regions in an active stage of star formation. On the other hand, only five masers ($38\pm17\%$) have radio continuum counterparts seen with GLOSTAR within $\sim$1$''$, testifying to their youth. Comparing the distributions of the bolometric luminosity and the luminosity-to-mass ratio of cores that host 6.7~GHz methanol masers with those of the full core population, we identified lower limits $L_{\rm Bol}\sim200~L_\odot$ and $L_{\rm Bol}/M_{\rm core}\sim1~L_\odot~M^{-1}_\odot$ for a dust source to host maser emission., To be published in A&A. Language edited version

Published
2021
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12. The Global Magneto-ionic Medium Survey: A Faraday Depth Survey of the Northern Sky Covering 1280–1750 MHz

Author

J. P. Leahy, A. R. Taylor, Naomi McClure-Griffiths, A. J. M. Thomson, T. L. Landecker, John M. Dickey, A. D. Gray, David McConnell, Bryan Gaensler, Alex S. Hill, Marijke Haverkorn, Jennifer West, JC Brown, Kevin A. Douglas, Wolfgang Reich, Jin-Lin Han, A. Ordog, M. Wolleben, Roland Kothes, and Ettore Carretti

Subjects
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Astronomy, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, interstellar magnetic fields, law.invention, Radio telescope, Telescope, symbols.namesake, law, 0103 physical sciences, Faraday effect, Angular resolution, Faraday cage, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, polarimetry, spectropolarimetry, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Physics, Spectral index, Linear polarization, polarimeters, Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, calibration, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Interstellar medium, Space and Planetary Science, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), Milky Way magnetic fields, symbols, radio telescopes
Abstract

The Galactic interstellar medium hosts a significant magnetic field, which can be probed through the synchrotron emission produced from its interaction with relativistic electrons. Linearly polarized synchrotron emission is generated throughout the Galaxy, and at longer wavelengths, modified along nearly every path by Faraday rotation in the intervening magneto-ionic medium. Full characterization of the polarized emission requires wideband observations with many frequency channels. We have surveyed polarized radio emission from the Northern sky over the the range 1280-1750 MHz, with channel width 236.8 kHz, using the John A. Galt Telescope (diameter 25.6 m) at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory, as part of the Global Magneto-Ionic Medium Survey. The survey covered 72% of the sky, declinations -30 to +87 degrees at all right ascensions. The intensity scale was absolutely calibrated, based on the flux density and spectral index of Cygnus A. Polarization angle was calibrated using the extended polarized emission of the Fan Region. Data are presented as brightness temperatures with angular resolution 40'. Sensitivity in Stokes Q and U is 45 mK rms in a 1.18 MHz band. We have applied rotation measure synthesis to the data to obtain a Faraday depth cube of resolution 150 radians per square metre and sensitivity 3 mK rms of polarized intensity. Features in Faraday depth up to a width of 110 radians per square metre are represented. The maximum detectable Faraday depth is +/- 20,000 radians per square metre. The survey data are available at the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre., Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal

Published
2021
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13. Long, depolarising Hα-filament towards the Monogem ring

Author

Xiaohui Sun, Wolfgang Reich, and Patricia Reich

Subjects
Physics, Electron density, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Milky Way, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics, Polarization (waves), Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, 01 natural sciences, Magnetic field, Protein filament, symbols.namesake, Supernova, Space and Planetary Science, 0103 physical sciences, Faraday effect, symbols, Supernova remnant, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract

In soft X-rays, the Monogem ring is an object with a diameter of 25{\deg} located in the Galactic anti-centre. It is believed to be a faint, evolved, local supernova remnant. The ring is also visible in the far-ultraviolet, and a few optical filaments are related. It is not seen at radio wavelengths, as other large supernova remnants are. We study a narrow about 4.5{\deg} long, faint H$\alpha$-filament, G203.7+11.5,that is seen towards the centre of the Monogem ring. It causes depolarisation and excessive Faraday rotation of radio polarisation data. Polarisation observations at $\lambda$11\ cm and $\lambda$21\ cm with the Effelsberg 100-m telescope were analysed. in addition to $WMAP$ data, extragalactic rotation measures, and H$\alpha$ data. A Faraday-screen model was applied. From the analysis of the depolarisation properties of the H$\alpha$ filament, we derived a line-of-sight magnetic field, $B_{||}$, of 26$\pm5\mu$G for a distance of 300~pc and an electron density, $n_\mathrm{e}$, of 1.6~cm$^{-3}$. The absolute largest rotation measure of G203.7+11.5 is -86$\pm3$~rad~ m$^{-2}$, where the magnetic field direction has the opposite sign from the large-scale Galactic field. We estimated the average synchrotron emissivity at $\lambda$21\ cm up to 300~pc distance towards G203.7+11.5 to about 1.1~K $T_\mathrm{b}$/kpc, which is higher than typical Milky Way values. The magnetic field within G203.7+11.5 is unexpected in direction and strength. Most likely, the filament is related to the Monogem-ring shock, where interactions with ambient clouds may cause local magnetic field reversals. We confirm earlier findings of an enhanced but direction-dependent local synchrotron emissivity., Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures

Published
2020
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14. Diffuse polarized emission in the LOFAR Two-meter Sky Survey

Author

Ettore Carretti, Jamie Farnes, Vibor Jelić, Wolfgang Reich, Marijke Haverkorn, M. I. R. Alves, Philip Best, Torsten A. Enßlin, Rainer Beck, George Heald, Dominic Schnitzeler, Marco Iacobelli, Katia Ferrière, C. L. Van Eck, H. J. A. Röttgering, Krzysztof T. Chyzy, Radboud university [Nijmegen], CHI Poissy-Saint-Germain, Laboratoire Astrophysique de Toulouse-Tarbes (LATT), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON), Leiden Observatory [Leiden], Universiteit Leiden [Leiden], UMR Peuplement Végétaux et Bioagresseurs en Milieu Tropical (UMR PVBMT - INRA), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIFR), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Peuplements végétaux et bioagresseurs en milieu tropical (UMR PVBMT), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de La Réunion (UR), Radboud University [Nijmegen], Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and Universiteit Leiden

Subjects
Brightness, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Astronomy, media_common.quotation_subject, astro-ph.GA, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, law.invention, law, 0103 physical sciences, Faraday cage, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, media_common, Physics, polarization, magnetic fields [ISM], Astronomy and Astrophysics, LOFAR, Polarization (waves), Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Galaxy, Magnetic field, Interstellar medium, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, Sky, ISM: magnetic fields, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), [SDU.ASTR.GA]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.GA]
Abstract

Faraday tomography allows us to map diffuse polarized synchrotron emission from our Galaxy and use it to interpret the magnetic field in the interstellar medium (ISM). We have applied Faraday tomography to 60 observations from the LOFAR Two-meter Sky Survey (LOTSS) and produced a Faraday depth cube mosaic covering 568 square degrees at high Galactic latitudes, at 4.3' angular resolution and 1 rad m$^{-2}$ Faraday depth resolution, with a typical noise level of 50--100 $\mu$Jy per point spread function (PSF) per rotation measure spread function (RMSF) (40-80 mK RMSF$^{-1}$). While parts of the images are strongly affected by instrumental polarization, we observe diffuse polarized emission throughout most of the field, with typical brightness between 1 and 6 K RMSF$^{-1}$, and Faraday depths between $-7$ and +25 rad m$^{-2}$. We observed many new polarization features, some up to 15 degrees in length. These include two regions with very uniformly structured, linear gradients in the Faraday depth; we measured the steepness of these gradients as 2.6 and 13 rad m$^{-2}$ deg$^{-1}$. We also observed a relationship between one of the gradients and an HI filament in the local ISM. Other ISM tracers were also checked for correlations with our polarization data and none were found, but very little signal was seen in most tracers in this region. We conclude that the LOTSS data are very well suited for Faraday tomography, and that a full-scale survey with all the LOTSS data has the potential to reveal many new Galactic polarization features and map out diffuse Faraday depth structure across the entire northern hemisphere., Comment: 23 pages, 16 figures, accepted by A&A. Figures have been degraded to comply with arXiv file size limits; full resolution figures will be available in the A&A version

Published
2019
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15. The Global Magneto-Ionic Medium Survey: Polarimetry of the Southern Sky from 300 to 480 MHz

Author

A. R. Taylor, Bryan Gaensler, Andrew Fletcher, John M. Dickey, Wolfgang Reich, M. Wolleben, Ettore Carretti, David McConnell, Alex S. Hill, J. P. Leahy, Jin-Lin Han, A. J. M. Thomson, Marijke Haverkorn, T. L. Landecker, and Naomi McClure-Griffiths

Subjects
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, media_common.quotation_subject, astro-ph.GA, Astronomy, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, Radio spectrum, law.invention, Telescope, symbols.namesake, surveys, law, 0103 physical sciences, Faraday effect, Angular resolution, Faraday cage, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, media_common, Physics, Spectral index, galaxy: general, instrumentation: polarimeters, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, techniques: polarimetric, radio continuum: ISM, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, Sky, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), symbols, ISM: magnetic fields, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Radio astronomy, astro-ph.IM
Abstract

Much data on the Galactic polarized radio emission has been gathered in the last five decades. All-sky surveys have been made, but only in narrow, widely spaced frequency bands, and the data are inadequate for the characterization of Faraday rotation, the main determinant of the appearance of the polarized radio sky at decimetre wavelengths. We describe a survey of the polarized radio emission from the Southern sky, aiming to characterize the magneto-ionic medium, particularly the strength and configuration of the magnetic field. This work is part of the Global Magneto-Ionic Medium Survey (GMIMS). We have designed and built a feed and receiver covering the band 300 to 900 MHz for the CSIRO Parkes 64-m Telescope. We have surveyed the entire sky between declinations -90 and +20 degrees. We present data covering 300 to 480 MHz with angular resolution 81' to 45'. The survey intensity scale is absolutely calibrated, based on measurements of resistors at known temperatures and on an assumed flux density and spectral index for Taurus A. Data are presented as brightness temperatures. We have applied Rotation Measure Synthesis to the data to obtain a Faraday depth cube of resolution 5.9 radians per metre squared, sensitivity of 60 mK of polarized intensity, and angular resolution 1.35 degrees. The data presented in this paper are available at the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre., Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal Modified 29th June 2019 to replace outdated doi: for access to data

Published
2019
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16. Shock location and CME 3D reconstruction of a solar type II radio burst with LOFAR

Author

M. C. Toribio, B. Ciardi, J. M. Anderson, Eduard P. Kontar, Karl-Ludwig Klein, Charlotte Sobey, Jochen Eislöffel, Marian Soida, Marco Iacobelli, P. Zarka, A. P. Rouillard, R. Blaauw, A. G. Polatidis, R. J. van Weeren, Mario M. Bisi, A. W. Gunst, E. de Geus, Mark J. Bentum, Oleg Smirnov, Henk Mulder, R. Pizzo, Aris Karastergiou, F. Breitling, Pietro Zucca, Jörg R. Hörandel, Hanna Rothkaehl, Peter T. Gallagher, H. Munk, Bartosz Dabrowski, Martin Bell, Olaf Wucknitz, Anna Nelles, R. Vermeulen, Jean-Mathias Grießmeier, Marcus Brüggen, Ashish Asgekar, V. N. Pandey, H. Paas, Jasmina Magdalenic, Richard Fallows, Matthias Hoeft, Christian Vocks, Philip Best, J. W. Broderick, Harvey Butcher, J. Sluman, D. McKay-Bukowski, E. Juette, M. A. Garrett, Andrzej Krankowski, Satyendra Thoudam, Antonia Rowlinson, R. Pekal, S. Duscha, Eoin P. Carley, Adam T. Deller, Dominik J. Schwarz, Wolfgang Reich, J. van Leeuwen, Emanuela Orru, Diana E. Morosan, Aleksandar Shulevski, Gottfried Mann, George Heald, W. N. Brouw, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON), Trinity College Dublin, Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA (UMR_8109)), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP), STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL), Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), Space Research Centre of Polish Academy of Sciences (CBK), Polska Akademia Nauk (PAN), Space Radio-Diagnostic Research Center [Olsztyn], University of Warmia and Mazury [Olsztyn], School of Physics and Astronomy [Southampton], University of Southampton, Kapteyn Astronomical Institute [Groningen], University of Groningen [Groningen], Universität Hamburg (UHH), Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg (TLS), Leiden Observatory [Leiden], Universiteit Leiden [Leiden], Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Unité Scientifique de la Station de Nançay (USN), Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Radboud university [Nijmegen], Ruhr-Universität Bochum [Bochum], Oxford Astrophysics, University of Oxford [Oxford], University of Tromsø (UiT), Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIFR), Argelander-Institut für Astronomie (AlfA), Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Center for Wireless Technology Eindhoven, Electromagnetics, EM for Radio Science Lab, High Energy Astrophys. & Astropart. Phys (API, FNWI), Astronomy, Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Polska Akademia Nauk = Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), Universiteit Leiden, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Radboud University [Nijmegen], University of Oxford, ANR-17-CE31-0006,COROSHOCK,EVALUER LE ROLE DU CHOC COMME ACCELERATEUR DE PARTICULES SOLAIRES(2017), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), and Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)

Subjects
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, corona [Sun], Sun: coronal mass ejections (CMEs), Astronomy, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, WAVES, Interplanetary medium, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Computer Science::Digital Libraries, 01 natural sciences, VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Fysikk: 430::Astrofysikk, astronomi: 438, 0103 physical sciences, Coronal mass ejection, Astrophysics::Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, SUN-EARTH CONNECTION, Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR), 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Physics, Science & Technology, Sun: radio radiation, ORIGIN, [SDU.ASTR.SR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Solar and Stellar Astrophysics [astro-ph.SR], radio radiation [Sun], Sun: corona, Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, TRANSIENTS, Astronomy and Astrophysics, LOFAR, Corona, Physics::History of Physics, coronal mass ejections (CMEs) [Sun], VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Physics: 430::Astrophysics, astronomy: 438, CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS, Radio propagation, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, Space and Planetary Science, Physical Sciences, FLARES, Physics::Space Physics, X-RAY, Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph, EMISSION, Heliosphere, Radio wave
Abstract

