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At least 325 records · Page 18

Observations of (S III) emission from Galactic radio sources - The detection of distant planetary nebulae and a search for supernova remnant emission

Narrow-band near-infrared imaging observations at wavelengths corresponding to forbidden S III 9069,9532 A have been carried out at the MDM 1.3 m telescope for 23 radio sources near the Galactic plane in an attempt to detect emission associated with nebulae marking the endpoints of stellar evolution. While none of the known remnants or remnant candidates were detected, 10 of the 11 PN candidates from a new radio imaging survey of the Galactic plane were clearly seen in the forbidden S III 9532 A line. We present a calculation of the relative efficacy of searching for PNe in the forbidden O III and forbidden S III lines; for the majority of all PNe, the observed forbidden S III 9532 A line is predicted to be stronger than forbiden O III 5007 A whenever the visual extinction exceeds 3 magnitudes. This makes forbidden S III the superior tracer of PNe at distances exceeding a few kpc. We briefly comment on the significance of this approach to defining the spatial distribution of the PN population of the Galaxy.

Kistiakowsky, V.↗

Cyclotron line strength variations in gamma-ray burst GB870303 - Possible evidence of neutron star rotation

An exhaustive search of the Ginga data on gamma-ray burst GB870303 reveals two separate time intervals during which statistically significant line features are evident. One interval shows a single prominent line feature at about 20 keV; a second, shows two line features at about 20 and 40 keV. From model fits to the data, we find that both sets of lines are well-described by cyclotron resonant scattering in a magnetic field B about 1.8 x 10 exp 12 G, and that the differences in the line strengths between the two intervals are significant. The variations are qualitatively similar to those produced by a change in the viewing angle theta relative to the magnetic field. We conjecture that the change in theta is due to rotation of the neutron star, and derive limits P = 45-180 sec on the rotation period P.

Graziani, Carlo↗

Line strength variations in gamma-ray bursts GB870303 - Possible evidence of neutron star rotation

An exhaustive search of the Ginga data on gamma-ray burst GB870303 reveals two separate time intervals during which statistically significant line features are evident. One (previously unreported) interval shows a single prominent line feature at about 20 keV; a second, corresponding to the interval reported by Murakami et al. (1988), shows two line features at 20 and 40 keV. From model fits to the data, we find that both sets of lines are well-described by cyclotron resonant scattering in a magnetic field B around 1.8 x 10 exp 12 G, and that the differences in the line strengths between the two intervals are significant. The variations are qualitatively similar to those produced by a change in the viewing angle theta relative to the magnetic field. We conjecture that the change in theta is due to rotation of the neutron star, and derive limits of 45-180 sec on the rotation period P.

Graziani, C.↗

Stellar Activity and Mass Loss from A and F Supergiants

This grant supported the observing and data analysis for FUSE Cycle 4 project DO47 to observe five late-A and F supergiants using a total observing allocation of 150 ksec. Stellar activity on A and F supergiants has been poorly studied in the past; primarily because the photospheric continuum dominates any chromospheric (~ 10 4 K) or transition region (TR; ~ 10 5 K) emission lines far into the ultraviolet. FUSE observations of A and F supergiants offer one of the best methods to study stellar activity on these stars, because many activity indicators longward of 1200 A are swamped by the photospheric continuum emission. We used FUSE FUV spectra to search for 0 VI and C I11 TR emission lines and obtained data for t Car (A8 Ib, for 60.5 ksec, on 2003 Apr 27), 8 Sco (F1 11, 22.7 ksec, 2003 Aug 2), ct Per (F5 Ib, 30.8 ksec, 2003 Oct l), a UMi (F7 Ib-11, 23.9 ksec, 2003 Oct 14), and y Cyg (F8 Ib, 25.8 ksec, 2003 Oct 18). These observations used the large LWRS aperture and collected data in time-tagged mode. The LWRS aperture is large enough that the target should remain within the aperture with the normal level of FUSE pointing jitter and target drift. We examined the stellar signal and found that the targets were well within the aperture throughout the observation. The data were split into night-time and day-time data so that the effects of airglow emission were recognizable, and combined day and night spectra were generated using CALFUSE 2.4.0 .

