arXiv subjects

S. Roberts

Publications and source records attributed to S. Roberts.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Performance of the wavelength-shifting fiber upgrade for the Mu2e cosmic-ray veto detector

The Cosmic-Ray Veto detector for the muon-to-electron conversion experiment at Fermilab consists of four plastic scintillating counter layers read out by silicon photo-multipliers through embedded wavelength-shifting fibers. In order to increase the light yield in the most critical regions of the Cosmic-Ray Veto detector for improved background rejection, a 1.8 mm diameter fiber is being used in many of the detector's critical modules instead of the previously planned 1.4 mm diameter fiber. This paper reports the testing procedure and light properties of thirty-four 1.8 mm fiber spools, with measurements performed using a custom-built scanner. We compare these new results with previously published data from the 1.4 mm diameter fiber used for regions of the cosmic-ray veto where the increased light yield is not required. In addition, measurements of fiber aging were performed.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2017

Robust, open-source removal of systematics in Kepler data

We present ARC2 (Astrophysically Robust Correction 2), an open-source Python-based systematics-correction pipeline to correct for the Kepler prime mission long cadence light curves. The ARC2 pipeline identifies and corrects any isolated discontinuities in the light curves, then removes trends common to many light curves. These trends are modelled using the publicly available co-trending basis vectors, within an (approximate) Bayesian framework with `shrinkage' priors to minimise the risk of over-fitting and the injection of any additional noise into the corrected light curves, while keeping any astrophysical signals intact. We show that the ARC2 pipeline's performance matches that of the standard Kepler PDC-MAP data products using standard noise metrics, and demonstrate its ability to preserve astrophysical signals using injection tests with simulated stellar rotation and planetary transit signals. Although it is not identical, the ARC2 pipeline can thus be used as an open source alternative to PDC-MAP, whenever the ability to model the impact of the systematics removal process on other kinds of signal is important.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2017

Bolometric arrays and infrared sensitivity of VO2 films with varying stoichiometry

Here we propose a linear microbolometric array based on VOx thin films. The linear microbolometric array is fabricated by using micromachining technology, and its thermo-sensitive VOx thin film has excellent infrared response spectrum and TCR characteristics. Nano-scale VOx thin films deposited on SiO2/Si substrates were obtained by e-beam vapor deposition. The VOx films were then annealed at temperatures between 300 to 500 C with various deposition duration time. The crystal structures and microstructures were examined by XRD, SEM and ESCA. These films showed a predominant phase of rhombohedral VO2 and the crystallinity of the VO2 increased as the annealing temperature increased. Integrated with CMOS circuit, an experimentally prototypical monolithic linear microbolometric array is designed and fabricated. The testing results of the experimental linear array show that the responsivity of linear array can approach 18KV/W and is potential for infrared image systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Limits on Fast Radio Bursts at 145 MHz with ARTEMIS, a real-time software backend

Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs), are millisecond radio signals that exhibit dispersion larger than what the Galactic electron density can account for. We have conducted a 1446 hour survey for Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) at 145~MHz, covering a total of 4193 sq. deg on the sky. We used the UK station of the LOFAR radio telescope -- the Rawlings Array -- , accompanied for a majority of the time by the LOFAR station at Nan\c{c}ay, observing the same fields at the same frequency. Our real-time search backend, ARTEMIS, utilizes graphics processing units to search for pulses with dispersion measures up to 320 cm$^{-3}$ pc. Previous derived FRB rates from surveys around 1.4~GHz, and favoured FRB interpretations, motivated this survey, despite all previous detections occurring at higher dispersion measures. We detected no new FRBs above a signal-to-noise threshold of 10, leading to the most stringent upper limit yet on the FRB event rate at these frequencies: 29 sky$^{-1}$ day$^{-1}$ for 5~ms-duration pulses above 62~Jy. The non-detection could be due to scatter-broadening, limitations on the volume and time searched, or the shape of FRB flux density spectra. Assuming the latter and that FRBs are standard candles, the non-detection is compatible with the published FRB sky rate, if their spectra follow a power law with frequency ($\propto \nu^{\alpha}$), with $\alpha\gtrsim+0.1$, demonstrating a marked difference from pulsar spectra. Our results suggest that surveys at higher frequencies, including the low frequency component of the Square Kilometre Array, will have better chances to detect, estimate rates and understand the origin and properties of FRBs.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2014

FAFNIR: Strategy and risk reduction in accelerator driven neutron sources for fusion materials irradiation data