Type II radio bursts are evidence of shocks in the solar atmosphere and inner heliosphere that emit radio waves ranging from sub-meter to kilometer lengths. These shocks may be associated with CMEs and reach speeds higher than the local magnetosonic speed. Radio imaging of decameter wavelengths (20-90 MHz) is now possible with LOFAR, opening a new radio window in which to study coronal shocks that leave the inner solar corona and enter the interplanetary medium and to understand their association with CMEs. To this end, we study a coronal shock associated with a CME and type II radio burst to determine the locations at which the radio emission is generated, and we investigate the origin of the band-splitting phenomenon., Comment: 7 Figures, 9 Pages

Published
2018
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17. Polarised radio emission associated with HESS J1912+101

Author

Xiaohui Sun and Wolfgang Reich

Subjects
Physics, High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Shell (structure), FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Galactic plane, 01 natural sciences, Synchrotron emission, Supernova, Space and Planetary Science, 0103 physical sciences, Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Supernova remnant, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics
Abstract

The shell-type TeV source HESS J1912+101 was tentatively identified as an old supernova remnant, but is missing counterparts at radio and other frequencies. We analysed the Sino-German Urumqi $\lambda$6 cm survey and the Effelsberg $\lambda$11 cm and $\lambda$21 cm surveys to identify radio emission from HESS J1912+101 to clarify the question of a supernova origin. We find a partial shell of excessive polarisation at $\lambda$6 cm at the periphery of HESS J1912+101. At $\lambda$11 cm, its polarised emission is faint and suffers from depolarisation, while at $\lambda$21 cm, no related polarisation is seen. We could not separate the shell's total intensity signal from the confusing intense diffuse emission from the inner Galactic plane. However, a high-percentage polarisation of the shell's synchrotron emission is indicated. Our results support earlier suggestions that HESS J1912+101 is an old supernova remnant. The synchrotron emission is highly polarised, which is typical for evolved supernova remnants of low surface-brightness., Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, accepted by RAA

Published
2018
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18. Monopole and dipole estimation for multi-frequency sky maps by linear regression

Author

J. P. Leahy, A. J. Banday, Charles R. Lawrence, H. K. Eriksen, Ingunn Kathrine Wehus, Krzysztof M. Gorski, Patricia Reich, Wolfgang Reich, Clive Dickinson, Tuhin Ghosh, U. Fuskeland, Davide Maino, Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut d'astrophysique spatiale (IAS), Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie ( IRAP ), Université Paul Sabatier - Toulouse 3 ( UPS ) -Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées ( OMP ) -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), Institut d'astrophysique spatiale ( IAS ), and Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 ( UP11 ) -Institut national des sciences de l'Univers ( INSU - CNRS ) -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS )

Subjects
statistical [Methods], Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO), [ PHYS.ASTR ] Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], media_common.quotation_subject, Magnetic monopole, radio continuum: general, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, symbols.namesake, 0103 physical sciences, Linear regression, Planck, observations [Cosmology], 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Galaxy: general, general [Galaxy], Parametric statistics, media_common, Physics, Spectral index, methods: statistical, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, general [Radio continuum], Astronomy and Astrophysics, CMB cold spot, Dipole, Space and Planetary Science, Sky, cosmology: observations, symbols, [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Abstract

We describe a simple but efficient method for deriving a consistent set of monopole and dipole corrections for multi-frequency sky map data sets, allowing robust parametric component separation with the same data set. The computational core of this method is linear regression between pairs of frequency maps, often called "T-T plots". Individual contributions from monopole and dipole terms are determined by performing the regression locally in patches on the sky, while the degeneracy between different frequencies is lifted when ever the dominant foreground component exhibits a significant spatial spectral index variation. Based on this method, we present two different, but each internally consistent, sets of monopole and dipole coefficients for the 9-year WMAP, Planck 2013, SFD 100 um, Haslam 408 MHz and Reich & Reich 1420 MHz maps. The two sets have been derived with different analysis assumptions and data selection, and provides an estimate of residual systematic uncertainties. In general, our values are in good agreement with previously published results. Among the most notable results are a relative dipole between the WMAP and Planck experiments of 10-15 uK (depending on frequency), an estimate of the 408 MHz map monopole of 8.9 +- 1.3 K, and a non-zero dipole in the 1420 MHz map of $0.15 +- 0.03 K pointing towards Galactic coordinates (l,b) = (308,-36) +- 14 degrees. These values represent the sum of any instrumental and data processing offsets, as well as any Galactic or extra-Galactic component that is spectrally uniform over the full sky., 14 pages, 9 figures

Published
2017
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19. G181.1+9.5, a new high-latitude low-surface brightness supernova remnant

Author

Wolfgang Reich, Patricia Reich, Roland Kothes, and T. Foster

Subjects
Milky Way, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, Radio telescope, 0103 physical sciences, ROSAT, Radiative transfer, Surface brightness, Supernova remnant, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, ISM: supernova remnants, High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), Physics, polarization, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Galactic plane, Supernova, Space and Planetary Science, ISM: magnetic fields, Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, ISM: individual objects: G181.1+9.5
Abstract

More than 90% of the known Milky Way supernova remnants are within 5 degrees of the Galactic Plane. We present the discovery of the supernova remnant G181.1+9.5, a new high-latitude SNR, serendipitously discovered in an ongoing survey of the Galactic Anti-centre High-Velocity Cloud complex, observed with the DRAO Synthesis Telescope in the 21~cm radio continuum and HI spectral line. We use radio continuum observations (including the linearly polarized component) at 1420~MHz (observed with the DRAO ST) and 4850~MHz (observed with the Effelsberg 100-m radio telescope) to map G181.1+9.5 and determine its nature as a SNR. High-resolution 21~cm HI line observations and HI emission and absorption spectra reveal the physical characteristics of its local interstellar environment. Finally, we estimate the basic physical parameters of G181.1+9.5 using models for highly-evolved SNRs. G181.1+9.5 has a circular shell-like morphology with a radius of about 16~pc at a distance of 1.5 kpc some 250 pc above the mid-plane. The radio observations reveal highly linearly polarized emission with a non-thermal spectrum. Archival ROSAT X-ray data reveal high-energy emission from the interior of G181.1+9.5 indicative of the presence of shock-heated ejecta. The SNR is in the advanced radiative phase of SNR evolution, expanding into the HVC inter-cloud medium with a density of 1$~cm$^{-3}$. Basic physical attributes of G181.1+9.5 calculated with radiative SNR models show an upper-limit age of 16,000 years, a swept-up mass of more than 300 solar masses, and an ambient density in agreement with that estimated from HI observations. G181.1+9.5 shows all characteristics of a typical mature shell-type SNR, but its observed faintness is unusual and requires further study., A&A accepted, 11 pages, 13 figures

Published
2016

20. An Improved Model of Diffuse Galactic Radio Emission from 10 MHz to 5 THz

Author

Adrian Liu, Doyeon A. Kim, Justin L. Jonas, Haoxuan Zheng, Patricia Reich, Abraham R. Neben, Wolfgang Reich, Joshua S. Dillon, and Max Tegmark

Subjects
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO), media_common.quotation_subject, Cosmic microwave background, Cosmic background radiation, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, Cosmology, Spectral line, law.invention, symbols.namesake, law, GSM, 0103 physical sciences, Planck, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, media_common, Physics, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Astronomy, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Synchrotron, Space and Planetary Science, Sky, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), symbols, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Abstract

We present an improved Global Sky Model (GSM) of diffuse galactic radio emission from 10 MHz to 5 THz, whose uses include foreground modeling for CMB and 21 cm cosmology. Our model improves on past work both algorithmically and by adding new data sets such as the Planck maps and the enhanced Haslam map. Our method generalizes the Principal Component Analysis approach to handle non-overlapping regions, enabling the inclusion of 29 sky maps with no region of the sky common to all. We also perform a blind separation of our GSM into physical components with a method that makes no assumptions about physical emission mechanisms (synchrotron, free-free, dust, etc). Remarkably, this blind method automatically finds five components that have previously only been found "by hand", which we identify with synchrotron, free-free, cold dust, warm dust, and the CMB anisotropy, with maps and spectra agreeing with previous work but in many cases with smaller error bars. The improved GSM is available online at github.com/jeffzhen/gsm2016., 13 pages, 8 figures. Updated to match the MNRAS accepted version

Published
2016

21. Wide-band, low-frequency pulse profiles of 100 radio pulsars with LOFAR

Author

J. van Leeuwen, Matthias Steinmetz, T. E. Hassall, A. Nelles, E. de Geus, M. Pilia, B. W. Stappers, Heino Falcke, H. J. A. Röttgering, Annalisa Bonafede, Oleg Smirnov, Anna V. Bilous, Satyendra Thoudam, Evan Keane, Peter G. Jonker, W. Frieswijk, Rudy Wijnands, A. Noutsos, M. Pietka, John D. Swinbank, Richard Fallows, R. J. van Weeren, M. Pandey-Pommier, Olaf Wucknitz, A. Alexov, Rebecca McFadden, E. Juette, F. Breitling, Stefan J. Wijnholds, Aris Karastergiou, Benedetta Ciardi, H. Paas, Antonia Rowlinson, Dominik J. Schwarz, Michael Kramer, A. I. F. Stewart, Y. Tang, Ashish Asgekar, K. Zagkouris, James A. Anderson, Chiara Ferrari, S. Duscha, James Miller-Jones, Andrew Lyne, Stefan Oslowski, Adam T. Deller, A. de Jong, R. C. Vermeulen, Gianni Bernardi, I. M. Avruch, M. A. Garrett, M. C. Toribio, Jochen Eislöffel, Charlotte Sobey, A. J. van der Horst, Rene P. Breton, Cyril Tasse, Marcus Brüggen, J. W. Broderick, Gerard H. Kuper, S. ter Veen, A. W. Gunst, Rob Fender, P. Zarka, D. McKay-Bukowski, Martin Bell, A. Horneffer, M. Kuniyoshi, Patrick Weltevrede, M. Serylak, A. G. Polatidis, Ralph A. M. J. Wijers, Mark J. Bentum, Christian Vocks, Jean-Mathias Grießmeier, Sera Markoff, Jason W. T. Hessels, Stephane Corbel, Laura Birzan, J. P. Hamaker, Wolfgang Reich, Michel Tagger, P. Maat, V. I. Kondratiev, George Heald, Gottfried Mann, R. Pizzo, Astronomy, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON), Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester [Manchester], Vrije Universiteit Medical Centre (VUMC), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam [Amsterdam] (VU), Astronomical Institute Anton Pannekoek (AI PANNEKOEK), University of Amsterdam [Amsterdam] (UvA), Oxford Astrophysics, University of Oxford, School of Physics and Astronomy [Southampton], University of Southampton, Institute for Mathematics, Astrophysics and Particle Physics (IMAPP), Radboud University [Nijmegen], Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Unité Scientifique de la Station de Nançay (USN), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing [Swinburne] (CAS), Swinburne University of Technology [Melbourne], Department of Physics [Oxford], Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIFR), Universität Bielefeld = Bielefeld University, University of Cape Town, Space Telescope Science Institute (STSci), Epidémiologie et Biostatistique [Bordeaux], Université Bordeaux Segalen - Bordeaux 2-Institut de Santé Publique, d'Épidémiologie et de Développement (ISPED)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON), Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), Harvard University [Cambridge]-Smithsonian Institution, Leiden Observatory [Leiden], Universiteit Leiden [Leiden], University of Hamburg, Leibniz-Institut DSMZ-Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen GmbH / Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures (DSMZ), University of Edinburgh, Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik (MPA), Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Astrophysique Interprétation Modélisation (AIM (UMR7158 / UMR_E_9005 / UM_112)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Structural Dynamics and Acoustics, University of Twente, Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg (TLS), Institute of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Department of Astrophysics [Oxford], Département de Géologie, Université de Montréal (UdeM), Astronomisches Institut der Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Ruhr-Universität Bochum [Bochum], Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP), Department of Physical Sciences, University of Oulu, University of Oulu, Curtin University [Perth], Planning and Transport Research Centre (PATREC), University of Groningen [Groningen], Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon (CRAL), École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation [Canberra] (CSIRO), Institute of Farm Animal Genetics (ING), Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), SKA South Africa, Ska South Africa, Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam (AIP), Department of Physics [Dunedin], University of Otago [Dunedin, Nouvelle-Zélande], Princeton University, Edinburgh Research Station, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Department of Astrophysics [Nijmegen], Radboud University [Nijmegen]-Radboud University [Nijmegen], Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, Argelander-Institut für Astronomie (AlfA), Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Agence Nationale de la Recherche ANR-09-JCJC-0001-01, ANR-09-JCJC-0001,OPALES(2009), European Project: 337062,EC:FP7:ERC,ERC-2013-StG,DRAGNET(2014), European Project: 617199,EC:FP7:ERC,ERC-2013-CoG,ALERT(2014), European Project: 224838,EC:FP7:PEOPLE,FP7-PEOPLE-2007-4-3-IRG,PULSARS WITH LOFAR(2008), ROUCHON, Nathalie, Jeunes chercheuses et jeunes chercheurs - - OPALES2009 - ANR-09-JCJC-0001 - JCJC - VALID, DRAGNET: A high-speed, wide-angle camera for catching extreme astrophysical events - DRAGNET - - EC:FP7:ERC2014-01-01 - 2018-12-31 - 337062 - VALID, ALERT - The Apertif-LOFAR Exploration of the Radio Transient Sky - ALERT - - EC:FP7:ERC2014-12-01 - 2019-11-30 - 617199 - VALID, Radio pulsars with LOFAR: a study of extreme physics laboratories. - PULSARS WITH LOFAR - - EC:FP7:PEOPLE2008-05-01 - 2012-04-30 - 224838 - VALID, High Energy Astrophys. & Astropart. Phys (API, FNWI), University of Oxford [Oxford], Radboud university [Nijmegen], Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO), Fakultät für Physik, Universität Bielefeld, Universität Bielefeld, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, Astrophysique Interprétation Modélisation (AIM (UMR_7158 / UMR_E_9005 / UM_112)), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7), University of Twente [Netherlands], Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS), Radboud university [Nijmegen]-Radboud university [Nijmegen], Harvard University-Smithsonian Institution, Universiteit Leiden, École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Pilia, M., Hessels, J.W.T., Stappers, B.W., Kondratiev, V.I., Kramer, M., Van Leeuwen, J., Weltevrede, P., Lyne, A.G., Zagkouris, K., Hassall, T.E., Bilous, A.V., Breton, R.P., Falcke, H., Grießmeier, J.-M., Keane, E., Karastergiou, A., Kuniyoshi, M., Noutsos, A., Osłowski, S., Serylak, M., Sobey, C., Ter Veen, S., Alexov, A., Anderson, J., Asgekar, A., Avruch, I.M., Bell, M.E., Bentum, M.J., Bernardi, G., Bîrzan, L., Bonafede, A., Breitling, F., Broderick, J.W., Brüggen, M., Ciardi, B., Corbel, S., De Geus, E., De Jong, A., Deller, A., Duscha, S., Eislöffel, J., Fallows, R.A., Fender, R., Ferrari, C., Frieswijk, W., Garrett, M.A., Gunst, A.W., Hamaker, J.P., Heald, G., Horneffer, A., Jonker, P., Juette, E., Kuper, G., Maat, P., Mann, G., Markoff, S., McFadden, R., McKay-Bukowski, D., Miller-Jones, J.C.A., Nelles, A., Paas, H., Pandey-Pommier, M., Pietka, M., Pizzo, R., Polatidis, A.G., Reich, W., Röttgering, H., Rowlinson, A., Schwarz, D., Smirnov, O., Steinmetz, M., Stewart, A., Swinbank, J.D., Tagger, M., Tang, Y., Tasse, C., Thoudam, S., Toribio, M.C., Van Der Horst, A.J., Vermeulen, R., Vocks, C., Van Weeren, R.J., Wijers, R.A.M.J., Wijnands, R., Wijnholds, S.J., Wucknitz, O., and Zarka, P.

