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MANAGEMENT OPERATIONSand
ASTRONOMICAL SCIENCES
2006PROGRESSREPORT
2007PROGRAMPLAN
March2007
NATIONALASTRONOMY&IONOSPHERECENTEROperatedbyCornellUniversityundercooperativeagreementwiththeNationalScienceFoundation
StudentsattheUniversityofTexas,BrownsillecontroltheArecibotelescopefromtheirremotecontrolcenter.
MANAGEMENT OPERATIONSand
ASTRONOMICAL SCIENCES
2006PROGRESSREPORT
2007PROGRAMPLAN
March2007
CooperativeAgreementNo.AST-0431904
NATIONALASTRONOMY&IONOSPHERECENTEROperatedbyCornellUniversityundercooperativeagreementwiththeNationalScienceFoundation
Table of Contents1
Section 1 IntroductionandOverview1
Section 2 AnnualProgressSummary2
2.1SummaryofAchievementsinPY20062
2.2ProblemsEncountered,SolutionsandImpact7
2.3ListofObservingPrograms,Investigators,andHours-PY20068
2.4VisitingPublicattheObservatory 27
Section 3 AccomplishmentsandPlansoftheNAICScientificStaff27
3.1Cosmology27
3.2EarlyGalaxies28
3.3ActiveGalaxies28
3.4NormalGalaxiesandClusters29
3.5IntergalacticGasandTidalRemnants30
3.6MilkyWayGalaxy31
3.7Pulsars33
3.8SolarSystem33
3.9FundamentalPhysics37
Section 4 TechnicalAccomplishmentsandExpectations38
4.1RadioAstronomyInstrumentation38
4.2IF/LOSystem40
4.3Backends41
4.4Computing:StorageandNetworking42
Section 5 NAICEducationandOutreachPrograms 43
5.1AngelRamosVisitorCenter 43
5.22006REUProgram46
5.3ConnectingtoArecibo52
5.4ALFALFAVisitingScientists52
Section 6 AreciboObservatoryPublications-PY200654
Section 7 NAICExternalFederalFundingandActiveSubcontracts65
Section 8 DivisionofEffortforStaff67
Section 9 NAICOrganizationChartandDescription71
9.1ManagementPlan:OrganizationCharts 71
9.2VitaeofNewProfessionalStaff74
1 The contents, headings and order of topics presented here are as specified in the NAIC Coopertative Agreement.
Section 10 StatusReportandPlanforPY200775
10.1ScientificPlans75
10.2TechnicalPlans87
10.3MajorProjectPlans92
10.4OperationalChangesinResponsetotheSeniorReview
RecommendationsforNAIC93
Section 11 LongRangeReportandPlan95
11.1MajorProgramGoalsandEmphasis95
11.2RiskFactorsAffectingProgramGoals96
11.3Management,Contractual,FinancialandTechnicalIssues97
11.4RequirementsforSupportoftheScientificCommunity99
Section 12 BudgetReport103
APPENDIX A:Committees107
Table of Contents continued
NAICAPRPP2007 1
1. Introduction and Overview
The National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center(NAIC) radio/radar telescope located in Arecibo,PuertoRico, is the instrument thatprovidesmorecollectingarea—more“lightgatheringpower”—forcentimeter-wave radio science thananycompeti-tivetelescopeintheworld.Operatedasanationalresearch facility by Cornell University for the Na-tionalScienceFoundation(NSF),theArecibotele-scope in fact provides nearly three times the col-lecting area of all the other NSF-sponsored radiotelescopes combined. The sheer physical size oftheArecibotelescopemakesitauniquelypowerfulresearch instrument. Unique also to the AreciboObservatoryistheprogramofresearchsupportedbythetelescopeandthediversityofinterestsofthescientificusercommunityitserves.OperationoftheAreciboObservatorytosatisfytherequirementsofthisinterdisciplinaryusercommunityistheprimaryresponsibilityof thescientists,engineersandstaffof theNAIC. ManagementofNAICasanationalfacilityisprovidedbyCornellUniversityunderaCo-operativeAgreementwiththeNSF2.
Described in this PY2007 NAIC Annual ProgressReport and Program Plan (APRPP) are the majorachievementsofthepastprogramyear,theplansto meet the major challenges of PY2007, and anoutlineofNAICprioritiesthatinformitslong-rangeplanning.
HighlightsoftheNAICachievementsinPY2006de-scribedinthisAPRPPinclude:
• Completion of the first year of obser-vationsmadeby twoof the legacy skysurveystobedonewiththeAreciboL-bandFeedArray(ALFA)bycommunity-basedALFAconsortia.ScientificresultspublishedandsubmittedforpublicationfromboththePALFApulsarsurvey,andtheALFALFAsurveyofHIingalaxiesinthelocal(z<0.1)universe,demonstratethefruitfulnessofthesurveyprograms.Theyalsocreatedataproductsthatareaccessibleon-line,andusefulasresearch
2CooperativeAgreementNo.AST-0431904betweentheNationalScienceFoundation,Arlington,VA22230andCornellUniversity,Ithaca,NY,14853,datedOctober1,2005.
tools, to the much wider astronomicalcommunity.
• Routine scheduling of “commensal”observations, simultaneous observa-tions done by two or more academicresearchgroupswithdifferentscientificobjectives,eachprocessingthesameas-tronomicalsignalwithitsownpurpose-specificspectrometer;
• Completion of the engineering designphase of two new spectrometers, theEALFA spectrometer, designed to en-able sensitive spectroscopy of atomichydrogeningalaxiestoz=0.2,andthePALFAspectrometer thatwill triple theanalyzed bandwidth used for pulsarsearchesandtiming.Contractsforfab-rication of the two new spectrometershavebeenletwithdeliveryexpectedinthefirstquarterofcalendaryear2007.
• Completionofthecontracttocleanandpaint all of the structural steel on thetelescope platform to remove accumu-latedcorrosionandmillscale,andtoap-plyacoatingspecificallyselectedtopro-tectthesteelforatleast20years.