The need to populate the fusion materials engineering data base has long been recognized, the IFMIF facility being the present proposed neutron source for this purpose. Re-evaluation of the regulatory approach for the EU proposed DEMO device shows that the specification of the neutron source can be reduced with respect to IFMIF, allowing lower risk technology solutions to be considered. The justification for this approach is presented and a description of a proposed facility, FAFNIR, is presented with more detailed discussion of the accelerator and target designs.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2013

Monitoring young associations and open clusters with Kepler in two-wheel mode

We outline a proposal to use the Kepler spacecraft in two-wheel mode to monitor a handful of young associations and open clusters, for a few weeks each. Judging from the experience of similar projects using ground-based telescopes and the CoRoT spacecraft, this program would transform our understanding of early stellar evolution through the study of pulsations, rotation, activity, the detection and characterisation of eclipsing binaries, and the possible detection of transiting exoplanets. Importantly, Kepler's wide field-of-view would enable key spatially extended, nearby regions to be monitored in their entirety for the first time, and the proposed observations would exploit unique synergies with the GAIA ESO spectroscopic survey and, in the longer term, the GAIA mission itself. We also outline possible strategies for optimising the photometric performance of Kepler in two-wheel mode by modelling pixel sensitivity variations and other systematics.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2013

Astrophysically robust systematics removal using variational inference: application to the first month of Kepler data

Space-based transit search missions such as Kepler are collecting large numbers of stellar light curves of unprecedented photometric precision and time coverage. However, before this scientific goldmine can be exploited fully, the data must be cleaned of instrumental artefacts. We present a new method to correct common-mode systematics in large ensembles of very high precision light curves. It is based on a Bayesian linear basis model and uses shrinkage priors for robustness, variational inference for speed, and a de-noising step based on empirical mode decomposition to prevent the introduction of spurious noise into the corrected light curves. After demonstrating the performance of our method on a synthetic dataset, we apply it to the first month of Kepler data. We compare the results, which are publicly available, to the output of the Kepler pipeline's pre-search data conditioning, and show that the two generally give similar results, but the light curves corrected using our approach have lower scatter, on average, on both long and short timescales. We finish by discussing some limitations of our method and outlining some avenues for further development. The trend-corrected data produced by our approach are publicly available.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2011

A GPU-based survey for millisecond radio transients using ARTEMIS

Astrophysical radio transients are excellent probes of extreme physical processes originating from compact sources within our Galaxy and beyond. Radio frequency signals emitted from these objects provide a means to study the intervening medium through which they travel. Next generation radio telescopes are designed to explore the vast unexplored parameter space of high time resolution astronomy, but require High Performance Computing (HPC) solutions to process the enormous volumes of data that are produced by these telescopes. We have developed a combined software /hardware solution (code named ARTEMIS) for real-time searches for millisecond radio transients, which uses GPU technology to remove interstellar dispersion and detect millisecond radio bursts from astronomical sources in real-time. Here we present an introduction to ARTEMIS. We give a brief overview of the software pipeline, then focus specifically on the intricacies of performing incoherent de-dispersion. We present results from two brute-force algorithms. The first is a GPU based algorithm, designed to exploit the L1 cache of the NVIDIA Fermi GPU. Our second algorithm is CPU based and exploits the new AVX units in Intel Sandy Bridge CPUs.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2011

A Gaussian process framework for modelling instrumental systematics: application to transmission spectroscopy

Transmission spectroscopy, which consists of measuring the wavelength-dependent absorption of starlight by a planet's atmosphere during a transit, is a powerful probe of atmospheric composition. However, the expected signal is typically orders of magnitude smaller than instrumental systematics, and the results are crucially dependent on the treatment of the latter. In this paper, we propose a new method to infer transit parameters in the presence of systematic noise using Gaussian processes, a technique widely used in the machine learning community for Bayesian regression and classification problems. Our method makes use of auxiliary information about the state of the instrument, but does so in a non-parametric manner, without imposing a specific dependence of the systematics on the instrumental parameters, and naturally allows for the correlated nature of the noise. We give an example application of the method to archival NICMOS transmission spectroscopy of the hot Jupiter HD 189733, which goes some way towards reconciling the controversy surrounding this dataset in the literature. Finally, we provide an appendix giving a general introduction to Gaussian processes for regression, in order to encourage their application to a wider range of problems.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2007

Macro and Micro Scale Electromagnetic Kinetic Energy Harvesting Generators

This paper is concerned with generators that harvest electrical energy from the kinetic energy present in the sensor nodes environment. These generators have the potential to replace or augment battery power which has a limited lifetime and requires periodic replacement which limits the placement and application of the sensor node.

cs.OH↗

arXiv2007

The dwarf low surface brightness population in different environments of the Local Universe

