Decametric survey of discrete sources in the Northern sky

A new method was developed for comparing absolute flux scales of the decametric surveys. The absolute scales of the new survey performed with the UTR-2 in the 10 to 25 MHz frequency range are compared with UTR-1 data and surveys at 10.03, 22.25, 26.3 and 38 MHz operating frequencies.     

Decametric survey of discrete sources in the northern Sky

The latest data obtained in the course of the UTR-2 Very Low-Frequency Sky Survey within the declination zone 41° to 52° together with the data from a number of higher frequency surveys have been used to determine radio spectra for 194 radio sources in the frequency range 12.6 to 1400 MHz. The spectrum plots and parameters of the sources are presented.     

Decametric survey of discrete sources in the northern sky

The results of the very-low frequency sky survey of discrete sources made with the UTR-2 radio telescope within the declination zone 41° to 52° are presented. The UTR-2 radio source catalogue contains the estimates of the coordinates and flux densities of 432 sources measured at a number of the lowest frequencies used in contemporary radio astronomy within the range from 10 at 25 MHz. The questions of establishing the UTR-2 sky survey sensitivity, completeness and reliability of the resulting catalogue are considered. The coordinates of the sources measured at very low frequencies have been compared with respective data obtained in the 4C survey at 178 MHz.     

Decametric survey of discrete sources in the northern sky

The data of the latest decametric band survey performed with the UTR-2 radio telescope are used along with other results obtained at higher frequencies (below 1415 MHz) for plotting spectra of 114 radio sources located in a sky strip between declinations 52° and 60°. Some parameters of the source spectra in the frequency range 12.6–1415 MHz are presented.     

Decametric survey of discrete sources in the northern sky

This paper presents results and describes the improved data processing algorithm of the low frequency sky survey of discrete sources carried out with the UTR-2 radio telescope. The measurements were conducted within the frequency range 10 to25 MHz. Coordinates and flux densities of the sources detected were obtained. Identification with sources from the 4C survey has been done. The resulting catalogue contains parameter estimates for 483 sources on a set of frequencies within the UTR-2 range. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Decametric survey of discrete sources in the northern sky

The region of the celestial sphere between declinations =52°.3 and =59° and right ascensions =1^h and =19^h has been surveyed with the UTR-2 radiotelescope. The results of the survey are presented.The catalogue contains the positions and flux densities of 313 radio-sources detected at 10, 12.6, 14.7, 16.7, 20, and 25 MHz.     

Decametric survey of discrete sources in the northern sky

Spectra of 197 discrete sources have been obtained in a frequency range 10–1400 MHz. The sources lie at declinations between 0° and +10° and right ascensions from 0–24 h. The spectra have been constructed on the basis of a decametric survey carried out at Grakovo with the UTR-2 radio-telescope, as well as a number of higher frequency surveys performed at Culgoora, Cambridge, Parkes and Ohio. Analysis of the spectrum plots shows that 84% of the spectra are linear (in the logarithmic scale), 11% are characterized by positive and 5% by negative curvature.     

Coronal magnetic field equilibrium with discrete flux sources

A model of the equilibrium structure of the coronal magnetic field is developed, taking account of the fact that field lines are rooted in the photosphere, where field is concentrated into isolated flux tubes. The field is force-free, described by ×B = B, with constant; this field has special physical significance, being the state of mininum energy after small-scale reconnections, and is also mathematically convenient in that the principle of superposition can be used to construct complex geometries. First a model of a single loop is presented, with a flux source and sink pair at the photosphere; both point flux tubes and finite radius flux tubes are considered. Then more complex topologies with multiple sources and sinks are investigated. It is shown that significant topology changes arise for different values of, indicating the possibility that there can be energy changes through magnetic reconnection if the field evolves ideally and then relaxes to a linear state.     

VSOP Space VLBI observations of Pearson-Readhead survey sources

The VSOP Space VLBI mission uses the HALCA spacecraft, launched from Japan in February 1997, in conjunction with ground radio observatories around the world to create a high resolution radio-wavelength imaging facility. We are using this unique facility to observe a sub-sample of Pearson-Readhead Survey sources at 4.8 GHz to determine core brightness temperatures and pc-scale jet properties. We will highlight one of the sources that has been observed using a combination of the HALCA spacecraft and the EVN, 1642+690, and describe the preliminary brightness temperature distribution for the sub-sample, based on all data analyzed to date.     