InPY2007theemphasisatNAICisonmakingtheprogrammatic and personnel changes necessaryforNAICtofunctionwellatthelowerfundinglevelrecommendedbytheSeniorReview,andtodevel-opnewscientificpartnershipswiththeNAICusercommunityforarchivingsurveydataandmakingthedataproductsaccessiblefordatamining.Thehighlightsinclude:
• Tailoring Observatory services to theALFA survey consortia to the down-streamneedsofdataarchivinganddataaccess through involvement with theVirtual Observatory. In the cost-con-strainedenvironmentatNAIC imposedby the reduced funding recommendedby the Senior Review, this means thatthedataarchivinganddataaccesssup-port comes at the expense of servicesprovidedtotheconsortiainthedata-tak-ingphaseoftheirsurveywork.
• UsingtherecommendationsoftheAre-ciboUsersandScientificAdvisoryCom-mittee (AUSAC) to develop telescopescheduling procedures that assure thesurvey programs receive the time an-
2 NAICAPRPP2007
nually they require for their successfulexecution,andthetraditionalcommon-user programs maintain full access tothe telescope and to Observatory usersupportservices.
• Assuring that the staff reductions im-posedbytheSeniorReviewareaccom-paniedbyacommensuratereductioninthe scope of Observatory tasks so thattheburdenontheObservatorysupportstaffmembers remainsmanageable foreachindividual.
Onthelongerterm,prioritieswitha5-yearorgreat-erhorizoninclude(a)organizationofacademicre-searcherstospecifythescientificandtechnicalre-quirementsforacomprehensivesearchforsourcesoftransientcosmicradioemission;(b)organizationof academic researchers to specify the scientificandtechnicalrequirementsforanincoherentscat-ter ionospheric radar facility to be located at theArecibo magnetic conjugate point in Argentina;and(c)refinementoftheU.S.participatoryroleintheinternationalSquareKilometerArrayproject.
AsaNSFNationalCenter,theNAICshares intheNSFmission:Topromotetheprogressofscience;to advance the national health, prosperity, andwelfare; to secure the national defense; and forotherpurposes3.Overtheyearsthephrase“otherpurposes”hasbeendefinedbyCongressionalac-tiontoinclude(1)fosteringtheinterchangeofsci-entificandengineeringinformationnationallyandinternationally;(2)supportingthedevelopmentofcomputer and other methodologies; and (3) ad-dressingissuesofequalopportunityinscienceandengineering.TheNAICPY2007ProgramPlanfullyembracesallthesegoalswiththesuiteofprogramsandcommunitysupportoutlinedinthisAPRPP.
2. Annual Progress Summary
2.1 Summary of Achievements in PY2006
PY2006 was an exceptionally productive year forNAIC in all areas. By any objective measure, theNAICProgramYears2005and2006werethemostsuccessfulinthemorethan40-yearhistoryofthe
3NationalScienceFoundationActof1950,PublicLaw810507.
NAICAreciboObservatory. Thereweremoreus-ers of the NAIC facilities at the Arecibo Observa-tory,moreprospectiveusersproposingtousethefacilities,morestudentsinvolvedwiththeresearchat NAIC, and more publications from research atNAICthanatanytimeinthepast.
Science Achievement Highlights. NAIC sup-portsamultidisciplinaryscienceprogramwithre-searchfacilitiesforpassiveradioastronomy,activeradioastronomydoneusingradar transmittersat430MHzand2300MHztoilluminatesolarsystemobjects, and upper atmospheric research. In theastronomy program, recent science highlights in-clude:
• Best limits ever achieved on dipolargravitational wave emission. PulsarJ1738+0333isa5.85-msobjectinabi-narysystemwithanorbitalperiodof8.5hours;thecompanionobjectisawhitedwarf. High precision timing of thepulsarorbitaldynamicsrevealsthattheorbitisdecayingduetodipolargravita-tional wave emission at a rate of 4.4 x10-14s/s,avaluethatisexactlyconsistentwith that expected from General Rela-tivity.Thisisthemostprecisemeasure-mentevermadeoftheeffectofdipolargravitationalwaveemission.
• Frequencystructurehasbeenobservedin pulses from the Crab Nebula pulsarthat isunresolvedwithasamplingrateof0.4nanoseconds;thecorrespondingphysicalsizeoftheemissionregionmustbe lessthan13cm,aboutthesizeofagrapefruit. This is, by far, the smallestastronomical object, a plasma cloud orplasma interaction region, ever detect-edbeyondthesolarsystem.Duringitsshort lifetime, the blasts of radio emis-sion fromtheregionhavea luminositythatexceeds10percentofthetotal lu-minosityofthesun.
• OHemissionwasobservedinthecomet9P/Tempel1fortwomonthspriortotheNASA Deep Impact penetration of thecomet nucleus, and for several weeksfollowingtheimpact.OHisasecondaryproductarisingfromthephotodissocia-tionofwater. TheOHproductionrateafter Deep Impact was immeasurablydifferent from the OH production ratepriortoimpactsuggestingthattheOH
NAICAPRPP2007 3
emission is being quenched in the in-nercomaowingtotheincreasedabun-danceofwaterproducedintheimpact.
• The supernova rate in the prototypicalultraluminous infrared galaxy Arp 220has been measured by means of VLBIobservationsofthenucleus.Acompari-sonofVLBIobservationsmadeontwoepochseparatedbyayearrevealedthepresenceof4newradiosupernovaeinthe later epoch that were not presentin the earlier epoch. The implied starformation rate that follows from theobservedsupernovarateissufficienttopoweralltheinfraredemissionfromArp220.ByincludingtheArecibotelescopeintheVLBIarray,theVLBIobservationswere the most sensitive ever made, asensitivity ~5 microJy/beam that wascrucialtothedetectionofthenewradiosupernovae.