Subjects
Astronomy, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, METIS-321663, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Low frequency, 01 natural sciences, Radio spectrum, law.invention, Telescope, Radio telescope, [SDU] Sciences of the Universe [physics], stars: neutron, Pulsar, law, pulsars: general, 0103 physical sciences, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), IR-103184, Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR), Physics, High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, LOFAR, Astronomy and Astrophysic, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Interstellar medium, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, Space and Planetary Science, [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics], Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), ComputingMethodologies_DOCUMENTANDTEXTPROCESSING, Radio frequency, EWI-27451, Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Abstract

LOFAR offers the unique capability of observing pulsars across the 10-240 MHz frequency range with a fractional bandwidth of roughly 50%. This spectral range is well-suited for studying the frequency evolution of pulse profile morphology caused by both intrinsic and extrinsic effects: such as changing emission altitude in the pulsar magnetosphere or scatter broadening by the interstellar medium, respectively. The magnitude of most of these effects increases rapidly towards low frequencies. LOFAR can thus address a number of open questions about the nature of radio pulsar emission and its propagation through the interstellar medium. We present the average pulse profiles of 100 pulsars observed in the two LOFAR frequency bands: High Band (120-167 MHz, 100 profiles) and Low Band (15-62 MHz, 26 profiles). We compare them with Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) and Lovell Telescope observations at higher frequencies (350 and1400 MHz) in order to study the profile evolution. The profiles are aligned in absolute phase by folding with a new set of timing solutions from the Lovell Telescope, which we present along with precise dispersion measures obtained with LOFAR. We find that the profile evolution with decreasing radio frequency does not follow a specific trend but, depending on the geometry of the pulsar, new components can enter into, or be hidden from, view. Nonetheless, in general our observations confirm the widening of pulsar profiles at low frequencies, as expected from radius-to-frequency mapping or birefringence theories. We offer this catalog of low-frequency pulsar profiles in a user friendly way via the EPN Database of Pulsar Profiles (http://www.epta.eu.org/epndb/)., Comment: 38 pages, 11 figures, 5 tables, A&A in press, updated with editorial corrections

Published
2016
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22. ANTISYMMETRY IN THE FARADAY ROTATION SKY CAUSED BY A NEARBY MAGNETIZED BUBBLE

Author

Naomi McClure-Griffiths, M. Wolleben, M. Haverkorn, A. R. Taylor, John M. Dickey, Andrew Fletcher, T. L. Landecker, Wolfgang Reich, Bryan Gaensler, and Ettore Carretti

Subjects
Physics, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, media_common.quotation_subject, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics, Galactic plane, Rotation, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Magnetic field, Galactic halo, symbols.namesake, Pulsar, Space and Planetary Science, Sky, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), Faraday effect, symbols, Halo, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, media_common
Abstract

Rotation measures of pulsars and extragalactic point sources have been known to reveal large-scale antisymmetries in the Faraday rotation sky with respect to the Galactic plane and halo that have been interpreted as signatures of the mean magnetic field in the Galactic halo. We describe Faraday rotation measurements of the diffuse Galactic polarized radio emission over a large region in the northern Galactic hemisphere. Through application of Rotation Measure Synthesis we achieve sensitive Faraday rotation maps with high angular resolution, capable of revealing fine-scale structures of about 1 deg in the Faraday rotation sky. Our analysis suggests that the observed antisymmetry in the Faraday rotation sky at b > 0 deg is dominated by the magnetic field around a local HI bubble at a distance of approx. 100 pc, and not by the magnetic field of the Galactic halo. We derive physical properties of the magnetic field of this shell, which we find to be 20 - 34 uG strong. It is clear that the diffuse polarized radio emission contains important information about the local magneto-ionic medium, which cannot yet be derived from Faraday rotation measures of extragalactic sources or pulsars alone., Published in Astrophysical Journal Letters 724 (2010) L48-L52

Published
2010
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23. Measuring and calibrating galactic synchrotron emission

Author

Wolfgang Reich and Patricia Reich

Subjects
Physics, Linear polarization, media_common.quotation_subject, Astrophysics (astro-ph), Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, FOS: Physical sciences, Synchrotron radiation, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics, Galactic plane, Polarization (waves), Galaxy, Interstellar medium, symbols.namesake, Space and Planetary Science, Sky, Faraday effect, symbols, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, media_common
Abstract

Our position inside the Galaxy requires all-sky surveys to reveal its large-scale properties. The zero-level calibration of all-sky surveys differs from standard 'relative' measurements, where a source is measured in respect to its surroundings. All-sky surveys aim to include emission structures of all angular scales exceeding their angular resolution including isotropic emission components. Synchrotron radiation is the dominating emission process in the Galaxy up to frequencies of a few GHz, where numerous ground based surveys of the total intensity up to 1.4 GHz exist. Its polarization properties were just recently mapped for the entire sky at 1.4 GHz. All-sky total intensity and linear polarization maps from WMAP for frequencies of 23 GHz and higher became available and complement existing sky maps. Galactic plane surveys have higher angular resolution using large single-dish or synthesis telescopes. Polarized diffuse emission shows structures with no relation to total intensity emission resulting from Faraday rotation effects in the interstellar medium. The interpretation of these polarization structures critically depends on a correct setting of the absolute zero-level in Stokes U and Q., Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures. To be published in "Cosmic Magnetic Fields: From Planets, to Stars and Galaxies", K.G. Strassmeier, A.G. Kosovichev & J.E. Beckman, eds., Proc. IAU Symp. 259, CUP

Published
2008
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24. Statistical properties of polarized radio continuum emission and effects of data processing

Author

Dmitry Sokoloff, I. A. Mizeva, P. Frick, Rainer Beck, and Wolfgang Reich

Subjects
Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Probability density function, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics, Galactic plane, Polarization (waves), Spectral line, Magnetic field, law.invention, Telescope, symbols.namesake, Wavelet, Space and Planetary Science, law, symbols, Stokes parameters, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics
Abstract

Polarized intensity and polarization angles are calculated from Stokes parameters Q and U in a nonlinear way. The statistical properties of polarized emission hold information about the structure of magnetic fields in a large range of scales, but the contributions of different stages of data processing to the statistical properties should first be understood. We use 1.4 GHz polarization data from the Effelsberg 100-m telescope of emission in the Galactic plane, near the plane and far out of the plane. We analyze the probability distribution function and the wavelet spectrum of the original maps in Stokes parameters Q, U and corresponding PI . Then we apply absolute calibration (i.e. adding the large-scale emission to the maps in Q and U ), subtraction of polarized sources and subtraction of the positive bias in PI due to noise (“denoising”). We show how each procedure affects the statistical properties of the data. We find a complex behavior of the statistical properties for the different regions analyzed which depends largely on the intensity level of polarized emission. Absolute calibration changes the morphology of the polarized structures. The statistical properties change in a complex way: Compact sources in the field flatten the wavelet spectrum over a substantial range. Adding large-scale emission does not change the spectral slopes in Q and U at small scales, but changes the PI spectrum in a complex way. “Denoising” significantly changes the p.d.f. of PI and raises the entire spectrum. The final spectra are flat in the Galactic plane due to magnetic structures in the ISM, but steeper at high Galactic latitude and in the anticenter. For a reliable study of the statistical properties of magnetic fields and turbulence in the ISM based on radio polarization observations, absolute calibration and source subtraction are required.

Published
2007
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25. The Boomerang PWN G106.6+2.9 and the Magnetic Field Structure in Pulsar Wind Nebulae

Author

Wolfgang Reich, Roland Kothes, and Bülent Uyaniker

Subjects
Physics, Nebula, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Astronomy, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics, Galactic plane, Pulsar wind nebula, Magnetic field, Radio telescope, Supernova, Pulsar, Space and Planetary Science, Supernova remnant, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics
Abstract

We present new observations at high radio frequencies made with the Effelsberg 100 m radio telescope of the "Boomerang" pulsar wind nebula (PWN) G106.65+2.96, which is part of the supernova remnant (SNR) G106.3+2.7. Including low-frequency data from the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey allows us to develop a complete picture of the PWN and its evolution in a very complex environment. The radio continuum spectrum reveals a break between 4 and 5 GHz that is the result of synchrotron cooling. We find evidence that the reverse shock of the initial supernova shock wave has driven away the original PWN, which explains why the current nebula around the pulsar has such a low radio luminosity. An analysis of the energy budget of the pulsar, the magnetic field in the nebula, and the lifetime of relativistic electrons gives a magnetic field of 2.6 mG in the PWN with an age of 3900 yr. This is not the age of the SNR but the time that has passed since the reverse shock crushed the original PWN. A comparison of our polarization measurements with those of other PWNe leads to a simple model of the magnetic field structure within such an object. Using this model, we derive an angle of about 30° between the Galactic north and the spin axis of the pulsar, projected onto the plane of the sky. The spin axis is pointing away from us, toward the northwest. This agrees nicely with the results of Ng and Romani, who in a 2004 paper calculated an angle of 20° from their fits of a model torus to a Chandra measurement of the Boomerang. The nebula contains a toroidal magnetic field structure, yet the rotation measure distribution indicates a radial magnetic field as its cause. Apparently, the observed radio emission originates on the far side of the object and passes through the inner region, which has a radial magnetic field.

Published
2006
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26. Magnetic fields of the W4 superbubble

Author

Patricia Reich, Roland Kothes, Jin-Lin Han, Wolfgang Reich, and X. Y. Gao

Subjects
Electron density, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Continuum (design consultancy), multishell structures, Perseus Arm, FOS: Physical sciences, Context (language use), Superbubble, Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, magnetic fields, Mathematics::Numerical Analysis, Mathematics::Probability, ISM: individual objects, line-of-sight components, magnetic field strengths, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, intensity measurements, Physics, Linear polarization, electrons, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Galactic plane, solar system, shells (structures), Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Magnetic field, radio continuum: ISM, Space and Planetary Science, polarized emissions, magnetism, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), thermionic emission, ISM: magnetic fields, electron density measurement, carrier concentration
Abstract

Superbubbles and supershells are the channels for transferring mass and energy from the Galactic disk to the halo. Magnetic fields are believed to play a vital role in their evolution. We study the radio continuum and polarized emission properties of the W4 superbubble to determine its magnetic field strength. New sensitive radio continuum observations were made at 6 cm, 11 cm, and 21 cm. The total intensity measurements were used to derive the radio spectrum of the W4 superbubble. The linear polarization data were analysed to determine the magnetic field properties within the bubble shells. The observations show a multi-shell structure of the W4 superbubble. A flat radio continuum spectrum that stems from optically thin thermal emission is derived from 1.4 GHz to 4.8 GHz. By fitting a passive Faraday screen model and considering the filling factor fne , we obtain the thermal electron density ne = 1.0/\sqrt{fne} (\pm5%) cm^-3 and the strength of the line-of-sight component of the magnetic field B// = -5.0/\sqrt{fne} (\pm10%) {\mu}G (i.e. pointing away from us) within the western shell of the W4 superbubble. When the known tilted geometry of the W4 superbubble is considered, the total magnetic field Btot in its western shell is greater than 12 {\mu}G. The electron density and the magnetic field are lower and weaker in the high-latitude parts of the superbubble. The rotation measure is found to be positive in the eastern shell but negative in the western shell of the W4 superbubble, which is consistent with the case that the magnetic field in the Perseus arm is lifted up from the plane towards high latitudes. The magnetic field strength and the electron density we derived for the W4 superbubble are important parameters for evolution models of superbubbles breaking out of the Galactic plane., Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

Published
2015
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27. Faraday Tomography of the North Polar Spur: Constraints on the Distance to the Spur and on the Magnetic Field of the Galaxy

Author

J. P. Leahy, Bryan Gaensler, T. L. Landecker, A. D. Gray, Marijke Haverkorn, Wolfgang Reich, Naomi McClure-Griffiths, Roland M. Crocker, M. Wolleben, K. A. Douglas, Ettore Carretti, and X. H. Sun

Subjects
Physics, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Astronomy, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Computer Science::Computation and Language (Computational Linguistics and Natural Language and Speech Processing), Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Polarization (waves), Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Galaxy, law.invention, Magnetic field, Interstellar medium, Telescope, symbols.namesake, Wavelength, Space and Planetary Science, law, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), Faraday effect, symbols, ComputingMethodologies_DOCUMENTANDTEXTPROCESSING, Faraday cage, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics
Abstract

