R. L. Mutel

A study of the ground-state hydroxyl maser emission associated with 11 regions of star formation

The results of an arcsecond-resolution study of the four ground-state hydroxyl masers and 15 GHz continuum emission associated with 11 regions of star formation are reported. Within the 11 regions, over 30 individual sites of maser emission, which are typically closely associated with 15 GHz continuum emission, are identified. Within a particular cluster, different maser transitions are frequently found within 0.5 arcsec of each other, suggesting that several transitions can be pumped in very similar physical condensations. Twenty percent of the maser clusters do not appear closely associated with 15 GHz continuum sources. The findings do not support the idea that hydroxyl masers are uniformly distributed in a thin or thick shell surrounding a central star, or that amplification of continuum background photons plays a significant part in determining the output intensities of hydroxyl masers. 67 references.

Dual polarization VLBI observations of stellar binary systems at 5 GHz

The binary systems Sigma CrB, SZ Psc, HR 1099, UX Ari, HR 5110, Algol, and Cyg X-1 are characterized in terms of marcsec-scale radio structure on the basis of dual-polarization observations at 4.969-4.997 GHz, obtained with an international VLBI array comprising the 100-m Effelsberg, 36-m Haystack, 42-m Green Bank, 26-m Fort Davis, 130-m-equivalent VLA, and 40-m Owens Valley telescopes (system temperatures 40-70 K) at 22-14 h UT on July 26-27, 1983. The data are presented in graphs and tables and discussed in detail. Single Gaussian brightness distributions with theta(FWHM) = 0.5-2.0 marcsec and brightness temperatures (2-200) x 10 to the 8th K are determined for four sources; core-halo structures are found for UX Ari and Algol; and an upper limit of 50 microarcsec is established for the angular separation of the regions of left and right circular polarization. The gross features seen in RS CVn systems are explained in terms of a simple expanding-coronal-loop model of flare events.

A Two-dimensional Simulation of a Relativistic Magnetized Jet

We have performed a magnetohydrodynamic simulation of a relativistic jet in slab geometry. The simulation code employs a simplified total variation diminishing method. We compare the weakly and strongly magnetized relativistic jets. The result shows that both relativistic effects and the parallel magnetic field collimate the jets. Stronger reversed magnetic fields are formed in the weakly magnetized jet than in the strongly magnetized jet.

Structure and flux variability in the VLBI jet of BL Lacertae during the WEBT campaigns (1995-2004)

BL Lacertae has been the target of several observing campaigns by the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (WEBT) collaboration and is one of the best studied blazars at all accessible wavelengths. A recent analysis of the optical and radio variability indicates that part of the radio variability is correlated with the optical light curve. Here we present an analysis of a huge VLBI data set including 108 images at 15, 22, and 43 GHz obtained between 1995 and 2004. The aim of this study is to identify the different components contributing to the single-dish radio light curves. We obtain separate radio light curves for the VLBI core and jet and show that the radio spectral index of single-dish observations can be used to trace the core variability. Cross-correlation of the radio spectral index with the optical light curve indicates that the optical variations lead the radio by about 100 days at 15 GHz. By fitting the radio time lags vs. frequency, we find that the power law is steeper than expected for a freely expanding conical jet in equipartition with energy density decreasing as the square of the distance down the jet as in the Konigl model. The analysis of the historical data back to 1968 reveals that during a time range of 16 years the optical variability was reduced and its correlation with the radio emission was suppressed. There is a section of the compact radio jet where the emission is weak such that flares propagating down the jet are bright first in the core region with a secondary increase in flux about 1.0 mas from the core. This illustrates the importance of direct imaging to the interpretation of multi-wavelength light curves that can be affected by several distinct components at any given time. We discuss how the complex behaviour of the light curves and correlations can be understood within the framework of a precessing helical jet model.

