Uniformly Redundant Arrays

Uniformly Redundant Arrays (URA's) are two–dimensional binary arrays with constant sidelobes of their periodic autocorrelation function. They are widely agreed upon to be optimum mask patterns for coded aperture imaging, particularly in imaging systems with a cyclic coded mask. In this paper, a survey of all currently known construction methods for URA's is given and the sizes and open fractions of the arrays resulting from each construction method are pointed out. Alternatives to URA's for situations in which a URA does not exist, are discussed.     

Toward high spatial resolution in solar observations

To achieve high spatial resolution capability for IR solar observations, we suggest the use of a special mask placed before the entrance aperture of large conventional optical telescopes. Such a mask would match well the resolution of a non-redundant array and would provide safe operation of a large telescope used for solar observations. The proposed solution has the additional advantage of relatively low cost because already-existing optical telescopes are used.     

Comparisons of CME Morphological Characteristics Derived from Five 3D Reconstruction Methods

We compare different methods to reconstruct three-dimensional (3D) coronal mass ejection (CME) morphology. The explored methods include geometric localisation, mask fitting, forward modelling, polarisation ratio, and local correlation tracking plus triangulation. These five methods are applied to the same CME event that occurred on 7 August 2010. Their corresponding results are presented and compared, especially in their propagation direction and spatial extent in 3D. We find that the mask fitting and geometric localisation methods produce consistent results. Reconstructions including three-view observations are more precise than reconstructions done with only two views. Compared to the forward modelling method, in which an a priori shape of the CME geometry is assumed, the mask fitting has more flexibility. The polarisation ratio method makes use of the Thomson scattering geometry. We find that spatially the 3D CME derived from the mask fitting lies mostly in the overlap region obtained with the polarisation method using data from STEREO. In addition, the mask fitting can help resolve the front/back ambiguity inherent in the polarisation ratio method. However, the local correlation tracking plus triangulation did not show consistent results with the other four methods. This method performed poorly, primarily because the two STEREO spacecraft had a large angular separation. Under these circumstances, it is difficult to identify points taken from independent images that correspond to the same physical feature. Excluding the local correlation tracking method, the latitude of the CME??s centre of gravity derived from the other methods deviates within 1^°, and the longitude differs within 19^°.     

Lucifers,a photoelectric radial-velocity spectrometer

A spectrometer dedicated to the measurement of stellar radial velocities has been developed at the University of Canterbury and the Mt John University Observatory. The spectrometer scans a spectrum from the Observatory's 1-metre McLellan reflecting telescope and fibre-fed échelle with an oscillating mask having 2447 rectangular slots representing absorption lines in the spectrum of the star Centauri A covered by the wavelength range 397 to 570 nm in orders 40 to 58 of the spectrograph and measures the light passing through the mask as a function of mask position. A dedicated computer constructs a cross-correlation function to which a Gaussian distribution function is fitted. The difference between the radial velocities of a star and a zero-velocity reference spectrum provided by a hollow-cathode iron emission lamp is calculated from the Gaussian parameters. The sources of random error in the system are discussed and its magnitude for stars of spectral types F0 to M3.5 is estimated. Systematic errors in the system are also discussed.     

日晕光度计的研制和初步观测结果

本文从日冕观测和研究的意义出发，叙述了用外遮档及小孔减光测量日晕光度的方法以及在云南和新疆若干选点的初步观测结果。     

A super-high angular resolution principle for coded-mask X-ray imaging beyond the diffraction limit of a single pinhole

High angular resolution X-ray imaging is always useful in astrophysics and solar physics. In principle, it can be performed by using coded-mask imaging with a very long mask-detector distance. Previously, the diffraction-interference effect was thought to degrade coded-mask imaging performance dramatically at the low energy end with its very long mask-detector distance. The diffraction-interference effect is described with numerical calculations, and the difffraction-interference cross correlation reconstruction method (DICC) is developed in order to overcome the imaging performance degradation. Based on the DICC, a super-high angular resolution principle (SHARP) for coded-mask X-ray imaging is proposed. The feasibility of coded mask imaging beyond the diffraction limit of a single pinhole is demonstrated with simulations. With the specification that the mask element size is 50 × 50 μm2 and the mask-detector distance is 50 m, the achieved angular resolution is 0.32arcsec above about 10keV and 0.36arcsec at 1.24keV (λ = 1 nm), where diffraction cannot be neglected. The on-axis source location accuracy is better than 0.02 arcsec. Potential applications for solar observations and wide-field X-ray monitors are also briefly discussed.     

