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Achieving amplification with high gain and quantum-limited noise is a difficult problem to solve. Parametric amplification using a superconducting transmission line with high kinetic inductance is a promising technology not only to solve this problem but also adding several benefits. When compared with other technologies, they have the potential of improving power saturation, achieving larger fractional bandwidths and operating at higher frequencies. In this type of amplifiers, selecting the proper transmission line is a key element in their design. Given current fabrication limitations, traditional lines such as coplanar waveguides (CPW), are not ideal for this purpose since it is difficult to make them with the proper characteristic impedance for good matching and slow-enough phase velocity for making them more compact. Capacitively-loaded lines, also known as artificial lines, are a good solution to this problem. However, few design rules or models have been presented to guide their accurate design. This fact is even more crucial considering that they are usually fabricated in the form of Floquet lines that have to be designed carefully to suppress undesired harmonics appearing in the parametric process. In this article we present, firstly, a new modelling strategy, based on the use of electromagnetic-simulation software, and, secondly, a first-principles model that facilitate and speed the design of CPW artificial lines and of Floquet lines made out of them. Then, we present comparisons with experimental results that demonstrate their accuracy. Finally, the theoretical model allows to predict the high-frequency behaviour of the artificial lines showing that they are good candidates for implementing parametric amplifiers above 100 GHz., Comment: 7 pages, 11 figures, submitted to IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity

(Abridged) High-mass star formation is far less understood than low-mass star formation. It entails molecular outflows, which disturb the protostellar clump. Studying these outflows and the shocked gas they cause is key for a better understanding of this process. This study aims to characterise the behaviour of molecular outflows in the most massive protostellar sources in the Southern Galaxy by looking for evolutionary trends and associating shocked gas with outflow activity. We present APEX SEPIA180 observations (beamwidth $\sim$36") of SiO outflow candidates of a sample of 32 luminous and dense clumps, candidates to harbouring Hot Molecular Cores. We study the SiO(4-3) line emission, an unambiguous tracer of shocked gas and recent outflow activity, the HCO$^+$(2-1) and H$^{13}$CO$^+$(2-1) lines. 78% of our sample present SiO emission. Nine of these also have wings in the HCO$^+$ line, indicating outflow activity. The SiO emission of these 9 sources is more intense and wider than the rest, suggesting that the outflows in this group are faster and more energetic. Three positive correlations between the outflow properties were found, which suggest that more energetic outflows bear to mobilise more material. No correlation was found between the evolutionary stage indicator $L/M$ and SiO outflow properties, supporting that outflows happen throughout the whole high-mass star formation process. We conclude that sources with both SiO emission and HCO$^+$ wings and sources with only SiO emission are in virtually the same advanced stage of evolution in the high-mass star formation process. The former present more massive and more powerful SiO outflows than the latter. Thus, looking for more outflow signatures such as HCO$^+$ wings could help identify more massive and active massive star-forming regions in samples of similarly evolved sources, as well as sources with older outflow activity., Comment: 24 pages, 37 figures, 11 tables

With the aim of studying the properties of Galactic IR bubbles and their impact in massive star formation, we present a study of the IR bubble S169, associated with the massive star forming region IRAS12326-6245. We used CO(2-1),$^{13}$CO(2-1), C$^{18}$O(2-1), HCN(3-2), and HCO+(3-2) line data obtained with the APEX telescope to study the properties of the molecular gas in the nebula and the IRAS source . To analyze the properties and distribution of the dust, we used IRAC-GLIMPSE, Herschel, and ATLASGAL data. The properties of the ionized gas were studied using images obtained from the SUMSS survey and SuperCOSMOS database. In our search for stellar and protostellar objects in the region, we used IR and optical point source calalogs. The new APEX observations allowed us to identify three molecular components associated with the nebula, namely: at $-$39 km/s (component A), $-$25 km/s (component B), and $-$17 km/s (component C). Six molecular condensations (MC1 to MC6) were identified in component A, with MC3 (the densest and more massive one) being the molecular counterpart of IRAS12326-6245. For this source, we estimated an H$_2$ column density up to 8$\times$10$^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$. To explain the morphology and velocity of components A, B, and C, we propose a simple model consisting of a partially complete semisphere-like structure expanding at ~ 12 km/s. The introduction of this model has led to a discussion about the distance to both S169 and IRAS12326-6245, which was estimated to be ~ 2 kpc. Several candidate YSOs were identified, projected mostly onto the molecular condensations MC3, MC4, and MC5, which indicates that the star-formation process is very active at the borders of the nebula. A comparison between observable and modeled parameters was not enough to discern whether the collect-and-collapse mechanism is acting at the edge of S169., Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A

