天文光子学研究现状及其应用展望

天文学是一门观测学科, 其发展受观测技术及仪器进步所推动, 而天文科学发展同样不断对观测仪器提出新的要求. 天文学发展至今, 对观测仪器的要求逐渐走向极致和极端, 这在实现成本及难度两方面均带来极大挑战. 为应对上述挑战, 基于新原理、新技术的下一代天文光学技术及观测仪器已成为天文学发展的内在需要. 近年来, 集成光子学的发展为天文光学技术带来了新的变革性机遇, 在此基础上产生的新兴交叉学科天文光子学(Astrophotonics)可为天文观测提供低成本、高度集成化(芯片化)的新一代高性能光学终端仪器, 这类仪器将在空间天文观测、大规模光谱巡天、高分辨高精度光谱成像等应用中起到关键作用. 主要从仪器/器件功能出发介绍天文光子学主要研究内容及现状, 并简要讨论其发展所面临的主要问题, 最后对其发展趋势做出展望.     

Research Status and Application Prospects of Astrophotonics

Astronomy is an observational discipline, and its improvement is driven by the progress of observation technology and instruments. The advancement of astronomy also constantly puts forward new requirements for observation instruments. Since the development of astronomy, the requirements for observing instruments have gradually become extreme, which brings great challenges in both cost and difficulty. In order to tackle the challenges, a future generation of astronomical optical technology and observation instruments based on new principles and technologies has become an inherent need to promote the advancement of astronomy. In recent years, the growth of integrated photonics has presented revolutionary opportunities for that of astronomical optical technology. On the basis, astrophotonics, an emerging interdisciplinary subject, can provide a new generation of high-performance optical terminal instruments with low cost and high integration (chip-based) for astronomical observation. Such instruments will play a vital role in space astronomical observation, large-scale spectral survey, high-resolution and high-precision spectral imaging, and other applications. This paper mainly introduces the main research contents and status quo of astronomical photonics starting from the instruments/device functions, briefly discusses the major problems in its development, and eventually forecasts its development prospect.     

天文学研究发展趋势分析--恒星与恒星系统

对在1981-2000年世界上所发表的和中国学者所发表的有关恒星与恒星系统的论文作统计发现：此期间世界上这一领域的发展较平稳，而我国的发展快速．这反映了改革开放后，我国基础学科研究大有进展．从各分支所占的比重和发展来看，我国在恒星与恒星系统的研究与世界同期有几乎相同的分布，因此总体上我国在这一领域的发展基本正常．当然有些分支发展较快，如有关超新星及其遗迹、星际介质和恒星形成区、化学丰度的研究等，这和一些较强的研究团组形成有关；在双星研究方面，我国则与世界发展一致，双星研究始终是恒星研究领域的重点；而在世界范围内较突出的关于银河系的研究，在我国却相对较弱．恒星和恒星系统这一研究领域20年的论文数统计显示，我国学者所发表的论文只占世界总论文数的1．3％，虽然在最后5年有大幅上升，但也只占2．0％，这与我国IAU会员数所占比例相比是偏少的．就世界整体而言，恒星领域的研究进展与整个天文学领域相比是较慢的，显然这与一批能做深空探测和高能波段观测的设备投入有关．因此，除了对恒星及恒星系统领域作统计分析外，对整个天文学领域各大分支作分析可能对制定今后我国天文学发展计划更有利。     

像运动法测量视宁度参数中曝光时间的重要性及其测定

大气湍流会导致天文图像的像质衰减 ,而视宁度r0 则是描述这种衰减的特征参数。在本文中 ,我们给出了像运动法测量中r0 和曝光时间之间的关系 :曝光时间必须小于大气相干时间 ,否则测量的r0 值将偏大。基于这个原因以及对仪器检测的需要 ,我们必须对视宁度测量仪的曝光时间进行准确地测量。为此我们设计了一种实验方法来测定视频CCD的曝光时间 ,实验的结果表明这种方法是可靠的     

Astronomy from Dome A in Antarctica

Dome A in Antarctica has been demonstrated to be the best site on earth for optical, infrared, and terahertz astronomical observations by more and more evidence, such as excellent free-atmosphere seeing,extremely low perceptible water vapor, low sky background, and continuous dark time, etc. In this paper,we present a complete picture of the development of astronomy at Dome A from the very beginning, review recent progress in time-domain astronomy, demonstrate exciting results of the site testing, and address the challenges in instrumentation. Currently proposed projects are briefly discussed.     