Smoothing methods comparison for CMB E-and B-mode separation

The anisotropies of the B-mode polarization in the cosmic microwave background radiation play a crucial role in the study of the very early Universe. However, in real observations, a mixture of the Emode and B-mode can be caused by partial sky surveys, which must be separated before being applied to a cosmological explanation. The separation method developed by Smith(2006) has been widely adopted,where the edge of the top-hat mask should be smoothed to avoid numerical errors. In this paper, we compare three different smoothing methods and investigate leakage residuals of the E-B mixture. We find that, if less information loss is needed and a smaller region is smoothed in the analysis, the sin- and cos-smoothing methods are better. However, if we need a cleanly constructed B-mode map, the larger region around the mask edge should be smoothed. In this case, the Gaussian-smoothing method becomes much better. In addition, we find that the leakage caused by numerical errors in the Gaussian-smoothing method is mostly concentrated in two bands, which is quite easy to reduce for further E-B separations.     

A new mask-antimask coded-aperture telescope for hard X-ray astronomy

A new imaging balloon-borne telescope for hard X-rays in the energy range from 30 to 100 keV is described. The imaging capability is provided by the use of an extended URA-based coded-mask. With only one motor and suitable stop pins, we can rotate a carbon-fiber wheel with most of the mask elements attached to it by 180°, and a bar, which is also part of the mask pattern and is allowed to rotate freely over the wheel, by 90°; this combined rotation creates an antimask of the original mask, except for the central element. This is a novel and elegant manner of providing an antimask without additional weight and complex mechanical manipulations. We show that the use of antimasks is a very effective method of eliminating systematic variations in the background map over the position-sensitive detector area. The expected sensitivity of the instrument for the 30–100 keV range is of the order of 7 × 10^-5 photons cm^-2 s^-1 keV^-1, for an integration time of 10⁴ seconds at a residual atmosphere of 3.5 g cm^-2. This telescope will provide imaging observations of bright galactic hard X-ray sources with an angular resolution of 2° in a 10° by 10° FOV, which is defined by a collimator placed in front of the detector system. We are particularly interested in the galactic center region, where recent imaging results in X-rays have shown the presence of an interesting source field. Results of computer simulations of the imaging system are reported.     

无缝光谱仪用紫外透射闪耀光栅的制作

无缝光谱巡天是如今国际天文学研究的重点方向, 相比较地基巡天任务, 空间巡天可获取更多紫外波段与红外波段的光谱信息, 其发展受到色散元件的制约, 针对紫外波段的核心色散元件---紫外透射闪耀光栅开展了一系列研究. 通过全息干涉光刻产生图形, 离子束垂直刻蚀将图形转移至基底形成光栅掩模, 利用光栅掩模对倾斜离子束的遮挡作用, 使得槽底不同部位受到离子束的轰击通量不同, 从而获得非对称的槽形结构. 实验分析了倾斜离子束刻蚀中沉积物的主要组成以及对槽形和闪耀角度的影响, 并在去除沉积物影响的情况下, 成功制作了线密度为333lines/mm, 闪耀角度分别为13.2°、10.5°的紫外透射闪耀光栅, 峰值衍射效率分别可达理论值的88%以及92%, 为制作高衍射效率紫外透射闪耀光栅奠定了基础.     

Double‐pass spectro‐imaging: TUNIS

We present TUNIS, a double‐pass spectro‐imager built in THEMIS as a proof‐of‐concept for EST. Basic concepts and selected first results are shown. We introduce the concept of a Hadamard spectral mask as a proposition to move forward from the present implementation of a single‐wavelength per image pixel to a more general one of multiplexed spectral information that improves the temporal coherence of the spectral measurement (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The hot and cold spots in five-year WMAP data

We present an extensive frequentist analysis of the one-point statistics (number, mean, variance, skewness and kurtosis) and two-point correlation functions determined for the local extrema of the cosmic microwave background temperature field observed in five-years of Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe ( WMAP ) data. Application of a hypothesis test on the one-point statistics indicates a low variance of hot and cold spots in all frequency bands of the WMAP data. The consistency of the observations with Gaussian simulations of the best-fitting cosmological model is rejected at the 95 per cent confidence level outside the WMAP KQ75 mask and the Northern hemispheres in the Galactic and ecliptic coordinate frames. We demonstrate that it is unlikely that residual Galactic foreground emission contributes to the observed non-Gaussianities. However, the application of a high-pass filter that removes large angular scale power does improve the consistency with the best-fitting cosmological model.
Two-point correlation functions of the local extrema are calculated for both the temperature pair product [temperature–temperature (T–T)] and spatial pair-counting [point–point (P–P)]. The T–T observations demonstrate weak correlation on scales below  20°  and lie completely below the lower 3σ confidence region once various temperature thresholds are applied to the extrema determined for the KQ75 mask and northern sky partitions. The P–P correlation structure corresponds to the clustering properties of the temperature extrema, and provides evidence that it is the large angular-scale structures, and some unusual properties thereof, that are intimately connected to the properties of the hot and cold spots observed in the WMAP five-year data.     