Radio Emission from Algol. I. Coronal Geometry and Emission Mechanisms Determined from VLBA and Green Bank Interferometer Observations

We report dual circular polarization VLBA observations of Algol made at orbital phases 0.22-0.30 using a differential phase referencing technique. The flux density of Algol varied from 10 to 20 mJy during the observations. The radio maps show a double-lobed source separated by 1.6 mas (1.4 times the K star diameter). Although the total emission is only weakly circularly polarized, the individual lobes are strongly circularly polarized and of opposite helicity. Snapshot VLBI maps made at 3 hour intervals show variations in the flux density of both components, but no significant motions of the centroids. We also analyze Green Bank Interferometer (GBI) synoptic observations of right- and left-circularly polarized (RCP and LCP) flux densities of Algol at 2.3 and 8.3 GHz several times a day from early 1995 to mid-1997. The resulting data set, which consists of more than 2500 observations over 2 years, is by far the most comprehensive available for any stellar system. In addition, we analyzed GBI observations of the very similar (but noneclipsing) binary system HR 1099 over the same time period in order to compare the two systems. We summarize the GBI observations using several statistical descriptions. We find no phase dependence of either the radio luminosity or circular polarization for either system. The luminosity histograms for the two systems are remarkably similar. The distribution functions are not well represented by exponentials as previously suggested, but can be represented by power laws truncated at low luminosity. The cutoff occurs at 20-30 mJy and may represent emission from a slowly varying basal level that is always detected. We confirm several previous results, including the strong dependence of spectral index on luminosity, the decrease of fractional circular polarization with luminosity, and the dependence of fractional circular polarization on orbital inclination angle. We suggest that the radio emission at 8.3 GHz is x-mode gyrosynchrotron emission from optically thin emission regions containing mildly relativistic electrons in a dipolar magnetic field. There is no evidence for highly circularly polarized coherent flares at 8.3 GHz, although it is possible that such flares occasionally occur at 2.25 GHz. The lack of orbital phase dependence in the GBI light curves, combined with the significant inclination of the VLBA structure with respect to the orbital plane, is inconsistent with previous models in which the radio lobes are located in the equatorial plane. The individual lobes seen in the VLBI maps may be associated with the polar regions, with the strong circular polarization resulting from the opposed mean magnetic field vector component along the observers line of sight in opposite hemispheres. Astrometric results from the VLBA observations are discussed in a companion paper.

In situ spatiotemporal measurements of the detailed azimuthal substructure of the substorm current wedge

The substorm current wedge (SCW) is a fundamental component of geomagnetic substorms. Models tend to describe the SCW as a simple line current flowing into the ionosphere toward dawn and out of the ionosphere toward dusk, linked by a westward electrojet. We use multispacecraft observations from perigee passes of the Cluster 1 and 4 spacecraft during a substorm on 15 January 2010, in conjunction with ground-based observations, to examine the spatial structuring and temporal variability of the SCW. At this time, the spacecraft traveled east-west azimuthally above the auroral region. We show that the SCW has significant azimuthal substructure on scales of 100 km at altitudes of 4000–7000 km. We identify 26 individual current sheets in the Cluster 4 data and 34 individual current sheets in the Cluster 1 data, with Cluster 1 passing through the SCW 120–240 s after Cluster 4 at 1300–2000 km higher altitude. Both spacecraft observed large-scale regions of net upward and downward field-aligned current, consistent with the large-scale characteristics of the SCW, although sheets of oppositely directed currents were observed within both regions. We show that the majority of these current sheets were closely aligned to a north-south direction, in contrast to the expected east-west orientation of the preonset aurora. Comparing our results with observations of the field-aligned current associated with bursty bulk flows (BBFs), we conclude that significant questions remain for the explanation of SCW structuring by BBF-driven “wedgelets.” Our results therefore represent constraints on future modeling and theoretical frameworks on the generation of the SCW. Key Points The substorm current wedge (SCW) has significant azimuthal structure Current sheets within the SCW are north-south aligned The substructure of the SCW raises questions for the proposed wedgelet scenario

Radio emission from RS CVn binaries. II. Polarization and spectral properties

Multiepoch radio observations of circular polarization and spectral characteristics of several close, late-type stellar binaries are reported. The median luminosity of four well-studied systems ranged from 16.2 to 17.1 ergs/s/Hz. For individual systems, the fractional circular polarization decreases with increasing luminosity, particularly at frequencies above 5 GHz. Eclipsing binaries have significantly lower average circular polarization compared with noneclipsing systems. Helicity reversal is almost always observed between 1.4 and 4.9 GHz for systems with high orbital inclination. Comparison with ten years of previously published polarization observations for two RS CVn stellar systems show that the same helicity occurs at a given frequency for a given source, indicating a very stable, large-scale magnetic field geometry. These spectral and polarization characteristics strongly support a model of inhomogeneous gyrosynchrotron emission arising from electrons with power law energy spectra interacting with inhomogeneous magnetic fields. 35 references.

