Richard E. Hills

THE 2014 ALMA LONG BASELINE CAMPAIGN: FIRST RESULTS FROM HIGH ANGULAR RESOLUTION OBSERVATIONS TOWARD THE HL TAU REGION

We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations from the 2014 Long Baseline Campaign in dust continuum and spectral line emission from the HL Tau region. The continuum images at wavelengths of 2.9, 1.3, and 0.87 mm have unprecedented angular resolutions of 0. ′′ 075 (10 AU) to 0. ′′ 025 (3.5 AU), revealing an astonishing level of detail in the cir cumstellar disk surrounding the young solar analogue HL Tau, with a pattern of bright and dark rings observed at all wavelengths. By fitting ellipses to the most distinct rings, we measure precise values for the disk inclination (46.72 ◦ ± 0.05 ◦ ) and position angle (+138.02 ◦ ± 0.07 ◦ ). We obtain a high-fidelity image of the 1.0 mm spectral index (�), which ranges from � � 2.0 in the optically-thick central peak and two brightest ring s, increasing to 2.3-3.0 in the dark rings. The dark rings are not devoid of emission, and we estimate a grain emissivity index of 0.8 for the innermost dark ring and lower for subsequent dark rings, consistent with some degree of grain growth and evolution. Additional clues that the rings arise from planet formation incl ude an increase in their central offsets with radius and the presence of numerous orbital resonances. At a resolution of 35 AU, we resolve the molecular component of the disk in HCO + (1-0) which exhibits a pattern over LSR velocities from 2-12 km s -1 consistent with Keplerian motion around a �1.3M⊙ star, although complicated by absorption at low blue-shifted velocities. We also serendipitously detect and resolve the nearby protost ars XZ Tau (A/B) and LkH�358 at 2.9 mm. Subject headings: stars: individual (HL Tau, XZ Tau, LkH�358) — protoplanetary disks — stars: formation — submillimeter: planetary systems — techniques: interferometric

Staging of Cytoskeletal and β-Amyloid Changes in Human Isocortex Reveals Biphasic Synaptic Protein Response during Progression of Alzheimer’s Disease

We have examined the relationships between dementia, loss of synaptic proteins, changes in the cytoskeleton, and deposition of beta-amyloid plaques in the neocortex in a clinicopathologically staged epidemiological cohort using a combination of biochemical and morphometric techniques. We report that loss of synaptic proteins is a late-stage phenomenon, occurring only at Braak stages 5 and 6, or at moderate to severe clinical grades of dementia. Loss of synaptic proteins was seen only after the emergence of the full spectrum of tau and beta-amyloid pathology in the neocortex at stage 4, but not in the presence of beta-amyloid plaques alone. Contrary to previous studies, we report increases in the levels of synaptophysin, syntaxin, and SNAP-25 at stage 3 and of alpha-synuclein and MAP2 at stage 4. Minimal and mild clinical grades of dementia were associated with either unchanged or elevated levels of synaptic proteins in the neocortex. Progressive aggregation of paired helical filament (PHF)-tau protein could be detected biochemically from stage 2 onwards, and this was earliest change relative to the normal aging background defined by Braak stage 1 that we were able to detect in the neocortex. These results are consistent with the possibility that failure of axonal transport associated with early aggregation of tau protein elicits a transient adaptive synaptic response to partial de-afferentation that may be mediated by trophic factors. This early abnormality in cytoskeletal function may contribute directly to the earliest clinically detectable stages of dementia.

HARP/ACSIS: a submillimetre spectral imaging system on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

