Interferometer phase calibration sources — II. The region 0° ≤ δB1950≤ +20°

We present a catalogue of 781 compact radio sources in the declination range 0° ≤ δ_B1950≤ +20° whose positions have been measured to an rms accuracy of about 14 mas with the Very Large Array (VLA). These sources are primarily intended for use as phase calibration sources for the Jodrell Bank MERLIN. However, they will also be suitable as phase calibrators for the VLA and can be considered as candidate phase calibrators for very long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) networks.     

The complex gravitational lens system B1933+503

We report the discovery of the most complex arcsec-scale radio gravitational lens system yet known. B1933+503 was found during the course of the CLASS survey and MERLIN and VLA radio maps reveal up to 10 components. Four of these are compact and have flat spectra; the rest are more extended and have steep spectra. The background lensed object appears to consist of a flat-spectrum core (quadruply imaged) and two compact 'lobes' symmetrically disposed relative to the core. One of the lobes is quadruply imaged while the other is doubly imaged. An HST observation of the system with the WFPC2 shows a galaxy with an axial ratio of 0.5, but none of the images of the background object is detected. A redshift of 0.755 has been measured for the lens galaxy.     

Neutral hydrogen absorption observations of the central region of NGC 5929

We present 0.15-arcsec (25-pc) resolution MERLIN observations of neutral hydrogen absorption detected towards the nuclear region of the type 2 Seyfert galaxy NGC 5929. Absorption is detected only towards the north-eastern radio component with a column density of (6.5 ± 0.6) × 10²¹ cm⁻². Based on comparison with an HST WFPC2 continuum image, we propose that the absorption is caused by a 1.5-arcsec structure of neutral gas and dust offset 0.3 arcsec south-east of the nucleus and running NE–SW. A separate cloud of dust is apparent 1.5 arcsec to the south-west of the nucleus in the HST image. A comparison of the centroid velocity (2358 ± 5 km s⁻¹) and full width at half-maximum (43 ± 6 km s⁻¹) of the absorbing gas with previous [O  III ] observations suggests that both the neutral and ionized gas are undergoing galactic rotation towards the observer in the north-east and away from the observer in the south-west. The main structure is consistent with an inclined ring of gas and dust encircling the active galactic nucleus (AGN); alternatively it may be a bar or inner spiral arm. We do not detect neutral hydrogen absorption or dust obscuration against the radio nucleus (column density < 3.1 × 10²¹ cm⁻²) expected by a torus of neutral gas and dust in unified models of AGNs for a type 2 Seyfert galaxy.     

射电望远镜远场区域强干扰源规避方法研究

随着频率使用率的提高, 射电天文台址地面或空间存在强电磁干扰致使望远镜接收机系统处于非线性状态. 为减少强电磁干扰的影响、提高天文观测效率, 提出了一种基于望远镜远场区域的强干扰源规避方法. 首先, 通过仿真分析确定的射电望远镜远场方向图, 结合望远镜与干扰源之间的位置关系, 分析了强电磁干扰到达射电望远镜焦点处的功率响应, 并依据接收机第2阶中频放大器性能参数, 确定射电望远镜处于非饱和状态的规避角度计算方法. 其次, 采用该方法计算分析了民航飞机对射电望远镜的影响, 若民航飞机上有主动发射的干扰源, 且不经过反射等传播现象, 当射电望远镜主波束轴偏开一定方向后, 可有效降低对射电望远镜的干扰强度.     

射电选和X射线选BL Lacertae天体的射电性质

收集了射电选和X射线选BL Lac天体的射电数据(包括核和延展光度), 并计算了它们的核主导系数R.研究显示: 射电选BL Lac(RBLs)天体的总射电光度是X射线选BL Lac(XBLs)天体的2个量级.详细分析得到这种差别主要是来自于核光度的差别因为延展光度差别只有1个量级.研究RBLs和XBLs的核(延展元)光度与核主导系数之间的关系, 发现延展元光度与核主导系数负相关, 而核(总)光度几乎与核主导系数没有相关.     

