Limitations Of The Tangent Plane Approximation For Wide-field Imaging Using The Mauritius Radio Telescope

The Mauritius Radio Telescope (MRT) is a Fourier synthesis, non-coplanar T array. The primary objective of the telescope is to survey the southern sky at 151.5 MHz in the declination range -70^° to -10^°. Due to non-coplanarity, wide-field imaging and deconvolution of wide field images made using MRT are challenging problems in applications of radio interferometric techniques. This paper discusses the usefulness and limitations of the tangent plane approximation in transforming the measured visibilities to wide field images and in estimating the point spread function (PSF) required for the deconvolution. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

大面积硅微条探测器在轨数据压缩算法的设计与实现

硅微条探测器具有位置分辨高、响应快、低噪声、低功耗等优点,广泛应用在各大加速器试验中,测量粒子径迹.新世纪以来,逐渐应用于空间探测领域.计划中的"悟空"2号暗物质粒子探测卫星的硅微条探测器将至数十万计,将产生海量的原始数据.如何实现探测器快速实时的数据压缩,是其需要解决的一大难题.立足于面向空间应用的硅微条探测器在轨实时压缩算法,算法采用FPGA (Field-programmable Gate Array)搭建流水线结构的方式实现,在提高系统集成度、节省逻辑资源的同时,批量数据处理时最高可将数据压缩率提升至38.4 M通道/s.算法结构具有通用性,设计思想和方案将为"悟空"2号的径迹探测器的研制提供参考.     

差分CLEAN算法在编码板成像中的应用

编码板多用于硬X射线及更高能量波段的天文成像.采用交叉相关算法对编码板图像进行重建时会产生鬼像,成像质量不高.采用CLEAN算法可以有效消除鬼像,但该算法仍然无法抑制由不等间隔采样和数据缺失引入的误差.采用差分CLEAN算法对编码板图像进行重建.该算法直接在探测器数据空间进行处理,由模型数据推算出探测器上各点的数值,无需对数据进行插值等操作,能够规避上述问题,提高成像质量.选用理想点源数据加入了泊松噪声和人造坏数据点进行了模拟重建,结果显示差分CLEAN算法能够得到比CLEAN算法更低的噪声水平和更接近真实值的点源强度.IBIS是INTEGRAL卫星上的主要编码板成像设备,目前已经有大量损坏的探测器单元.用差分CLEAN算法对IBIS望远镜的数据进行了处理,与INTEGRAL标准处理软件OSA采用的CLEAN算法相比也得到了噪声水平更低的结果.     

The GraF instrument for Imaging Spectroscopy with the Adaptive Optics

The GraF instrument using a Fabry-Perot interferometer cross-dispersed with a grating was one of the first integral-field and long-slit spectrographs built for and used with an adaptive optics system. We describe its concept, design, optimal observational procedures and the measured performances. The instrument was used in 1997–2001 at the ESO3.6 m telescope equipped with ADONIS adaptive optics and SHARPII+camera. The operating spectral range was 1.2–2.5 μm. We used the spectral resolution from 500 to 10 000 combined with the angular resolution of 0.1″–0.2″. The quality of GraF data is illustrated by the integral field spectroscopy of the complex0.9″ × 0.9″ central region of η Car in the1.7 μm spectral range at the limit of spectral and angular resolutions. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Search for Magnetic Monopoles and for Nuclearites with the MACRO Detector

We discuss the searches for massive magnetic monopoles and for nuclearitesin the penetrating cosmic radiation performed with the MACRO detector. Independent monopole analysis were carried out using the scintillator, streamer tubes and nuclear track sub-detectors in different ranges of velocity. No candidates were found in several years of data taking; present upper flux limits are well below the Parker bound in a wide velocity range. For nuclearites only the scintillator and nuclear track sub-detectors were used.     

Gapfilling interrupted helioseismic data with the EM algorithm

Helioseismic data are often interrupted by gaps, which diminish the quality of the data. In the frequency domain, these gaps lead to systematical effects with misleading interpretation of the power spectra. We propose a gap filling method that is based on modeling solar oscillation data with a statistical process, i.e., the stochastic nature of a single oscillation is taken into account by regarding it as realization of an autoregressive (AR) processes of second order. From the whole oscillation time series given as the superposition of the realization of many excited modes, the process parameters are estimated via the expectation maximization (EM) algorithm. Then the estimated model is used to predict the further course of the oscillatory process during occurring gaps. We demonstrate the applicability of this procedure on the basis of both simulations and data obtained with the DIFOS satellite experiment suffering from gaps of 30 min duration occurring regularly every 90 min due to the orbit around the Earth.     

一种固定选图数的实时幸运成像算法

幸运成像技术是一种从大量短曝光图像中选取少量幸运好图进行配准、叠加的高分辨率图像恢复技术,能够有效减小大气湍流对图像质量的影响,但传统的基于中央处理器(Central Processing Unit,CPU)的幸运成像算法难以实现实时化.利用现场可编程门阵列(Field Programmable Gate Array,...     