• Discovery of the second relativistic bi-narypulsar, J1903+03,asystemthat isan ideal “laboratory” for precision testsofGeneralRelativityandforinclusioninthepulsartimingarraysearchforgravi-tational waves originating in the bigbang;
• Discoveryofa “darkgalaxy”nearNGC1156,agalaxyhavingthemassinneu-tral atomic hydrogenequivalenttothemassof theMilkyWay,butnoapparentstarlight.Thenewlydiscoveredgalaxy is approxi-mately 50 Mpc fromtheEarthandappearstobeabout75kpcindiameter. The rota-tional kinematics areconsistent with thoseexpectedforagalaxy.
• ResearchersusingtheAreciboObservatory’spowerful radar havemade the most de-tailed observationseverofabinarynear-Earth asteroid—twoclusters of rubble cir-cling each other—of-fering new cluesabout how such sys-
tems formed, theproperties theyshareandthedynamicsoftheirmotion.
• Using the highest resolution radar im-agesevermadeofthemoon,planetaryastronomers foundnoevidence for icein the craters at the lunar south pole. Therehadbeenspeculation that reser-voirsofwaterexistedintheformofper-manent ice sheets in shadowed lunarcraters at the pole. The radar imagesmade at Arecibo disprove this conjec-ture,aresultthatisimportantforthoseplanning extended human exploratorymissionsonthemoon.
Programmatic Achievements in Support of Scientific Research. The number of scientificproposals scheduled on the Arecibo telescopesince the major Gregorian upgrade of the tele-scopewascompleted in1999 isshowninFigure2.1.1.Thisplotincludesscheduledproposalsinallthreecomponentsof theNAICscientificprogramattheAreciboObservatory,astronomy,planetaryradarandspaceandatmosphericsciences(SAS).
Thegrowthinthenumberofproposalsscheduledonthetelescopeannuallyderivesfromtwofactors.First, itreflectsadeliberatemanagementdecisionto emphasize the research of new investigators,studentinvestigators,investigatorsatsmallinstitu-
Figure 2.1.1. ThenumberofscientificproposalsscheduledontheArecibotelescopeasa functionofyear. Figuresareshownseparately for the threecomponentsof theNAICscientificprogramattheAreciboObservatory.
NAIC Scheduled Proposals by Year
0
50
100
150
200
250
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Program Year
Sche
dule
d O
bser
ving
Pro
posa
ls
Radio AstronomyPlanetary RadarSASTotal
4 NAICAPRPP2007
tionsandinvestigatorsproposingresearchthatcanonlybedonewiththeArecibotelescope(e.g.HIinlowsurfacebrightnessdwarfgalaxiesortimingoffaintpulsars).InanerawhentheALFAsurveypro-gramsareofhighscientific importanceandcom-munity agreed priority, the role of the individualinvestigator,curiosity-drivenresearchmustbepro-tected.Second,aconsciouseffortismadetopackthetelescopescheduletightlysothatasmanypro-posalsaspossiblewillhaveaccesstothetelescope.Often this involves carefulconsultation between theproposersandtheObserva-tory telescope scheduler tocompromiseonthetimelim-itstobeallocatedtoparticu-larprograms. Thefact thatthe number of proposalsbeing scheduled has beenincreasing, when the totaltelescope time for scienceobservations is nearly con-stant, isoneobjectivemea-sureofthecooperativespiritthatexistsbetweentheOb-servatoryanditscommunityof users. Clearly, that spiritof goodwill is improving tothebenefitofall.
The number of scientistsusing the NAIC Arecibo
telescopeannuallyand thenumberofinstitutionsthesescientists represent hasgrownconsistentlysincethecompletion of the Gregori-anupgradeofthetelescopein1999.Thetelescopeuserstatistics are shown in Fig-ure 2.1.2. Each person iscounted individually andonlyonceinayear,eveninthosecaseswhereapersonobservesmultipletimesdur-ing theyearand/orpartici-pateson several scheduledobservingproposals.Injustthe threeyearperiod since2002 the annual numberof users increased by 71%(from193to331).
AtalltheNSFnationalcen-tersthereisanunmistakable
trendforthenumberofscientists/studentsonob-servingproposalstoincrease.Thesametrendcanbeeasilyseeninastronomicalpublicationswheretheaveragenumberofauthorsperpaperhasbeenincreasingsteadily for twodecades. Thisgrowthcertainly results from many factors among thembeing the greater specialization of contemporaryastrophysicsowing to theexpansion in thenum-berandsophisticationofresearchtools,including
Figure 2.1.2. The number of users of the NAIC Arecibo telescope in the period sincecompletionoftheGregorianupgrade.
NAIC Users by Year
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Program Year
Num
ber o
f Use
rs
NAIC StaffCornellOther UsersTotal
Figure 2.1.3. The number of graduate and undergraduate students conducting thesisresearchobservationsontheArecibotelescope.
NAIC Student Users by Year
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Program Year
Num
ber o
f S
tude
nts
Students
NAICAPRPP2007 5
software and computational tools. Additionally,there is an unmistakable preference for many re-searchers to prefer to work in supportive teamsratherthantoworkindependently.Itisimportantthat scientific journals, national research centersand funding agencies adapt their processes andprocedurestochangessuchastheseastheyoccur.Hence,keepingtrackoftheuserstatisticsatNAICisvitaltothefuturesuccessoftheinstitution.
NAICprovidesencouragementbymeansoftravelcostreimbursementforgraduateandundergradu-ate students to become actively involved in theirthesis research programs on the Arecibo tele-scope. AtNAIC, studentsareencouraged togettheir (trained) hands on the equipment, to makemodificationstotheobservingprocedures,andtoexperimentwithnovelobserving techniquesanddataprocessingalgorithms.Largelyforthisreason,thereisanactiveandgrowinggroupofstudentswhomakeuseofAreciboobservationsasacom-ponentoftheirthesisresearch.Figure2.1.3sum-marizes the number of graduate students whoseobservationswerescheduledontheArecibotele-scope. Again, foreachyearan individualgradu-atestudentwascountedonlyonce,eveninthosecases where the student observed multiple timesoronmultiplescheduledprograms.