Decametric radio measurement of Jupiter's rotation period

A total of 26 measurements of Jupiter's 12-year average rotation period were made at frequencies of 18, 20, and 22.2 MHz at observatories in Florida and Chile. An improved method was employed in which histograms of occurrence probability vs central meridian longitude obtained at the same frequency and observatory during apparitions about 12 years (one Jovian year) apart were cross correlated. The longitude shift giving maximum cross correlation was used to correct the initially assumed rotation period value. The mean of the measurements is 9 hr 55 min 29.689 sec, with a standard deviation of the mean of 0.005 sec. This is about 0.02 sec, or 4 standard deviations, less than the System III (1965) value. The measurements indicate that the rotation period was not changing (linearly) at a rate in excess of 0.03 sec/yr. If the synoptic monitoring program is continued through the next maximum of the jovicentric declination of the Earth (D_E), we will probably be able to detect a rate of change in rotation period as small as 0.002 sec/yr. This accuracy might be sufficient to reveal a secular drift in Jupiter's magnetic field.     

The ATCA intraday variability survey of extragalactic radio sources

We present the results of an Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) survey for intraday variability (IDV) of the total and polarized flux densities of 118 compact, flat-spectrum, extragalactic radio sources from the Parkes 2.7-GHz Survey. A total of 22 total flux density IDV sources were discovered and 15 sources were found to show IDV of their polarized flux density. We discuss the statistical properties of the IDV sources, including the distribution of source modulation indices, and the dependence of the variability amplitude on source spectral index and on Galactic position. We suggest interstellar scintillation (ISS) in the Galactic interstellar medium as the most likely mechanism for IDV. Even so, the inferred high brightness temperatures cannot be easily explained.     

Analyses Of Jovian Decametric Radiation -Bursts Interacting With N-Bursts

Dynamic spectra of S-bursts of Jovian decametric radiations are obtained by using a high time resolution radio spectrograph which has a time resolutionof 2 msec and the bandwidth of 2 MHz.Within occurrence of 65 S-burst events observed in the period from 1983 to 1999, 26 events have been identified as the S-N burst events, which are characterized by the interaction between the S-burst emissions and the Narrow band emissions. In the dynamic spectra of the S-N burst, the trend of emissions with negative and slower frequency drift named as “Trailing Edge Emission” are often observed shortly after the appearance of the S-burst.Detailed analyses of these phenomena revealed that the Trailing Edge Emission is not a manifestation of S-burst with slower drift rate but a variation ofN-burst. The results suggested that S-burst and the associated Trailing Edge Emission are formed simultaneously started from a common region with different drift rates. It has been further suggested that the appearance of the S-burstsis not controlled by the geometrical effect between the source region and theobserver, but directly reflects the generation of the source region widelydistributed in an altitude range from a few thousands km to 30,000 km, alongthe Io flux tube. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Decametric radio emission from comets: An attempt at detection

Radio continuum emission from comets may arise as thermal emission from ice or dust particles and free electrons, or as nonthermal emission due to plasma effects in the tail. Nonthermal emission is expected to become intense at the longer, possibly hectometer or even kilometer wavelengths. An attempt at the detection of a comet at the longest possible wavelength observable from the ground was made during the passage of P/Crommelin in March 1984 using the Teepe Tee array of the Clark Lake Radio Observatory. Although radio emission was not detected during our observations, we are able to place an upper limit on the thermal emission, and consequently on the electron density in the tail which we estimate was less than 5.6 × 10² − 8.9 × 10³ electrons cm⁻³.     

Decametric modulation lanes as a probe for inner jovian magnetosphere

We use the specific scintillations of jovian decametric radio sources (modulation lanes), which are produced by plasma inhomogeneities in the vicinity of that planet, to probe the inner magnetosphere of Jupiter. The positions and frequency drift of 1762 lanes have been measured on the DAM spectra from archives. A special 3D algorithm is used for space localization of field-aligned magnetospheric inhomogeneities by the frequency drift of modulation lanes. As a result, the main regions of the lane formation are found: the Io plasma torus; the magnetic shell of the Gossamer Ring at Thebe and Amalthea orbits; and the region above the magnetic anomaly in the northern magnetosphere. It is shown that modulation lanes reveal the depleted magnetic tubes in practically unvisited, innermost regions of the jovian magnetosphere. The local and probably temporal plasma enhancement is found at the magnetic shell of Thebe satellite. Hence, the modulation lanes are a valuable instrument for remote sensing of those parts of jovian magnetosphere, which are not studied yet in situ.     