We present radio continuum and polarization images of the North Polar Spur (NPS) from the Global Magneto-Ionic Medium Survey (GMIMS) conducted with the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory 26-m Telescope. We fit polarization angle versus wavelength squared over 2048 frequency channels from 1280 to 1750 MHz to obtain a Faraday Rotation Measure (RM) map of the NPS. Combining this RM map with a published Faraday depth map of the entire Galaxy in this direction, we derive the Faraday depth introduced by the NPS and the Galactic interstellar medium (ISM) in front of and behind the NPS. The Faraday depth contributed by the NPS is close to zero, indicating that the NPS is an emitting only feature. The Faraday depth caused by the ISM in front of the NPS is consistent with zero at b>50 degree, implying that this part of the NPS is local at a distance of approximately several hundred parsecs. The Faraday depth contributed by the ISM behind the NPS gradually increases with Galactic latitude up to b=44 degree, and decreases at higher Galactic latitudes. This implies that either the part of the NPS at b50 degree can be explained by including a coherent vertical magnetic field., 9 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ. Some figures have been degraded to reduce sizes, for a high resolution version, see http://physics.usyd.edu.au/~xhsun/ms_nps.pdf

Published
2015
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29. The Emission Nebula Sh 2-174: A Radio Investigation of the Surrounding Region

Author

Joern Geisbuesch, T. L. Landecker, Roland Kothes, Wolfgang Reich, and R. R. Ransom

Subjects
Physics, Leading edge, Nebula, ISM: structure, stars: kinematics and dynamics, White dwarf, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics, planetary nebulae: individual (Sh 2-174), Polarization (waves), Planetary nebula, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Interstellar medium, techniques: polarimetric, Emission nebula, Space and Planetary Science, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), ISM: magnetic fields, Halo, stars: individual (GD 561)
Abstract

Sh 2-174 is believed to be either a planetary nebula (PN) or ionized, ambient interstellar medium (ISM). We present in this paper 1420 MHz polarization, 1420 MHz total intensity (Stokes-I), and neutral hydrogen (HI) images of the region around Sh 2-174. The radio images address not only the nature of the object, but also the history of the relationship between Sh 2-174 and its surrounding environment. The HI images show that Sh 2-174 sits presently at the center of a 1.2 deg x 0.4 deg cloud. The Stokes-I image shows thermal emission peaks coincident with the R-band optical nebula, as well as low-surface-brightness emission from an ionized "halo" around Sh 2-174 and from an ionized "plateau" extending southeast from the cloud. The polarization images reveal Faraday-rotation structures along the projected trajectory of Sh 2-174, including a high-contrast structure with "arms" that run precisely along the eastern edge of the HI cloud and a wide central region which merges with the downstream edge of Sh 2-174. The high-contrast structure is consistent with an ionized tail which has both early-epoch (before Sh 2-174 entered the cloud) and present-epoch (after Sh 2-174 entered the cloud) components. Furthermore, our rotation-measure analysis indicates that the ISM magnetic field is deflected at the leading edge of Sh 2-174. The downstream tail and upstream field deflection point to a PN-ISM interaction. Our estimated space velocity for the host white dwarf (GD~561) demonstrates that Sh 2-174 entered the cloud approximately 27,000 yr ago, and gives a PN-ISM interaction timescale less than approximately 200,000 yr. We estimate an ambient magnetic field in the cloud of 11 +/- 3 microGauss., 40 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ

Published
2014

30. 150 GHz NOBA Observations of the Galactic Center Arc

Author

Wolfgang Reich, Hiroshi Matsuo, and Yoshiaki Sofue

Subjects
Physics, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Molecular cloud, Bolometer, Galactic Center, Astronomy, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics, Electron, law.invention, Magnetic field, Telescope, Particle acceleration, Space and Planetary Science, law, Thermal, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics
Abstract

We have used the seven-beam 150 GHz bolometer NOBA installed at the Nobeyama 45-m telescope to map the central section of the Galactic Center Arc. In addition, we mapped Sgr A, which shows Sgr A* and the thermal spiral structure. The results agree with previous mm-observations. South of the thermal "sickle" feature (G0.18 — 0.04) we observed three regions of enhanced emission along the Arc, which are located slightly offset relative to the most intense vertical filaments seen at low frequencies. This 150 GHz emission is observed at the apparent interacting areas of dense molecular material with the Arc. Another structure is seen south of the molecular cloud, where the Arc's vertical filaments apparently cross a weak filamentary structure running orthogonally in the direction of Sgr A. The 150 GHz results are unexpected in view of previous 32 GHz and 43 GHz results, which indicate a fading of the Arc towards higher frequencies. Cold dust can be ruled out as the origin of the 150 GHz emission. Synchrotron emission from quasimonoenergetic electrons or an electron distribution with a low-energy cut-off seems to be compatible with the available data. The coincidence of enhanced emission with regions of interacting molecular gas strongly suggests that high-energy electrons are accelerated in those places where the magnetic field is compressed, and subsequently enter and illuminate the Arc.

Published
2000
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31. G141.2+5.0, a new Pulsar Wind Nebula discovered in the Cygnus Arm of the Milky Way

Author

Wolfgang Reich, T. Foster, Xiaohui Sun, and Roland Kothes

Subjects
Physics, Spectral index, education.field_of_study, Spiral galaxy, Milky Way, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Population, Perseus Arm, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Pulsar wind nebula, law.invention, Telescope, Supernova, Space and Planetary Science, law, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), education, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics
Abstract

We report the discovery of the new pulsar wind nebula (PWN) G141.2+5.0 in data observed with the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory's Synthesis Telescope at 1420 MHz. The new PWN has a diameter of about 3.5', which translates at a distance of 4.0 kpc to a spatial extent of about 4 pc. It displays a radio spectral index of $\alpha\approx -0.7$, similar to the PWN G76.9+1.1. G141.2+5.0 is highly polarized up to 40% with an average of 15% in the 1420 MHz data. It is located in the centre of a small spherical HI bubble, which is expanding at a velocity of 6 km/s. The bubble's systemic velocity is -53 km/s and could be the result of the progenitor star's mass loss or the shell-type SNR created by the same supernova explosion in a highly advanced stage. The systemic velocity of the bubble shares the velocity of HI associated with the Cygnus spiral arm, which is seen across the 2nd and 3rd quadrants and an active star-forming arm immediately beyond the Perseus arm. A kinematical distance of 4+/-0.5 kpc is found for G141.2+5.0, similar to the optical distance of the Cygnus arm (3.8+/-1.1 kpc) and its kinematic HI distance (4.4+/-0.6 kpc). G141.2+5.0 represents the first radio PWN discovered in 17 years and the first SNR discovered in the Cygnus spiral arm, which is in stark contrast with the Perseus arm's overwhelming population of shell-type remnants., Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ Letters, 7 pages, 1 Table, 4 Figures

Published
2014
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32. LOFAR tied-array imaging of Type III solar radio bursts

Author

Rene C. Vermeulen, John McKean, R. J. van Weeren, P. Maat, M. J. Norden, Gerard H. Kuper, Jean-Mathias Grießmeier, Sera Markoff, H. Paas, T. E. Hassall, V. I. Kondratiev, Jochen Eislöffel, Eoin P. Carley, A. G. Polatidis, A. A. Konovalenko, Hamish A. S. Reid, D. Engels, D. D. Mulcahy, Y. Tang, A. Nelles, Anna M. M. Scaife, A. Kerdraon, Oleg Smirnov, Olaf Wucknitz, Chiara Ferrari, Wolfgang Reich, Heino Falcke, Peter T. Gallagher, I. M. Avruch, Aris Karastergiou, Joel N. Bregman, H. Munk, Gianni Bernardi, Jörg R. Hörandel, Marcus Brüggen, Ashish Asgekar, F. de Gasperin, M. A. Garrett, W. Frieswijk, Marco Iacobelli, Pietro Zucca, E. de Geus, Sarod Yatawatta, Harvey Butcher, Diana E. Morosan, V. N. Pandey, Michel Tagger, Dominik J. Schwarz, Adam Stewart, M. Pandey-Pommier, E. Juette, Mark J. Bentum, Michael Kramer, A. W. Gunst, Emanuela Orru, S. Duscha, G. Pietka, H. O. Rucker, A. Horneffer, Philip Best, Matthias Hoeft, J. W. Broderick, C. Tasse, Gottfried Mann, R. Pizzo, James M. Anderson, M. Kuniyoshi, Ben Stappers, John Conway, Mario M. Bisi, Adam T. Deller, Christian Vocks, Alexander L. MacKinnon, Jasmina Magdalenic, Richard Fallows, Philippe Zarka, M. Serylak, Jason W. T. Hessels, Annalisa Bonafede, Benedetta Ciardi, C. Toribio, F. Breitling, Bo Thidé, H. J. A. Röttgering, Satyendra Thoudam, Morosan, D.E., Gallagher, P.T., Zucca, P., Fallows, R., Carley, E.P., Mann, G., Bisi, M.M., Kerdraon, A., Konovalenko, A.A., MacKinnon, A.L., Rucker, H.O., Thidé, B., Magdalenić, J., Vocks, C., Reid, H., Anderson, J., Asgekar, A., Avruch, I.M., Bentum, M.J., Bernardi, G., Best, P., Bonafede, A., Bregman, J., Breitling, F., Broderick, J., Brüggen, M., Butcher, H.R., Ciardi, B., Conway, J.E., De Gasperin, F., De Geus, E., Deller, A., Duscha, S., Eislöffel, J., Engels, D., Falcke, H., Ferrari, C., Frieswijk, W., Garrett, M.A., Grießmeier, J., Gunst, A.W., Hassall, T.E., Hessels, J.W.T., Hoeft, M., Hörandel, J., Horneffer, A., Iacobelli, M., Juette, E., Karastergiou, A., Kondratiev, V.I., Kramer, M., Kuniyoshi, M., Kuper, G., Maat, P., Markoff, S., McKean, J.P., Mulcahy, D.D., Munk, H., Nelles, A., Norden, M.J., Orru, E., Paas, H., Pandey-Pommier, M., Pandey, V.N., Pietka, G., Pizzo, R., Polatidis, A.G., Reich, W., Röttgering, H., Scaife, A.M.M., Schwarz, D., Serylak, M., Smirnov, O., Stappers, B.W., Stewart, A., Tagger, M., Tang, Y., Tasse, C., Thoudam, S., Toribio, C., Vermeulen, R., Van Weeren, R.J., Wucknitz, O., Yatawatta, S., Zarka, P., Trinity College Dublin, Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP), STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL), Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institute of Radio Astronomy of NASU [Kharkiv] (IRA), National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Space Research Institute of Austrian Academy of Sciences (IWF), Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW), Swedish Institute of Space Physics [Uppsala] (IRF), SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON), Jacobs University [Bremen], University of Southampton, Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics [Canberra] (RSAA), Australian National University (ANU), Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Hamburger Sternwarte/Hamburg Observatory, Universität Hamburg (UHH), Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON), Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg (TLS), Radboud University [Nijmegen], Joseph Louis LAGRANGE (LAGRANGE), Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) (UNS), COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Leiden Observatory [Leiden], Universiteit Leiden, Unité Scientifique de la Station de Nançay (USN), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Ruhr-Universität Bochum [Bochum], Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIFR), Astronomical Institute Anton Pannekoek (AI PANNEKOEK), University of Amsterdam [Amsterdam] (UvA), Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon (CRAL), École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), National Radio Astronomy Observatory [Charlottesville] (NRAO), National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), School of Physics and Astronomy [Southampton], Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics [Boulder] (LASP), University of Colorado [Boulder], Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11), Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), Harvard University-Smithsonian Institution, ANR-09-JCJC-0001,OPALES(2009), Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, Radboud university [Nijmegen], Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (... - 2019) (UNS), COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Universiteit Leiden [Leiden], Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO), École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS), Harvard University [Cambridge]-Smithsonian Institution, Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA (UMR_8109)), PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (... - 2019) (UNS), Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Smithsonian Institution-Harvard University [Cambridge], ANR-09-JCJC-0001,OPALES,nOn-thermal Processes in gALaxy cluStErs(2009), and High Energy Astrophys. & Astropart. Phys (API, FNWI)

Subjects
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, corona [Sun], Astronomy, WAVES, Astrophysics, particle emission [Sun], 01 natural sciences, CORONA, EWI-25429, Sun: coronal, Coronal mass ejection, Astrophysics::Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, GeneralLiterature_REFERENCE(e.g.,dictionaries,encyclopedias,glossaries), 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Physics, Solar flare, Sun: radio radiation, [SDU.ASTR.HE]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena [astro-ph.HE], ELECTRONS, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, Physical Sciences, IR-93233, Physics::Space Physics, SHOCK, Radio frequency, Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, Sun: coronal mass ejections (CMEs), Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, FOS: Physical sciences, Solar radius, Astronomy & Astrophysics, ACCELERATION, Radio telescope, PLASMA EMISSION, SPACECRAFT, Sun: particle emission, 0103 physical sciences, Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR), 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Science & Technology, RADIOHELIOGRAPH, radio radiation [Sun], [SDU.ASTR.SR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Solar and Stellar Astrophysics [astro-ph.SR], Sun: corona, Astronomy and Astrophysics, LOFAR, METIS-309731, Astronomy and Astrophysic, Corona, coronal mass ejections (CMEs) [Sun], Space and Planetary Science, DENSITY, Temporal resolution, mass ejections (CMEs)
Abstract

The Sun is an active source of radio emission which is often associated with energetic phenomena such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). At low radio frequencies (, 9 pages, 6 figures

Published
2014
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33. The LOFAR pilot surveys for pulsars and fast radio transients