The SEDIGISM (Structure, Excitation and Dynamics of the Inner Galactic Interstellar Medium) survey used the APEX telescope to map 84 deg^2 of the Galactic plane between l = -60 deg and l = +31 deg in several molecular transitions, including 13CO(2-1) and C18O(2-1), thus probing the moderately dense (~10^3 cm^-3) component of the interstellar medium. With an angular resolution of 30'' and a typical 1-sigma sensitivity of 0.8-1.0 K at 0.25 km/s velocity resolution, it gives access to a wide range of structures, from individual star-forming clumps to giant molecular clouds and complexes. The coverage includes a good fraction of the first and fourth Galactic quadrants, allowing us to constrain the large scale distribution of cold molecular gas in the inner Galaxy. In this paper we provide an updated overview of the full survey and the data reduction procedures used. We also assess the quality of these data and describe the data products that are being made publicly available as part of this first data release (DR1). We present integrated maps and position-velocity maps of the molecular gas and use these to investigate the correlation between the molecular gas and the large scale structural features of the Milky Way such as the spiral arms, Galactic bar and Galactic centre. We find that approximately 60 per cent of the molecular gas is associated with the spiral arms and these appear as strong intensity peaks in the derived Galactocentric distribution. We also find strong peaks in intensity at specific longitudes that correspond to the Galactic centre and well known star forming complexes, revealing that the 13CO emission is concentrated in a small number of complexes rather than evenly distributed along spiral arms., Comment: MNRAS, in press

We use the 13CO(2-1) emission from the SEDIGISM high-resolution spectral-line survey of the inner Galaxy, to extract the molecular cloud population with a large dynamic range in spatial scales, using the SCIMES algorithm. This work compiles a cloud catalogue with a total of 10663 molecular clouds, 10300 of which we were able to assign distances and compute physical properties. We study some of the global properties of clouds using a science sample, consisting of 6664 well resolved sources and for which the distance estimates are reliable. In particular, we compare the scaling relations retrieved from SEDIGISM to those of other surveys, and we explore the properties of clouds with and without high-mass star formation. Our results suggest that there is no single global property of a cloud that determines its ability to form massive stars, although we find combined trends of increasing mass, size, surface density and velocity dispersion for the sub-sample of clouds with ongoing high-mass star formation. We then isolate the most extreme clouds in the SEDIGISM sample (i.e. clouds in the tails of the distributions) to look at their overall Galactic distribution, in search for hints of environmental effects. We find that, for most properties, the Galactic distribution of the most extreme clouds is only marginally different to that of the global cloud population. The Galactic distribution of the largest clouds, the turbulent clouds and the high-mass star-forming clouds are those that deviate most significantly from the global cloud population. We also find that the least dynamically active clouds (with low velocity dispersion or low virial parameter) are situated further afield, mostly in the least populated areas. However, we suspect that part of these trends may be affected by some observational biases, and thus require further follow up work in order to be confirmed., Comment: 25 pages (+ appendices, 15 pages), 26 figures, MNRAS