The nature of the dwarf galaxy population as a function of location in the cluster and within different environments is investigated. We have previously described the results of a search for low surface brightness objects in data drawn from an East-West strip of the Virgo cluster (Sabatini et al., 2003) and have compared this to a large area strip outside of the cluster (Roberts et al., 2004). In this talk I compare the East-West data (sampling sub-cluster A and outward) to new data along a North-South cluster strip that samples a different region (part of sub-cluster A, and the N,M clouds) and with data obtained for the Ursa Major cluster and fields around the spiral galaxy M101. The sample of dwarf galaxies in different environments is obtained from uniform datasets that reach central surface brightness values of ~26 B mag/arcsec^2 and an apparent B magnitude of 21 (M_B=-10 for a Virgo Cluster distance of 16 Mpc). We discuss and interpret our results on the properties and distribution of dwarf low surface brightness galaxies in the context of variuos physical processes that are thought to act on galaxies as they form and evolve.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

Searching for tidal tails - investigating galaxy harassment

Galaxy harassment has been proposed as a physical process that morphologically transforms low surface density disc galaxies into dwarf elliptical galaxies in clusters. It has been used to link the observed very different morphology of distant cluster galaxies (relatively more blue galaxies with 'disturbed' morphologies) with the relatively large numbers of dwarf elliptical galaxies found in nearby clusters. One prediction of the harassment model is that the remnant galaxies should lie on low surface brightness tidal streams or arcs. We demonstrate in this paper that we have an analysis method that is sensitive to the detection of arcs down to a surface brightness of 29 B mag/arcsec^2 and then use this method to search for arcs around 46 Virgo cluster dwarf elliptical galaxies. We find no evidence for tidal streams or arcs and consequently no evidence for galaxy harassment as a viable explanation for the relatively large numbers of dwarf galaxies found in the Virgo cluster.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

A Dark Galaxy in the Virgo Cluster Imaged at 21-cm

Dark Matter supposedly dominates the extragalactic, yet no totally dark structure of galactic proportions has ever been convincingly identified. Earlier (Minchin et al. 2005) we suggested that VIRGOHI 21, a 21-cm source we found in the Virgo Cluster at Jodrell Bank using single-dish observations (Davies et al. 2004), was probably such a dark galaxy because of its broad line-width (~ 200 km/s) unaccompanied by any visible gravitational source to account for it. Now we have managed to image VIRGOHI 21 in the neutral-hydrogen line, and indeed we find what appears to be a dark, edge-on, spinning disc with the mass and diameter of a typical spiral galaxy. Moreover the disc has unquestionably interacted with NGC 4254, a luminous spiral with an odd one-armed morphology, but lacking the massive interactor invariably responsible for such a feature. Published numerical models (Vollmer, Huchtmeier & van Driel 2005) of NGC 4254 call for a close interaction ~ 10^8 years ago with a perturber of 10^11 solar masses. This we take as completely independent evidence for the massive nature of VIRGOHI 21.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

The Dwarf LSB Galaxy Population of the Virgo Cluster II. Colours and HI line observations

In order to investigate the nature of dwarf Low Surface Brightness (LSB) galaxies we have undertaken a deep B and I band CCD survey of a 14 sq degree strip in the Virgo Cluster and applied a Fourier convolution technique to explore its dwarf galaxy population down to a central surface brightness of 26 B mag/sq arcsec and a total absolute B mag of ~ -10. In this paper we carry out an analysis of their morphology, (B-I) colours and atomic hydrogen content. We compare these properties with those of dwarf galaxies in other environments to try and assess how the cluster environment has influenced their evolution. Field dwarfs are generally of a more irregular morphology, are bluer and contain relatively more gas. We assess the importance that various physical processes have on the evolution of cluster dwarf galaxies (ram pressure stripping, tidal interactions, supernova driven gas loss). We suggest that enhanced star formation triggered by tidal interactions is the major reason for the very different general properties of cluster dwarfs: they have undergone accelerated evolution.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