Author

K. Zagkouris, Stefan Oslowski, C. Schrijvers, Michel Tagger, A. Noutsos, Jean-Mathias Grießmeier, John D. Swinbank, Simon Cooper, Dominik J. Schwarz, Rob Fender, P. Zarka, Heino Falcke, Philip Best, V. I. Kondratiev, D. McKay-Bukowski, Charlotte Sobey, Arthur Corstanje, Gerard H. Kuper, Christian Vocks, T. Coenen, M. A. Garrett, Y. Tang, M. Serylak, T. E. Hassall, Oleg Smirnov, Gottfried Mann, Olaf Wucknitz, Anna M. M. Scaife, Jason W. T. Hessels, J. Sluman, Aris Karastergiou, Gianni Bernardi, Mark J. Bentum, Michael Kramer, M. Pilia, George Heald, S. ter Veen, A. W. Gunst, H. Munk, H. J. A. Röttgering, A. S. van Amesfoort, E. de Geus, Satyendra Thoudam, Marcus Brüggen, C. Tasse, Harvey Butcher, John McKean, Emanuela Orru, Casey J. Law, M. Kuniyoshi, Chiara Ferrari, F. Breitling, Annalisa Bonafede, Joeri van Leeuwen, M. Pandey-Pommier, A. Zensus, James M. Anderson, Antonia Rowlinson, Ashish Asgekar, C. Toribio, R. Vermeulen, Joris P. W. Verbiest, Evan Keane, Matthias Hoeft, Vishal Gajjar, Jochen Eislöffel, S. Duscha, H. Paas, A. G. Polatidis, A. Alexov, Rebecca McFadden, Benedetta Ciardi, Stefan J. Wijnholds, J. W. Broderick, Richard Fallows, Wolfgang Reich, B. W. Stappers, A. Renting, F. de Gasperin, Adam T. Deller, W. Frieswijk, Martin Bell, Anna V. Bilous, R. J. van Weeren, I. M. Avruch, E. Juette, Patrick Weltevrede, J. P. Hamaker, A. J. van der Horst, Rene P. Breton, Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, Astronomy, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON), University of Amsterdam [Amsterdam] (UvA), Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics (JBCA), University of Manchester [Manchester], University of Southampton, Institute for Mathematics, Astrophysics and Particle Physics (IMAPP), Radboud University [Nijmegen], Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIFR), Unité Scientifique de la Station de Nançay (USN), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), University of Oxford, Universität Bielefeld, Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP), SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON), Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), Harvard University-Smithsonian Institution, University of Edinburgh, Jacobs University [Bremen], Universität Hamburg (UHH), Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg (TLS), Joseph Louis LAGRANGE (LAGRANGE), Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) (UNS), COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Leiden Observatory [Leiden], Universiteit Leiden, Ruhr-Universität Bochum [Bochum], Astronomical Institute Anton Pannekoek (AI PANNEKOEK), University of Oulu, Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon (CRAL), École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), School of Physics and Astronomy [Southampton], Rhodes University, Grahamstown, Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ANR-09-JCJC-0001,OPALES(2009), European Project: 224838,EC:FP7:PEOPLE,FP7-PEOPLE-2007-4-3-IRG,PULSARS WITH LOFAR(2008), High Energy Astrophys. & Astropart. Phys (API, FNWI), Radboud university [Nijmegen], Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO), University of Oxford [Oxford], Harvard University [Cambridge]-Smithsonian Institution, Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (... - 2019) (UNS), COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Universiteit Leiden [Leiden], École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS), Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Smithsonian Institution-Harvard University [Cambridge], Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (... - 2019) (UNS), Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA (UMR_8109)), PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ANR-09-JCJC-0001,OPALES,nOn-thermal Processes in gALaxy cluStErs(2009), Coenen, Thij, Van Leeuwen, Joeri, Hessels, Jason W. T., Stappers, Ben W., Kondratiev, Vladislav I., Alexov, A., Breton, R.P., Bilous, A., Cooper, S., Falcke, H., Fallows, R.A., Gajjar, V., Grießmeier, J.-M., Hassall, T.E., Karastergiou, A., Keane, E.F., Kramer, M., Kuniyoshi, M., Noutsos, A., Osłowski, S., Pilia, M., Serylak, M., Schrijvers, C., Sobey, C., Ter Veen, S., Verbiest, J., Weltevrede, P., Wijnholds, S., Zagkouris, K., Van Amesfoort, A.S., Anderson, J., Asgekar, A., Avruch, I.M., Bell, M.E., Bentum, M.J., Bernardi, G., Best, P., Bonafede, A., Breitling, F., Broderick, J., Brüggen, M., Butcher, H.R., Ciardi, B., Corstanje, A., Deller, A., Duscha, S., Eislöffel, J., Fender, R., Ferrari, C., Frieswijk, W., Garrett, M.A., De Gasperin, F., De Geus, E., Gunst, A.W., Hamaker, J.P., Heald, G., Hoeft, M., Van Der Horst, A., Juette, E., Kuper, G., Law, C., Mann, G., McFadden, R., McKay-Bukowski, D., McKean, J.P., Munk, H., Orru, E., Paas, H., Pandey-Pommier, M., Polatidis, A.G., Reich, W., Renting, A., Röttgering, H., Rowlinson, A., Scaife, A.M.M., Schwarz, D., Sluman, J., Smirnov, O., Swinbank, J., Tagger, M., Tang, Y., Tasse, C., Thoudam, S., Toribio, C., Vermeulen, R., Vocks, C., Van Weeren, R.J., Wucknitz, O., Zarka, P., and Zensus, A.

Subjects
EWI-25426, Aperture array, media_common.quotation_subject, Astronomy, Pilot survey, SPECTRAL INDEX, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, general [pulsars], METIS-309729, MHZ, Pulsar, surveys, pulsars: general, BURSTS, Survey, Telescope, POPULATION, Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR), media_common, Physics, High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), [PHYS]Physics [physics], ORIGIN, [SDU.ASTR.SR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Solar and Stellar Astrophysics [astro-ph.SR], Astronomy and Astrophysics, telescopes, BINARY, LOFAR, Astronomy and Astrophysic, IR-93231, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, Sky, Space and Planetary Science, DISCOVERY, ComputingMethodologies_DOCUMENTANDTEXTPROCESSING, STATE CHANGE, Antenna (radio), ALLEN TELESCOPE ARRAY, EMISSION, [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Abstract

We have conducted two pilot surveys for radio pulsars and fast transients with the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) around 140 MHz and here report on the first low-frequency fast-radio burst limit and the discovery of two new pulsars. The first survey, the LOFAR Pilot Pulsar Survey (LPPS), observed a large fraction of the northern sky, ~1.4 x 10^4 sq. deg, with 1-hr dwell times. Each observation covered ~75 sq. deg using 7 independent fields formed by incoherently summing the high-band antenna fields. The second pilot survey, the LOFAR Tied-Array Survey (LOTAS), spanned ~600 sq. deg, with roughly a 5-fold increase in sensitivity compared with LPPS. Using a coherent sum of the 6 LOFAR "Superterp" stations, we formed 19 tied-array beams, together covering 4 sq. deg per pointing. From LPPS we derive a limit on the occurrence, at 142 MHz, of dispersed radio bursts of < 150 /day/sky, for bursts brighter than S > 107 Jy for the narrowest searched burst duration of 0.66 ms. In LPPS, we re-detected 65 previously known pulsars. LOTAS discovered two pulsars, the first with LOFAR or any digital aperture array. LOTAS also re-detected 27 previously known pulsars. These pilot studies show that LOFAR can efficiently carry out all-sky surveys for pulsars and fast transients, and they set the stage for further surveying efforts using LOFAR and the planned low-frequency component of the Square Kilometer Array., 18 pages, 10 figures, accepted for A&A

Published
2014
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34. A Gamma‐Ray Flare in NRAO 190

Author

Steven D. Bloom, Walter Kieran Gear, J. R. Mattox, Margo F. Aller, Jochen Schramm, W. Thomas Vestrand, Jamie Stevens, Alan P. Marscher, R. C. Hartman, Merja Tornikoski, Stefan Wagner, Anke Heines, Alexei V. Filippenko, Thomas A. McGlynn, Hugh D. Aller, E. I. Robson, Aaron J. Barth, Wolfgang Reich, and H. Teräsranta

Subjects
Physics, Photon, biology, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Gamma ray, Astronomy, Quiescent state, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics, biology.organism_classification, Radio spectrum, law.invention, Space and Planetary Science, law, Observatory, Egret, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, Microwave, Flare
Abstract

We describe observations of the quasi-stellar object (QSO) NRAO 190 during a gamma-ray flare from 1994 August 9 to 1994 August 29. This QSO was serendipitously detected by the EGRET instrument on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory in a gamma-ray flare with a luminosity at least 10 times that of its quiescent state. Optical, radio, and microwave data were obtained during or near the gamma-ray observations. The historical behavior of this object places it in the category of bright, flat-spectrum radio sources with strong optical variability that appear to form the largest class of non-Galactic high-energy gamma-ray sources. During the gamma-ray flare the source is observed with l(E > 100 MeV) = 8.4 ± 1.2 × 10-7 photons s-1 cm-2. A single power-law model gives a best-fit photon index of γ = -1.83 ± 0.14. Little evidence for major radio variability is seen during the flare or immediately afterward, although there is some increase in the 10-100 GHz flux over the next several months. There may be a slight hardening of the radio spectrum. In the optical region there are significant fluctuations on timescales of 1 day or less, although the overall optical luminosity is within the range of previous measurements. Optical observations a few weeks after the gamma-ray observations show a drop of about 60% and reduced variability. A contemporary optical spectrum shows that the source may be slightly harder than seen in a previously published spectrum. Radio monitoring of the source over the year subsequent to the flare has shown a very substantial drop in the flux at many frequencies.

Published
1997
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35. Initial deep LOFAR observations of Epoch of Reionization windows: I. The North Celestial Pole

Author

M. A. Garrett, Vibor Jelić, Michel Tagger, B. Ciardi, Aris Karastergiou, Harish Vedantham, Marco Iacobelli, Michael W. Wise, Gianni Bernardi, Garrelt Mellema, F. Breitling, F. B. Abdalla, Panagiotis Labropoulos, H. Paas, R. J. van Weeren, Richard Fallows, Léon V. E. Koopmans, M. Kuniyoshi, Michiel A. Brentjens, W. N. Brouw, R. Nijboer, E. Juette, Emanuela Orru, Olaf Wucknitz, V. Veligatla, Gottfried Mann, Ben Stappers, John McKean, M. Mevius, A. G. Polatidis, J. M. Anderson, A. Alexov, Gerard H. Kuper, J. D. Mol, S. ter Veen, Annalisa Bonafede, R. Pizzo, A. W. Gunst, T. E. Hassall, M. Pandey-Pommier, Ph. Zarka, Joop Schaye, Geraint Harker, Michael Kramer, J. Sluman, P. Maat, Jason W. T. Hessels, M. J. Norden, H. J. A. Röttgering, A. R. Offringa, Philip Best, V. I. Kondratiev, Heino Falcke, V. N. Pandey, Chiara Ferrari, J. Noordam, S. Duscha, E. de Geus, John Conway, R. Vermeulen, Sarod Yatawatta, S. Kazemi, Matthias Hoeft, S. Daiboo, F. Batejat, Michael R. Bell, Wolfgang Reich, Saleem Zaroubi, J. M. Griessmeier, R. H. van de Brink, Rajat M. Thomas, Cyril Tasse, Y. Tang, J. W. Broderick, Emma Chapman, Mark J. Bentum, Stefan J. Wijnholds, J. van Leeuwen, Joel N. Bregman, H. Munk, Marcus Brüggen, F. de Gasperin, W. Frieswijk, I. M. Avruch, Oleg Smirnov, Matthias Steinmetz, Martin Bell, O. Martinez Rubi, de Antonius Bruyn, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON), Kapteyn Astronomical Institute [Groningen], University of Groningen [Groningen], Department of process and energy, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), Harvard University [Cambridge]-Smithsonian Institution, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy [Boulder] (CASA), University of Colorado [Boulder], Stockholm Observatory Department of Astronomy, Stockholm University, Leiden Observatory [Leiden], Universiteit Leiden [Leiden], Génétique Diversité et Ecophysiologie des Céréales (GDEC), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Blaise Pascal - Clermont-Ferrand 2 (UBP), University of Edinburgh, Jacobs University [Bremen], Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP), Onsala Space Observatory, Dept. of Radio and Space Science, Chalmers University of Technology, Chalmers University of Technology [Göteborg], Hamburger Sternwarte/Hamburg Observatory, Universität Hamburg (UHH), Medstar Research Institute, Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIFR), Radboud university [Nijmegen], Joseph Louis LAGRANGE (LAGRANGE), Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (... - 2019) (UNS), COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg (TLS), Ruhr-Universität Bochum [Bochum], Oxford Astrophysics, University of Oxford [Oxford], University of Amsterdam [Amsterdam] (UvA), Observatoire de Paris - Site de Meudon (OBSPM), Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Center for Information Technology CIT, Université de Groningen, Université Blaise Pascal - Clermont-Ferrand 2 (UBP)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (... - 2019) (UNS), Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Yatawatta, S., De Bruyn, A.G., Brentjens, M.A., Labropoulos, P., Pandey, V.N., Kazemi, S., Zaroubi, S., Koopmans, L.V.E., Offringa, A.R., Jelić, V., Martinez Rubi, O., Veligatla, V., Wijnholds, S.J., Brouw, W.N., Bernardi, G., Ciardi, B., Daiboo, S., Harker, G., Mellema, G., Schaye, J., Thomas, R., Vedantham, H., Chapman, E., Abdalla, F.B., Alexov, A., Anderson, J., Avruch, I.M., Batejat, F., Bell, M.E., Bell, M.R., Bentum, M., Best, P., Bonafede, A., Bregman, J., Breitling, F., Van De Brink, R.H., Broderick, J.W., Brüggen, M., Conway, J., De Gasperin, F., De Geus, E., Duscha, S., Falcke, H., Fallows, R.A., Ferrari, C., Frieswijk, W., Garrett, M.A., Griessmeier, J.M., Gunst, A.W., Hassall, T.E., Hessels, J.W.T., Hoeft, M., Iacobelli, M., Juette, E., Karastergiou, A., Kondratiev, V.I., Kramer, M., Kuniyoshi, M., Kuper, G., Van Leeuwen, J., Maat, P., Mann, G., McKean, J.P., Mevius, M., Mol, J.D., Munk, H., Nijboer, R., Noordam, J.E., Norden, M.J., Orru, E., Paas, H., Pandey-Pommier, M., Pizzo, R., Polatidis, A.G., Reich, W., Röttgering, H.J.A., Sluman, J., Smirnov, O., Stappers, B., Steinmetz, M., Tagger, M., Tang, Y., Tasse, C., Ter Veen, S., Vermeulen, R., Van Weeren, R.J., Wise, M., Wucknitz, O., Zarka, P., High Energy Astrophys. & Astropart. Phys (API, FNWI), Harvard University-Smithsonian Institution, Universiteit Leiden, Radboud University [Nijmegen], Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) (UNS), COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and University of Oxford