A survey of hard spectrum ROSAT sources – II. Optical identification of hard sources

We have surveyed 188 ROSAT Position Sensitive Proportional Counter (PSPC) fields for X-ray sources with hard spectra ( α <0.5); such sources must be major contributors to the X-ray background at faint fluxes. In this paper we present optical identifications for 62 of these sources: 28 active galactic nuclei (AGN) which show broad lines in their optical spectra (BLAGN), 13 narrow emission line galaxies (NELGs), five galaxies with no visible emission lines, eight clusters and eight Galactic stars.
The BLAGN, NELGs and galaxies have similar distributions of X-ray flux and spectra. Their ROSAT spectra are consistent with their being AGN obscured by columns of 20.5< log( N _H/cm⁻²)<23 . The hard spectrum BLAGN have a distribution of X-ray to optical ratios which is similar to that found for AGN from soft X-ray surveys (1< α _OX<2) . However, a relatively large proportion (15 per cent) of the BLAGN, NELGs and galaxies are radio loud. This could be because the radio jets in these objects produce intrinsically hard X-ray emission, or if their hardness is caused by absorption, it could be because radio-loud objects are more X-ray luminous than radio-quiet objects. The eight hard sources identified as clusters of galaxies are the brightest, and softest group of sources and hence clusters are unlikely to be an important component of the hard, faint population.
We propose that BLAGN are likely to constitute a significant fraction of the faint, hard, 0.5–2 keV population and could be important to reproducing the shape of the X-ray background, because they are the most numerous type of object in our sample (comprising almost half the identified sources), and because all our high redshift ( z >1) identified hard sources have broad lines.     

Decametric bursts caused by the fragment S of comet SL-9

On July 21, 1994, 13 ^h - 15 ^h UT, decametric bursts had been recorded at frequencies from 24.0 MHz to 28.5 MHz in Xin Xiang station (longitude =-113.8°, latitude =35.3°), Henan province, China. Three maps of the three hour data are presented. Some of the bursts appears to be relative to the impact of the fragment S(No. 5) of the comet SL-9.The Project is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

A survey of ultraviolet-bright sources behind the halo of M31

We have performed a wide-area ultraviolet (UV) imaging survey using the GALaxy Evolution eXplorer to search for bright, point-like UV sources behind M31's extended halo. Our survey consisted of 46 pointings covering an effective area of ≈50 deg², in both the far-UV and near-UV channels. We combined these data with optical R -band observations acquired with the WIYN Mosaic-1 imager on the Kitt Peak National Observatory 0.9-m WIYN telescope. An analysis of the brightness and colours of sources matched between our photometric catalogues yielded ≈100 UV-bright quasar candidates. We have obtained discovery spectra for 76 of these targets with the Kast spectrometer on the Lick 3-m telescope and confirmed 30 active galactic nuclei and quasars, 29 galaxies at   z > 0.02  including several early-type systems, 16 Galactic stars (hot main-sequence stars) and one featureless source previously identified as a BL Lac object. Future UV spectroscopy of the brightest targets with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope will enable a systematic search for diffuse gas in the extended halo of M31.     

The interpretation of non-linear radio spectra of discrete radio sources by a general mechanism

The analysis of discrete radio sources spectra in the range 10–5000 MHz reveals that deviations from a power law in the low-frequency region may be due to distortion of differential energy spectra of relativistic electrons at low energies. An empirical expression for an energy-spectrum law was found to be in a good agreement with most of the radio spectra measured. The main physical parameters of 92 sources are evaluated. It is concluded that a low-energy electron excess exists with respect to the lawE ^– in most of the discrete sources which radiate non-linear low-frequency spectra.The forms of radio and energy spectra are further considered in a logarithmic scale.