Star formation in NGC 6334 I and I(N)

The northern section of the molecular cloud complex NGC 6334 has been mapped in the CO and CS spectral line emission and in continuum emission at a wavelength of 1300 μm. Our observations highlight the two dominant sources, I and I(N), and a host of weaker sources. NGC 6334 I is associated with a cometary ultracompact H  ii region and a hot, compact core ≤10 arcsec in size. Mid-infrared and CH₃OH observations indicate that it is also associated with at least two protostellar sources, each of which may drive a molecular outflow. For region I we confirm the extreme high-velocity outflow first discovered by Bachiller & Cernicharo and find that it is very energetic with a mechanical luminosity of 390 L_⊙. A dynamical age for the outflow is ∼3000 yr. We also find a weaker outflow originating from the vicinity of NGC 6334 I. In CO and CS this outflow is quite prominent to the north-west, but much less so on the eastern side of I, where there is very little molecular gas. Spectral survey data show a molecular environment at position I which is rich in methanol, methyl formate and dimethyl ether, with lines ranging in energy up to 900 K above the ground state. NGC 6334 I(N) is more dense than I, but cooler, and has none of the high-excitation lines observed toward I. I(N) also has an associated outflow, but it is less energetic than the outflow from I. The fully sampled continuum map shows a network of filaments, voids and cores, many of which are likely to be sites of star formation. A striking feature is a narrow, linear ridge which defines the western boundary. It is unclear if there is a connection between this filament and the many potential sites of star formation, or if the filament existed prior to the star formation activity.     

The small-scale structure in interstellar H i: a resolvable puzzle

During the past decade or so, measurements of Galactic H  i absorption using VLBI against extragalactic sources, as well as multi-epoch observations in pulsar directions, have detected small-scale transverse variations corresponding to tens of au at the distance of the absorbing matter. Hitherto these measurements have been interpreted as small-scale structure in the H  i distribution with densities n _{H  i} ∼10⁴–10⁵ cm⁻³, orders of magnitude greater than those of the pc-scale structure. Naturally, it is difficult to imagine how such structures could exist in equilibrium with other components of the ISM.
In this paper we show that structure on all scales contributes to the differences on neighbouring lines of sight, and that the observed differences can be accounted for by a natural extension of the distribution of irregularities in the distribution of H  i opacities at larger scales, using a single power law. This, in our opinion, should put an end to the decades-long puzzle of the so-called small-scale structure in H  i and other species in the Galaxy.     

The LBDS Hercules sample of mJy radio sources at 1.4 GHz – I. Multicolour photometry

The results are presented of an extensive programme of optical and infrared imaging of radio sources in a complete subsample of the Leiden–Berkeley Deep Survey. The LBDS Hercules sample consists of 72 sources observed at 1.4 GHz, with flux densities S _1.41.0 mJy, in a 1.2 deg² region of Hercules. This sample is almost completely identified in the g , r , i and K bands, with some additional data available at J and H . The magnitude distributions peak at r ≃22 mag, K ≃16 mag and extend down to r ≃26 mag, K ≃21 mag. The K -band magnitude distributions for the radio galaxies and quasars are compared with those of other radio surveys. At S _1.4 GHz≲1 Jy, the K -band distribution does not change significantly with radio flux density. The sources span a broad range of colours, with several being extremely red ( r − K ≳6). Though small, this is the most optically complete sample of mJy radio sources available at 1.4 GHz, and is ideally suited for studying the evolution of the radio luminosity function out to high redshifts.     

Neural networks and the separation of cosmic microwave background and astrophysical signals in sky maps

We implement an independent component analysis (ICA) algorithm to separate signals of different origin in sky maps at several frequencies. Owing to its self-organizing capability, it works without prior assumptions on either the frequency dependence or the angular power spectrum of the various signals; rather, it learns directly from the input data how to identify the statistically independent components, on the assumption that all but, at most, one of the components have non-Gaussian distributions.
We have applied the ICA algorithm to simulated patches of the sky at the four frequencies (30, 44, 70 and 100 GHz) used by the Low Frequency Instrument of the European Space Agency's Planck satellite. Simulations include the cosmic microwave background (CMB), the synchrotron and thermal dust emissions, and extragalactic radio sources. The effects of the angular response functions of the detectors and of instrumental noise have been ignored in this first exploratory study. The ICA algorithm reconstructs the spatial distribution of each component with rms errors of about 1 per cent for the CMB, and 10 per cent for the much weaker Galactic components. Radio sources are almost completely recovered down to a flux limit corresponding to ≃0.7 σ _CMB, where σ _CMB is the rms level of the CMB fluctuations. The signal recovered has equal quality on all scales larger than the pixel size. In addition, we show that for the strongest components (CMB and radio sources) the frequency scaling is recovered with per cent precision. Thus, algorithms of the type presented here appear to be very promising tools for component separation. On the other hand, we have been dealing here with a highly idealized situation. Work to include instrumental noise, the effect of different resolving powers at different frequencies and a more complete and realistic characterization of astrophysical foregrounds is in progress.