Subjects
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO), Astronomy, first stars, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, 7. Clean energy, 01 natural sciences, Instrumentation: interferometer, METIS-302720, Celestial pole, first stars -instrumentation: interferometers -techniques: interferometric -methods: data analysis, 0103 physical sciences, dark ages, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Reionization, Physics, reionization, instrumentation: interferometers, techniques: interferometric, methods: data analysis, [SDU.ASTR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], 010308 nuclear & particles physics, IR-89500, Instrumentation: interferometers – Techniques: interferometric – Cosmology: observations, Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, EWI-24509, Astronomy and Astrophysics, LOFAR, Astronomy and Astrophysic, Redshift, Galaxy, diffuse radiation, Dark ages, reionization, first star, Orders of magnitude (time), Space and Planetary Science, Instrumentation: interferometers, Techniques: interferometric, ComputingMethodologies_DOCUMENTANDTEXTPROCESSING, Ionosphere, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Noise (radio), Methods: data analysi, Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Abstract

The aim of the LOFAR Epoch of Reionization (EoR) project is to detect the spectral fluctuations of the redshifted HI 21cm signal. This signal is weaker by several orders of magnitude than the astrophysical foreground signals and hence, in order to achieve this, very long integrations, accurate calibration for stations and ionosphere and reliable foreground removal are essential. One of the prospective observing windows for the LOFAR EoR project will be centered at the North Celestial Pole (NCP). We present results from observations of the NCP window using the LOFAR highband antenna (HBA) array in the frequency range 115 MHz to 163 MHz. The data were obtained in April 2011 during the commissioning phase of LOFAR. We used baselines up to about 30 km. With about 3 nights, of 6 hours each, effective integration we have achieved a noise level of about 100 microJy/PSF in the NCP window. Close to the NCP, the noise level increases to about 180 microJy/PSF, mainly due to additional contamination from unsubtracted nearby sources. We estimate that in our best night, we have reached a noise level only a factor of 1.4 above the thermal limit set by the noise from our Galaxy and the receivers. Our continuum images are several times deeper than have been achieved previously using the WSRT and GMRT arrays. We derive an analytical explanation for the excess noise that we believe to be mainly due to sources at large angular separation from the NCP., 19 pages, 24 figures. Draft version with low resolution images. Accepted on 08/01/2013 Astronomy & Astrophysics. Abstract abridged. Version with high resolution images: http://www.astro.rug.nl/~yatawatta/ncp_eor.pdf

Published
2013
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36. LOFAR detections of low-frequency radio recombination lines towards Cassiopeia A

Author

Jochen Eislöffel, Maaijke Mevius, R. J. van Weeren, Ralph A. M. J. Wijers, A. G. Polatidis, D. McKay-Bukowski, Chiara Ferrari, John Conway, Wilfred Frieswijk, Y. Tang, Glenn J. White, Robert Braun, Michael R. Bell, J. Sluman, W. A. van Cappellen, V. N. Pandey, Richard Fallows, Raffaella Morganti, H. J. A. Röttgering, Philip Best, M. A. Garrett, T. Grit, Charlotte Sobey, Emanuela Orrú, I. M. Avruch, P. Maat, M. J. Norden, Rainer Beck, D. D. Mulcahy, Michel Tagger, Annalisa Bonafede, James Miller-Jones, Aris Karastergiou, Sarod Yatawatta, J.-M. Grießmeier, J. B. R. Oonk, H. Paas, B. Ciardi, C. Tasse, Michael W. Wise, Heino Falcke, Gianni Bernardi, Ashish Asgekar, M. Kuniyoshi, Oleg Smirnov, Matthias Steinmetz, J. Kohler, Marco Iacobelli, E. Juette, John McKean, H. Munk, Marcus Brüggen, Harvey Butcher, G. Kuper, J. M. Anderson, V. I. Kondratiev, Christian Vocks, T. E. Hassall, M. Pandey-Pommier, Casey J. Law, F. Breitling, M. de Vos, A. W. Gunst, S. Duscha, Neal Jackson, Olaf Wucknitz, Sera Markoff, A. de Jong, Laura Birzan, Giulia Macario, A. Schoenmakers, Wolfgang Reich, Huib Intema, J. W. Broderick, J. D. Mol, E. de Geus, Jason W. T. Hessels, R. Pizzo, P. Zarka, George Heald, Mark J. Bentum, W. N. Brouw, Gottfried Mann, R. Vermeulen, Matthias Hoeft, F. Batejat, Bart Scheers, I. van Bemmel, Martin Bell, F. de Gasperin, J. van Leeuwen, R. H. van de Brink, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON), Kapteyn Astronomical Institute [Groningen], University of Groningen [Groningen], Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), Smithsonian Institution-Harvard University [Cambridge], SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Stanford University, Jodrell Bank Cent. for Astrophysics, University of Manchester [Manchester], Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIFR), SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON), Onsala Space Observatory (OSO), Chalmers University of Technology [Göteborg], Laboratoire de Chimie Physique Moléculaire (LCPM), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), University of Southampton, Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Énergies (LPNHE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC), University of Edinburgh, Leiden Observatory [Leiden], Universiteit Leiden [Leiden], Jacobs University [Bremen], Technische Universität Dresden = Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden), Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP), Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Hamburger Sternwarte/Hamburg Observatory, Universität Hamburg (UHH), Medstar Research Institute, Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg (TLS), Radboud university [Nijmegen], Institute of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Joseph Louis LAGRANGE (LAGRANGE), Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (... - 2019) (UNS), COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Unité Scientifique de la Station de Nançay (USN), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO), Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Amsterdam [Amsterdam] (UvA), Dipartimento di Matematica 'Guido Castelnuovo' [Roma I] (Sapienza University of Rome), Università degli Studi di Roma 'La Sapienza' = Sapienza University [Rome], Centre de Mathématiques Laurent Schwartz (CMLS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École polytechnique (X), Ruhr-Universität Bochum [Bochum], Oxford Astrophysics, University of Oxford [Oxford], Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Astronomical Institute Anton Pannekoek (AI PANNEKOEK), University of Oulu, Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon (CRAL), École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS), National Radio Astronomy Observatory [Charlottesville] (NRAO), National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), Rhodes University, Grahamstown, Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Argelander-Institut für Astronomie (AlfA), Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, ANR-09-JCJC-0001,OPALES(2009), Harvard University-Smithsonian Institution, Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Universiteit Leiden, Radboud University [Nijmegen], Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) (UNS), COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Università degli Studi di Roma 'La Sapienza' = Sapienza University [Rome] (UNIROMA), École polytechnique (X)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), University of Oxford, École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Asgekar, A., Oonk, J.B.R., Yatawatta, S., Van Weeren, R.J., McKean, J.P., White, G., Jackson, N., Anderson, J., Avruch, I.M., Batejat, F., Beck, R., Bell, M.E., Bell, M.R., Van Bemmel, I., Bentum, M.J., Bernardi, G., Best, P., Bîrzan, L., Bonafede, A., Braun, R., Breitling, F., Van De Brink, R.H., Broderick, J., Brouw, W.N., Brüggen, M., Butcher, H.R., Van Cappellen, W., Ciardi, B., Conway, J.E., De Gasperin, F., De Geus, E., De Jong, A., De Vos, M., Duscha, S., Eislöffel, J., Falcke, H., Fallows, R.A., Ferrari, C., Frieswijk, W., Garrett, M.A., Grießmeier, J.-M., Grit, T., Gunst, A.W., Hassall, T.E., Heald, G., Hessels, J.W.T., Hoeft, M., Iacobelli, M., Intema, H., Juette, E., Karastergiou, A., Kohler, J., Kondratiev, V.I., Kuniyoshi, M., Kuper, G., Law, C., Van Leeuwen, J., Maat, P., MacArio, G., Mann, G., Markoff, S., McKay-Bukowski, D., Mevius, M., Miller-Jones, J.C.A., Mol, J.D., Morganti, R., Mulcahy, D.D., Munk, H., Norden, M.J., Orru, E., Paas, H., Pandey-Pommier, M., Pandey, V.N., Pizzo, R., Polatidis, A.G., Reich, W., Röttgering, H., Scheers, B., Schoenmakers, A., Sluman, J., Smirnov, O., Sobey, C., Steinmetz, M., Tagger, M., Tang, Y., Tasse, C., Vermeulen, R., Vocks, C., Wijers, R.A.M.J., Wise, M.W., Wucknitz, O., Zarka, P., High Energy Astrophys. & Astropart. Phys (API, FNWI), Astronomy, and Kapteyn Astronomical Institute

Subjects
Astronomy, chemistry.chemical_element, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, ISM: individual objects: Cassiopeia A, IR-89496, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Low frequency, ISM: individual objects: Cas siopeia A, 01 natural sciences, ISM: clouds, Spectral line, CARBON, MHZ, ISM: cloud, 0103 physical sciences, EWI-24495, Spectral resolution, Supernova remnant, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Helium, Radio lines: ISM, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, Line (formation), Physics, radio lines : ISM, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, LOFAR, Astronomy and Astrophysic, REGIONS, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, METIS-302711, Cassiopeia A, chemistry, Space and Planetary Science, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), ComputingMethodologies_DOCUMENTANDTEXTPROCESSING, ISM: clouds / radio lines: ISM / ISM: individual objects: Cassiopeia A, [SDU.ASTR.GA]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.GA]
Abstract

Cassiopeia A was observed using the Low-Band Antennas of the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) with high spectral resolution. This allowed a search for radio recombination lines (RRLs) along the line-of-sight to this source. Five carbon-alpha RRLs were detected in absorption between 40 and 50 MHz with a signal-to-noise ratio of > 5 from two independent LOFAR datasets. The derived line velocities (v_LSR ~ -50 km/s) and integrated optical depths (~ 13 s^-1) of the RRLs in our spectra, extracted over the whole supernova remnant, are consistent within each LOFAR dataset and with those previously reported. For the first time, we are able to extract spectra against the brightest hotspot of the remnant at frequencies below 330 MHz. These spectra show significantly higher (15-80 %) integrated optical depths, indicating that there is small-scale angular structure on the order of ~1 pc in the absorbing gas distribution over the face of the remnant. We also place an upper limit of 3 x 10^-4 on the peak optical depths of hydrogen and helium RRLs. These results demonstrate that LOFAR has the desired spectral stability and sensitivity to study faint recombination lines in the decameter band., Accepted for publication in A&A Letters; 5 pages, 4 colour figures

Published
2013
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37. Two radio supernova remnants discovered in the outer Galaxy

Author

T. Foster, Roland Kothes, Jennifer West, Brendan Cooper, and Wolfgang Reich

Subjects
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Surface brightness, Polarization parameters, Spectral indices, Supernova remnants, Continuum (design consultancy), FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, Surveys, 01 natural sciences, law.invention, Neutral hydrogen, Telescope, Basic parameters, law, Line data, Polarization, 0103 physical sciences, Future observations, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Line (formation), ISM: general, ISM: supernova remnants, Physics, Interstellar mediums, Line-of-sight, Canadian galactic plane surveys, Galactic plane, Low density, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Galaxies, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Stars, Galaxy, Multiwavelength data, Interstellar medium, Supernova, Radio continuum, Flux densities, Space and Planetary Science, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), Milky ways, Hydrogen
Abstract

We report on the discovery of two supernova remnants (SNRs) designated G152.4-2.1 and G190.9-2.2, using Canadian Galactic Plane Survey data. The aims of this paper are, first, to present evidence that favours the classification of both sources as SNRs, and, second, to describe basic parameters (integrated flux density, spectrum, and polarization) as well as properties (morphology, line-of-sight velocity, distance and physical size) to facilitate and motivate future observations. Spectral and polarization parameters are derived from multiwavelength data from existing radio surveys carried out at wavelengths between 6 and 92cm. In particular for the source G152.4-2.1 we also use new observations at 11cm done with the Effelsberg 100m telescope. The interstellar medium around the discovered sources is analyzed using 1-arcminute line data from neutral hydrogen (HI) and 45-arcsecond 12CO(J=1-0). G152.4-2.1 is a barrel shaped SNR with two opposed radio-bright polarized flanks on the North and South. The remnant, which is elongated along the Galactic plane is evolving in a more-or-less uniform medium. G190.9-2.2 is also a shell-type remnant with East and West halves elongated perpendicular to the plane, and is evolving within a low-density region bounded by dense neutral hydrogen in the North and South, and molecular (12CO) clouds in the East and West. The integrated radio continuum spectral indices are -0.65+/-0.05 and -0.66+/-0.05 for G152.4-2.1 and G190.9-2.2 respectively. Both SNRs are approximately 1 kpc distant, with G152.4-2.1 being larger (32x30 pc in diameter) than G190.9-2.2 (18x16 pc). These two remnants are the lowest surface brightness SNRs yet catalogued at 5x10^-23 W m^-2 Hz^-1 sr^-1., Published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, January 2013 Vol. 549, Article No. A107, 9 pages

Published
2013
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38. The LOFAR radio environment