Using APEX-1 and APEX-2 observations, we have detected and studied the rotational lines of the HC$_3$N molecule (cyanoacetylene) in the powerful outflow/hot molecular core G331.512-0.103. We identified thirty-one rotational lines at $J$ levels between 24 and 39; seventeen of them in the ground vibrational state $v$=0 (9 lines corresponding to the main C isotopologue and 8 lines corresponding to the $^{13}$C isotopologues), and fourteen in the lowest vibrationally excited state $v_7$=1. Using LTE-based population diagrams for the beam-diluted $v$=0 transitions, we determined $T_{\rm exc}$=85$\pm$4 K and $N$(HC$_3$N)=(6.9$\pm$0.8)$\times$10$^{14}$ cm$^{-2}$, while for the beam-diluted $v_7$=1 transitions we obtained $T_{\rm exc}$=89$\pm$10 K and $N$(HC$_3$N)=2$\pm$1$\times$10$^{15}$ cm$^{-2}$. Non-LTE calculations using H$_2$ collision rates indicate that the HC$_3$N emission is in good agreement with LTE-based results. From the non-LTE method we estimated $T_{\rm kin}$ $\simeq$90~K, $n$(H$_2$)$\simeq$2$\times$10$^7$~cm$^{-3}$ for a central core of 6 arcsec in size. A vibrational temperature in the range from 130~K to 145~K was also determined, values which are very likely lower limits. Our results suggest that rotational transitions are thermalized, while IR radiative pumping processes are probably more efficient than collisions in exciting the molecule to the vibrationally excited state $v_7$=1. Abundance ratios derived under LTE conditions for the $^{13}$C isotopologues suggest that the main formation pathway of HC$_3$N is ${\rm C}_2{\rm H}_2 + {\rm CN} \rightarrow {\rm HC}_3{\rm N} + {\rm H}$., Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

In observational radio astronomy, sideband-separating receivers are preferred, particularly under high atmospheric noise, which is usually the case in the sub-millimeter range. However, obtaining a good rejection ratio between the two sidebands is difficult since, unavoidably, imbalances in the different analog components appear. We describe a method to correct these imbalances without making any change in the analog part of the sideband-separating receiver, specifically, keeping the intermediate-frequency hybrid in place. This opens the possibility of implementing the method in any existing receiver. We have built hardware to demonstrate the validity of the method and tested it on a fully analog receiver operating between 600 and 720GHz. We have tested the stability of calibration and performance vs time and after full resets of the receiver. We have performed an error analysis to compare the digital compensation in two configurations of analog receivers, with and without intermediate frequency (IF) hybrid. An average compensated sideband rejection ratio of 46dB is obtained. Degradation of the compensated sideband rejection ratio on time and after several resets of the receiver is minimal. A receiver with an IF hybrid is more robust to systematic errors. Moreover, we have shown that the intrinsic random errors in calibration have the same impact for configuration without IF hybrid and for a configuration with IF hybrid with analog rejection ratio better than 10dB. Compensated rejection ratios above 40dB are obtained even in the presence of high analog rejection. The method is robust allowing its use under normal operational conditions at any telescope. We also demonstrate that a full analog receiver is more robust against systematic errors. Finally, the error bars associated to the compensated rejection ratio are almost independent of whether IF hybrid is present or not.

