| 1. |
- van Haarlem, M. P., et al.
(author)
-
LOFAR : The LOw-Frequency ARray
- 2013
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 556, s. 1-53
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- LOFAR, the LOw-Frequency ARray, is a new-generation radio interferometer constructed in the north of the Netherlands and across europe. Utilizing a novel phased-array design, LOFAR covers the largely unexplored low-frequency range from 10–240 MHz and provides a number of unique observing capabilities. Spreading out from a core located near the village of Exloo in the northeast of the Netherlands, a total of 40 LOFAR stations are nearing completion. A further five stations have been deployed throughout Germany, and one station has been built in each of France, Sweden, and the UK. Digital beam-forming techniques make the LOFAR system agile and allow for rapid repointing of the telescope as well as the potential for multiple simultaneous observations. With its dense core array and long interferometric baselines, LOFAR achieves unparalleled sensitivity and angular resolution in the low-frequency radio regime. The LOFAR facilities are jointly operated by the International LOFAR Telescope (ILT) foundation, as an observatory open to the global astronomical community. LOFAR is one of the first radio observatories to feature automated processing pipelines to deliver fully calibrated science products to its user community. LOFAR’s new capabilities, techniques and modus operandi make it an important pathfinder for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). We give an overview of the LOFAR instrument, its major hardware and software components, and the core science objectives that have driven its design. In addition, we present a selection of new results from the commissioning phase of this new radio observatory.
|
|
| 2. |
- van Weeren, R. J., et al.
(author)
-
First LOFAR observations at very low frequencies of cluster-scale non-thermal emission: the case of Abell 2256
- 2012
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 543, s. Article Number: A43 -
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Abell 2256 is one of the best known examples of a galaxy cluster hosting large-scale diffuse radio emission that is unrelated to individual galaxies. It contains both a giant radio halo and a relic, as well as a number of head-tail sources and smaller diffuse steep-spectrum radio sources. The origin of radio halos and relics is still being debated, but over the last years it has become clear that the presence of these radio sources is closely related to galaxy cluster merger events. Here we present the results from the first LOFAR low band antenna (LBA) observations of Abell 2256 between 18 and 67 MHz. To our knowledge, the image presented in this paper at 63 MHz is the deepest ever obtained at frequencies below 100 MHz in general. Both the radio halo and the giant relic are detected in the image at 63 MHz, and the diffuse radio emission remains visible at frequencies as low as 20 MHz. The observations confirm the presence of a previously claimed ultra-steep spectrum source to the west of the cluster center with a spectral index of -2.3 +/- 0.4 between 63 and 153 MHz. The steep spectrum suggests that this source is an old part of a head-tail radio source in the cluster. For the radio relic we find an integrated spectral index of -0.81 +/- 0.03, after removing the flux contribution from the other sources. This is relatively flat which could indicate that the efficiency of particle acceleration at the shock substantially changed in the last similar to 0.1 Gyr due to an increase of the shock Mach number. In an alternative scenario, particles are re-accelerated by some mechanism in the downstream region of the shock, resulting in the relatively flat integrated radio spectrum. In the radio halo region we find indications of low-frequency spectral steepening which may suggest that relativistic particles are accelerated in a rather inhomogeneous turbulent region.
|
|
| 3. |
- De Gasperin, F., et al.
(author)
-
M 87 at metre wavelengths: the LOFAR picture
- 2012
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 547, s. article no. 56-
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. M87 is a giant elliptical galaxy located in the centre of the Virgo cluster, which harbours a supermassive black hole of mass 6.4x10(9) M-circle dot, whose activity is responsible for the extended (80 kpc) radio lobes that surround the galaxy. The energy generated by matter falling onto the central black hole is ejected and transferred to the intra-cluster medium via a relativistic jet and morphologically complex systems of buoyant bubbles, which rise towards the edges of the extended halo. Aims. To place constraints on past activity cycles of the active nucleus, images of M 87 were produced at low radio frequencies never explored before at these high spatial resolution and dynamic range. To disentangle different synchrotron models and place constraints on source magnetic field, age and energetics, we also performed a detailed spectral analysis of M 87 extended radio-halo. Methods. We present the first observations made with the new Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) of M 87 at frequencies down to 20 MHz. Three observations were conducted, at 15-30 MHz, 30-77 MHz and 116-162 MHz. We used these observations together with archival data to produce a low-frequency spectral index map and to perform a spectral analysis in the wide frequency range 30 MHz-10 GHz. Results. We do not find any sign of new extended emissions; on the contrary the source appears well confined by the high pressure of the intra-cluster medium. A continuous injection of relativistic electrons is the model that best fits our data, and provides a scenario in which the lobes are still supplied by fresh relativistic particles from the active galactic nuclei. We suggest that the discrepancy between the low-frequency radio-spectral slope in the core and in the halo implies a strong adiabatic expansion of the plasma as soon as it leaves the core area. The extended halo has an equipartition magnetic field strength of similar or equal to 10 mu G, which increases to similar or equal to 13 mu G in the zones where the particle flows are more active. The continuous injection model for synchrotron ageing provides an age for the halo of similar or equal to 40 Myr, which in turn provides a jet kinetic power of 6-10 x 10(44) erg s(-1).
