Strategies for spatial and temporal extrapolation and interpolation of wet delay

. The excess radio-path delay due to the atmospheric water vapor, the wet delay, can be derived from water vapor radiometer (WVR) measurements. WVR data used for external calibration of space geodetic measurements are not always acquired in the directions of the space geodetic signal sources, thus extrapolation and interpolation methods for the wet delay are needed. We evaluate three different methods using approximately 10 days of WVR measurements. Two methods, the gradient method and turbulence method, use the directional information in the data, while the third method used is linear regression in time regardless of the direction of the observations. The turbulence method yielded at least 10% less RMS estimation error than the errors from the other two methods. Received: 20 May 1997 / Accepted: 15 December 1997     

射电源结构对VLBI天体测量的影响

目前利用VLBIMK3系统确定的延迟测量的精度约为30ps,在这样的精度下,改善计算延迟的理论模型,考虑各种微扰改正（包含30ps量级）是非常重要的。在VLBI天休测量和测地计算的各种软件中,至今尚未计及射电源结构对延迟的影响。本文利用两子源模型对源结构延迟的大小及随时间的变化进行了计算,讨论了源结构延迟对VLBI天测和测地参数的影响,指出：（1）除对某些VLBI天测的射电源作长期的监测与研究,给出它们的双频综合图外,对大多数源可采用简单的两子源模型;（2）源结构对延迟的影响主要依赖于基线相对于源形态的主要特征的空间投影;（3）源结构延迟对天测和测地参数的影响达厘米和亚毫角秒量级。     

中国VLBI网软件相关处理机测地应用精度分析

为支持国际VLBI大地测量数据处理,中国VLBI网(CVN)软件相关处理机完成了功能、性能升级,提高了信噪比,实现了以国际测地通用Mk4格式数据输出结果,可以直接被VLBI通用测地后处理软件用于时延数据解算。本文通过与国外软件相关处理机DiFX的实测数据比对,系统地分析了CVN软件处理机带宽综合残余时延和时延率精度、带宽综合总时延和时延率精度、信噪比和VLBI站坐标解算值。数据显示,CVN软件相关处理机已经达到了测地数据处理的精度要求,可以用于IVS国际联测数据处理。     

On the accuracy assessment of celestial reference frame realizations

The scatter of the celestial pole offset (CPO) time-series obtained from very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations is used as a measure of the accuracy of celestial reference frame (CRF) realizations. Several scatter indices (SI), including some proposed for the first time, are investigated. The first SI is based on residual analysis of CPO series with respect to a free core nutation (FCN) model. The second group of SIs includes Allan deviation and its extensions, which allow the treatment of unequally weighted and multidimensional observations. Application of these criteria to several radio source catalogues (RSCs) showed their ability to perform a preliminary assessment of the quality of each RSC. The 2D Allan deviation estimate seems to be the most sensitive measure. The proposed extensions of Allan deviation, weighted and multidimensional, can also be used for the statistical analysis of other time-series.     

USB-VLBI综合确定SMART-1环月探测器轨道

我国绕月探测工程中"嫦娥一号"(CE-1)卫星将综合使用统一S波段系统(USB)和甚长基线干涉仪(VLBI)完成测定轨任务。为了检验USB-VLBI综合测定轨精度,测控系统于2006年5月利用欧空局(ESA)的SMART-1环月探测器进行了USB-VLBI综合测定轨试验。本文对这次试验的测轨数据进行了分析,研究了不同观测弧长和不同类型观测数据组合情况下的定轨和预报精度,得出了一些结论。     

Numerical theory of rotation of the deformable Earth with the two-layer fluid core. Part 2: Fitting to VLBI data

