Engineering topics

Wittels, J. J.

Publications and source records attributed to Wittels, J. J..

18 records

NASA NTRS1982

Confirmation of a conspiracy - Dual-band VLBI maps of the flat-spectrum radio source 2021 + 614

VLBI observations at 3.6 and 13 cm wavelengths of the flat-spectrum radio source 2021 + 614 reveal two components, separated by about 6.5 + or - 0.6 milli-arcseconds along a position angle of 36 deg + or - 6 deg. The dual-band observations show that the two components have spectral indices of opposite signs, indicating that, as for 0735 + 178 (Cotton et al. 1980), the flat spectrum of 2021 + 614 is a result of the superposition of spectra from individual components, each having a peaked spectrum, presumably due to incoherent electron synchrotron radiation. If this situation is typical, then there is too large a percentage of flat-spectrum sources for the individual components in each to have independent characteristics.

Wittels, J. J.↗

NASA NTRS1981

VLBI observations of the jet near the core of M87

VLBI observations of M87 with four antennas at 13 cm wavelength indicate that the large-scale jet extends inward to the core. The presence of the jet within several light-years of the currently inactive core indicates that either the source has been active in the recent past or that the core supplies energy to the jet even in the quiescent phase.

Cotton, W. D.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Phase delay astrometry and its geodetic applications

The accuracy inherent in the fringe phase in the determination of source positions was calculated. It is shown that accuracy can be utilized by applying differencing techniques in order to circumvent such systematic effects as clock drift and delay due to the propagation media.

Wittels, J. J.↗

NASA NTRS1980

The very flat radio spectrum of 0735 plus 178 - A cosmic conspiracy

Multifrequency interferometric and total flux density measurements of the radiation from 0735 plus 178 are discussed. It is shown that it is far more likely that the very flat radio spectrum of this source results from a superposition of incoherent synchrotron radiation from four distinct, homogeneous components, each with a peaked spectrum, than from radiation from a single inhomogeneous component.

Cotton, W. D.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Time-dependent radio fine structure of the compact sources NRAO 150 and 4C 39.25

Very long baseline interferometer observations at 7.85 GHz have been used to probe the milliarcsecond structure of the unidentified, very compact radio source NRAO 150 and QSO 4 C 39.25. NRAO 150 exhibited no structural variations from 1972 to the end of 1974. A model with two circular Gaussian components fits the data well. NRAO 150 had a flux density of 7.6 plus or minus 0.5 Jy in the compact component; 4 C 39.25 showed a two-component structure, the components having a separation of (2.02 plus or minus 0.05 arc sec) x 10 to the -3rd power. The upper bound on the speed of transverse separation is 0.0001 arc sec per year or less than 2.7 c. From the spectrum there are also indications of a third, larger component.

Baath, L. B.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Submilliarcsecond astrometry via VLBI. I - Relative position of the radio sources 3C 345 and NRAO 512

The relative position and relative proper motion of the radio sources 3C 345 and NRAO 512 are estimated from four sets of VLBI observations spread out over the period from October 1971 to May 1974. The use of phase-connection techniques yields the separation, in 1950.0 coordinates, of the centers of brightness of the compact components of the two sources. An upper bound of 0.0005 arcsec/yr is placed on the relative proper motion (70% estimated confidence limits). Bounds that can be placed on the distances to the two sources are considered, prospects for improvement in the determination of relative position and proper motion of these sources are discussed, and other possible applications of the basic technique are described.

Shapiro, I. I.↗

NASA NTRS1979

3C 279 - The case for 'superluminal' expansion

The compact extragalactic radio source 3C 279 was observed with the Haystack-Goldstone interferometer (wavelength approximately 3.8 cm) during six separate sessions spread between October 1970 and April 1972. The fringe amplitudes from each of these observation sessions were consistent with a two-component model of the brightness distribution of the source. The position angle of the line joining the components remained at 38 + or - 2 deg, while the angular separation between the components increased nearly linearly at the rate of 0.5 + or 0.1 milliarcsec/yr during this period. The corresponding apparent expansion speed is (21 + or - 4)c, for H = 50 km/s per Mpc and q = 0.05

Cotton, W. D.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Recent results of radio interferometric determinations of a transcontinental baseline, polar motion, and earth rotation