Author

R.-J. Dettmar, Steve Rawlings, Vibor Jelić, Benedetta Ciardi, Ben Stappers, Aris Karastergiou, Y. Tang, R. Pizzo, V. N. Pandey, A. Alexov, Michael W. Wise, Gianni Bernardi, J. Eisloeffel, J. Sluman, W. A. van Cappellen, Panagiotis Labropoulos, Garrelt Mellema, A. Schoenmakers, M. Mevius, John Conway, P. Maat, M. P. van Haarlem, Rainer Beck, G. van Diepen, M. J. Norden, Heino Falcke, A. W. Gunst, Sarod Yatawatta, R. Nijboer, V. Veligatla, Joop Schaye, J. M. Anderson, D. A. Rafferty, S. Daiboo, M. Kuniyoshi, Michael R. Bell, A. G. Polatidis, A. van Duin, H. Paas, Harish Vedantham, A. G. de Bruyn, V. I. Kondratiev, H. Meulman, A. van Ardenne, Harvey Butcher, J. D. Mol, Laura Birzan, M. Pandey, Michel Tagger, Michiel A. Brentjens, M. Gerbers, Jason W. T. Hessels, George Heald, Matthias Steinmetz, Rob Fender, Marcus Brüggen, Annalisa Bonafede, Gottfried Mann, Mark J. Bentum, Saleem Zaroubi, J. Noordam, Charlotte Sobey, John McKean, John D. Swinbank, Olaf Wucknitz, Gerard H. Kuper, Stefan J. Wijnholds, O. Martinez-Ruby, Léon V. E. Koopmans, Ph. Zarka, Philip Best, Ashish Asgekar, Y. Koopman, R. Vermeulen, A. R. Offringa, R. J. van Weeren, Matthias Hoeft, A. Horneffer, Huub Röttgering, M. Avruch, T. E. Hassall, Martin Bell, J. M. Griessmeier, Geraint Harker, M. de Vos, Ralph A. M. J. Wijers, Christian Vocks, W. Frieswijk, Wolfgang Reich, Oleg Smirnov, Cyril Tasse, J. W. Broderick, F. Breitling, S. Kazemi, J. van Leeuwen, Kapteyn Astronomical Institute [Groningen], University of Groningen [Groningen], Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON), Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Department of process and energy, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), National Radio Astronomy Observatory [Charlottesville] (NRAO), National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), Leiden Observatory [Leiden], Universiteit Leiden [Leiden], Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL), Laboratoire de Chimie Physique Moléculaire (LCPM), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), University of Southampton, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), Harvard University [Cambridge]-Smithsonian Institution, University of Edinburgh, Jacobs University [Bremen], Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP), Astronomisches Institut der Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Ruhr-Universität Bochum [Bochum], Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIFR), Radboud university [Nijmegen], Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester [Manchester], University of Amsterdam [Amsterdam] (UvA), Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg (TLS), Oxford Astrophysics, University of Oxford [Oxford], Center for Agricultural Research in Suriname CELOS and Department of Biology, Anton de Kom Universiteit van Suriname - Anton de Kom University of Suriname [Paramaribo] (UVS), Center for Information Technology CIT, Université de Groningen, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics [PennState], Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), Penn State System-Penn State System, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, Astronomical Institute Anton Pannekoek (AI PANNEKOEK), Department of Reproduction and Development, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Argelander-Institut für Astronomie (AlfA), Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Offringa, A.R., De Bruyn, A.G., Zaroubi, S., Van Diepen, G., Martinez-Ruby, O., Labropoulos, P., Brentjens, M.A., Ciardi, B., Daiboo, S., Harker, G., Jelić, V., Kazemi, S., Koopmans, L.V.E., Mellema, G., Pandey, V.N., Pizzo, R.F., Schaye, J., Vedantham, H., Veligatla, V., Wijnholds, S.J., Yatawatta, S., Zarka, P., Alexov, A., Anderson, J., Asgekar, A., Avruch, M., Beck, R., Bell, M., Bell, M.R., Bentum, M., Bernardi, G., Best, P., Birzan, L., Bonafede, A., Breitling, F., Broderick, J.W., Brüggen, M., Butcher, H., Conway, J., De Vos, M., Dettmar, R.J., Eisloeffel, J., Falcke, H., Fender, R., Frieswijk, W., Gerbers, M., Griessmeier, J.M., Gunst, A.W., Hassall, T.E., Heald, G., Hessels, J., Hoeft, M., Horneffer, A., Karastergiou, A., Kondratiev, V., Koopman, Y., Kuniyoshi, M., Kuper, G., Maat, P., Mann, G., McKean, J., Meulman, H., Mevius, M., Mol, J.D., Nijboer, R., Noordam, J., Norden, M., Paas, H., Pandey, M., Pizzo, R., Polatidis, A., Rafferty, D., Rawlings, S., Reich, W., Röttgering, H.J.A., Schoenmakers, A.P., Sluman, J., Smirnov, O., Sobey, C., Stappers, B., Steinmetz, M., Swinbank, J., Tagger, M., Tang, Y., Tasse, C., Van Ardenne, A., Van Cappellen, W., Van Duin, A.P., Van Haarlem, M., Van Leeuwen, J., Van Weeren, R.J., Vermeulen, R., Vocks, C., Wijers, R.A.M.J., Wise, M., Wucknitz, O., UMR Peuplement Végétaux et Bioagresseurs en Milieu Tropical (UMR PVBMT - INRA), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Observatoire de Paris - Site de Paris (OP), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Anton de Kom University of Suriname, Rhodes University, SKA South Africa, Ska South Africa, Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC), university Rotterdam, Astronomy, Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, Peuplements végétaux et bioagresseurs en milieu tropical (UMR PVBMT), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de La Réunion (UR), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), and High Energy Astrophys. & Astropart. Phys (API, FNWI)

Subjects
Astronomy, instrumentation: interferometers, methods: data analysis, techniques: interferometric, telescopes, radio continuum: general, FOS: Physical sciences, RFI, 02 engineering and technology, Interference (wave propagation), 01 natural sciences, EWI-22636, Instrumentation: interferometer, Radio continuum: general, REMOVAL, Instrumentation: interferometers - Methods: data analysis - Techniques: interferometric - Telescopes - Radio continuum: general, 0103 physical sciences, Broadband, 0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering, Range (statistics), 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, IR-82457, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), Telescope, FILTERING TECHNIQUES, Remote sensing, Significant difference, INTERFERENCE MITIGATION, Linearity, ASTRONOMY, 020206 networking & telecommunications, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Time resolution, LOFAR, Astronomy and Astrophysic, Space and Planetary Science, [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics], Techniques: interferometric, TELESCOPES, ComputingMethodologies_DOCUMENTANDTEXTPROCESSING, Environmental science, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, METIS-293223, Radio astronomy, Methods: data analysi
Abstract

Aims: This paper discusses the spectral occupancy for performing radio astronomy with the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR), with a focus on imaging observations. Methods: We have analysed the radio-frequency interference (RFI) situation in two 24-h surveys with Dutch LOFAR stations, covering 30-78 MHz with low-band antennas and 115-163 MHz with high-band antennas. This is a subset of the full frequency range of LOFAR. The surveys have been observed with a 0.76 kHz / 1 s resolution. Results: We measured the RFI occupancy in the low and high frequency sets to be 1.8% and 3.2% respectively. These values are found to be representative values for the LOFAR radio environment. Between day and night, there is no significant difference in the radio environment. We find that lowering the current observational time and frequency resolutions of LOFAR results in a slight loss of flagging accuracy. At LOFAR's nominal resolution of 0.76 kHz and 1 s, the false-positives rate is about 0.5%. This rate increases approximately linearly when decreasing the data frequency resolution. Conclusions: Currently, by using an automated RFI detection strategy, the LOFAR radio environment poses no perceivable problems for sensitive observing. It remains to be seen if this is still true for very deep observations that integrate over tens of nights, but the situation looks promising. Reasons for the low impact of RFI are the high spectral and time resolution of LOFAR; accurate detection methods; strong filters and high receiver linearity; and the proximity of the antennas to the ground. We discuss some strategies that can be used once low-level RFI starts to become apparent. It is important that the frequency range of LOFAR remains free of broadband interference, such as DAB stations and windmills., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. 15 figures, 16 pages

Published
2013
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39. Magnetic substructure in the northern Fermi Bubble revealed by polarized WMAP emission

Author

David I. Jones, Felix Aharonian, Roland M. Crocker, Wolfgang Reich, and Jürgen Ott

Subjects
Physics, High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Galactic Center, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Galactic plane, Polarization (waves), CMB cold spot, Spectral line, Magnetic field, Space and Planetary Science, Substructure, Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope
Abstract

We report a correspondence between giant, polarized microwave structures emerging north from the Galactic plane near the Galactic center and a number of GeV gamma-ray features, including the eastern edge of the recently-discovered northern Fermi Bubble. The polarized microwave features also correspond to structures seen in the all-sky 408 MHz total intensity data, including the Galactic center spur. The magnetic field structure revealed by the polarization data at 23 GHz suggests that neither the emission coincident with the Bubble edge nor the Galactic center spur are likely to be features of the local ISM. On the basis of the observed morphological correspondences, similar inferred spectra, and the similar energetics of all sources, we suggest a direct connection between the Galactic center spur and the northern Fermi Bubble., Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters after minor changes

Published
2012

40. Observing pulsars and fast transients with LOFAR

Author

S. ter Veen, A. W. Gunst, John D. Swinbank, T. Grit, R.-J. Dettmar, Sera Markoff, Patrick Weltevrede, M. A. Garrett, J. Sluman, Léon V. E. Koopmans, P. Maat, George Heald, John McKean, J. P. Hamaker, M. J. Norden, H. J. A. Röttgering, Sarod Yatawatta, V. S. Dhillon, Aris Karastergiou, J. D. Mol, A. Noutsos, M. P. van Haarlem, C. G. M. Sterks, Y. Tang, Casey J. Law, Stefan J. Wijnholds, Ashish Asgekar, Jason W. T. Hessels, Jochen Eislöffel, W. N. Brouw, A. van Duin, P. Bennema, M. Gerbers, J. W. Broderick, V. I. Kondratiev, P. C. Broekema, Michael W. Wise, Harvey Butcher, A. Alexov, James Miller-Jones, Oleg Smirnov, H. Spreeuw, L. Bähren, M. Loose, Joel N. Bregman, J. Noordam, A. G. de Bruyn, Philippe Zarka, R. Vermeulen, A. G. Polatidis, Marcus Brüggen, Heino Falcke, Kenneth C. Anderson, Matthias Hoeft, Matthias Steinmetz, A. Zensus, H. A. Holties, M. Pandey-Pommier, A. Schoenmakers, Olaf Wucknitz, Gerard H. Kuper, C. Vogt, Michael Kramer, Hans Olofsson, Bart Scheers, J. M. Anderson, N. J. Vermaas, Philip Best, T. E. Hassall, B. W. Stappers, D. McKay-Bukowski, R. Nijboer, Rob Fender, Ralph A. M. J. Wijers, T. Coenen, M. de Vos, George K. Miley, Mark J. Bentum, Rainer Beck, R. H. van de Brink, John Conway, Wolfgang Reich, Michel Tagger, E. J. Daw, Martin Bell, I. M. Avruch, B. Ciardi, A. Horneffer, John W. Romein, J. van Enst, Michiel A. Brentjens, J. van Leeuwen, J. M. Griessmeier, Raffaella Morganti, Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, Astronomy, Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics (JBCA), University of Manchester [Manchester], University of Amsterdam [Amsterdam] (UvA), Astronomical Institute Anton Pannekoek (AI PANNEKOEK), Oxford Astrophysics, University of Oxford [Oxford], Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON), Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIFR), University of Southampton, University of Sheffield [Sheffield], Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg (TLS), Unité Scientifique de la Station de Nançay (USN), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO), Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Institute for Mathematics, Astrophysics and Particle Physics (IMAPP), Radboud university [Nijmegen], Argelander-Institut für Astronomie (AlfA), Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Observatoire de Paris - Site de Paris (OP), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON), Kapteyn Astronomical Institute [Groningen], University of Groningen [Groningen], Jacobs University [Bremen], Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Astronomisches Institut der Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Ruhr-Universität Bochum [Bochum], Leiden Observatory [Leiden], Universiteit Leiden [Leiden], Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon (CRAL), École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS), Netherlands Research School for Astronomy (Grant NOVA3-NW3-2.3.1), European Project: 224838,EC:FP7:PEOPLE,FP7-PEOPLE-2007-4-3-IRG,PULSARS WITH LOFAR(2008), University of Oxford, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Radboud University [Nijmegen], Universiteit Leiden, École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and High Energy Astrophys. & Astropart. Phys (API, FNWI)

Subjects
DECAMETER WAVELENGTHS, Computer science, Astronomy, EWI-20531, INTENSITY VARIATIONS, 01 natural sciences, law.invention, FLUX DENSITIES, law, METIS-279184, instrumentation: interferometers, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, GeneralLiterature_REFERENCE(e.g.,dictionaries,encyclopedias,glossaries), Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, INTERSTELLAR PLASMA, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, LOW-FREQUENCY, Radio frequency, Ionosphere, methods: observational, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Radio astronomy, Radio wave, BINARY MILLISECOND PULSAR, GAMMA-RAY PULSARS, NEUTRON-STARS, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, IR-78088, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Low frequency, RADIO-CONTINUUM EMISSION, Radio telescope, Telescope, stars: neutron, Pulsar, pulsars: general, 0103 physical sciences, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR), ISM: general, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Radio window, [SDU.ASTR.SR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Solar and Stellar Astrophysics [astro-ph.SR], Astronomy and Astrophysics, telescopes, LOFAR, [SDU.ASTR.IM]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysic [astro-ph.IM], Space and Planetary Science, DENSITY POWER SPECTRUM
Abstract

Low frequency radio waves, while challenging to observe, are a rich source of information about pulsars. The LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) is a new radio interferometer operating in the lowest 4 octaves of the ionospheric "radio window": 10-240MHz, that will greatly facilitate observing pulsars at low radio frequencies. Through the huge collecting area, long baselines, and flexible digital hardware, it is expected that LOFAR will revolutionize radio astronomy at the lowest frequencies visible from Earth. LOFAR is a next-generation radio telescope and a pathfinder to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), in that it incorporates advanced multi-beaming techniques between thousands of individual elements. We discuss the motivation for low-frequency pulsar observations in general and the potential of LOFAR in addressing these science goals. We present LOFAR as it is designed to perform high-time-resolution observations of pulsars and other fast transients, and outline the various relevant observing modes and data reduction pipelines that are already or will soon be implemented to facilitate these observations. A number of results obtained from commissioning observations are presented to demonstrate the exciting potential of the telescope. This paper outlines the case for low frequency pulsar observations and is also intended to serve as a reference for upcoming pulsar/fast transient science papers with LOFAR., Comment: 35 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication by A&A

Published
2011
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41. The Galactic halo magnetic field revisited

Author

Xiaohui Sun and Wolfgang Reich

Subjects
Physics, Electron density, Milky Way, media_common.quotation_subject, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Galaxy, Magnetic field, Galactic halo, Pulsar, Space and Planetary Science, Sky, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), Halo, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, media_common
Abstract