Brown, Alexander↗

Sub-m s−1 upper limits from a deep HARPS-N radial-velocity search for planets orbiting HD 166620 and HD 144579

ABSTRACT Minimizing the impact of stellar variability in radial velocity (RV) measurements is a critical challenge in achieving the 10 cm s−1 precision needed to hunt for Earth twins. Since 2012, a dedicated programme has been underway with HARPS-N, to conduct a blind RV rocky planets search (RPS) around bright stars in the Northern hemisphere. Here we describe the results of a comprehensive search for planetary systems in two RPS targets, HD 166620 and HD 144579. Using wavelength-domain line-profile decorrelation vectors to mitigate the stellar activity and performing a deep search for planetary reflex motions using a trans-dimensional nested sampler, we found no significant planetary signals in the data sets of either of the stars. We validated the results via data-splitting and injection recovery tests. Additionally, we obtained the 95th percentile detection limits on the HARPS-N RVs. We found that the likelihood of finding a low-mass planet increases noticeably across a wide period range when the inherent stellar variability is corrected for using scalpelsU-vectors. We are able to detect planet signals with Msin i ≤ 1 M⊕ for orbital periods shorter than 10 d. We demonstrate that with our decorrelation technique, we are able to detect signals as low as 54 cm s−1, which brings us closer to the calibration limit of 50 cm s−1 demonstrated by HARPS-N. Therefore, we show that we can push down towards the RV precision required to find Earth analogues using high-precision radial velocity data with novel data-analysis techniques.

Anna John, A. (ORCID:0000000217156939)↗

Development of Gamma Background Radiation Digital Twin with Machine Learning Algorithms: Application of Unsupervised Machine Learning to Detection of Anomalies and Nuisances in Gamma Background Radiation Environmental Screening Data

Environmental screening of gamma radiation consists of detecting weak nuisance and anomaly signal in the presence of strong and highly varying background. In a typical scenario, a mobile detector-spectrometer continuously measures gamma radiation spectra in short, e.g., one-second, signal acquisition intervals. The measurement data is a 2D matrix, where one dimension is gamma ray energy, and the other dimension is the number of measurements or total time. In principle, gamma radiation sources can be detected and identified from the measured data by their unique spectral lines. Detecting sources from data measured in a search scenario is difficult due to the highly varying background because of naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM), and low signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of spectral signal measured during one-second acquisition intervals. The objective of this work is to explore unsupervised machine learning (ML) algorithms for development of a digital twin of gamma radiation background, and for detection and identification of weak nuisances and anomalies events in the presence of highly fluctuating background. In one segment of work, we developed a gamma background estimation model using a Longshort term memory (LSTM) network for one-step CPS time series prediction. The LSTM model was validated with two data sets of measurements from two independent NaI detectors positioned on a mobile platform. The data sets contained background radiation only and no orphan isotope sources. The LSTM model was constructed and tested using data from one of the detectors. Performance of the LSTM model was validate through one-step prediction of CPS time series of another NaI detector without re-training. This approach allows to create a digital twin for nuclear background estimation. Using LSTM, it could be possible to detect a source through subtraction of the estimated counts from the measured background. In another segment of work, we investigated detection of gamma emitting sources in the presence of complex background using unsupervised machine learning. Spectral lines of isotopes are difficult to observe in one-second measurements. Averaging over the entire measurement campaign data set reveals spectral lines of most common background isotopes. Spectral lines of orphan sources, which might appear only in a few measurements during the campaign, will be washed out if averaging is performed over the entire measurement data set. The approach we have explored consists of extracting one-second measurements containing weak spectral features through data clustering. Averaging one-second spectra in a cluster should reveal the presence of anomaly sources. We created two ML models using K-means clustering and Neural Network Self-organizing Map (SOM). Performance of these ML models was benchmarked using search data. One data set contained 137 Cs source, and another dataset contained 131 I source.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

In search of autophagy biomarkers in breast cancer: Receptor status and drug agnostic transcriptional changes during autophagy flux in cell lines