Results are discussed for radio interferometric observations of extragalactic radio sources with antennas at Haystack Observatory in Massachusetts and the Owens Valley Radio Observatory in California (3900-km baseline) during 14 separate experiments distributed between September 1976 and May 1978. Simultaneous analysis of the data from several experiments yields estimates of changes in the x component of pole position and in earth's rotation (UT1). Comparison with the corresponding results obtained by the Bureau International de l'Heure (BIH) reveals systematic differences. In particular, the trends in the radio interferometric determinations of the changes in pole position are found to agree more closely with those from the International Polar Motion Service and from Doppler observations of satellites than with those from the BIH.

Robertson, D. S.↗

NASA NTRS1978

VLBI observations of III Zw 2

Late in March 1978, VLBI observations were made at 10.6 GHz of the X-ray-emitting Seyfert galaxy III Zw 2, which is currently undergoing a dramatic outburst of radio radiation. About 1.2 + or - 0.1 Jy, nearly 85% of the total flux density, was received from an unresolved compact core, a region no greater than 0.0004 arcsec in diameter.

Wittels, J. J.↗

NASA NTRS1978

A high declination search at 8 GHz for compact radio sources

With the Haystack-NRAO interferometer (baseline length of 20 million wavelengths at 3.8 cm) 37 sources were observed whose declinations were above 50 deg. Seven of these sources have compact cores with diameters smaller than 5 milliarcsec and with correlated flux densities greater than about 0.5 Jy; the remaining sources have no cores with flux densities above about 0.3 Jy, the sensitivity limit of the interferometer. Two of the sources with detected compact cores, 4C 67.05 and 3C 418, were also observed with longer-baseline interferometers; the diameter of the core of 4C 67.05 was estimated to be smaller than 1 milliarcsec and that of 3C 418 to be smaller than 0.4 milliarcsec. All diameter estimates were based on an assumed circular Gaussian distribution of radio brightness and refer to the contour with brightness density e to the -1/2 power times that of the center. Positions for the detected sources were also obtained from the interferometric data, the uncertainty in these coordinate estimates ranging from 0.04 to 0.6 arcsec. The compact core detected in 3C 390.3 was found to lie near the center of this extended (approximately 4 arcmin in diameter) double radio source and to be coincident to within 1 arcsec with an N galaxy previously identified with 3C 390.3.

Wittels, J. J.↗

NASA NTRS1978

VLBI observations of 3C 345 and NRAO 512 in right and left circular polarization

In October 1975, the radio telescopes of the Haystack, National Radio Astronomy, and Owens Valley Radio Observatories were used as an interferometer to monitor, at 8 GHz, the right and left circularly polarized radiation emitted by the quasars 3C 345 and NRAO 512. The data for each polarization are used separately to estimate several parameters describing a model of the fine structure of the radio brightness of 3C 345 and, subsequently, the angular separation between 3C 345 and NRAO 512. The results for the two polarizations are in approximate agreement, indicating that to the limit of resolution about 0.5 milliarcsec), the fourth Stokes parameter, V, is not significantly different from zero within the compact components of these radio sources. The corresponding quantitative limits on the degree of circular polarization are 0.08 + or - 0.07 for 3C 345 and 0.01 + or - 0.08 for NRAO 512.

Menyuk, C. R.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Precision surveying using very long baseline interferometry

Radio interferometry measurements were used to measure the vector baselines between large microwave radio antennas. A 1.24 km baseline in Massachusetts between the 36 meter Haystack Observatory antenna and the 18 meter Westford antenna of Lincoln Laboratory was measured with 5 mm repeatability in 12 separate experiments. Preliminary results from measurements of the 3,928 km baseline between the Haystack antenna and the 40 meter antenna at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory in California are presented.