毫米波太阳射电的观测研究

综述了毫米波太阳射电的观测研究概况，着重介绍一些中，大型的毫米波太阳射电观测设备最新的观测结果。     

Prospects for astronomical development in South Africa

Because of its geographical location and (astronomically) excellent climate South Africa can make an unique contribution to international astronomical research. An assessment of recent developments in telescope technology has shown that an advanced technology telescope of 4m-class can be constructed which will out-perform most existing 4m-class telescopes. Detailed consideration is given to the construction of such a telescope for optical/infrared astronomy, the new science that this will enable and the selection of a site of sufficiently good quality to justify the erection of such a telescope. If a telescope of this nature is sited in southern Africa it would provide the premier astronomical facility in Africa for decades to come.     

人工神经网络在天文学中的应用

人工神经网络具有自学习、自适应、鲁棒性好、动态响应快等特点,并具有较强的非线性处理问题能力,因此在天文学中得到广泛而成功的应用．综述了人工神经网络在天文学中主要应用模型的基本原理和优缺点,阐述了人工神经网络适用于天文学的某些基本特征,着重介绍了人工神经网络在天文学中的具体应用实例,并对其发展和应用前景进行了展望．由于天文数据分布的庞杂和天文数据量的急剧增加,人工神经网络将日益显示出优越性．     

Optical fibers in astronomical instruments

Summary This review is of current and projected applications of optical fibers to observational astronomy. The intent is to provide astronomers with a broad perspective on the subject, with the hope of encouraging productive use of optical fibers in the design of new instrumentation. The unique characteristics of fibers have been (or soon will be) exploited to advantage in several areas of astronomical instrumentation, including multiplexers for muti-object spectrographs, remote optical feeds for spectrographs and photometers, coherent beam recombiners for optical interferomety, and many miscellaneous applications. We discuss the most important such applications in detail, with reference to operational instruments wherever possible, and with emphasis on the optical properties of fibers and the engineering considerations encountered in their application to observational astronomy.     

The Impact of Historical Chinese Astronomical Records

The impact of Chinese historical astronomical records is important in the study of astronomy today. In particular, the impact of the Chinese records related to historical supernovae have made important contributions to modern astronomy, contributing to the rapid progress of space sciences and high-energy astrophysics made in the recent two decades. These historical records could also be of assistance in the future. In this connection, the main topics discussed in this paper are the great new star which occurred in the 14th century Before Christ (BC), the historical supernovae Anno Domini (AD) 185 and AD 393, and the new concept of the “Po star” and its application.     

数字图像压缩方法在天文上的应用

概述了数字图像压缩技术在天文领域应用的必要性。针对天文观测的特点和研究的需要，经过研究、分析和比较，提出了天文图像压缩的可行方案。通过应用计算机编程及压缩实验并给出相应的结果。     

Radio frequency self-interference from a data processing centre at a radio telescope site

Apart from externally generated Radio Frequency Interference (RFI), the occurrence of self-interference is a major concern at any modern radio telescope site. Antenna servo motor controllers, data acquisition processors, and fast computing capabilities operate very close to extremely sensitive and wideband radio astronomical receivers. In this paper, we present a set of measurements of the RFI level generated by a cluster of computers that will be installed at the site of the Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT). The measured levels are compared to Recommendation ITU-R RA.769-2, which gives the threshold levels for interference detrimental to radio astronomy observations. Our analysis shows that, with proper shielding of the noisiest devices, it will be possible to preserve the present excellent RFI conditions of the SRT site.     