Autophagy drives drug resistance and drug-induced cancer cell cytotoxicity. Targeting the autophagy process could greatly improve chemotherapy outcomes. The discovery of specific inhibitors or activators has been hindered by challenges with reliably measuring autophagy levels in a clinical setting. We investigated drug-induced autophagy in breast cancer cell lines with differing ER/PR/Her2 receptor status by exposing them to known but divergent autophagy inducers each with a unique molecular target, tamoxifen, trastuzumab, bortezomib or rapamycin. Differential gene expression analysis from total RNA extracted during the earliest sign of autophagy flux showed both cell- and drug-specific changes. We analyzed the list of differentially expressed genes to find a common, cell- and drug-agnostic autophagy signature. Twelve mRNAs were significantly modulated by all the drugs and 11 were orthogonally verified with Q-RT-PCR (Klhl24, Hbp1, Crebrf, Ypel2, Fbxo32, Gdf15, Cdc25a, Ddit4, Psat1, Cd22, Ypel3). The drug agnostic mRNA signature was similarly induced by a mitochondrially targeted agent, MitoQ. In-silico analysis on the KM-plotter cancer database showed that the levels of these mRNAs are detectable in human samples and associated with breast cancer prognosis outcomes of Relapse-Free Survival in all patients (RSF), Overall Survival in all patients (OS), and Relapse-Free Survival in ER + Patients (RSF ER + ). High levels of Klhl24, Hbp1, Crebrf, Ypel2, CD22 and Ypel3 were correlated with better outcomes, whereas lower levels of Gdf15, Cdc25a, Ddit4 and Psat1 were associated with better prognosis in breast cancer patients. This gene signature uncovers candidate autophagy biomarkers that could be tested during preclinical and clinical studies to monitor the autophagy process.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

A spectroscopic search for colliding stellar winds in O-type close binary systems. III - 29 UW Canis Majoris

The orbital-phase variations in the optical emission lines and UV P Cygni lines of the massive O-type binary 29 UW Canis Majoris are investigated in a search for evidence of colliding winds. High SNR spectra of the H-alpha and He I 6678-A emission lines are presented, and radial velocity curves for several features associated with the photosphere of the more luminous primary star are given. The H-alpha features consists of a P Cygni component that shares the motion of the primary, and which probably originates at the base of its wind, and a broad, stationary emission component. It is proposed that the broad emission forms in a plane midway between the stars where the winds collide. A simple geometric model is used to show that this placement of the broad component can explain the lack of orbital velocity shifts, the near-constancy of the emission strength throughout the orbit, the large velocities associated with the H-alpha wings, and the constancy of the velocity range observed.

Wiggs, Michael S.↗

A decade of SETI observations

A full time dedicated search for extraterrestrial radio signals of intelligent origin has been in progress at the Ohio State University Radio Observatory since 1973. The radio telescope has a collecting area of 2200 square meters, which is equivalent to a circular dish 175 feet in diameter. The search concentrates on a 500 kHz bandwidth centered on the 1420 MHz hydrogen line, Doppler corrected to the galactic standard of rest. A large portion of the sky visible from Ohio was searched, with particulat emphasis on the galactic center region and the M31 Andromeda galaxy. The survey is largely computer automated, and all data reduction is done in real time. Two distinct populations of signals were detected. The first is a relatively small number of signals which persist for over a minute and which are clearly extraterrestrial in origin. The second is the large number of signals which persist less than 10 seconds whose locations are anticorrelated with the galactic plane but show clumps along the galactic axis. None of these signals were observed to recur, despite repeated observations. The cause of these signals were not determined.

Dixon, R. S.↗

Search for molecular absorptions with the Fourier Transform Spectrometer

The objective of this research was a search for water molecules in the gas phase in molecular clouds. Water should be among the most abundant gases in the clouds and is of fundamental importance in gas chemistry, cloud cooling, shock wave chemistry, and gas-grain interactions of interstellar dust. Detection of water in Comet Halley in the 2.7 micron v(3) band in 1986 had shown that airborne H2O observations are feasible (ground-based observations of H2O are impossible because of the massive water content of the atmosphere). We planned to observe the v(3) band in interstellar clouds where a number of lines of this band should be in absorption. The search for H2O commenced in 1988 with a two flight program on the KAO. this resulted in a detection of interstellar H2O with S/N of 2-4 in the v(3) 1(01)-2(02) line at 3801.42/cm. A subsequent flight series of two flights in 1989 resulted in confirmation to the 3801.42/cm line detection and the detection of altogether four strong lines in the 000-001 v(3) vibration-rotation band of H2O.

Knacke, Roger F.↗

Search for Interstellar Water in the Translucent Molecular Cloud Toward HD 154368

We report an upper limit of 9 x 10(exp 12)/sq cm on the column density of water in the translucent cloud along the line of sight toward HD 154368. This result is based on a search for the C-X band of water near 1240 A carried out using the Goddard High-Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) of the Hubble Space Telescope. Our observational limit on the water abundance, together with detailed chemical models of translucent clouds and previous measurements of OH along the line of sight, constrains the branching ratio in the dissociative recombination of H3O(+) to form water. We find at the 3 sigma level that no more than 30% of dissociative recombinations of H3O(+) can lead to H2O. The observed spectrum also yielded high-resolution observations of the Mg II doublet at 1239.9 A and 1240.4 A, allowing the velocity structure of the dominant ionization state of magnesium to be studied along the line of sight. The Mg II spectrum is consistent with GHRS observations at lower spectral resolution that were obtained previously but allow an additional velocity component to be identified.