基于OpenCL的射电干涉阵成像网格化算法实现

天文软件开发与应用中迫切需要在单机环境下进行高性能的科学数据处理,由于机器配置不同,采用传统的CUDA+GPU技术存在明显的局限,不利于天文软件的快速移植和无缝运行。针对明安图射电频谱日像仪数据处理中的网格化(Gridding)算法,采用并行计算OpenCL技术进行多线程编程实现。实验结果表明,基于OpenCL实现的网格化算法不仅能够在图形处理器上运行,而且能够在纯中央处理器上运行。当选择在图形处理器上执行时,算法的执行效率与基于CUDA实现的网格化算法执行效率大致相当,但算法不局限于NVIDIA GPU,解决了算法对CUDA+GPU的依赖;同时算法也能在纯中央处理器上较快速地执行,适用于单机模式下进行天文软件的开发和测试,也便于天文软件的应用与推广。     

The Sun's Distance from the Galactic Plane

Use is made of 93,106 parallaxes from the Hipparcos catalog, with a mixture of spectrum-luminosity classes, to derive the position of the Galactic plane. The reduction technique, mixed total least squares-least squares, takes into account the errors in the parallaxes, and the condition that the direction cosines of the Galactic pole have unit Euclidean norm is rigorously enforced. To obtain an acceptable solution it is necessary to eliminate the stars of classes O and B that belong to the Gould belt. The Sun is found to lie 34.56±0.56 pc above the plane. The coordinates of the Galactic pole, l _g , b _g, are found to be: l _g =0.°004±0.°039; b _g =89.°427±0.°035.This agrees well with what radio observations find and demonstrates that the IAU's recommendation in 1960 to use only radio observations to determine the Galactic pole, although correct at the time because of the paucity of optical observations, can no longer be justified given the plethora of observations contained in the Hipparcos catalog and an adequate reduction technique, unavailable in 1960. The reduction technique is also demonstrably superior to others because it involves fewer assumptions and calculates smaller mean errors. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

低纬子午环配备科学CCD后的课题目标

本文根据基本天体测量的主要任务和目前发展趋势的要求 ,以及低纬子午环配备CCD后的观测精度、效率和极限星等 ,提出了该仪器长期观测的课题目标 ,包括建立实用的准惯性天球参考架和动力学参考架 ,为太阳系动力学研究 ,为银河系结构和运动学研究 ,为某些天体物理课题研究的需要 ,提供有用的观测数据 ,为本地的地震预报和天文地震研究提供参考数据。在甚长基线射电干涉测量技术和空间测量技术迅速发展的时代 ,地面光学天体测量仍具有其不可取代的优势 ,只要能高精度地测定仪器的各种误差 ,消除仪器重力变形和热变形的影响 ,并尽可能消除由地球大气因素引起的系统误差影响 ,取得与空间测量平均而言可比的观测精度 ,两者相互配合 ,取长补短 ,就能更好地为上述诸多课题目标开展观测和研究 ,促进天体测量学和有关学科的发展 ,文中对这些要求的实现作了必要的叙述。     

Meteor Hazard for Interplanetary Flights in the Ecliptic Plane

Solar System Research - To increase the safety of interplanetary missions, it is necessary to have estimates of the meteor hazard along the flight trajectory. Meteoroid particles of known meteor...     

The Fundamental Plane for early-type galaxies: dependence on the magnitude range

Studying three samples of early-type galaxies, which include approximately 8800 galaxies and cover a relatively ample magnitude range  (〈Δ M 〉∼ 5.5 mag)  , we find that the coefficients as well as the intrinsic dispersion of the Fundamental Plane depend on the width and brightness of the magnitude range within which the galaxies are distributed. We analyse this dependence, and the results show that it is due to the fact that the distribution of galaxies in the space defined by the variables     depends on the luminosity.     

Speeding Up Image Reconstruction Methods in Coded Mask γ Cameras Using Neural Networks: Application to the EM Algorithm

When using γ-ray coded-mask cameras, one does not get a direct image as in classical optical cameras but the correlation of the mask response with the source. Therefore the data must be mathematically treated in order to reconstruct the original sky sources. Generally this reconstruction is based on linear methods, such as correlating the detector plane with a reconstruction array, or non-linear ones such as iterative or maximization methods (i.e. the EM algorithm). The latter have a better performance but they increase the computational complexity by taking a lot of time to reconstruct an image. Here we present a method for speeding up such kind of algorithms by making use of a neural network with a back-propagation learning rule.     

