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URSI January 5, 2009 Science at the ARO with ALMA-Style Frontends Lucy M. Ziurys R.W. Freund And the Staff of ARO.

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Presentation on theme: "URSI January 5, 2009 Science at the ARO with ALMA-Style Frontends Lucy M. Ziurys R.W. Freund And the Staff of ARO."— Presentation transcript:

1 URSI January 5, 2009 Science at the ARO with ALMA-Style Frontends Lucy M. Ziurys R.W. Freund And the Staff of ARO

2 URSI January 5, 2009 The Arizona Radio Observatory ARO: An independent research unit of Steward Observatory Consists of two mm/sub-mm Single Dish Telescope Facilities Sub-millimeter Telescope (SMT) - 10 m dish on Mt. Graham, Arizona at 10,543 ft. - Surface accuracy: 15 μm rms - Pointing good to 1” rms - η B ~80 % at 230 GHz; 49% at 490 GHz - Operation at λ ≤ 1 mm  One of world’s best antennas Kitt Peak 12 m - Kitt Peak site: 6,280 ft - η B ~ 75 % at 70 GHz - 2 and 3 mm workhorse  Begun to equip facilities with ALMA-type receivers SMT 12 m

3 URSI January 5, 2009 The New Technology of ALMA-Type Mixers New Type of SIS Mixers developed specifically for ALMA  “Sideband-Separating” Two mixers with RF and IF Quadrature Hybrids  obtain upper and lower sideband simultaneously but separated with good image rejection and two IF outputs  4 GHz instantaneous BW per IF  Unequaled Stability  Most sensitive SIS mixers  Dual polarization: 4 IF’s Perfect Devices for Single- Dish Spectroscopy  Emphasis of ARO

4 URSI January 5, 2009 New ALMA-Type Receivers at ARO 1) 1 mm (210-280 GHz) Receiver: SMT - Utilizes ALMA Band 6 Mixers (NRAO) - Sideband-Separating - Dual Polarization with 4 IFs - T sys as good 105 K, SSB, on sky 2) 0.4 mm (600 - 720 GHz) Receiver: SMT - Utilizes ALMA Band 9 Mixers (SRON) - Dual Polarization, currently DSB - Upgrade planned to SBS Mixers 3) 3 mm (85 -116 GHz) Receiver: 12 m - Uses ALMA Band 3 Mixers (HIA) - Double Polarization - Sideband-Separating New CO detections: 0.4 mm 3 mm receiver at 12 m

5 URSI January 5, 2009 Mixer Block (from NRAO) Mixer in hand to working receiver  Not a trivial task  1mm receiver as an example Incorporation into “Insert” (one per polarization “Inserts” put into Dewar Dewar incorporated Into Receiver package

6 URSI January 5, 2009 The Power of the ARO ALMA-type Receivers Sensitivity HCO + J = 1→0 line at 89 GHz Previous 3 mm receiver (NRAO vintage) with 63 hours integration Same spectrum New ALMA-type 3 mm receiver with 4 hours integration 63 hours 4 hours

7 URSI January 5, 2009 PN M5-55 12 CO:J=2→1 230 GHz Position-switched spectrum: 4° offset  note the baseline… Stability Four IF Mode with steerable IF frequency Dual polarization signals for 12 CO and 13 CO at 230 and 220 GHz simultaneously Versatility

8 URSI January 5, 2009 Image Rejection CO: J = 1 – 0 115 GHz W51 New 3 mm ALMA-type Receiver: 12 m Dual Polarization CO Signal Sideband H Pol V Pol CO Image Sideband H PolV Pol Image Rejection > 19 db: H Pol > 26 db: V Pol

9 URSI January 5, 2009 Test of Receiver Sensitivity and Stability  Ability to detect new molecules 1 mm receiver at SMT used for comparative spectral line survey of circumstellar envelopes of IRC+10216 and VY CMa IRC+10216: C-rich object at 150 pc VY CMa: O-rich shell at 1.5 kpc Continuous coverage 215-285 GHz Compare O-rich and C-rich regimes Most sensitive 1 mm survey to date Typical T sys < 200 K (SSB) Survey 70% complete Science with ALMA-Type Receivers: New Molecules

10 URSI January 5, 2009 Survey Results thus far.. Two new oxide species in VY CMa: PO and AlO Two phosphorus molecules in IRC+10216: PH 3 and HCP Tenenbaum et al 2007 Tenenbaum & Ziurys 2009 VY CMa Tenenbaum & Ziurys 2008

11 URSI January 5, 2009 Re-discovering VY Canis Majoris Record Sensitivity at 1 mm: enormous advantage Discovered interesting new morphology and chemistry in O-rich Shell of Supergiant VY CMa  First new source of new interstellar molecules in 25 YEARS (after Orion, SgrB2, TMC-1, IRC+10216) Random sporadic mass loss from photospheric “supergranules” Large convection cells in red giants, supergiants (Schwarzschild 1975)

12 URSI January 5, 2009 Complex Chemistry in Planetary Nebulae Planetary Nebulae: Final Stage for Intermediate Mass Stars Strong UV Radiation Field from Central White Dwarf Star  Destroy all Molecules Study of oldest Planetary Nebula with ALMA receivers: HELIX NEBULA  Found numerous polyatomic species Detections of CCH, H 2 CO, C 3 H 2 Widespread distribution of HCO + Helix Nebula ~ 1000”

13 URSI January 5, 2009 (125, 185) (390, -30) (130, - 180) (-15, 270) (-240, - 100) (-120, 240) (-372, 0) (-300, - 200) HCO + J = 1 → 0: Helix Nebula CO HCO + thus far found at every position

14 URSI January 5, 2009 VLBI at 1 mm of SgrA* SMT, JCMT/SMA, CARMA Angular size of SgrA*: 37 (+16.9,-10.5) μsec  4 Schwarzschild radii Density determined rules out alternatives to MBH Probes size scales near Event Horizon (Doeleman et al. Nature 2008) SMT-JCMT SMT-CARMA

15 URSI January 5, 2009 In Conclusion… Receivers utilizing ALMA-Type Sideband Separating Mixers NRAO/HIA Design  Offer a major step forward in sensitivity and stability Have already been instrumental in:  Detecting new molecules at mK level  Unraveling new molecular content of “uninteresting” sources  Key Factor in success of 1 mm VLBI Bright Future for Exciting New Scientific Discoveries using increase in receiver performance with new ALMA Technology Thank you to NRAO CDL, HIA, and SRON Also Thank you to staff of ARO


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