Observations of interstellar dust are often used as a proxy for total gas column density $N_\mathrm{H}$. By comparing $\textit{Planck}$ thermal dust data (Release 1.2) and new dust reddening maps from Pan-STARRS 1 and 2MASS (Green et al. 2018), with accurate (opacity-corrected) HI column densities and newly-published OH data from the Arecibo Millennium survey and 21-SPONGE, we confirm linear correlations between dust optical depth $\tau_{353}$, reddening $E(B{-}V)$ and the total proton column density $N_\mathrm{H}$ in the range (1$-$30)$\times$10$^{20}$cm$^{-2}$, along sightlines with no molecular gas detections in emission. We derive an $N_\mathrm{H}$/$E(B{-}V)$ ratio of (9.4$\pm$1.6)$\times$10$^{21}$cm$^{-2}$mag$^{-1}$ for purely atomic sightlines at $|b|$$>$5$^{\circ}$, which is 60$\%$ higher than the canonical value of Bohlin et al. (1978). We report a $\sim$40$\%$ increase in opacity $\sigma_{353}$=$\tau_{353}$/$N_\mathrm{H}$, when moving from the low column density ($N_\mathrm{H}$$<$5$\times$10$^{20}$cm$^{-2}$) to moderate column density ($N_\mathrm{H}$$>$5$\times$10$^{20}$cm$^{-2}$) regime, and suggest that this rise is due to the evolution of dust grains in the atomic ISM. Failure to account for HI opacity can cause an additional apparent rise in $\sigma_{353}$, of the order of a further $\sim$20$\%$. We estimate molecular hydrogen column densities $N_{\mathrm{H}_{2}}$ from our derived linear relations, and hence derive the OH/H$_2$ abundance ratio of $X_\mathrm{OH}$$\sim$1$\times$10$^{-7}$ for all molecular sightlines. Our results show no evidence of systematic trends in OH abundance with $N_{\mathrm{H}_{2}}$ in the range $N_{\mathrm{H}_{2}}$$\sim$(0.1$-$10)$\times$10$^{21}$cm$^{-2}$. This suggests that OH may be used as a reliable proxy for H$_2$ in this range, which includes sightlines with both CO-dark and CO-bright gas., Comment: The revised manuscript is accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) is a growing concern in the radio astronomy community. Single-dish telescopes are particularly susceptible to RFI. Several methods have been developed to cope with RF-polluted environments, based on flagging, excision, and real-time blanking, among others. All these methods produce some degree of data loss or require assumptions to be made on the astronomical signal. We report the development of a real-time, digital adaptive filter implemented on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) capable of processing 4096 spectral channels in a 1 GHz of instantaneous bandwidth. The filter is able to cancel a broad range of interference signals and quickly adapt to changes on the RFI source, minimizing the data loss without any assumption on the astronomical or interfering signal properties. The speed of convergence (for a decrease to a 1%) was measured to be 208.1 us for a broadband noise-like RFI signal and 125.5 us for a multiple-carrier RFI signal recorded at the FAST radio telescope., Comment: 7 pages

Spectral line surveys reveal rich molecular reservoirs in G331.512-0.103, a compact radio source in the center of an energetic molecular outflow. In this first work, we analyse the physical conditions of the source by means of CH$_3$OH and CH$_3$CN. The observations were performed with the APEX telescope. Six different system configurations were defined to cover most of the band within (292-356) GHz; as a consequence we detected a forest of lines towards the central core. A total of 70 lines of $A/E$-CH$_3$OH and $A/E$-CH$_3$CN were analysed, including torsionally excited transitions of CH$_3$OH ($\nu_t$=1). In a search for all the isotopologues, we identified transitions of $^{13}$CH$_3$OH. The physical conditions were derived considering collisional and radiative processes. We found common temperatures for each $A$ and $E$ symmetry of CH$_3$OH and CH$_3$CN; the derived column densities indicate an $A/E$ equilibrated ratio for both tracers. The results reveal that CH$_3$CN and CH$_3$OH trace a hot and cold component with $T_k \sim$ 141 K and $T_k \sim$ 74 K, respectively. In agreement with previous ALMA observations, the models show that the emission region is compact ($\lesssim$ 5.5 arcsec) with gas density $n$(H$_2$)=(0.7-1) $\times$ 10$^7$ cm$^{-3}$. The CH$_3$OH/CH$_3$CN abundance ratio and the evidences for pre-biotic and complex organic molecules suggest a rich and active chemistry towards G331.512-0.103., Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, 7 tables. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