Growthinthenumberofstudentusersalsoresults,in part, from deliberate NAIC management deci-
sions.AsdescribedelsewhereintheAPRPP,NAICinitiates programs focused on student educationinvolvinguseoftheArecibotelescope,anditpro-videsinstitutionalsupportforprogramsdevelopedandimplementedbyfacultyadvisorsattheirhomecollegesanduniversities.OftensuchNAICinstitu-tionalsupportconsistsofassuringthatstudentpro-gramsarescheduledonthetelescopeatthehoursthatareappropriateforclassroomactivities;inoth-ercasesNAICmakesitsbesteffortstoassurethattravelsupport,meetingfacilities,datatransportorsoftwaresystemsaremadeavailabletostudentre-searchers.ThesuccessoftheNAICinitiativescanbeseenquantitativelyinthegrowthofstudentin-volvementwithNAIC(Fig.2.1.3).
ThenumberofinstitutionsfromwhichtheusersoftheArecibotelescopecomeasafunctionofyearisshowninFigure2.1.4.Herethenumbersaresepa-ratedbetweeninstitutionslocatedintheU.S.,andforeign institutions. In this plot a particular insti-tution iscountedonlyonceayear,even inthosecaseswhereseveraltelescopeuserscomefromthesameinstitutioninthatyear.
Programmatic Achievements in Support of Educational Programs in Puerto Rico. Formany years, NAIC has exploited the fact that theAreciboObservatoryprovidesaninspirationalset-tingforeducationalinitiativesofmanykinds.Oneof the most successful of these initiatives is the
Angel Ramos FoundationTeacher workshops, a num-ber of one-day workshopsareofferedfrequentlyduringtheyear.Thesearecoordi-natedthroughlocaluniversi-tieswiththePuertoRicoDe-partmentofEducation.Par-ticipantsattheseworkshopsincludepre-service teachers,graduatestudents ineduca-tion and undergraduateswho apply for the programand are selected competi-tively. NAIC staff memberspresent an overview pro-gramofstudiesthatempha-sizesthescientificgoalsandmethodologyoftheastrono-my and aeronomy programat the Arecibo Observatory;age appropriate materialsaregiventotheteachersso
Figure 2.1.4. ThenumberofinstitutionsrepresentedannuallybyscheduledusersoftheNAICArecibotelescope.
NAIC User Institutions by Year
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Program Year
Num
ber o
f Ins
titut
ions
US InstitutionsForeign InstitutionsTotal Institutions
6 NAICAPRPP2007
that they may communicate the information totheirstudents.
ThesuccessoftheNAICteachereducationalwork-shopsattheAreciboObservatoryhasledtoanin-creaseintheprivatefundingwehavereceivedtosupport the workshops, which in turn has led toafurtherexpansionoftheprogram.Figure2.1.5illustratesthegrowthinthenumberofteachersinPuertoRicoservedbythisimportantNAICeduca-tionalandoutreachprogram.
Management Achievements in PY2006. InPY2006 significant progress was again made to-ward assuring that management practices at theObservatoryarefullycompliantwithCornellproce-duresandprocess.ProgressintheseareasbenefitsdirectlyNAICpersonnel,notvisitingusers,butitisnolesscriticaltothesuccessofNAIC.Substantialsteps were taken to assure that NAIC employeessharefullyinCornellprogramsthatprovideoppor-tunitiesforgreatereducational,health,andprofes-sionaladvancement.ProgressmadeinPY2006inthe area of improved employee benefits includesthefollowing:
•Development of comprehensive posi-tiondescriptionsandclassifications.AllObservatorynon-academicpositionsarebeingre-writtenandre-classifiedintotheCornellstandardclassificationstructure.InPY2006NAICcontinuedtoworkwitha private consultant to accelerate theprocessofgettingpositiondescriptions
writtenformanyofthenon-exemptOb-servatorystaff;
•Improving communication materialsto ensure that employees all have thesameinformationregardingtheirbene-fits,especiallythehealthcareplan.Fullybilingualinformationisnowbeingpro-ducedanddistributed;
•ImplementationoftheCornellstandardpolicy for filling staff vacancies, includ-inginternalpostingsfollowedbyexter-
nalcompetition;•Employee PerformanceEvaluation.Allemployeesarenowpresentedannuallywithawrittenevaluationandaperfor-mance dialogue is conducted.The evaluations are linked tothe employees’ annual perfor-mance salary/wage increase.Thisisthesecondyearofformalperformance management atNAIC.Manyroughspotsintheprocessweresmoothedasare-sultoftheexperiencelastyear.
Streamliningthepersonnelrecruit-mentprocesshasbeenaparticularmanagement objective over thepastyear. Thegoal is toeliminatethebarriersthathaveledsomere-centrecruitmentstobeunnecessar-ily protracted. Briefly, the process
bywhichanopenposition is filled iscoordinatedbytheHRmanager.Sheworkswiththeinvolvedsupervisortoupdatethejobdescription,postthejobso thatall interestedhave theopportunity toapplyfor it,conductthesearch, interviewtheap-plicants, and select the best qualified candidate.This process assures transparency and equal op-portunity. Eachsupervisor, individually,will learnthestepsthroughmentoredexperienceinoneoftheir actual recruitments. Delays in some recenthiresarethepricewearepayingforeducatingoursupervisorsintheprocess.
Providingemployeebenefits,knowledgeofthosebenefits,andprocessesbywhichaccesstotheben-efitsareknowntoall,andappliedequitablytoall,isacontinuingtask.FurthermeaningfulprogressisexpectedinallthesepersonnelmanagementareasinPY2007.
Figure 2.1.5. NumberofteachersinPuertoRicoattendingNAICscienceeduca-tionworkshopsattheAreciboObservatoryshownasafunctionofyear.
NAICAPRPP2007 7
2.2 Problems Encountered, Solutions and Impact
Operationally, the biggest challenge to NAIC isthe lack of budget stability. Figure 2.2.1 showsthe change in NSF funding of NAIC, actual andprojected,overaten-yearperiodrelativetothefi-ducialyear1999.ShownonthisplotistheactualfundsreceivedbyNAIC(yellow),theactualfundsreceived by the NSF division of astronomical sci-ences(red)andtheeffectofinflationyear-by-yearrelativeto1999takenas3%peryear.
