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Total Flux Densities (total + flux_density)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Physics and Astronomy100%

Selected Abstracts

3C 254: MERLIN observations of a highly asymmetric quasar

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2006
P. Thomasson
ABSTRACT Multifrequency, high-resolution radio observations of the quasar 3C 254 using the Multi-Element Radio-linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) are presented. The quasar has a highly asymmetric radio structure, with the eastern component of the double-lobed structure being much closer to the nucleus and significantly less polarized than the western one. However, the two lobes are more symmetric in their total flux densities. The observations show the detailed structure of the hotspots which are very different on opposite sides of the radio core, reveal no radio jet and suggest that the oppositely directed jets may be intrinsically asymmetric. [source]

Probability distribution functions for the Sun's magnetic field

ASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 6 2010
J.O. Stenflo
Abstract Magnetoconvection structures the Sun's magnetic field cover a vast range of scales, down to the magnetic diffusion scale that is orders of magnitude smaller than the resolution of current telescopes. The statistical properties of this structuring are governed by probability density functions (PDFs) for the flux densities and by the angular distribution functions for the orientations of the field vectors. The magnetic structuring on sub-pixel scales greatly affects the field properties averaged over the resolution element due to the non-linear relation between polarization and magnetic field. Here we use a Hinode SOT/SP data set for the quiet Sun disk center to explore the complex behavior of the 6301,6302 Å Stokes line profile system and identify the observables that allow us to determine the distribution functions in the most robust and least model dependent way. The angular distribution is found to be strongly peaked around the vertical direction for large flux densities but widens with decreasing flux density to become isotropic in the limit of zero flux density. The noise-corrected PDFs for the vertical, horizontal, and total flux densities all have a narrowly peaked maximum at zero flux density that can be fitted with a stretched exponential, while the extended wings decline quadratically (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]

A new quadruple gravitational lens system: CLASS B0128+437

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 2 2000
P. M. Phillips
High-resolution MERLIN observations of a newly discovered four-image gravitational lens system, B0128+437, are presented. The system was found after a careful re-analysis of the entire CLASS data set. The MERLIN observations resolve four components in a characteristic quadruple-image configuration; the maximum image separation is 542 mas and the total flux density is 48 mJy at 5 GHz. A best-fitting lens model with a singular isothermal ellipsoid results in large errors in the image positions. A significantly improved fit is obtained after the addition of a shear component, suggesting that the lensing system is more complex and may consist of multiple deflectors. The integrated radio spectrum of the background source indicates that it is a gigahertz peaked spectrum source. It may therefore be possible to resolve structure within the radio images with deep VLBI observations and thus to constrain the lensing mass distribution better. [source]

Detection of compact radio emission from Circinus X-1 with the first Southern hemisphere e-VLBI experiment

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY: LETTERS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2007
C. J. Phillips
ABSTRACT Circinus X-1 has recently returned to a state of strong radio flaring. Here we report on the first VLBI observations, and detection, undertaken in the 25 years since the 1975,1985 period of strong recurrent flaring activity. We detected Circinus X-1 with the first observations conducted by a recently developed Southern hemisphere e-VLBI array, at both 1.6 and 8.4 GHz, over a three-day period. At 1.6 GHz, the compact source has a total flux density of 11 mJy and a size of 60 ± 15 mas (Gaussian model full width at half maximum). At 8.4 GHz, the compact source is less than 60 mas. The size variation with frequency is consistent with a broadened image due to scattering in the turbulent, ionized interstellar medium of our Galaxy. However, these size measurements appear inconsistent with the ,2.2 variation expected for strong interstellar scattering and previous VLBI observations made at 2.3 GHz in the early 1980s. To explain this apparent inconsistency, we suggest that Circinus X-1 supports a weak, non-varying component of 35 mas extent (175 au at 5 kpc distance), corresponding to compact structure in the extended radio nebula. No significant variation in the flux density at 1.6 GHz is evident between two observations 24 h apart. No jet-like structures are evident on scales of tens of mas, simply a scatter broadened source, presumably coincident with the suggested neutron star in the binary system. [source]