构建中国虚拟天文台的天文数据结点

随着天文观测数据的爆炸式增长以及数据网格技术等新兴IT技术的日趋成熟,虚拟天文台应运而生。虚拟天文台成为基于数据网格技术的解决复杂海量天文数据的访问和管理的一种有效手段。我们对现有中国虚拟天文台体系结构底层进行设计与实现,并完成了其核心部分一天文数据结点。天文数据结点可发布和管理异构的数据资源,为用户提供统一的数据访问接口,进而为天文学家实现对各种天文数据的无缝透明访问和处理提供了方便。本文重点介绍了我们设计的天文数据结点的体系结构,以及结点各部分的功能,并讨论了其关键技术的实现。     

“Beautiful and cantankerous instruments”: telescopes, technology, and astronomy’s changing practice

Between the dedication of the 200” Hale Telescope in 1948 and the completion of today’s 8–10 m behemoths, astronomers’ most iconic symbol, the telescope itself—its design, its technology, and its use—was transformed as a research tool. The importance of this is deceptively simple: in astronomy, technological innovations have often led to new discoveries. Driven by the need to get as much observing time as possible and the desire to take advantage of the best observing conditions, modern observatories have experimented with new technologies and modes of collecting images and spectra. This entailed a re-casting of the telescope by astronomers and science managers as a factory of scientific data. At the same time, contemporary astronomers express considerable unease and apprehension about how these technological changes have altered, in ways subtle and profound, the nature of astronomical observing and what it meant to be an astronomer. This short essay addresses the issues associated with these recent changes in astronomical practice and their connections to astronomers’ desire for ever larger and more complex telescopes.     

The Magellanic Clouds: their evolution,structure and composition

Summary The Magellanic Clouds play a fundamental role in a number of fields of astronomical research. Their distances are most relevant to the extragalactic distance scale. Their relative proximity offers exceptional opportunities for detailed studies of their stellar and interstellar content. They serve therefore as testing grounds for modern astrophysical theories, in particular concerning the chemical evolution of stars and galaxies.In this review we will discuss recent attempts to determine accurate distances to the Magellanic Clouds. We will consider their stellar generations as the results of interactions between the Large and the Small Magellanic Cloud as well as between the Clouds and the Galaxy. Recent determinations of the chemical abundances of the various age groups will be presented. The fact that the evolution of the Clouds has been slower than that of our Galaxy gives us the opportunity to study the conditions in slightly metalpoor galaxies. Recent progress in observing techniques has added much to our knowledge about the interstellar medium of the Clouds.The Magellanic System, which comprises the Magellanic Clouds, the Inter-Cloud Region and the Magellanic Stream, will be described. We will in particular consider the complex structure of the Large and the Small Cloud and the kinematics of their populations.     

Comets,meteors, and eclipses: Art and science in early Renaissance Italy

Abstract— We discuss eight trecento (fourteenth century) paintings containing depictions of astronomical events to reveal the revolutionary advances made in both astronomy and naturalistic painting in early Renaissance Italy, noting that an artistic interest in naturalism predisposed these pioneering painters to make their scientific observations. In turn, the convincing representations of their observations of astronomical phenomena in works of art rendered their paintings more convincing. Padua was already a renowned center for mathematics and nascent astronomy (which was separating from astrology) when Enrico Scrovegni commissioned the famous Florentine artist Giotto di Bondone to decorate his lavish family chapel (ca. 1301–1303). Giotto painted a flaming comet in lieu of the traditional Star of Bethlehem in the Adoration of the Magi scene. Moreover, he painted a historical apparition that he recently had observed with a great accuracy even by modern standards: Halley's comet of 1301 (Olson, 1979). While we do not know the identity of the artist's theological advisor, we discuss the possibility that Pietro d'Abano, the Paduan medical doctor and “astronomer” who wrote on comets, might have been influential. We also compare Giotto's blazing comet with two others painted by the artist's shop in San Francesco at Assisi (before 1316) and account for the differences. In addition, we discuss Giotto's pupil, Taddeo Gaddi, reputed to have been partially blinded by a solar eclipse, whose calamity may find expression in his frescoes in Santa Croce, Florence (1328–1330; 1338?). Giotto also influenced the Sienese painter Pietro Lorenzetti, two of whose Passion cycle frescoes at Assisi (1316–1320) contain dazzling meteor showers which reveal that the artist observed astronomical phenomena, such as the “radiant” effect of meteor showers, first recorded by Alexander von Humboldt in 1799 and accepted only in the nineteenth century. Lorenzetti also painted sporadic, independent meteors, which do not emanate from the radiant. It is also significant that these artists observed differences between comets and meteors, facts that were not absolutely established until the eighteenth century. In addition we demonstrate that artistic and scientific visual acuity were part of the burgeoning empiricism of the fourteenth century, which eventually yielded modern observational astronomy.     