InPY2007thepurchasingpoweroftheNSFfundsreceivedbyNAIChaddecreasedbyapproximately25% relative to 1999. With NSF as a whole in adramaticallyexpansivephase, thedecliningNAICbudgetisclearlytheresultofdecisionsbeingmadeannually at NSF/AST that favor other activities attheexpenseofon-goingNAICoperations. It isaseriousproblemforNAICthatNSF/ASThasnotex-pressed with clarity the metric being used to de-termineNAICannualfundingatatimewhentheObservatoryuser-basehasdoubledinthreeyears,theresearchopportunitieshaveneverbeengreat-erandthescientificoutputisatanalltimehigh.
ThereportoftheNSF/ASTSeniorReviewhashadsevere consequences for NAIC staff morale. TheNAICstaffmembers,pressreportersdoingstoriesontheSeniorReview,governmentofficialsandtheU.S.communityofastronomersallfocusontheex-pressionoftheSeniorReviewthattheAreciboOb-servatoryshouldbeclosedin2011. It iscertainlytruethatthereportexpresses‘closure’asalastre-sortoptiontobeusedonlyintheeventthat~$5Mof annual operations funding cannot be foundfromsponsorsotherthanNSF/AST.ButthenewsoftheSeniorReviewreportistherecommendationthat the Arecibo Observatory should be closed.It isforthisreasonthatallstoriesintheprintandbroadcastmediathatdiscussedtheSeniorReviewfocusedonthisasTHEstory.EveryonewhoworksatNAICandtheAreciboObservatorywerestungbythisrecommendation.ParticularlysobecauseitisreadilyapparenttotheNAICstaffthattheanaly-sispresentedinthereportleadingtotheSeniorRe-viewrecommendationtoclosetheAreciboObser-vatoryhasclearflaws.Namely,theALFAsurveyswill require a decade or longer to be completedoncethefollowuptimeisincluded,notthe3yearstheSRusedasthebasisfortheiranalysis;andnoaccountwastakenbytheSeniorReviewthattheirrecommendations would terminate the Arecibo
Funding History Relative to FY1999
-40.00
-20.00
0.00
20.00
40.00
60.00
80.00
100.00
120.00
140.00
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Fiscal year
Cum
ulat
ive
Perc
ent C
hang
e fr
om F
Y199
9
AST (%)NAIC (%)inflation (%)
Figure 2.2.1.BudgethistoryofNAICandAST,actualandprojected,expressedasapercentagechangefromFY1999.TheNAICbudgetisshowninyellow,ASTinredandinflationinblue(takenas3%peryear).
8 NAICAPRPP2007
Planetaryradar,auniquescientificprogramthatistheonlytechnologycapableofdeterminingtheor-bitsofnear-EarthasteroidswithsufficientprecisiontoassesstheirpotentialthreattoimpacttheEarth.The investment of many hundreds of millions ofdollarsbeingmadebyNSF,DoD,DoEandseveralU.S.universitiesinIntegral,PanStarsandLSSTwiththeobjectiveoflocatingnear-Earthasteroidsiscer-tainlycalledintoquestioniftheAreciboplanetaryradarsystemwerenotavailabletodotheprecisionorbitdetermination.
ThereducedNSF/ASTbudgetforNAICthatfollowsfromtheinitialSeniorReviewrecommendationthat
NAICfundingbereducedby25%overthenext3yearshasledtoastaffreductionofapproximately30positionsatNAICandaconsequentreductionin the scopeofactivities supportedbyNAIC. Anadjustmentofsucha largemagnitude isasignifi-cantmanagementchallenge.NAICwillworkwithitsusercommunitytomaketherequiredchangesinawaythatpreservesthescientificstrengthoftheObservatoryandcontinuesitsrecentgrowthpathbutwithoutundulyinconveniencingtheusercom-munity. Inevitably, thiswill requireNAICtohavetheflexibilitytoexperimentandmakecorrectionsaswelearnbyexperience.
2.3 List of Observing Programs, Investigators and Hours - Program Year 2006
Experiment by GroupTotal Hours
Used% of Total
Used
RadioAstronomy 4301.00 49.10
SolarSystemStudies 488.75 5.58
Space&AtmosphericSci. 1441.50 16.45
CommissioningTask 919.00 10.49
Maintenance 1462.00 16.69
Unsched.Maintenance 147.75 1.69
Total 8760.00 100.00
RADIO ASTRONOMY Graduatestudentsareunderlined Undergraduatestudentsareitalicized NAIC staff members are boldedSpectroscopicandContinuumObservations
4.75 Lewis, B.M. (NAIC) A1312 LightTravel-TimeDimensionsfor|b|>10deg OH/IRStars
2.50 Linz,H.(UPRRioPiedras) A1582 FromDarknesstoLight-StarFormationinInfrared Hofner,P.(NewMexicoTech) DarkClouds Stecklum,B.(TLSTautenburg) Araya,E.(NewMexicoTech) Bacmann,A.(AIUJena)
70.25 Lewis, B.M. (NAIC) A1587 TheOHLight-CurveofIRAS22402+1045
56.50 Lewis, B.M. (NAIC) A1589 OntheImminent“Death”oftheOH/IRStar 15060+0947
2.00 Ghosh, T. (NAIC) A1653 Aλ-21cmSearchforLow-zDampedLy-α Salter, C. (NAIC) SystemsTowardsCompactRadioSources O’Neil, K. (NAIC) 3.00 Kanekar,N.(Kapteyn) A1724 HIandOHinDampedLyman-αSystems Chengalur,J.(NCRA-TIFR) Ghosh, T. (NAIC)
Hours Observers Project # Title
NAICAPRPP2007 9
Hours Observers Project # Title
2.00 Lebrón, M. (NAIC) A1767 HIandH2COObservationsofIVCswithStrong
Pantoja,C.(UPRRioPiedras) ContinuumBackgroundSources
3.75 Ghosh, T. (NAIC) A1785 ASearchforHigh-zWaterVaporMasersin Mathur,S.(OhioStateUniv.) ObscuredAGNs Salter, C. (NAIC)
219.75 Lewis, B.M. (NAIC) A1852 ToContinuetheMonitoringofOHMasersin HighGalacticLatitudeOH/IRStars
1.00 Momjian, E.(NAIC) A1908 HI21cmandOH18cmSpectralLineObservations Ghosh, T.(NAIC) ofthe2JyIRAS-NVSSSample Salter, C. (NAIC)