Spaans, Marco↗

Properties of five z ∼ 0.3–0.4 confirmed LyC leakers: VLT/XShooter observations

ABSTRACT Using new Very Large Telescope (VLT)/XShooter spectral observations we analyse the physical properties of five z ∼ 0.3–0.4 confirmed Lyman continuum (LyC) leakers. Strong resonant Mg ii λλ2796, 2803 Å emission lines (I(λλ2796, 2803)/I(Hβ) ≃ 10–38 per cent) and non-resonant Fe ii* λλ2612, 2626 Å emission lines are observed in spectra of five and three galaxies, respectively. We find high electron densities Ne ∼ 400 cm−3, significantly higher than in typical low-z, but comparable to those measured in z ∼ 2–3 star-forming galaxies (SFGs). The galaxies have a mean value of log N/O = –1.16, close to the maximum values found for SFGs in the metallicity range of 12 + log O/H ≃ 7.7–8.1. All 11 low-z LyC emitting galaxies found by Izotov et al., including the ones considered in this study, are characterized by high equivalent width (EW) (Hβ) ∼ 200–400 Å, high ionization parameter (log(U) = –2.5 to –1.7), high average ionizing photon production efficiency ξ = 1025.54 Hz erg−1, and hard ionizing radiation. On the Baldwin–Phillips–Terlevich (BPT) diagram we find the same offset of our leakers from low-z main-sequence SFGs as that for local analogues of Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) and extreme SFGs at z ∼ 2–3. We confirm the effectiveness of the He i emission lines diagnostics proposed by Izotov et al. in searching for LyC leaker candidates and find that their intensity ratios correspond to those in a median with low neutral hydrogen column density N(H i) = 1017–5 × 1017 cm−2 that permit leakage of LyC radiation, likely due to their density-bounded H ii regions.

Guseva, N. G.↗

Outside the Lyman-break box: detecting Lyman continuum emitters at 3.5 < z < 5.1 with CLAUDS

ABSTRACT Identifying non-contaminated sample of high-redshift galaxies with escaping Lyman continuum (LyC) flux is important for understanding the sources and evolution of cosmic reionization. We present CLAUDS (CFHT Large Area u-band deep survey) u-band photometry of the COSMOS field to probe LyC radiation from spectroscopically confirmed galaxies at $z$ ≥ 3.5 and outside the standard Lyman-break galaxy colour-selection expectations. Complementary to the CLAUDS data, we use Subaru multifilter photometry, Hubble Space Telescope (HST) multifilter imaging, and the spectroscopic surveys D10K, VUDS, and 3D-HST. We present a sample of Lyman continuum galaxy (LCG) candidates in the redshift range 3.5 ≲ $z$ ≲ 5.1. Here, we introduce 5 LCG candidates, where two are flagged quality 1 and three quality 2. The estimated $f_{\rm esc}^{\rm abs}$ for quality 1 candidates are in the range $\sim 5 - 73{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ and $\sim 30 - 93{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. These estimates are based on our derived parameters from individual galaxies as inputs to a range of BPASS models as well as mean intergalactic medium (IGM) and maximal intergalactic and circumgalactic media (IGM+CGM) transmission. We conclude that our search for LCGs is most likely biased to lines of sight with low H i densities or free from Lyman limit systems. Our two best LCG candidates have EW (Lyα) ≤ 50 Å and we find no correlation or anticorrelation between EW (Lyα), $f_{\rm esc}^{\rm abs}$, and Robs, the ratio of ionizing to non-ionizing observed flux in the measured passbands. Stacking candidates without solid LyC detections (S/N < 3) results in an estimated $f_{\rm esc}^{\rm abs}$ from galaxies not greater than $1{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$.

