arXiv subjects

G. Tofani

Publications and source records attributed to G. Tofani.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2010

First results on Martian carbon monoxide from Herschel/HIFI observations

We report on the initial analysis of Herschel/HIFI carbon monoxide (CO) observations of the Martian atmosphere performed between 11 and 16 April 2010. We selected the (7-6) rotational transitions of the isotopes ^{13}CO at 771 GHz and C^{18}O at 768 GHz in order to retrieve the mean vertical profile of temperature and the mean volume mixing ratio of carbon monoxide. The derived temperature profile agrees within less than 5 K with general circulation model (GCM) predictions up to an altitude of 45 km, however, show about 12-15 K lower values at 60 km. The CO mixing ratio was determined as 980 \pm 150 ppm, in agreement with the 900 ppm derived from Herschel/SPIRE observations in November 2009.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2010

The Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) on the Herschel Space Observatory

The Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) is one of the three science instruments on ESA's far infrared and submillimetre observatory. It employs two Ge:Ga photoconductor arrays (stressed and unstressed) with 16x25 pixels, each, and two filled silicon bolometer arrays with 16x32 and 32x64 pixels, respectively, to perform integral-field spectroscopy and imaging photometry in the 60-210μ m wavelength regime. In photometry mode, it simultaneously images two bands, 60-85μ m or 85-125μ\m and 125-210μ m, over a field of view of ~1.75'x3.5', with close to Nyquist beam sampling in each band. In spectroscopy mode, it images a field of 47"x47", resolved into 5x5 pixels, with an instantaneous spectral coverage of ~1500km/s and a spectral resolution of ~175km/s. We summarise the design of the instrument, describe observing modes, calibration, and data analysis methods, and present our current assessment of the in-orbit performance of the instrument based on the Performance Verification tests. PACS is fully operational, and the achieved performance is close to or better than the pre-launch predictions.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2002

EVN observations of 6.7 GHz methanol masers from Medicina survey

We report VLBI observations of methanol masers in the brightest 5(1)-6(0) A+ transition at 6.7 GHz in NGC 281W, 18151-1208 and 19388+2357. Using the fringe rate method absolute positions were obtained for all observed sources. A linear ordered structure with a velocity gradient was revealed in NGC 281W. Under assumption that such structure is an edge-on Keplerian disk around the central object with a mass of 30Msun located at a distance of 3.5 kpc from the Sun, we estimated that methanol masers are situated at the distance about 400 a.u. from the center of the disk. A second epoch of observations was reported for L1206, GL2789 and 20062+3550. The upper limits on the relative motions of maser spots are estimated to be 4.7 km/s and 28 km/s for L1206 and GL2789 respectively.

astro-ph↗