Ryan, J. W.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Time-dependent radio fine structure of the quasar 3C 345

Results are reported for VLBI observations of 3C 345 at a wavelength of 3.8 cm with left circular polarization. Sixteen sets of correlated flux densities and three sets of closure phases were obtained from observations made over a three-year period with six independent interferometers formed from up to four antennas. The mathematical models employed to represent the radio brightness distribution of the source are described, and the data are analyzed on the basis of a two-component model. The results show that the compact source in 3C 345 consists of two components whose separation increased by about 0.3 milliarcsec over the observational period, that the smaller and weaker component is to the east and south of the larger and stronger one, and that the apparent expansion velocity would be about 2.5c for a redshift of 0.6, a Hubble constant of 60 km/sec per Mpc, and a deceleration parameter of unity. It is concluded that these findings are difficult to reconcile with the 'Christmas tree' model for the apparent change of separation with time over any given series of observations.

Wittels, J. J.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Radio source positions from very-long-baseline interferometry observations

Accurate positions of compact radio sources have been determined from very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations based on the bandwidth-synthesis technique. The coordinates for 18 extragalactic sources were obtained from sets of observations spread over the period from April 1972 to January 1975; the scatter among the independent determinations of the source coordinates from the separate sets of observations is about 0.05 arcsec, except for the declinations of near-equatorial sources, where the scatter is about 0.15 arcsec. Comparison of these positions with those determined with the Cambridge 5-km radio interferometer shows the rms scatter about the mean difference to be about 0.04 arcsec in each coordinate (no sources of low declination were in common). A similar comparison of the present results with those obtained by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory from separate VLBI observations yields a slightly larger rms scatter, after exlusion of the declinations of the near-equatorial sources. A position is also obtained for the galactic object Beta Persei (Algol), which agrees well with the position given in the FK 4 catalogue.

Clark, T. A.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Apparent 'superrelativistic' expansion of the extragalactic radio source 3C 345

The compact extragalactic radio source 3C 345 was observed by very-long-baseline interferometry (wavelength about 3.8 cm) at 12 epochs distributed over the nearly four-year period from February 1971 to October 1974. For one of these epochs, the multibaseline data were sufficient to allow the brightness distribution to be estimated in a model-independent manner; the resultant distribution was clearly dominated by two components. The remaining sets of data were also represented adequately by two-component models. The angular separation of the two components increased during this period from about 1.00 to 1.30 milliarcsec, corresponding to an apparent average speed of expansion of approximately 2.5 c at a fixed position angle of 105 (plus or minus 5) deg. These results, coupled with the fact that contraction has never been observed, seem difficult to reconcile with the so-called Christmas-tree model of the 'superrelativistic' expansion of extragalactic radio sources.

Wittels, J. J.↗

NASA NTRS1976

An unusually strong radio outburst in Algol - VLBI observations

For 8 hours during a strong radio flare on Jan. 15, 16, 1975, the close binary system Beta Persei (Algol) was observed with a three-station VLBI array operating at 7850 MHz. The size of the radio source was estimated to have been about 1.7 milliarcsec (0.05 AU), based on a model of a uniformly bright disk. The corresponding brightness temperature was nearly 10 billion K, indicating that the emission was probably nonthermal. There was no evidence for expansion of the source; the upper limit on the rate of any expansion was 100 km/s. The position of the Algol radio source with respect to an extragalactic reference frame was also determined from these observations with an uncertainty of about 0.1 arcsec in each coordinate.

Clark, T. A.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Fine structure of 25 extragalactic radio sources

Interferometric observations taken at 7.8 GHz (gamma approximately = 3.8 cm) with five pairings of antennae of 25 extragalactic radio sources between April, 1972 and May, 1973 are reported. These sources exhibit a broad variety of fine structure from very simple to complex. The total flux and the correlated flux of some of the sources underwent large changes in a few weeks, while the structure and total power of others remained constant during the entire period of observation. Some aspects of the data processing and a discussion of errors are presented. Numerous figures are provided and explained. The individual radio sources are described in detail.

Wittels, J. J.↗

NASA NTRS1974

The structure of radio sources 3C 273B and 3C 84 deduced from the 'closure' phases and visibility amplitudes observed with three-element interferometers

The derived 'closure' phase relation for a three-element interferometer is used in a presented analysis of data obtained from observations at 7.8 GHz of the radio sources 3C 273B and 3C 84 by antennas in Massachusetts, California, Alaska, and Sweden (the first two antennas were used in combination with each of the last two separately to form two three-element interferometers). The brightness distribution is found for each source by expansion of both the fringe amplitude and the fringe phase in separate Fourier series.

Rogers, A. E. E.↗