| 1. |
- Aad, G, et al.
(författare)
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- 2015
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swepub:Mat__t
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Heald, G. H., et al.
(författare)
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The LOFAR Multifrequency Snapshot Sky Survey (MSSS) : I. Survey description and first results
- 2015
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 582, s. 1-22
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the Multifrequency Snapshot Sky Survey (MSSS), the first northern-sky Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) imaging survey. In this introductory paper, we first describe in detail the motivation and design of the survey. Compared to previous radio surveys, MSSS is exceptional due to its intrinsic multifrequency nature providing information about the spectral properties of the detected sources over more than two octaves (from 30 to 160 MHz). The broadband frequency coverage, together with the fast survey speed generated by LOFAR’s multibeaming capabilities, make MSSS the first survey of the sort anticipated to be carried out with the forthcoming Square Kilometre Array (SKA). Two of the sixteen frequency bands included in the survey were chosen to exactly overlap the frequency coverage of large-area Very Large Array (VLA) and Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) surveys at 74 MHz and 151 MHz respectively. The survey performance is illustrated within the MSSS Verification Field (MVF), a region of 100 square degrees centered at (α,δ)J2000 = (15h,69°). The MSSS results from the MVF are compared with previous radio survey catalogs. We assess the flux and astrometric uncertainties in the catalog, as well as the completeness and reliability considering our source finding strategy. We determine the 90% completeness levels within the MVF to be 100 mJy at 135 MHz with 108″ resolution, and 550 mJy at 50 MHz with 166″ resolution. Images and catalogs for the full survey, expected to contain 150 000–200 000 sources, will be released to a public web server. We outline the plans for the ongoing production of the final survey products, and the ultimate public release of images and source catalogs.
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| 4. |
- Orrù, E., et al.
(författare)
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Wide-field LOFAR imaging of the field around the double-double radio galaxy B1834+620 : A fresh view on a restarted AGN and doubeltjes
- 2015
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 584, s. 1-12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. The existence of double-double radio galaxies (DDRGs) is evidence for recurrent jet activity in active galactic nuclei (AGN), as expected from standard accretion models. A detailed study of these rare sources provides new perspectives for investigating the AGN duty cycle, AGN-galaxy feedback, and accretion mechanisms. Large catalogues of radio sources, on the other hand, provide statistical information about the evolution of the radio-loud AGN population out to high redshifts.Aims. Using wide-field imaging with the LOFAR telescope, we study both a well-known DDRG as well as a large number of radio sources in the field of view.Methods. We present a high resolution image of the DDRG B1834+620 obtained at 144 MHz using LOFAR commissioning data. Our image covers about 100 square degrees and contains over 1000 sources.Results. The four components of the DDRG B1834+620 have been resolved for the first time at 144 MHz. Inner lobes were found to point towards the direction of the outer lobes, unlike standard FR II sources. Polarized emission was detected at +60 rad m-2 in the northern outer lobe. The high spatial resolution allows the identification of a large number of small double-lobed radio sources; roughly 10% of all sources in the field are doubles with a separation smaller than 1′.Conclusions. The spectral fit of the four components is consistent with a scenario in which the outer lobes are still active or the jets recently switched off, while emission of the inner lobes is the result of a mix-up of new and old jet activity. From the presence of the newly extended features in the inner lobes of the DDRG, we can infer that the mechanism responsible for their formation is the bow shock that is driven by the newly launched jet. We find that the density of the small doubles exceeds the density of FR II sources with similar properties at 1.4 GHz, but this difference becomes smaller for low flux densities. Finally, we show that the significant challenges of wide-field imaging (e.g., time and frequency variation of the beam, directional dependent calibration errors) can be solved using LOFAR commissioning data, thus demonstrating the potential of the full LOFAR telescope to discover millions of powerful AGN at redshift z ~ 1.
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| 5. |
- Vedantham, H. K., et al.
(författare)
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Lunar occultation of the diffuse radio sky : LOFAR measurements between 35 and 80 MHz
- 2015
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 450, s. 2291-2305
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present radio observations of the Moon between 35 and 80 MHz to demonstrate a novel technique of interferometrically measuring large-scale diffuse emission extending far beyond the primary beam (global signal) for the first time. In particular, we show that (i) the Moon appears as a negative-flux source at frequencies 35 < ν < 80 MHz since it is ‘colder’ than the diffuse Galactic background it occults, (ii) using the (negative) flux of the lunar disc, we can reconstruct the spectrum of the diffuse Galactic emission with the lunar thermal emission as a reference, and (iii) that reflected RFI (radio-frequency interference) is concentrated at the centre of the lunar disc due to specular nature of reflection, and can be independently measured. Our RFI measurements show that (i) Moon-based Cosmic Dawn experiments must design for an Earth-isolation of better than 80 dB to achieve an RFI temperature <1 mK, (ii) Moon-reflected RFI contributes to a dipole temperature less than 20 mK for Earth-based Cosmic Dawn experiments, (iii) man-made satellite-reflected RFI temperature exceeds 20 mK if the aggregate scattering cross-section of visible satellites exceeds 175 m2 at 800 km height, or 15 m2 at 400 km height. Currently, our diffuse background spectrum is limited by sidelobe confusion on short baselines (10–15 per cent level). Further refinement of our technique may yield constraints on the redshifted global 21 cm signal from Cosmic Dawn (40 > z > 12) and the Epoch of Reionization (12 > z > 5).