Evidence for a warm ISM in Fornax dEs - II. FCC032, FCC206 and FCCB729

We present R-band and H-alpha+[N II] narrow-band imaging of FCC032, FCC206 and FCCB729, three dwarf elliptical galaxies (dEs) in the Fornax Cluster. These dEs contain significant amounts of ionized gas. FCC032 harbours a large ionized gas complex, consisting of several individual clouds, a superbubble and a filament that extends away from the galaxy centre. The ionized gas structures observed in FCC032 bear a strong resemblance to those observed in more gas-rich and more fiercely star-forming dwarf galaxies. FCC206, a very low surface brightness dE, contains one faint extended emission region, and two compact clouds. In FCCB729, the only nucleated galaxy in this sample, one of the ionized gas clouds coincides with the stellar nucleus. We derive ionized gas masses of a few 100 to 1000 solar masses for these galaxies. This brings our sample of dEs with ionized gas with H-alpha+[N II] narrow-band imaging to five objects. The ionized gas morphologies in these galaxies range from pure nuclear emission peaks to extended emission complexes. This morphological diversity could also indicate a diversity in ionizing processes in dEs with a warm interstellar medium (active galactic nuclei, starbursts, post-AGB stars,...). Inside FCC206, four star clusters appear to be on the verge of merging to form a nucleus in this presently non-nucleated dE. Understanding the formation of nuclei in dEs could give us important clues to the formation of super-massive black holes.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

A search for low surface brightness dwarf galaxies in different environments

According to the Cold Dark Matter (CDM) hierarchical clustering theory of galaxy and large scale structure formation, there should be numerous low mass dark matter haloes present in the Universe today. If these haloes contain sufficient stars they should be detectable as low luminosity stellar systems or dwarf galaxies. We have previously described a new detection method for faint low surface brightness objects and shown that there are relatively large numbers of very faint dwarf galaxies in the nearby Virgo cluster. In this paper we present results from a similar survey carried out on the Millennium Galaxy strip which runs along the celestial equator and samples a very different galaxy environment. We show that the dwarf-to-giant galaxy number ratio along this strip ranges from 0.7:1 to, at most, 6:1, corresponding to a flat luminosity function (alpha approx -0.8 to -1.0). This is very different to our value of 20:1 for the Virgo cluster. There is no population of low surface brightness dwarf galaxies in the field that have gone undetected by the redshift surveys. This result is exactly opposite to what CDM models predict for the environmental dependence of the dark matter mass function which is that there are proportionally more small dark matter haloes in lower density environments.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

A multi-beam HI survey of the Virgo Cluster - two isolated HI clouds ?

We have carried out a fully sampled large area ($4^{\circ} \times 8^{\circ}$) 21cm \HI line survey of part of the Virgo cluster using the Jodrell Bank multi-beam instrument. The survey has a sensitivity some 3 times better than the standard HIJASS and HIPASS surveys. We detect 31 galaxies, 27 of which are well known cluster members. The four new detections have been confirmed in the HIPASS data and by follow up Jodrell Bank pointed observations. One object lies behind M86, but the other 3 have no obvious optical counter parts upon inspection of the digital sky survey fields. These 3 objects were mapped at Arecibo with a smaller \am{3}{6} HPBW and a 4 times better sensitivity than the Jodrell Bank data, which allow an improved determination of the dimensions and location of two of the objects, but surprisingly failed to detect the third. The two objects are resolved by the Arecibo beam giving them a size far larger than any optical images in the nearby field. To our mass limit of $5 \times 10^{7}$ $\frac{Δv}{50 km s^{-1}}$ $M_{\odot}$ and column density limit of $3 \times 10^{18}$ $\frac{Δv}{50 km s^{-1}}$ atoms cm$^{-2}$ these new detections represent only about 2% of the cluster atomic hydrogen mass. Our observations indicate that the \HI mass function of the cluster turns down at the low mass end making it very different to the field galaxy \HI mass function. This is quite different to the Virgo cluster optical luminosity function which is much steeper than that in the general field. Many of the sample galaxies are relatively gas poor compared to \HI selected samples of field galaxies, confirming the 'anaemic spirals' view of Virgo cluster late type galaxies.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

The dwarf Low Surface Brightness galaxy population of the Virgo Cluster I. The faint-end-slope of the Luminosity Function

The widely varying dwarf galaxy counts in different environments provide a strong challenge to standard hierarchical clustering models. The luminosity function is not universal, but seems to be strongly dependent upon environment. In this paper we describe an automated procedure for detecting and measuring very low surface brightness (LSB) features in deep CCD data. We apply this procedure to large area CCD survey fields of the Virgo cluster. We show that there are many more faint ($-10 \geq M_{B} \geq -14$) low surface brightness galaxies than what would be predicted from extrapolation of the Virgo cluster catalogue luminosity function. Over our limited range of measurement the faint end slope of the luminosity function becomes $α=- 1.6$. The luminosity function is flatter in the inner regions of the cluster than it is in the outer regions. Although these galaxies contribute a small fraction of the total stellar light of the cluster, they may contribute significantly to the mass in galaxies if they have large mass-to-light ratios similar to those recently measured for Local Group dwarf galaxies.

astro-ph↗