Context: The bulk of the Molecular gas in the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) of the Galactic center region shows warm kinetic temperatures, ranging from $>20$ K in the coldest and densest regions (n$\sim 10^{4-5}$ cm$^{-3}$) up to more than 100 K for densities of about n$\sim 10^3$ cm$^{-3}$. Recently, a more diffuse, hotter ($n \sim 100$ cm$^{-3}$, $T\sim 250$ K) gas component was discovered through absorption observations of H$_3^+$. This component may be widespread in the Galactic center, and low density gas detectable in absorption may be present even outside the CMZ along sightlines crossing the extended bulge of the Galaxy. Aims: We aim to observe and characterize diffuse and low density gas using observations of 3-mm molecular transitions seen in absorption. Methods: Using the Atacama Large (sub)Millimeter Array (ALMA) we observed the absorption against the quasar J1744-312, which is located towards the Galactic bulge region at $(l,b)=(-2{^\circ}.13,-1{^\circ}.0)$, but outside the main molecular complexes. Results: ALMA observations in absorption against the J1744-312 quasar reveal a rich and complex chemistry in low density molecular and presumably diffuse clouds. We detected three velocity components, at $\sim $ 0, $-153$, and $-192$ km s$^{-1}$. The component at $\sim 0$ km s$^{-1}$ could represent gas in the Galactic disk while the velocity components at $-153$, and $-192$ km s$^{-1}$ likely originate from the Galactic bulge. We detected 12 molecules in the survey, but only 7 in the Galactic bulge gas., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A

The origin and life-cycle of molecular clouds are still poorly constrained, despite their importance for understanding the evolution of the interstellar medium. We have carried out a systematic, homogeneous, spectroscopic survey of the inner Galactic plane, in order to complement the many continuum Galactic surveys available with crucial distance and gas-kinematic information. Our aim is to combine this data set with recent infrared to sub-millimetre surveys at similar angular resolutions. The SEDIGISM survey covers 78 deg^2 of the inner Galaxy (-60 deg < l < +18 deg, |b| < 0.5 deg) in the J=2-1 rotational transition of 13CO. This isotopologue of CO is less abundant than 12CO by factors up to 100. Therefore, its emission has low to moderate optical depths, and higher critical density, making it an ideal tracer of the cold, dense interstellar medium. The data have been observed with the SHFI single-pixel instrument at APEX. The observational setup covers the 13CO(2-1) and C18O(2-1) lines, plus several transitions from other molecules. The observations have been completed. Data reduction is in progress, and the final data products will be made available in the near future. Here we give a detailed description of the survey and the dedicated data reduction pipeline. Preliminary results based on a science demonstration field covering -20 deg < l < -18.5 deg are presented. Analysis of the 13CO(2-1) data in this field reveals compact clumps, diffuse clouds, and filamentary structures at a range of heliocentric distances. By combining our data with data in the (1-0) transition of CO isotopologues from the ThrUMMS survey, we are able to compute a 3D realization of the excitation temperature and optical depth in the interstellar medium. Ultimately, this survey will provide a detailed, global view of the inner Galactic interstellar medium at an unprecedented angular resolution of ~30"., Comment: 30 pages. Accepted for publication in A&A. Abstract slightly shortened due to arXiv requirements

Measurements of microwave attenuation at room temperature and 4.2 K have been performed on some conductors commonly used in receiver input circuits. The reduction in loss on cooling is substantial, particularly for copper and plated gold, both of which showed a factor of 3 loss reduction. Copper passivated with benzotriazole shows the same loss as without passivation. The residual resistivity ratio between room temperature and 4.2 K, deduced from the measurements using the classical skin effect formula, was smaller than the measured DC value to a degree consistent with conduction in the extreme anomalous skin effect regime at cryogenic temperatures. The measurements were made in the 5-10 GHz range. The materials tested were: aluminum alloys 1100-T6 and 6061-O, C101 copper, benzotriazole treated C101 copper, and brass plated with electroformed copper, Pur-A-Gold 125-Au soft gold, and BDT200 bright gold., Comment: 9 pages