This paper describes a new Heterodyne Array Receiver Programme (HARP) and AutoCorrelation Spectral Imaging System (ACSIS) that have recently been installed and commissioned on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). The 16-element focal-plane array receiver, operating in the submillimetre from 325 to 375 GHz, offers high (three-dimensional) mapping speeds, along with significant improvements over single-detector counterparts in calibration and image quality. Receiver temperatures are 120 K across the whole band and system temperatures of 300K are reached routinely under good weather conditions. The system includes a single-sideband filter so these are SSB figures. Used in conjunction with ACSIS, the system can produce large-scale maps rapidly, in one or more frequency settings, at high spatial and spectral resolution. Fully-sampled maps of size 1 square degree can be observed in under 1 hour. The scientific need for array receivers arises from the requirement for programmes to study samples of objects of statistically significant size, in large-scale unbiased surveys of galactic and extra-galactic regions. Along with morphological information, the new spectral imaging system can be used to study the physical and chemical properties of regions of interest. Its three-dimensional imaging capabilities are critical for research into turbulence and dynamics. In addition, HARP/ACSIS will provide highly complementary science programmes to wide-field continuum studies, and produce the essential preparatory work for submillimetre interferometers such as the SMA and ALMA.

The James Clerk Maxwell telescope legacy survey of nearby star-forming regions in the gould belt

This paper describes a James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) legacy survey that has been awarded roughly 500 hr of observing time to be carried out from 2007 to 2009. In this survey, we will map with SCUBA-2 (Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array 2) almost all of the well-known low-mass and intermediate-mass star-forming regions within 0.5 kpc that are accessible from the JCMT. Most of these locations are associated with the Gould Belt. From these observations, we will produce a flux-limited snapshot of star formation near the Sun, providing a legacy of images, as well as point-source and extended-source catalogs, over almost 700 deg(2) of sky. The resulting images will yield the first catalog of prestellar and protostellar sources selected by submillimeter continuum emission, and should increase the number of known sources by more than an order of magnitude. We will also obtain with the array receiver HARP (Heterodyne Array Receiver Program) CO maps, in three CO isotopologues, of a large typical sample of prestellar and protostellar sources. We will then map the brightest hundred sources with the SCUBA-2 polarimeter (POL-2), producing the first statistically significant set of polarization maps in the submillimeter. The images and source catalogs will be a powerful reference set for astronomers, providing a detailed legacy archive for future telescopes, including ALMA, Herschel, and JWST.

Constraints on the HL Tauri Protostellar Disk from Millimeter- and Submillimeter-Wave Interferometry

Millimeter and submillimeter interferometry is used to probe the dusty accretion disks around young protostars. New 460 GHz (λ = 650 μm) data from the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope CSO-JCMT Interferometer are combined with previous 345 GHz (λ = 870 μm) data from CSO-JCMT, 220 GHz (λ = 1.4 mm) data from the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) Millimeter Array, 110 GHz (λ = 2.7 mm) data from the Berkeley-Illinois-Maryland Association Array (BIMA), and 43 GHz (λ = 7 mm) data from the VLA, in order to constrain the nature of the protostellar disk around HL Tau on size scales of 50 AU and above. A power-law disk model is fitted directly to the measured visibility data, and probability distributions are derived for the parameters. The effects of instrumental uncertainties are included in a consistent way. The position angle of the major axis of the emission is determined to be 127° ± 5° and the inclination 42° ± 5° (where 0° is face-on), assuming the disk is thin, flat, and circular. A strongly flared disk that is close to edge-on cannot be ruled out, however. The CSO-JCMT and OVRO data favor centrally concentrated distributions of the surface density Σ, where Σ ∝ r-p, and p > 1. This is not compatible with the relatively large sizes measured at lower frequency by BIMA and the VLA. No simple power-law disk model can be found that reproduces all of the millimeter and submillimeter data well. Such a model, with radial power laws in the surface density and temperature, and a single dust component, is therefore unlikely to be a good representation of the actual disk structure. One possibility that would help to reconcile the model with the data is the existence of more than one dust component, i.e., a range of grain sizes or structures in the disk and no unique value of the emissivity index β. Future models should allow for this as well as for disk geometries that are not thin and flat.