Period changes of Cepheid variables

Secular period changes of one hundred northern Cepheids are investigated with the help of O–C diagrams. With the classical Cepheids the rate of observed period changes is in good agreement with that determined from stellar evolution theory. The period noise cannot mask the evolutionary period changes especially in longer period Cepheids for which the occurrence of parabolic O–C graphs is unusually frequent.     

白日视宁度监测仪和在抚仙湖的初步观测结果

报导了用南方基地云南天文台太阳差分像运动视宁度监测仪和美国国立太阳天文台的太阳闪烁仪 ,在云南省澄江县抚仙湖老鹰地红外太阳塔选址点进行的对比观测 ,简要地介绍了这两种视宁度测量方法的原理 ,对观测的初步结果进行了分析。     

Near-Limb Zeeman and Hanle Diagnostics

“Weak” magnetic-field diagnostics in faint objects near the bright solar disk are discussed in terms of the level of non-object signatures, in particular, of the stray light in telescopes. Calculated dependencies of the stray light caused by diffraction at the 0.5-, 1.6-, and 4-meter entrance aperture are presented. The requirements for micro-roughness of refractive and reflective primary optics are compared. Several methods for reducing the stray light (the Lyot coronagraphic technique, multiple stages of apodizing in the focal and exit pupil planes, apodizing in the entrance aperture plane with a special mask), and reducing the random and systematic errors are noted. An acceptable level of stray light in telescopes is estimated for the V-profile recording with a signal-to-noise ratio greater than three. Prospects for the limb chromosphere magnetic measurements are indicated.     

Future goals for imaging

The demands imposed on the imaging system of an astronomical gamma-ray telescope are numerous; it must identify and resolve individual point sources, often in crowded regions of the sky; extended emission structures must be measured on angular dimensions which can extend up to the size scale of the Galactic plane; it must achieve these goals with high sensitivity for both the wide band continuum radiation as well a for discrete spectral line emissions, and ideally have as large a field of view as possible to enhance the probability of registering the unpredictable transient events which pervade the high energy sky. True imaging systems are currently under development for operation for energies up to about 100 keV, however the most practical tool for higher energies, for the time being, remains the coded mask. Some options are briefly reviewed.     

Scanning sky monitor (SSM) onboard AstroSat

Scanning Sky Monitor (SSM) onboard AstroSat is an Xray sky monitor in the soft X-ray band designed with a large field of view to detect and locate transient X-ray sources and alert the astronomical community about interesting phenomena in the X-ray sky. SSM comprises position sensitive proportional counters with 1D coded mask for imaging. There are three detector units mounted on a platform capable of rotation which helps covering about 50% of the sky in one full rotation. This paper discusses the elaborate details of the instrument and few immediate results from the instrument after launch.     

The PSCz catalogue

We present the catalogue, mask, redshift data and selection function for the PSC z survey of 15 411 IRAS galaxies across 84 per cent of the sky. Most of the IRAS data are taken from the Point Source Catalog, but this has been supplemented and corrected in various ways to improve the completeness and uniformity. We quantify the known imperfections in the catalogue, and we assess the overall uniformity, completeness and data quality. We find that overall the catalogue is complete and uniform to within a few per cent at high latitudes and 10 per cent at low latitudes. Ancillary information, access details, guidelines and caveats for using the catalogue are given.     

The labelling of meteoritic organic material using osmium tetroxide vapour impregnation

We present a method for labelling and locating organic material in extraterrestrial samples in order to determine its spatial arrangement in relation to inorganic components. We have taken a suite of meteorites including carbonaceous chondrites (CC) and Shergottite–Nakhlite–Chassignites (SNCs) and attempted to locate organic material within them by labelling with osmium tetroxide vapour impregnation. This technique is limited by the abundance of organic material within each sample, and the degree of terrestrial contamination, which may contribute additional organic components or surface contaminants that may mask indigenous organic components. Results confirm previous studies that phyllosilicates are key to organic matter accumulation in extraterrestrial environments.     

Cross-Correlation Detection of Point Sources in the WMAP First Year Data

We apply a Cross-Correlation (CC) method developed previously for detecting gamma-ray point sources to the WMAP first year data by using the Point-Spread Function of WMAP and obtain a full sky CC coefficient map. We find that the CC method is a pow- erful tool to examine the WMAP foreground residuals which can be further cleaned accord- ingly. Evident foreground signals are found in the WMAP foreground cleaned maps and the Tegmark cleaned map. In this process 101 point sources are detected, and 26 of them are new sources additional to the originally listed WMAP 208 sources. We estimate the ?ux of these new sources and verify them by another method. As a result, a revised mask file based on the WMAP first year data is produced by including these new sources.