基于Camera Link总线的CCD高速图像采集技术

现代天文学研究越来越依赖于高质量的天文观测结果。针对天文实测的需要,对基于Camera Link总线的CCD高速图像采集技术进行了系统调研,分析对比了Camera Link总线技术及其优缺点,对基于Camera link接口的高速CCD采集技术进行了深入的研究,着重讨论了单缓存与双缓存高速采集技术和实现机制。经实际测试,所实现的技术稳定、可靠,CPU负载低,采集速度达到了厂家给出的CCD相机的最高采集速度,可以满足天文大数据量采集与准实时观测的需要。     

Strategies for spectroscopy on extremely large telescopes – III. Remapping switched fibre systems

We explore the use of remapping techniques to improve the efficiency of highly multiplexed fibre systems for astronomical spectroscopy. This is particularly important for the implementation of diverse field spectroscopy (DFS) using highly multiplexed monolithic fibre systems (MFS). DFS allows arbitrary distributions of target regions to be addressed to optimize observing efficiency when observing complex, clumpy structures such as protoclusters which will be increasingly accessible to extremely large telescopes. We show how the adoption of various types of remapping between the input and output of an MFS can allow contiguous regions of spatial elements to be selected using only simple switch arrays. Finally, we show how this compares in efficiency with integral-field and multi-object spectroscopy by simulations using artificial and real catalogues of objects. With the adoption of these mapping strategies, DFS outperforms other techniques when addressing a range of realistic target distributions. These techniques are also applicable to biomedical science and were in fact inspired by it.     

A generalized measurement equation and van Cittert-Zernike theorem for wide-field radio astronomical interferometry

We derive a generalized van Cittert-Zernike (vC-Z) theorem for radio astronomy that is valid for partially polarized sources over an arbitrarily wide field of view (FoV). The classical vC-Z theorem is the theoretical foundation of radio astronomical interferometry, and its application is the basis of interferometric imaging. Existing generalized vC-Z theorems in radio astronomy assume, however, either paraxiality (narrow FoV) or scalar (unpolarized) sources. Our theorem uses neither of these assumptions, which are seldom fulfiled in practice in radio astronomy, and treats the full electromagnetic field. To handle wide, partially polarized fields, we extend the two-dimensional (2D) electric field (Jones vector) formalism of the standard 'Measurement Equation' (ME) of radio astronomical interferometry to the full three-dimensional (3D) formalism developed in optical coherence theory. The resulting vC-Z theorem enables full-sky imaging in a single telescope pointing, and imaging based not only on standard dual-polarized interferometers (that measure 2D electric fields) but also electric tripoles and electromagnetic vector-sensor interferometers. We show that the standard 2D ME is easily obtained from our formalism in the case of dual-polarized antenna element interferometers. We also exploit an extended 2D ME to determine that dual-polarized interferometers can have polarimetric aberrations at the edges of a wide FoV. Our vC-Z theorem is particularly relevant to proposed, and recently developed, wide FoV interferometers such as Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) and Square Kilometer Array (SKA), for which direction-dependent effects will be important.