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| 6. |
- Harcourt, R., et al.
(författare)
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Animal-borne telemetry: An integral component of the ocean observing toolkit
- 2019
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Marine Science. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-7745. ; 6:JUN
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Animal telemetry is a powerful tool for observing marine animals and the physical environments that they inhabit, from coastal and continental shelf ecosystems to polar seas and open oceans. Satellite-linked biologgers and networks of acoustic receivers allow animals to be reliably monitored over scales of tens of meters to thousands of kilometers, giving insight into their habitat use, home range size, the phenology of migratory patterns and the biotic and abiotic factors that drive their distributions. Furthermore, physical environmental variables can be collected using animals as autonomous sampling platforms, increasing spatial and temporal coverage of global oceanographic observation systems. The use of animal telemetry, therefore, has the capacity to provide measures from a suite of essential ocean variables (EOVs) for improved monitoring of Earth's oceans. Here we outline the design features of animal telemetry systems, describe current applications and their benefits and challenges, and discuss future directions. We describe new analytical techniques that improve our ability to not only quantify animal movements but to also provide a powerful framework for comparative studies across taxa. We discuss the application of animal telemetry and its capacity to collect biotic and abiotic data, how the data collected can be incorporated into ocean observing systems, and the role these data can play in improved ocean management. © 2019 Harcourt, Sequeira, Zhang, Roquet, Komatsu, Heupel, McMahon, Whoriskey, Meekan, Carroll, Brodie, Simpfendorfer, Hindell, Jonsen, Costa, Block, Muelbert, Woodward, Weise, Aarestrup, Biuw, Boehme, Bograd, Cazau, Charrassin, Cooke, Cowley, de Bruyn, Jeanniard du Dot, Duarte, Eguíluz, Ferreira, Fernández-Gracia, Goetz, Goto, Guinet, Hammill, Hays, Hazen, Hückstädt, Huveneers, Iverson, Jaaman, Kittiwattanawong, Kovacs, Lydersen, Moltmann, Naruoka, Phillips, Picard, Queiroz, Reverdin, Sato, Sims, Thorstad, Thums, Treasure, Trites, Williams, Yonehara and Fedak.
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| 7. |
- Asad, K. M. B., et al.
(författare)
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Polarization leakage in epoch of reionization windows - I. Low Frequency Array observations of the 3C196 field
- 2015
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 451:4, s. 3709-3727
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Detection of the 21-cm signal coming from the epoch of reionization (EoR) is challenging especially because, even after removing the foregrounds, the residual Stokes I maps contain leakage from polarized emission that can mimic the signal. Here, we discuss the instrumental polarization of Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) and present realistic simulations of the leakages between Stokes parameters. From the LOFAR observations of polarized emission in the 3C196 field, we have quantified the level of polarization leakage caused by the nominal model beam of LOFAR, and compared it with the EoR signal using power spectrum analysis. We found that at 134-166 MHz, within the central 4A degrees of the field the (Q, U) -> I leakage power is lower than the EoR signal at k < 0.3 Mpc(-1). The leakage was found to be localized around a Faraday depth of 0, and the rms of the leakage as a fraction of the rms of the polarized emission was shown to vary between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent, both of which could be utilized in the removal of leakage. Moreover, we could define an 'EoR window' in terms of the polarization leakage in the cylindrical power spectrum above the point spread function (PSF)-induced wedge and below k(ayen) similar to 0.5 Mpc(-1), and the window extended up to k(ayen) similar to 1 Mpc(-1) at all k(aSyen) when 70 per cent of the leakage had been removed. These LOFAR results show that even a modest polarimetric calibration over a field of view of a parts per thousand(2) 4A degrees in the future arrays like Square Kilometre Array will ensure that the polarization leakage remains well below the expected EoR signal at the scales of 0.02-1 Mpc(-1).
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| 8. |
- Ciardi, B., et al.
(författare)
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Simulating the 21 cm forest detectable with LOFAR and SKA in the spectra of high-z GRBs
- 2015
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 453:1, s. 101-105
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We investigate the feasibility of detecting 21 cm absorption features in the afterglow spectra of high redshift long Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). This is done employing simulations of cosmic reionization, together with estimates of the GRB radio afterglow flux and the instrumental characteristics of the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR). We find that absorption features could be marginally (with a S/N larger than a few) detected by LOFAR at z greater than or similar to 7 if the GRB is a highly energetic event originating from Pop III stars, while the detection would be easier if the noise were reduced by one order of magnitude, i.e. similar to what is expected for the first phase of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA1-low). On the other hand, more standard GRBs are too dim to be detected even with ten times the sensitivity of SKA1-low, and only in the most optimistic case can a S/N larger than a few be reached at z greater than or similar to 9.
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