VLBI-based offsets of the Celestial Pole positions, as well as the variations of UT (series of Goddard Space Flight Center, 1984–2005) are processed applying the Earth’s rotation theory (ERA) 2005 constructed by the numerical integration of the differential equations of rotation of the deformable Earth. The equations were published earlier (Krasinsky 2006) as the first part of the work. The resulting weighted root mean square (WRMS) errors of the residuals , for the angles of nutation and precession are 0.136 and 0.129 mas, respectively. They are significantly less than the corresponding values 0.172 and 0.165 mas for the IAU 2000 model adopted as the international standard. In ERA 2005, the angles , are related to the inertial ecliptical frame J2000, the angle including the precessional secular motion. As the published observational data are theory-dependent being related to IAU 2000, a procedure to confront the numerical theory to the observed Celestial Pole offsets and UT variations is developed. Processing the VLBI data has shown that beside the well known 435-day FCN mode of the free core nutation, there exits a second mode, FICN, caused by the inner part of the fluid core, with the period of 420 day close to that of the FCN mode. Beatings between the two modes are responsible for the apparent damping and excitation of the free oscillations, and are implicitly modeled by ERA 2005. The nutational and precessional motions in ERA 2005 are proved to be mutually consistent but only in case the relativistic correction for the geodetic precession is applied. Otherwise, the overall WRMS error of the residuals would increase by 35%. Thus, the effect of the geodetic precession in the Earth rotation is confirmed experimentally. The other finding is the reliable estimation δ_c = 3.844 ± 0.028° of the phase lag δ_c of the tides in the fluid core. When processing the UT variations, a simple model of the elastic interaction between the mantle and fluid core at their common boundary made it possible to satisfactory describe the largest observed oscillations of UT with the period of 18.6 year, reducing the WRMS error of the UT residuals to the value 0.18 ms (after removing the secular, annual and semi-annual terms).     

An Examination of Candidate AGN Counterparts to Unidentified EGRET Sources

Radio observations of candidate active galactic nucleus counterparts to eight EGRET sources with |b| > 9^∘ are examined, and several new identifications suggested. Preference is given to the use of all-sky, flux-density limited surveys in searching for counterparts and attention is drawn to the importance of not relying exclusively on spectral indices inferred from single-dish observations.     

VLBI观测信号相关处理中的小波保角变换

Daubechies小波可以表征为幂函数或e指数函数的形式 ,保持相关相位条纹的幅角不变。在VLBI观测信号相关处理过程中引入了小波分析方法 ,以探讨小波理论在VLBI技术中的应用特点。两个台站的VLBI观测信号经过时间补偿和干涉条纹旋转后 ,利用静态小波算法在线性空间中的保角变换特征可提取VLBI信号的干涉相位特征 ,并完整保留相位的时序关系。     

Studies of the fine structure of the object 1803+784

We have investigated the fine structure of the object 1803+784 at a wavelength of 18 cm with an angular resolution of ～0.5 mas. The structure consists of a core (injector) and a jet. The angle of the relativistic plasma outflow is equal to the angle of a conical diverging helix—the trajectory of compact components, suggesting a similar shape of the jet. The helical structure and the curvature of the jet axis are assumed to be determined by rapid and long-period precession of the rotation axis. The core radio emission at 18 cm is attenuated by absorption in the ambient ionized medium (cocoon wall) by >25 db. The bright compact component is the nearby part of the jet extending outside the dense part of the screen. Ionization variations in the medium cause low-frequency radio variability. Screen parameters are estimated.     

VLBI数据处理中的剩余钟行为与剩余大气效应建模

抽样选取了 2 7次上海天文台佘山站参与的天测与测地VLBI实验 ,分别进行了单次解算。通过分析解算参数随剩余钟行为和剩余大气效应分段拟合长度的变化 ,得到以下初步结论 :(1)选取不同分段拟合长度时 ,站坐标解算结果和时延残差加权均方根存在差异 ,最大分别至厘米级和数十皮秒 ,因而分段拟合长度不能随意选取。 (2 )分段拟合时段长度存在某一合理取值范围 ,它不宜过长 ,否则钟和大气的剩余效应短周期变化不能很好地模型化。为了保证待估参数解算时有足够的自由度 ,拟合时段不宜过短 ,否则将导致法方程近于或出现奇异 ,达不到较好控制噪声的效果。 (3)由于各次实验、同一次实验中的不同台站相应的钟和大气条件存在差异 ,有必要对每次实验以及每次实验中的各观测台站分别分析 ,寻找合适的分段拟合长度。这在实际操作中显然相当烦琐。 (4)一般而言 ,在剩余钟行为拟合长度缺省值 6 0min情况下 ,剩余大气效应分段拟合长度以介于 10min至 4 0min为宜 ;在剩余大气效应分段拟合长度缺省值 2 0min情况下 ,剩余钟行为分段拟合长度以介于 2 0min至 10 0min为宜