First observations of the CO J=6-5 transition in starburst galaxies

Over the past several years, short-submillimeter observations of carbon monoxides (CO) mid-J rotational levels have revealed the presence of a large amount of excited molecular gas in luminous giant molecular clouds in our Galaxy. Submillimeter lines are specific probes of excited material: collisional excitation of the level energy of 116 K above ground, and 6-5 transitions critical density is approximately 10(exp 6) cm(exp -3) in optically thin gas. Radiative trapping effects reduce the excitation requirements to some extent, but detection of the CO J=6-5 line is nearly indisputable proof of the existence of gas that is both warm and dense. The excitation conditions also imply that cool (T less than 20 K) molecular clouds within the beam neither emit nor absorb in the short-submillimeter lines; in our Galaxy, clouds with active massive star formation emit the strongest short-submillimeter CO rotational lines. We used these properties to explore the distribution of excited molecular material and physical conditions within the star formation regions of several classical starburst nuclei: NGC253, M82, and IC342. We have used the 6-5 transition as a thermometer of warm molecular gas in starburst nuclei, unambiguously finding that the nuclear molecular gas in starburst galaxies is substantially warmer than in typical disk clouds.

Planck pre-launch status: The optical system

Planck is a scientific satellite that represents the next milestone in space-based research related to the cosmic microwave background, and in many other astrophysical fields. Planck was launched on 14 May of 2009 and is now operational. The uncertainty in the optical response of its detectors is a key factor allowing Planck to achieve its scientific objectives. More than a decade of analysis and measurements have gone into achieving the required performances. In this paper, we describe the main aspects of the Planck optics that are relevant to science, and the estimated in-flight performance, based on the knowledge available at the time of launch. We also briefly describe the impact of the major systematic effects of optical origin, and the concept of in-flight optical calibration. Detailed discussions of related areas are provided in accompanying papers.

Out-Of-Focus Holography at the Green Bank Telescope

Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory, Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UKthe date of receipt and acceptance should be inserted laterAbstract. We describe phase-retrieval holography measurements of the 100-m diameter Green Bank Telescope using astro-nomical sources and an astronomical receiver operating at a wavelength of 7mm. We use the technique with parameterizationof the aperture in terms of Zernike polynomials and employing a large defocus, as described by Nikolic et al. (2006). Individualmeasurements take around 25minutes and from the resulting beam maps (which have peak signal to noise ratios of 200:1) weshow that it is possible to produce low-resolution maps of the wavefront errors with accuracy around λ/100.Using such measurements over a wide range of elevations, we have calculated a model for the wavefront-errors due to theuncompensated gravitational deformation of the telescope. This model produces a significant improvement at low elevat ions,where these errors are expected to be the largest; after applying the model, the aperture efficiency is largely independent ofelevation. We have also demonstrated that the technique can be used to measure and largely correct for thermal deformationsof the antenna, which often exceed the uncompensated gravitational deformations during daytime observing.We conclude that the aberrations induced by gravity and thermal effects are large-scale and the technique used here is particu-larly suitable for measuring such deformations in large millimetre wave radio telescopes.Key words. telescopes

High angular resolution submillimeter observations of Sagittarius B2

Continuum observations of the Sgr B2 molecular cloud have been carried out. The data offer the first detailed description of the submillimeter radiation from this complex source. The emission is dominated by the middle and northern compact sources, but the far-infrared radiation associated with the Northeast H II region L and from the southern H II region/molecular maser source H have been detected for the first time. The data, together with existing infrared measurements, indicate that the optical depth within Sgr B2(N) is significantly greater than that of Sgr B2(M) and that it has a noticeable effect for lambda = 800 microns or less. The envelope of Sgr B2(M) becomes optically thick for the radiation from Sgr B2(N), located within it, for wavelengths 100 microns or less. From radiative transfer modeling, a luminosity of 10 million solar is obtained for the middle source and 2 million solar for the northern source. 30 refs.

Interferometric Phase Correction Using 183 GHzGHz Water Vapor Monitors

The angular resolution that can be obtained by ground-based aperture synthesis telescopes at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths is limited by phase fluctuations caused by water vapor in the Earths atmosphere. We describe here the successful correction of such fluctuations during observations at 0.85 mm wavelength with an interferometer consisting of the James Clark Maxwell Telescope and the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory. This was achieved by using two 183 GHz heterodyne radiometers to measure the water vapor content along the line of sight of each telescope. Further development of such techniques will enable future telescopes, such as the Submillimeter Array and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, to reach their full capability, providing a resolution of up to 001.