Speeding Up Image Reconstruction Methods in Coded Mask γ Cameras Using Neural Networks: Application to the EM Algorithm

When using γ-ray coded-mask cameras, one does not get a direct image as in classical optical cameras but the correlation of the mask response with the source. Therefore the data must be mathematically treated in order to reconstruct the original sky sources. Generally this reconstruction is based on linear methods, such as correlating the detector plane with a reconstruction array, or non-linear ones such as iterative or maximization methods (i.e. the EM algorithm). The latter have a better performance but they increase the computational complexity by taking a lot of time to reconstruct an image. Here we present a method for speeding up such kind of algorithms by making use of a neural network with a back-propagation learning rule. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The EUV Imaging Spectrometer for Hinode

The EUV Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) on Hinode will observe solar corona and upper transition region emission lines in the wavelength ranges 170?–?210 Å and 250?–?290 Å. The line centroid positions and profile widths will allow plasma velocities and turbulent or non-thermal line broadenings to be measured. We will derive local plasma temperatures and densities from the line intensities. The spectra will allow accurate determination of differential emission measure and element abundances within a variety of corona and transition region structures. These powerful spectroscopic diagnostics will allow identification and characterization of magnetic reconnection and wave propagation processes in the upper solar atmosphere. We will also directly study the detailed evolution and heating of coronal loops. The EIS instrument incorporates a unique two element, normal incidence design. The optics are coated with optimized multilayer coatings. We have selected highly efficient, backside-illuminated, thinned CCDs. These design features result in an instrument that has significantly greater effective area than previous orbiting EUV spectrographs with typical active region 2?–?5 s exposure times in the brightest lines. EIS can scan a field of 6×8.5 arc?min with spatial and velocity scales of 1 arc?sec and 25 km?s^?1 per pixel. The instrument design, its absolute calibration, and performance are described in detail in this paper. EIS will be used along with the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) and the X-ray Telescope (XRT) for a wide range of studies of the solar atmosphere.     

The Influence of Panel Gaps on the System NoiseTemperature of the FAST

1 INTRODUCTIONThe FAST is an ArecibChtype telescope with a number of innovations, which is to be built inthe unique karst area of Southwest China (Nan Rendong et al. 1996). Some basic parametersof the FAST have been tentatively suggested such as, curvature radius R = 300m, openingangle 0 = 120', and frequency range from 300MHz to 5 GHz. Baized on the fact that thecelltral part of a spherical surface deyiates little from a paraboloid as a proper focal length ischosen, a novel design…     

Gaps in the emission line redshift distribution of QSOs

A gap in a distribution is the interval between two consecutive values. Gaps in the emission line redshift distribution of QSOs are analysed using up-to-date data comprising 371 objects. It is found that the distribution of gaps is not random, but follows a definite trend, depending on the mean value of the redshift in the region.     

Development of the Emulsion Chamber Detector for Space Observations

The emulsion chamber detector on board the “ShiJian-8” satellite is the first one in China designed especially for observing in space the highenergy electrons and γ-rays. In this paper, the principle of the detector design, the method of data processing and the preliminary results of observations are introduced. The design lifetime of the detector is 15 days on the orbit, and the energy range of detectable particles is 100GeV∼5TeV.     

High Resolution Solar Speckle Imaging With the Extended Knox–Thompson Algorithm

We present an implementation of the extended Knox-Thompson (EKT) speckle reconstruction algorithm dedicated to solar observations. EKT speckle imaging yields nearly diffraction-limited images from bursts of short exposure solar observations under a wide range of seeing conditions. Our implementation supports field dependent amplitude calibration to permit analyzing data obtained with a partially compensating adaptive optics systems. The principles of the method and some technical details of our implementation are discussed. We have performed various tests using simulated data of representative solar scenes. The simulations include the effects of seeing and noise with the exception of anisoplanatism. The expected photometric error of a reconstructed image amounts to a few percent of the mean intensity under seeing conditions ranging from poor to excellent. We also present sample reconstructions of real data and discuss issues arising from anisoplanatism.     

Background simulations for the Large Area Detector onboard LOFT

The Large Observatory For X-ray Timing (LOFT), currently in an assessment phase in the framework the ESA M3 Cosmic Vision programme, is an innovative medium-class mission specifically designed to answer fundamental questions about the behaviour of matter, in the very strong gravitational and magnetic fields around compact objects and in supranuclear density conditions. Having an effective area of ～10 m² at 8 keV, LOFT will be able to measure with high sensitivity very fast variability in the X-ray fluxes and spectra. A good knowledge of the in-orbit background environment is essential to assess the scientific performance of the mission and optimize the design of its main instrument, the Large Area Detector (LAD). In this paper the results of an extensive Geant-4 simulation of the instrumentwillbe discussed, showing the main contributions to the background and the design solutions for its reduction and control. Our results show that the current LOFT/LAD design is expected to meet its scientific requirement of a background rate equivalent to 10 mCrab in 2?30 keV, achieving about 5 mCrab in the most important 2–10 keV energy band. Moreover, simulations show an anticipated modulation of the background rate as small as 10 % over the orbital timescale. The intrinsic photonic origin of the largest background component also allows for an efficient modelling, supported by an in-flight active monitoring, allowing to predict systematic residuals significantly better than the requirement of 1 %, and actually meeting the 0.25 % science goal.