Recently, Sun et al. (2008) published new Galactic 3D-models of magnetic fields in the disk and halo of the Milky Way and the distribution of cosmic-ray electron density by taking into account the thermal electron density model NE2001 by Cordes & Lazio (2002, 2003). The models successfully reproduce observed continuum and polarization all-sky maps and the distribution of rotation measures of extragalactic sources across the sky. However, the model parameters obtained for the Galactic halo, although reproducing the observations, seem physically unreasonable: the magnetic field needs to be significantly stronger in the Galactic halo than in the plane and the cosmic-ray distribution must be truncated at about 1 kpc to avoid excessive synchrotron emission from the halo. The reason for these unrealistic parameters was the low scale-height of the warm thermal gas of about 1 kpc adapted in the NE2001 model. However, this scale-height seemed well settled by numerous investigations. Recently, the scale-height of the warm gas in the Galaxy was revised by Gaensler et al. (2008) to about 1.8 kpc, by showing that the 1 kpc scale-height results from a systematic bias in the analysis of pulsar data. This implies a higher thermal electron density in the Galactic halo, which in turn reduces the halo magnetic field strength to account for the observed rotation measures of extragalactic sources. We slightly modified the NE2001 model for the new scale-height and revised the Sun et al. (2008) model parameters accordingly: the strength of the regular halo magnetic field is now 2 microG or lower, and the physically unrealistic cutoff in z for the cosmic-ray electron density is removed. The simulations based on the revised 3D-models reproduce all-sky observations as before., 11 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics (RAA)

Published
2010

42. A 33-GHz Very Small Array survey of the Galactic plane from ℓ= 27° to 46°

Author

Ricardo Génova-Santos, Katy Lancaster, M. Todorović, R. D. Davies, Jose Alberto Rubino-Martin, R. J. Davis, Keith Grainge, K. A. Cleary, Paul F. Scott, Rafael Rebolo, Richard S. Savage, Robert A. Watson, Clive Dickinson, Richard D. E. Saunders, Michael P. Hobson, M. Jones, Angela C. Taylor, Wolfgang Reich, Yaser Hafez, and Anze Slosar

Subjects
Physics, Space and Planetary Science, Very Small Array, Thermal, Emissivity, Astronomy, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics, Galactic plane, Spectral line, Dust emission
Abstract

The Very Small Array (VSA) has been used to survey the l = 27 to 46 deg, |b

Published
2010
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43. A Survey of the Polarized Emission from the Galactic Plane at 1420 MHz with Arcminute Angular Resolution

Author

Robert I. Reid, A. R. Taylor, E. Fürst, T. L. Landecker, D. Del Rizzo, Wolfgang Reich, M. Wolleben, B. Uyaniker, Patricia Reich, A. D. Gray, Richard Wielebinski, and Roland Kothes

Subjects
media_common.quotation_subject, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, law.invention, Telescope, symbols.namesake, law, 0103 physical sciences, Faraday effect, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, media_common, Physics, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Galactic plane, Polarization (waves), Planetary nebula, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Galaxy, Interstellar medium, Space and Planetary Science, Sky, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), symbols
Abstract

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)., Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

Published
2010
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44. The impact of Galactic synchrotron emission on CMB anisotropy measurements. I. Angular power spectrum analysis of total intensity all-sky surveys

Author

Wolfgang Reich, Patricia Reich, L. La Porta, and Carlo Burigana

Subjects
Physics, Spectral index, Spinning dust, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Cosmic microwave background, Astrophysics (astro-ph), Cosmic background radiation, Synchrotron radiation, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Galactic plane, CMB cold spot, Synchrotron, law.invention, Space and Planetary Science, law, Physics::Accelerator Physics, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics
Abstract

Galactic foreground emission is a limiting factor for precise cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy measurements. We perform an angular power spectrum analysis (APS) of all-sky total intensity maps at 408 MHz and 1420 MHz, which are dominated by synchrotron emission out of the Galactic plane. We subtract the brighter sources from the maps. We study the APS as a function of Galactic latitude by considering various cuts and as a function of sky position by dividing the sky into patches of about 15 deg x 15 deg in size. The APS of the Galactic radio diffuse synchrotron emission is best fitted by a power law, $C_{\ell} \sim k \ell^{\alpha}$, with $\alpha \in [-3.0,-2.6]$, where the lower values of $\alpha$ typically correspond to the higher latitudes. Nevertheless, the analysis of the patches reveals that strong local variations exist. The mean APS for $\ell \in [20,40]$ is used to determine the mean spectral index between 408 MHz and 1420 MHz, which is then adopted to extrapolate the synchrotron APS results to the microwave range. A simple extrapolation to 23 GHz of the synchrotron emission APS found at 408 and 1420 MHz does not explain all the power in the WMAP synchrotron component even at middle/high Galactic latitudes. This suggests a significant microwave contribution (of about 50% of the signal) by other components such as free-free or spinning dust emission. The comparison between the extrapolated synchrotron APS and the CMB APS shows that a mask excluding the regions with $|b_{gal}| \lesssim 5^{\circ}$ would reduce the foreground fluctuations to about half of the cosmological ones at 70 GHz even at the lowest multipoles. We discuss the main implications of our analysis for the cosmological exploitation of microwave temperature anisotropy maps., Comment: 15 pages, 20 figures, Astronomy & Astrophysics, accepted

Published
2008

45. Radio spectral properties and the magnetic field of the SNR S147

Author

E. Fürst, Wolfgang Reich, Jin-Lin Han, and L. Xiao

Subjects
Physics, Spectral index, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Spectral properties, Astrophysics (astro-ph), FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Polarization (waves), CMB cold spot, Magnetic field, law.invention, Physical property, Telescope, Space and Planetary Science, law, Supernova remnant, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics
Abstract

(Abridged) S147 is a large faint shell-type supernova remnant (SNR). Its remarkable spectral break at cm-wavelengths is an important physical property to characterize the SNR evolution. However, the spectral break is based on radio observations with limited precision. We made new radio continuum and polarization observations of S147 at 11cm and at 6cm with the Effelsberg 100-m telescope and the Urumqi 25-m telescope, respectively. These new data were combined with published lower frequency data from the Effelsberg 100-m telescope and very high frequency data from WMAP to investigate the spectral turnover and polarization properties of S147. S147 consists of numerous filaments embedded in diffuse emission. We found that the integrated flux densities of S147 are 34.8+/-4.0 Jy at 11cm and 15.4+/-3.0Jy at 6cm. These new measurements confirm the known spectral turnover at ~1.5GHz, which can be entirely attributed to the diffuse emission component. The spectral index above the turnover is -1.35+/-0.20. The filamentary emission component has a constant spectral index over the entire wavelength range up to 40.7GHz of -0.35+/-0.15. The weak polarized emission of S147 is at the same level as the ambient diffuse Galactic polarization. The rotation measure of the eastern filamentary shell is about -70 rad/m2. The filamentary and diffuse emission components of S147 have different physical properties, which make S147 outstanding among shell type SNRs.The weak polarization of S147 at 11cm and at 6cm can be attributed to a section of the S147 shell showing a tangential magnetic field direction., Comment: 11 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, the resolution of some figures have been reduced. For high resolution version, see ftp://ftp.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/outgoing/p098wre/xiao-etal.pdf,revised following the language editor

Published
2008
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46. GMIMS: The Global Magneto-Ionic Medium Survey

Author

T. L. Landecker, J. P. Leahy, Bryan Gaensler, David McConnell, Ettore Carretti, A. R. Taylor, Naomi McClure-Griffiths, M. Wolleben, Jin-Lin Han, John M. Dickey, M. Haverkorn, Andrew Fletcher, and Wolfgang Reich

Subjects
Physics, media_common.quotation_subject, Astrophysics (astro-ph), Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Astronomy, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics, Polarization (waves), Galaxy, Space and Planetary Science, Frequency resolution, Sky, Halo, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, media_common
Abstract

The Global Magneto-Ionic Medium Survey (GMIMS) is a project to map the diffuse polarized emission over the entire sky, Northern and Southern hemispheres, from 300 MHz to 1.8 GHz. With an angular resolution of 30 - 60 arcmin and a frequency resolution of 1 MHz or better, GMIMS will provide the first spectro-polarimetric data set of the large-scale polarized emission over the entire sky, observed with single-dish telescopes. GMIMS will provide an invaluable resource for studies of the magneto-ionic medium of the Galaxy in the local disk, halo, and its transition., Comment: To appear in Cosmic Magnetic Fields: From Planets, to Stars and Galaxies, eds. K.G. Strassmeier, A.G. Kosovichev & J.E. Beckman

Published
2008
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47. An angular power spectrum analysis of the DRAO 1.4 GHz polarization survey: implications for CMB observations

Author

Patricia Reich, L. La Porta, Carlo Burigana, and Wolfgang Reich

Subjects
Physics, Spectral index, Cosmic microwave background, Astrophysics (astro-ph), Spectral density, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Observable, Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Polarization (waves), CMB cold spot, Spectral line, Space and Planetary Science, Multipole expansion, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics
Abstract

The aim of the present analysis is to improve the knowledge of the statistical properties of the Galactic diffuse synchrotron emission, which constrains sensitive CMB anisotropy measurements. We have analysed the new DRAO 1.4 GHz polarization survey together with the Stockert 1.4 GHz total intensity survey and derived the angular power spectra (APSs) of the total intensity, the polarized emission, and their cross-correlation for the entire surveys and for three low-intensity regions. The APSs of the diffuse synchrotron emission are modelled by power laws. For the $E$ and $B$ modes, a slope of $\alpha \sim [-3.0,-2.5]$ for the multipole range $\sim [30,300]$ is found. By the extrapolation of these results to 70 GHz, we can estimate the Galactic synchrotron contamination of CMB anisotropies, and we find results that are compatible with the ones coming from WMAP 3-yr data. In the low-intensity regions, the cosmological primordial B~mode peak at $\ell \sim 100$ should be clearly observable for a tensor-to-scalar ratio $T/S \gsim 0.5$ and a synchrotron temperature spectral index $\beta \sim -3$. Its detection is also possible for $T/S \gsim 0.005$ and $\beta \sim -3$, in case a separation of the foreground from the CMB signal could be achieved with an accuracy of $\sim 5-10%$. For the TE mode, a mask excluding $|b_{gal}| \le 5^{\circ}$ (for $\beta\sim -3.0$) or $|b_{gal}| \le 20^{\circ}$ (for $\beta\sim -2.8$) from the surveys is sufficient to render the foreground contamination negligible, thus confirming the ability of WMAP to have a clear view of the temperature-polarization correlation peak and antipeak series., Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, will appear on A&A Lett

Published
2006
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48. The Distance to the Supernova Remnant CTB 87 and the Radial Velocity of the Perseus Arm toward l = 75°, Derived from H I and CO Observations

Author

T. Foster, Wolfgang Reich, Roland Kothes, and Do-Young Byun

Subjects
Physics, Spiral galaxy, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Perseus Arm, Astronomy, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics, Galactic plane, Luminosity, Radial velocity, Supernova, Crab Nebula, Space and Planetary Science, Supernova remnant, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics
Abstract

We present the results of an analysis of H I data from the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey and new CO observations in the direction of the radio-bright, filled-center supernova remnant (SNR) CTB 87. Our CO (1-0) and CO (3-2) data reveal evidence for associated molecular material surrounding parts of CTB 87 at a systemic velocity of vLSR ≈ -58 km s-1. There is no evidence of interacting H I or the existence of a stellar wind bubble around the SNR. This indicates a supernova explosion of Type II and a B2 or later type progenitor star. We established a new distance of 6.1 ± 0.9 kpc based on the extinction-distance relation introduced by Foster & Routledge, which agrees with a location within the Perseus spiral arm. Our result contradicts previous distance estimates based on H I absorption measurements, which indicated a distance of about 12 kpc, using a flat rotation curve. This discrepancy arises from a significant shift of the radial velocities in the direction of CTB 87 due to a spiral shock. The new distance reduces the derived physical size and the luminosity of CTB 87 by factors of 2 and 4, respectively. The properties of this plerionic SNR are then more similar to those of the other SNRs of its kind except the Crab Nebula, which is an exceptionally luminous object.

Published
2003
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49. A radio continuum survey of the southern sky at 1420 MHz. Observations and data reduction

Author

F. R. Colomb, E. E. Hurrel, J. J. Larrarte, Wolfgang Reich, J. C. Testori, A. J. Sanz, Patricia Reich, and José Alberto Bava

Subjects
Physics, Brightness, Continuum (measurement), media_common.quotation_subject, Astrophysics (astro-ph), FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics, Methods observational, Declination, Reduction procedure, Space and Planetary Science, Sky, media_common, Data reduction
Abstract

We describe the equipment, observational method and reduction procedure of an absolutely calibrated radio continuum survey of the South Celestial Hemisphere at a frequency of 1420 MHz. These observations cover the area 0h < R.A. < 24h for declinations less than -10 degree. The sensitivity is about 50 mK T_B (full beam brightness) and the angular resolution (HPBW) is 35.4', which matches the existing northern sky survey at the same frequency., 9 pages with 9 figures, A&A, in press

Published
2001

50. A statistical analysis of a Galactic all sky survey at 1.4 GHz

Author

Patricia Reich, L. La Porta, Carlo Burigana, and Wolfgang Reich

Subjects
Physics, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, media_common.quotation_subject, Astrophysics (astro-ph), FOS: Physical sciences, Spectral density, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics, Polarization (waves), Power law, Synchrotron emission, Space and Planetary Science, Sky, Statistical analysis, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, media_common
Abstract

Radio surveys at frequencies of about 1 GHz allow to map the synchrotron emission in a frequency range where (except for very low Galactic latitudes or towards localized regions) it dominates over the other radio components. New all sky total intensity and polarization data at 1.4 GHz have been recently collected. We focus on the Galactic radio emission correlation properties described in terms of angular power spectrum (APS). We present for the first time the APS, in both total intensity and polarization modes, for some representative Galactic cuts and suitable APS power law parametrizations., Comments: 2 pages, 2 figures; in Astronomische Nachrichten, Vol.327, Issue 5/6, p.491 (2006); Proceedings of International Conference "The Origin and Evolution of Cosmic Magnetism", 29 August - 2 September 2005, CNR Area della Ricerca, Bologna, Italy, eds. R. Beck, G. Brunetti, L. Feretti, and B. Gaensler

Published
2006
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