Deep spectral-line surveys in the mm and sub-mm range can detect thousands of lines per band uncovering the rich chemistry of molecular clouds, star forming regions and circumstellar envelopes, among others objects. The ability to study the faintest features of spectroscopic observation is, nevertheless, limited by a number of factors. The most important are the source complexity (line density), limited spectral resolution and insufficient sideband (image) rejection (SRR). Dual Sideband (2SB) millimeter receivers separate upper and lower sideband rejecting the unwanted image by about 15 dB, but they are difficult to build and, until now, only feasible up to about 500 GHz (equivalent to ALMA Band 8). For example ALMA Bands 9 (602-720 GHz) and 10 (787-950 GHz) are currently DSB receivers. Aims: This article reports the implementation of an ALMA Band 9 2SB prototype receiver that makes use of a new technique called calibrated digital sideband separation. The new method promises to ease the manufacturing of 2SB receivers, dramatically increase sideband rejection and allow 2SB instruments at the high frequencies currently covered only by Double Sideband (DSB) or bolometric detectors. Methods: We made use of a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and fast Analog to Digital Converters (ADCs) to measure and calibrate the receiver's front end phase and amplitude imbalances to achieve sideband separation beyond the possibilities of purely analog receivers. The technique could in principle allow the operation of 2SB receivers even when only imbalanced front ends can be built, particularly at very high frequencies. Results: This digital 2SB receiver shows an average sideband rejection of 45.9 dB while small portions of the band drop below 40 dB. The performance is 27 dB (a factor of 500) better than the average performance of the proof-of-concept Band 9 purely-analog 2SB prototype receiver., Comment: 5 pages

Exclusive production of the isoscalar vector mesons $\omega$ and $\phi$ is measured with a 190 GeV$/c$ proton beam impinging on a liquid hydrogen target. Cross section ratios are determined in three intervals of the Feynman variable $x_{F}$ of the fast proton. A significant violation of the OZI rule is found, confirming earlier findings. Its kinematic dependence on $x_{F}$ and on the invariant mass $M_{p\mathrm{V}}$ of the system formed by fast proton $p_\mathrm{fast}$ and vector meson $V$ is discussed in terms of diffractive production of $p_\mathrm{fast}V$ resonances in competition with central production. The measurement of the spin density matrix element $\rho_{00}$ of the vector mesons in different selected reference frames provides another handle to distinguish the contributions of these two major reaction types. Again, dependences of the alignment on $x_{F}$ and on $M_{p\mathrm{V}}$ are found. Most of the observations can be traced back to the existence of several excited baryon states contributing to $\omega$ production which are absent in the case of the $\phi$ meson. Removing the low-mass $M_{p\mathrm{V}}$ resonant region, the OZI rule is found to be violated by a factor of eight, independently of $x_\mathrm{F}$., Comment: 23 pages, 13 figures and 5 tables

A fast moving infrared excess source (G2) which is widely interpreted as a core-less gas and dust cloud approaches Sagittarius A* (SgrA*) on a presumably elliptical orbit. VLT K_s-band and Keck K'-band data result in clear continuum identifications and proper motions of this about 19m Dusty S-cluster Object (DSO). In 2002-2007 it is confused with the star S63, but free of confusion again since 2007. Its near-infrared (NIR) colors and a comparison to other sources in the field speak in favor of the DSO being an IR excess star with photospheric continuum emission at 2 microns than a core-less gas and dust cloud. We also find very compact L'-band emission ($<$0.1'') contrasted by the reported extended (0.03'' up to about 0.2'' for the tail) Brgamma emission. The presence of a star will change the expected accretion phenomena, since a stellar Roche lobe may retain a fraction of the material during and after the peri-bothron passage., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, Proc. of a Conf. on IAU Symposium No.303: The GC: Feeding and Feedback in a Normal Galactic Nucleus 2013 September 30 - October 4, Santa Fe New Mexico (USA)