23.50 Muller,E.M.(ANTF) A1965 AbsorptionbytheTidalHIFilamentsAssociatedwith NGC4631
68.00 Pandian,J.D.(Cornell) A1969 TracingHigh-MassStarFormationintheGalaxy Goldsmith,P.F.(JPL) Deshpande,A.(RamanRes.)
7.25 Giovanelli,R.(Cornell) A2010 ALFALFA:TheAreciboLegacyFastALFASurvey Haynes,M.(Cornell) Boselli,A.(MarseillesObs.) Brosch,N.(WiseObs.) Catinella, B.(NAIC) Charmandaris,V.(U.Crete) Darling,J.(Univ.Colorado) Davies,J.(CardiffUniv.) GarciaLambas,D.(U.Cordoba) Gavazzi,G.(U.StudidiMilano) Hoffman,L.(LafayetteCollege) Hunt,L.(ArcetriObs.) Iovino,A.(U.Milano-Brera) Karachentsev,I.(SpecialAstrophysical Observatory,Russia) Karachentsev,V.(Univ.Kiev) Kent,B.(Cornell) Koopmann,R.(UnionCollege) Marinoni,C.(U.Milano-Brera) Masters,K.(CfA) Minchin,R.(CardiffUniv.) Momjian, E.(NAIC) Muller,E.(ATNF) Pantoja,C.(UPRRioPiedras) Putman,M.(U.Michigan) Rosenberg,J.(U.Colorado) Salzer,J.(WesleyanUniv.) Saintonge,A.(Cornell) Scodeggio,M.(MilanoCNR) Skillman,E.(U.Minnesota) Solanes,J.(U.Barcelona) Spekkens,K.(RutgersUniv.) Springob,C.(NRL)
10 NAICAPRPP2007
Hours Observers Project # Title
Stierwalt,S.(Cornell) Valotto,C.(U.Cordoba) vanDriel,W.(Obs.Paris) vanZee,L.(IndianaUniv.)
49.25 (seelistabove) A2010 ALFALFA:TheAreciboLegacyFastALFASurvey and Davies,J.I.(CardiffUniv.) A2048 TheAreciboGalaxyEnvironmentsSurvey(AGES)
1042.25 (seelistabove) A2010 ALFALFA:TheAreciboLegacyFastALFASurvey and Putman,M.(U.Michigan) A2059 MappingtheHIGalaxyandHalowithTOGS(Turn Stanimirovic,S.(UCBerkeley) onGALFASurvey) Heiles,C.(UCBerkeley) Goldston,J.E.(UCBerkeley) Arce,H.(Caltech) Bania,T.(BostonUniv.) Briggs,F.(AustraliaNat’lUniv.) Koo,B-C.(SeoulNat’lUniv.) Korpela,E.(UCBerkeley) Lockman,F.J.(NRAO) vanLoon,J.(KeeleUniv.)
3.75 Goldston,J.E.(UCBerkeley) A2011 BipolarFlowsinthe21cmSky Heiles,C.(UCBerkeley)
1.00 Blanton,M.R.(NewYorkUniv.) A2046 HIContentandDynamicsofLowLuminosity West,A.(U.Washington) Galaxies Geha,M.(CarnegieObs.) Pizagno,J.(OhioStateUniv.) Weinberg,D.(OhioStateUniv.) Dalcanton,J.(U.Washington) Garcia-Appadoo,D.(CardiffUniv.)
0.75 Davies,J.I.(CardiffUniv.) A2048 TheAreciboGalaxyEnvironmentsSurvey(AGES)
128.75 Davies,J.I.(CardiffUniv.) A2048 TheAreciboGalaxyEnvironmentsSurvey(AGES) and Putman,M.(U.Michigan) A2059 MappingtheHIGalaxyandHalowithTOGS(Turn Stanimirovic,S.(UCBerkeley) onGALFASurvey) Heiles,C.(UCBerkeley) Goldston,J.E.(UCBerkeley) Arce,H.(Caltech) Bania,T.(BostonUniv.) Briggs,F.(AustraliaNat’lUniv.) Koo,B-C.(SeoulNat’lUniv.) Korpela,E.(UCBerkeley) Lockman,F.J.(NRAO) vanLoon,J.(KeeleUniv.) 76.00 Ghosh, T. (NAIC) A2049 TheFateofCoolingFlowGas:AnAreciboHI21-cm Salter, C.(NAIC) AbsorptionSurvey Momjian, E.(NAIC)
NAICAPRPP2007 11
Hours Observers Project # Title
35.00 Goldston,J.E.(UCBerkeley) A2050 TurbulenceandFeedbackintheDiffuseISM Lazarian,A.(U.Wisconsin) Esquivel-Salazar,A.(U.Wisconsin) Heiles,C.(UCBerkeley)
30.25 Heiles,C.(UCBerkeley) A2052 TheThinnestColdHICloudsintheDiffuseISM Stanimirovic,S.(UCBerkeley) Kanekar,N.(NRAOSocorro)
10.25 Henning,P.(U.NewMexico) A2053 ALFAHISurveyoftheGalacticPlaneat1=38to45 deg:GalaxiesintheZoneofAvoidance and Koo,B-C.,(SeoulNat’lUniv.) A2055 ALFAHISurveyoftheGalacticPlaneat1=38to45 Bania,T.(BostonUniv.) deg:FaintHI21-cmEmissionLineWingsat Heiles,C.(UCBerkeley) ForbiddenVelocities Stanimirovic,S.(UCBerkeley) Kang,J.(SeoulNat’lUniv.) Lee,J-J.(SeoulNat’lUniv.) 33.25 Korpela,E.(UCBerkeley) A2056 AnALFAProposal:TestingtheModifiedBasketweave Koo,B-C.(SeoulNat’lUniv.) Technique(ACommensalProposalwiththeZOA Heiles,C.(UCBerkeley) Group) Goldston,J.E.(UCBerkeley) Stanimirovic,S.(UCBerkeley) and Henning,P.A.(U.NewMexico) A2051 ALFAHISurveyoftheGalacticPlaneat1=192deg: GalaxiesintheZoneofAvoidance,Testingthe ModifiedBasketweaveTechnique
34.00 Lubowich,D.(HofstraUniv.) A2057 DIintheMostDeuteratedKnownMolecularCloud: Turner,B.(NRAO(C’Ville) AKeytoUnderstandingDeuteriumAstrochemistry Robert,H.(U.Manchester) Millar,T.(U.Manchester) Pasachoff,J.(WilliamCollege)
69.75 Putman,M.(U.Michigan) A2059 MappingtheHIGalaxyandHalowithTOGS(Turn Stanimirovic,S.(UCBerkeley) onGALFASurvey) Heiles,C.(UCBerkeley) Goldston,J.E.(UCBerkeley) Arce,H.(Caltech) Bania,T.(BostonUniv.) Briggs,F.(AustraliaNat’lUniv.) Koo,B-C.(SeoulNat’lUniv.) Korpela,E.(UCBerkeley) Lockman,F.J.(NRAO) vanLoon,J.(KeeleUniv.)
