Subscribe to the gold package and get unlimited access to Shamra Academy
Register a new userBuilding a VO-compliant Radio Astronomical DAta Model for Single-dish radio telescopes (RADAMS)
220
0
0.0
(
0
)
Added by
Juan de Dios Santander-Vela
Publication date
2012
fields
Physics
and research's language is
English
Authors
J. D. Santander-Vela
Ask ChatGPT about the research
No Arabic abstract
The Virtual Observatory (VO) is becoming the de-facto standard for astronomical data publication. However, the number of radio astronomical archives is still low in general, and even lower is the number of radio astronomical data available through the VO. In order to facilitate the building of new radio astronomical archives, easing at the same time their interoperability with VO framework, we have developed a VO-compliant data model which provides interoperable data semantics for radio data. That model, which we call the Radio Astronomical DAta Model for Single-dish (RADAMS) has been built using standards of (and recommendations from) the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA). This article describes the RADAMS and its components, including archived entities and their relationships to VO metadata. We show that by using IVOA principles and concepts, the effort needed for both the development of the archives and their VO compatibility has been lowered, and the joint development of two radio astronomical archives have been possible. We plan to adapt RADAMS to be able to deal with interferometry data in the future.
rate research
Read More
The detection of mJy/sub-mJy point sources is a significant challenge for single-dish radio telescopes. Detection or upper limits on the faint afterglow from GRBs or other sources at cosmological distances are important means of constraining the source modeling. Using the Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT), we compare the sensitivity and robustness of three methods applied to the detection of faint radio sources from raster maps around a known source position: the smart quick-look method, the source extraction method (typical of high-energy astronomy), and the fit with a 2-D Gaussian. We developed a Python code specific for the analysis of point-like radio sources applied to the SRT C-band (6.9 GHz) observations of both undetected sources (GRB afterglows of 181201A and 190114C) and the detected Galactic X-ray binary GRS 1915+105. Our comparative analysis of the different detection methods made extensive use of simulations as a useful complement to actual radio observations. The best method for the SRT data analysis is the fit with a 2-D Gaussian, as it pushes down the sensitivity limits of single-dish observations -- with respect to more traditional techniques -- to ~ 1.8 mJy, improving by ~ 40 % compared with the initial value. This analysis shows that -- especially for faint sources -- good maps of the scanned region pre- or post-outburst are essential.
All the effort that the astrophysical community has put into the development of the Virtual Observatory (VO) has surpassed the non-return point: the VO is a reality today, and an initiative that will self-sustain, and to which all archival projects must adhere. We have started the design of the scientific archive for the DSS-63 70-m antenna at NASAs DSN station in Robledo de Chavela (Madrid). Here we show how we can use all VO proposed data models to build a VO-compliant single-dish, multiple-feed, radio astronomical archive data model (RADAMS) suitable for the archival needs of the antenna. We also propose an exhaustive list of Universal Content Descriptors (UCDs) and FITS keywords for all relevant metadata. We will further refine this data model with the experience that we will gain from that implementation.
Data Models are an essential part of automatic data processing, but even more so when trying to tie together data coming from many different data sources, as is the case for the International Virtual Observatory. In this talk we will review the different data models used in the IVOA, which parts of that Data Modelling work are still incomplete, specially in radio wavelengths, and the work the AMIGA group has done within the IVOA Data Modelling Working Group to overcome those shortcomings both in missing data models and support for Radio Astronomy.
The study of the linear and circular polarization in AGN allows one to gain detailed information about the properties of the magnetic fields in these objects. However, especially the observation of circular polarization (CP) with single-dish radio-telescopes is usually difficult because of the weak signals to be expected. Normally CP is derived as the (small) difference of two large numbers (LHC and RHC); hence an accurate calibration is absolutely necessary. Our aim is to improve the calibration accuracy to include the Stokes parameter V in the common single-dish polarimetric measurements, allowing a full Stokes study of the source under examination. A detailed study, up to the 2nd order, of the Mueller matrix elements in terms of cross-talk components allows us to reach the accuracy necessary to study circular polarization. The new calibration method has been applied to data taken at the 100-m Effelsberg radio-telescope during regular test observations of extragalactic sources at 2.8, 3.6, 6 and 11 cm. The D-terms in phase and amplitude appear very stable with time and the few known values of circular polarization have been confirmed. It is shown that, whenever a classical receiver and a multiplying polarimeter are available, the proposed calibration scheme allows one to include Stokes V in standard single-dish polarimetric observations as difference of two native circular outputs.
For submillimeter spectroscopy with ground-based single-dish telescopes, removing noise contribution from the Earths atmosphere and the instrument is essential. For this purpose, here we propose a new method based on a data-scientific approach. The key technique is statistical matrix decomposition that automatically separates the signals of astronomical emission lines from the drift noise components in the fast-sampled (1--10 Hz) time-series spectra obtained by a position-switching (PSW) observation. Because the proposed method does not apply subtraction between two sets of noisy data (i.e., on-source and off-source spectra), it improves the observation sensitivity by a factor of $sqrt{2}$. It also reduces artificial signals such as baseline ripples on a spectrum, which may also help to improve the effective sensitivity. We demonstrate this improvement by using the spectroscopic data of emission lines toward a high-redshift galaxy observed with a 2-mm receiver on the 50-m Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT). Since the proposed method is carried out offline and no additional measurements are required, it offers an instant improvement on the spectra reduced so far with the conventional method. It also enables efficient deep spectroscopy driven by the future 50-m class large submillimeter single-dish telescopes, where fast PSW observations by mechanical antenna or mirror drive are difficult to achieve.
Log in to be able to interact and post comments
comments
Fetching comments
Sign in to be able to follow your search criteria
