Instruments, Detectors and the Future of Astronomy with Large Ground Based Telescopes

Results of a survey of instrumentation and detector systems, either currently deployed or planned for use at telescopes larger than 3.5 m, in ground based observatories world-wide, are presented. This survey revealed a number of instrumentation design trends at optical, near, and mid-infrared wavelengths. Some of the most prominent trends include the development of vastly larger optical detector systems (> 10⁹ pixels) than anything built to date, and the frequent use of mosaics of near-infrared detectors – something that was quite rare only a decade ago in astronomy. Some future science applications for detectors are then explored, in an attempt to build a bridge between current detectors and what will be needed to support the research ambitions of astronomers in the future.     

Can the faint submillimetre galaxies be explained in the Λ cold dark matter model?

We present predictions for the abundance of submillimetre galaxies (SMGs) and Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) in the Λ cold dark matter cosmology. A key feature of our model is the self-consistent calculation of the absorption and emission of radiation by dust. The new model successfully matches the LBG luminosity function, as well as reproducing the properties of the local galaxy population in the optical and infrared. The model can also explain the observed galaxy number counts at 850 μm, but only if we assume a top-heavy initial mass function for the stars formed in bursts. The predicted redshift distribution of SMGs depends relatively little on their flux over the range 1–10 mJy, with a median value of   z ≈ 2.0  at a flux of 5 mJy, in good agreement with the recent measurement by Chapman et al. The counts of SMGs are predicted to be dominated by ongoing starbursts. However, in the model these bursts are responsible for making only a few per cent of the stellar mass locked up in massive ellipticals at the present day.     

Testing solar forcing of pervasive Holocene climate cycles

The temporal and spatial extent of Holocene climate change is an area of considerable uncertainty, with solar forcing recently proposed to be the origin of cycles identified in the North Atlantic region. To address these issues we have developed an annually resolved record of changes in Irish bog tree populations over the last 7468 years which, together with radiocarbon‐dated bog and lake‐edge populations, extend the dataset back to ～9000 yr ago. The Irish trees underpin the internationally accepted radiocarbon calibration curve, used to derive a proxy of solar activity, and allow us to test solar forcing of Holocene climate change. Tree populations and age structures provide unambiguous evidence of major shifts in Holocene surface moisture, with a dominant cyclicity of 800 yr, similar to marine cycles in the North Atlantic, indicating significant changes in the latitude and intensity of zonal atmospheric circulation across the region. The cycles, however, are not coherent with changes in solar activity (both being on the same absolute timescale), indicating that Holocene North Atlantic climate variability at the millennial and centennial scale is not driven by a linear response to changes in solar activity. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Implications for unified schemes from submillimetre and far-infrared follow-up of radio-selected samples

We extend our previous analysis which used generalized luminosity functions (GLFs) to predict the number of quasars and galaxies in low-radio-frequency-selected samples as a function of redshift, radio luminosity, narrow-emission-line luminosity and type of unified scheme. Our extended analysis incorporates the observed submillimetre (850-μm) flux densities of radio sources, employs a new method which allows us to deal with non-detections, and focuses on the high-luminosity population. First, we conclude that the submillimetre luminosity L ₈₅₀ of low-frequency-selected radio sources is correlated with the bolometric luminosity L _bol of their quasar nuclei via an approximate scaling relation   L ₈₅₀∝ L ^0.7±0.2_bol  . Secondly, we conclude that there is quantitative evidence for a receding-torus-like physical process for the high-luminosity population within a two-population unified scheme for radio sources; this evidence comes from the fact that radio quasars are brighter in both narrow emission lines and submillimetre luminosity than radio galaxies matched in radio luminosity and redshift. Thirdly, we note that the combination of a receding-torus-like scheme and the assumption that the observed submillimetre emission is dominated by quasar-heated dust yields a scaling relation   L ₈₅₀∝ L ^1/2_bol  which is within the errors of that determined here for radio-selected quasars, and consistent with that inferred for radio-quiet quasars.     

High-alumina basalts of Taupo Volcanic Zone,New Zealand

High-alumina basalt occurs at eight localities in the Taupo Volcanic Zone associated with the Okataina, Maroa and Taupo calderas. At Tarawera the basalt is associated with a series of craters aligned NNE, and at K Trig. a series of scoria cones of similar alignment. On a broader scale the eruptive centres lie on three lines probably corresponding to major faults within the graben.Petrographically the rocks are plagioclase-olivine-augite basalts with varying percentages of each mafic phenocryst. Most are fine-medium grained, but the Ongaroto basalt is coarser-grained, and has a higher modal percentage of olivine. Chemically all are high-alumina basalts. The Ongaroto basalts has lower Al₂O₃ and higher MgO, Ni and Cr, and this, together with petrographic evidence, suggests that the rock is a cumulate.All the basalts are likely to be derived from the mantle, with intrusion into the crust controlled largely by faulting.