105.00 Putman,M.(U.Michigan) A2060 AGALFAStudyoftheDisk-HaloInterface Stanimirovic,S.(UCBerkeley) Lockman,F.J.(NRAO) Kerton,C.(IowaState) Esquivel-Salazar,A.(U.Wisconsin) Lazarian,A.(U.Wisconsin)
12 NAICAPRPP2007
Goldston,J.E.(UCBerkeley) Muller,E.(ATNF) Gibson,B.(Swinburne) McClure-Griffiths,N.(ATNF)
50.25 Stanimirovic,S.(UCBerkeley) A2063 TheFifthSessionofPulsarHIAbsorptionMeasure- Weisberg,J.M.(CarletonCollege) mentsofTiny-ScaleAtomicStructureintheInter- stellarMedium
77.00 Robishaw,T.(UCBerkeley) A2119 OHMegamasersinULIRGs:TheMega-ObviousPlace Heiles,C.(UCBerkeley) toLookforZeemanSplitting! Quataert,E.(UCBerkeley)
17.75 Chomiuk,L.B.(U.Wisconsin) A2120 HiddenMolecularGasintheExtremeOuterDiskof Strader,J.(UCO/LickObservatory) M33? Allen,R.(STScI) Smith,G.(UCO/LickObservatory)
84.50 Ho,L.C.(CarnegieObs.) A2121 HIEmissioninAGNHosts:ANewStrategytoTest Darling,J.(Univ.Colorado) theBlackHole-HostGalaxyParadigm
66.00 Kanekar,N.(NRAO) A2123 DotheFundamentalConstantsChangewithTime? Ghosh, T.(NAIC) Chengalur,J.N.(NCRA-TIFR)
22.25 Kronberg,P.P.(LosAlamos) A2125 ImagingDiffuseIntergalactic430MHzEmissionin Salter, C.J.(NAIC) an8degx8degZoneofthePerseus-PiscesSuper- Kothes,R.(DRAO) cluster Ensslin,T.(MPIfAGarching) Perillat, P.(NAIC)
8.75 Brown, R.L. (NAIC) A2127 SearchforMolecularOxygeninthez=6.28QSO SDSSJ1030+0524
1.50 Stilp,A.(Univ.Wisconsin) A2140 ALFALFA:TheAreciboLegacyFastALFASurvey. Patel,N.(Cornell) The2005SummerUndergraduateObserving Altaf,A.(LafayetteCollege) Program Ayala,J.(UPR) Forsyth,C.(Colgate&BrynMawr) Gillin,M.(UnionCollege) Goldstein,J.(LafayetteCollege) Mahmood,B.(UnionCollege) Mullan,B.(ColgateUniv.) Read,J.(UnionCollege) Walsh,B.(ColgateUniv.) Wortel,S.(ColgateUniv.)
45.50 Douglas,K.A.(UCBerkeley) A2143 TheMOlecularStateofGalacticTranslucentClouds: Goldston,J.A.(UCBerkeley) OHScientificJustification Kregenow,J.M.(UCBerkeley) Heiles,C.E.(UCBerkeley) Edelstein,J.(UCBerkeley) Korpela,E.J.(UCBerkeley) Nishikida,K.(UCBerkeley) Magnani,L.(Univ.Georgia)
Hours Observers Project # Title
NAICAPRPP2007 13
13.00 Osten,R.A.(Univ.Maryland) A2145 WidebandDynamicSpectroscopyofCoherentRadio BurstsonActiveMDwarfs
5.00 Araya,E.(NewMexicoTech) A2146 AnAreciboStudyoftheVariabilityoftheNew Hofner,P.(NewMexicoTech) H
2COMaserinIRAS18566+0408
Olmi,L.(UPRSanJuan) Kurtz,S.(UNAM)
14.75 Bieging,J.H.(StewardObs.) A2147 HI21cmMappingoftheGemOB1Star-Forming Goldston,J.(UCBerkeley) Region Heiles,C.(UCBerkeley)
38.50 Buyle,P.(GhentUniv.) A2149 HIDetectioninE+AGalaxies Pisano,D.(NRL) DeRijcke,S.(GhentUniv.) Michielsen,D.(GhentUniv.) Dejonghe,H.(GhentUniv.) Freeman,K.(Aust.Nat’lUniv.)