|
|
| 4. |
- Downing, Andrea S., et al.
(author)
-
Coupled human and natural system dynamics as key to the sustainability of Lake Victoria's ecosystem services
- 2014
-
In: Ecology & Society. - 1708-3087. ; 19:4, s. 31-
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- East Africa's Lake Victoria provides resources and services to millions of people on the lake's shores and abroad. In particular, the lake's fisheries are an important source of protein, employment, and international economic connections for the whole region. Nonetheless, stock dynamics are poorly understood and currently unpredictable. Furthermore, fishery dynamics are intricately connected to other supporting services of the lake as well as to lakeshore societies and economies. Much research has been carried out piecemeal on different aspects of Lake Victoria's system; e.g., societies, biodiversity, fisheries, and eutrophication. However, to disentangle drivers and dynamics of change in this complex system, we need to put these pieces together and analyze the system as a whole. We did so by first building a qualitative model of the lake's social-ecological system. We then investigated the model system through a qualitative loop analysis, and finally examined effects of changes on the system state and structure. The model and its contextual analysis allowed us to investigate system-wide chain reactions resulting from disturbances. Importantly, we built a tool that can be used to analyze the cascading effects of management options and establish the requirements for their success. We found that high connectedness of the system at the exploitation level, through fisheries having multiple target stocks, can increase the stocks' vulnerability to exploitation but reduce society's vulnerability to variability in individual stocks. We describe how there are multiple pathways to any change in the system, which makes it difficult to identify the root cause of changes but also broadens the management toolkit. Also, we illustrate how nutrient enrichment is not a self-regulating process, and that explicit management is necessary to halt or reverse eutrophication. This model is simple and usable to assess system-wide effects of management policies, and can serve as a paving stone for future quantitative analyses of system dynamics at local scales.
|
|
| 5. |
- Heald, G., et al.
(author)
-
LOFAR: Recent Imaging Results and Future Prospects
- 2011
-
In: Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0250-6335 .- 0973-7758. ; 32:4, s. 589-598
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) is under construction in the Netherlands and in several surrounding European countries. In this contribution, we describe the layout and design of the telescope, with particular emphasis on the imaging characteristics of the array when used in its 'standard imaging' mode. After briefly reviewing the calibration and imaging software used for LOFAR image processing, we show some recent results from the ongoing imaging commissioning efforts. We conclude by summarizing future prospects for the use of LOFAR in observing the little-explored low-frequency Universe.
|
|
| 6. |
- Tasse, C., et al.
(author)
-
LOFAR calibration and wide-field imaging
- 2012
-
In: Comptes Rendus Physique. - : Elsevier BV. - 1878-1535 .- 1631-0705. ; 13:1, s. 28-32
-
Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- LOFAR is a revolutionary instrument, operating at low frequencies (nu less than or similar to 240 MHz). It will drive major breakthroughs in the area of observational cosmology, but its use requires the development of challenging techniques and algorithms. Since its field of view and sensitivity are increased by orders of magnitude as compared to the older generation of instruments, new technical problems have to be addressed. The LOFAR survey team is in charge of commissioning the first LOFAR data produced in the imager mode as part of building the imaging pipeline. We are developing algorithms to tackle the problems associated with calibration (ionosphere, beam, etc.) and wide-field imaging for the achievement of the deep extragalactic surveys. New types of problems arise in that context, and notions such as algorithmic complexity and parallelism become fundamental.
|
|
| 7. |
|
|
| 8. |
|
|
| 9. |
|
|
| 10. |
|
|