Dual-frequency and dual-polarization VLBI observations of the stellar system Algol

Results of multiepoch VLBI observations of the stellar system Algol are presented, including dual-polarization and dual-frequency measurements at 2.3 and 8.4 GHz. The brightness temperature of the radio source is generally between 3 x 10 to the 8th K and 5 x 10 to the 9th K and is consistent with gyrosynchrotron emission from energetic electrons with mean energy less than 1 MeV in an active coronal region. Two exceptional events were observed: a high-brightness, broad-band outburst occurring simultaneously at 2.3 and 8.4 GHz, and a short-duration, highly polarized and high-brightness temperature outburst at 1.66 GHz. A simple physical model which includes all three types of emission is suggested. 37 references.

Project RESUN, a radio EVLA search for UHE neutrinos

During the past decade there have been several attempts to detect cosmogenic ultra high energy (UHE) neutrinos by searching for radio Ĉerenkov bursts resulting from charged impact showers in terrestrial ice or the lunar regolith. So far these radio searches have yielded no detections, but the inferred flux upper limits have started to constrain physical models for UHE neutrino generation. For searches which use the Moon as a target, we summarize the physics of the interaction, properties of the resulting Ĉerenkov radio pulse, detection statistics, effective aperture scaling laws, and derivation of upper limits for isotropic and point source models. We report on initial results from the RESUN search, which uses the Expanded Very Large Array configured in multiple sub-arrays of four antennas at 1.45 GHz pointing along the lunar limb. We detected no pulses of lunar origin during 45 observing hours. This implies upper limits to the differential neutrino flux E2dN/dE < 0.003 EeV km−2 s−1 sr−1 and <0.0003 EeV km−2 s−1 at 90% confidence level for isotropic and sampled point sources respectively, in the neutrino energy range 1021.6 < E(eV ) < 1022.6. The isotropic flux limit is comparable to the lowest published upper limits for lunar searches. The full RESUN search, with an additional 200 hours observing time and an improved data acquisition scheme, will be be an order of magnitude more sensitive in the energy range 1021 < E(eV ) < 1022 than previous lunar-target searches, and will test Z burst models of neutrino generation. Subject headings: ultra-high energy neutrinos, cosmic rays, lunar interactions

Three-dimensional Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of Relativistic Jets Injected along a Magnetic Field

We present the first numerical simulations of moderately hot, supersonic jets propagating initially along the field lines of a denser magnetized background medium with Lorentz factor W = 4.56 and evolving in a four-dimensional spacetime. Compared with previous simulations in two spatial dimensions, the resulting structure and kinematics differ noticeably: the density of the Mach disk is lower, and the head speed is smaller. This is because the impacted ambient fluid and its embedded magnetic field make efficient use of the third spatial dimension as they are deflected circularly off of the head of the jet. As a result, a significant magnetic field component normal to the jet is created near the head. If the field is strong, backflow and field reversals are strongly suppressed; upstream, the field closes back on the surface of the beam and assists the collimation of the jet. If the field is weak, backflow and field reversals are more pronounced, although still not as extended as in the corresponding plane-parallel case. In all studied cases, the high-pressure region is localized near the jet head irrespective of the presence/strength of the magnetic field, and the head decelerates efficiently by transferring momentum to the background fluid that recedes along a thin bow shock in all directions. Furthermore, two oppositely directed currents circle near the surface of the cylindrical beam, and a third current circles on the bow shock. These preliminary results underline the importance of performing fully three-dimensional simulations to investigate the morphology and propagation of relativistic extragalactic jets.