Meštrić, U.↗

Z-Sequence: photometric redshift predictions for galaxy clusters with sequential random k-nearest neighbours

ABSTRACT We introduce Z-Sequence, a novel empirical model that utilizes photometric measurements of observed galaxies within a specified search radius to estimate the photometric redshift of galaxy clusters. Z-Sequence itself is composed of a machine learning ensemble based on the k-nearest neighbours algorithm. We implement an automated feature selection strategy that iteratively determines appropriate combinations of filters and colours to minimize photometric redshift prediction error. We intend for Z-Sequence to be a standalone technique but it can be combined with cluster finders that do not intrinsically predict redshift, such as our own DEEP-CEE. In this proof-of-concept study, we train, fine-tune, and test Z-Sequence on publicly available cluster catalogues derived from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We determine the photometric redshift prediction error of Z-Sequence via the median value of |Δ$z$|/(1 + $z$) (across a photometric redshift range of 0.05 ≤ $z$ ≤ 0.6) to be ∼0.01 when applying a small search radius. The photometric redshift prediction error for test samples increases by 30–50 per cent when the search radius is enlarged, likely due to line-of-sight interloping galaxies. Eventually, we aim to apply Z-Sequence to upcoming imaging surveys such as the Legacy Survey of Space and Time to provide photometric redshift estimates for large samples of as yet undiscovered and distant clusters.

Chan, Matthew C.↗

Detection of Anomalies in Environmental Gamma Radiation Background with Hopfield Artificial Neural Network - Consortium on Nuclear Security Technologies (CONNECT) Q3 Report

Environmental screening of gamma radiation consists of detecting weak nuisance and anomaly signal in the presence of strong and highly varying background. In a typical scenario, a mobile detector-spectrometer continuously measures gamma radiation spectra in short, e.g., one-second, signal acquisition intervals. The measurement data is a 2D matrix, where one dimension is gamma ray energy, and the other dimension is the number of measurements or total time. In principle, gamma radiation sources can be detected and identified from the measured data by their unique spectral lines. Detecting sources from data measured in a search scenario is difficult due to the highly varying background because of naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM), and low signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of spectral signal measured during one-second acquisition intervals. The objective of this work is to investigate performance of a Hopfield Neural Network (HNN) in in detection and identification of weak nuisances and anomalies events in the presence of a highly fluctuating background. Performance of HNN algorithm is benchmarked using search data from an environmental screening campaign. One data set contained a 137 Cs source, and another dataset contained a 131 I source.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Development of Hopfield Artificial Neural Network for Anomaly Detection in Environmental Gamma Radiation Background: Consortium on Nuclear Security Technologies (CONNECT) (Q2 Report)

Environmental screening of gamma radiation consists of detecting weak nuisance and anomaly signal in the presence of strong and highly varying background. In a typical scenario, a mobile detector-spectrometer continuously measures gamma radiation spectra in short, e.g., one-second, signal acquisition intervals. The measurement data is a 2D matrix, where one dimension is gamma ray energy, and the other dimension is the number of measurements or total time. In principle, gamma radiation sources can be detected and identified from the measured data by their unique spectral lines. Detecting sources from data measured in a search scenario is difficult due to the highly varying background because of naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM), and low signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of spectral signal measured during one-second acquisition intervals. The objective of this work is to explore supervised machine learning (ML) algorithms for development of a Hopfield Neural Network (HNN) in conjunction with an image processing algorithm for detection and identification of weak nuisances and anomalies events in the presence of a highly fluctuating background.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

X-Rays form the Vela-Puppis Complex

A review of X-ray observations in the vicinity of the Gum nebula is presented. There is little doubt that the filamentary nebula Stromlo 16, the radio source Vela X, and the extended X-ray object Vel XR-2 are indications of the same, relatively nearby, supernova remnant. X-ray absorption measurements are consistent with a distance of 500 + or - 100 pc. The observed X-ray spectra have not yet distinguished between thermal bremsstrahlung and synchrotron radiation as the source mechanism. A search for low energy X-ray emission lines, both within the 5 deg diameter remnant and in the larger Gum nebula, may provide an important test for models of supernova remnant evolution.

Bunner, A. N.↗

Sunspot index infers a small relict magnetic field in the sun's core

Inferences from the asymmetry in time of the solar sunspot number, taken over many cycles, yields evidence for the relict magnetic field in the solar core which Cowling (1945) suggested would not decay, over the solar system's lifetime, given sufficiently high bulk electrical conductivity. Whether such a relict field is present can be ascertained either by searching for the presence of a 22-year line quintet in the Fourier spectrum of the sunspot index or by processing the time sequence in order to highlight an offset. Since the solar cycle is unstable to frequency drifts, the presence of frequency modulation can lead to a spurious relict field signal.

Sonett, C. P.↗