54.00 Magnani,L.(Univ.Georgia) A2154 OHObservationsofTwoTranslucentCloudEdges Wennerstrom,E.(U.Georgia) Douglas,K.A.(UCBerkeley) Onello,J.(SUNYCortland)
20.75 Rosenberg,J.L.(CfA) A2156 AnHIStudyofStar-FormingDwarfGalaxies Salzer,J.J.(WesleyanUniv.) Ashby,M.L.N.(CfA)
46.75 Heiles,C.(UCBerkeley) A2172 MappingHIinaSpectacularShell Goldston,J.(UCBerkeley)
17.75 Knee,L.B.(NRCofCanada) A2174 AnHISurveyofthePerseusMolecularCloud DiFrancesco,J.(NRC) Complex Gibson, S.J.(NAIC) Goldston,J.(UCBerkeley) Heiles,C.(UCBerkeley) Li,D.(JPL) Krco,M.(Cornell)
20.50 Howell, E.(NAIC) A2185 OHObservationsof73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann Lovell,A.J.(AgnesScottCollege) 3inSpringof2006 Schloerb,F.P.(U.MassAmherst)
25.50 Heiles,C.(UCBerkeley) A2187 MappingHIinaSpectacularTrueFilament Goldston,J.(UCBerkeley) 11.50 Krco,M.(Cornell) A2193 Completionofa2004ProjecttoObservetheTaurus Goldsmith,P.F.(JPL) MolecularCloudComplexwithGALFA
32.50 Jones,T.J.(Univ.Minnesota) A2195 ASearchforOH/IRStarsinM33 McQuinn,K.B.(Univ.Minnesota) Lewis,B.(NAIC)
Hours Observers Project # Title
14 NAICAPRPP2007
Hours Observers Project # Title
22.75 Ho,L.C.(CarnegieObs.) A2196 HIEmissionProfilesinAGNHosts:ANewStrategyto Darling,J.(U.Colorado) toTesttheBlackHole-HoseGalaxyParadigm Greene,J.E.(Harvard)
23.75 Magnani,L.(Univ.Georgia) A2198 TheDistributionofH2COintheFarOuterGalaxy
Lugo,S.K.(U.Georgia) Brand,J.(IRA-INAF) Wouterloot,J.(U.Hawaii) 13.50 Terzian,Y.(Cornell) A2200 HIContentofDistantGalaxyClusters Chengalur,J.N.(NCRA-TIFR) B. Lewis(NAIC)
28.50 Giovanelli,R.(Cornell) A2215 ALFALFAFollow-up:EnigmaticVirgoClouds Kent,B.(Cornell) Haynes,M.(Cornell) Boselli,A.(MarseillesObs.) Brosch,N.(WiseObs.) Catinella, B. (NAIC) Charmandaris,V.(U.Crete) Darling,J.(Univ.Colorado) Davies,J.(CardiffUniv.) GarciaLambas,D.(U.Cordoba) Gavazzi,G.(U.StudidiMilano) Hoffman,L.(LafayetteCollege) Hunt,L.(ArcetriObs.) Iovino,A.(U.Milano-Brera) Karachentsev,I.(SpecialAstrophysical Observatory,Russia) Karachentsev,V.(Univ.Kiev) Koopmann,R.(UnionCollege) Marinoni,C.(U.Milano-Brera) Masters,K.(CfA) Minchin, R.(NAIC) Momjian, E.(NAIC) Muller,E.(ATNF) Pantoja,C.(UPRRioPiedras) Putman,M.(U.Michigan) Rosenberg,J.(U.Colorado) Salzer,J.(Wesleyan,Univ.) Saintonge,A.(Cornell) Scodeggio,M.(MilanoCNR) Skillman,E.(U.Minnesota) Solanes,J.(U.Barcelona) Spekkens,K.(RutgersUniv.) Springob,C.(NRL) Stierwalt,S.(Cornell) Valotto,C.(U.Cordoba) vanDriel,W.(Obs.Paris) VanZee,L.(IndianaUniv.)
17.75 Dedes,L.(Univ.Bonn) A2221 HIHaloCloudsintheOutskirtsoftheMilkyWay Kalberla,P.(Univ.Bonn) Stanimirovic,S.(UCBerkeley)
NAICAPRPP2007 15
Hours Observers Project # Title
32.75 Goldston,J.E.(UCBerkeley) A2222 TheAnti-CenterWaterfall Heiles,C.(UCBerkeley) Putman,M.(U.Michigan) Stanimirovic,S.(UCBerkeley)
5.00 Hofner,P.(NewMexicoTech) A2224 RadioLineObservationsTowardStarForming Araya,E.(NewMexicoTech) Urgent RegionsAnUndergraduateEducationalProject UsingtheArecibo305mTelescope
3.75 Darling,J.(Univ.Colorado) A2230 OHMasersinExtrasolarPlanetaryAtmospheres
4.50 Robishaw,T.(UCBerkeley) A2258 UrgentUpdateforA2119-OHMegamasersin Heiles,C.(UCBerkeley) Urgent ULIRGs:TheMega-ObviousPlacetoLookfor ZeemanSplitting!
2909.75(TotalHours-SpectroscopicandContinuum)
PulsarAstronomy
7.25 Freire, P.(NAIC) P1567 HighPrecisionTimingofPulsarsinGlobluar Clusters
3.00 Freire, P.(NAIC) P1681 TimingMillisecondPulsars.II.ThePSR Anderson,S.B.(Caltech) J2016+1947BinarySystem
17.75 Freire, P.(NAIC) P1684 TimingMillisecondPulsars.I.ThePSR Jacoby,B.(NRL) J1738+0335BinarySystem
116.50 Freire, P. (NAIC) P1693 PilotObservationsforaDrift-ScanPulsar Cordes,J.(Cornell) Searchat327MHz Lorimer,D.R.(WestVirginiaU.) McLaughlin,M.(WestVirginiaU.) Kramer,M.(U.Manchester) Lyne,A.G.(U.Manchester) Bhat,R.N.D.(SwinburneUniv.) Gupta,Y.(NCRA/TIFR)
7.25 Hankins,T.H.(NewMexicoTech) P1830 IntrinsicShapeofGiantPulsesfromthe Kern,J.S.(NewMexicoTech) MillisecondPulsarB1937+21 Popov,M.V.(AstroSpaceCtr) Soglasnov,V.A.(AstroSpaceCtr) Kondratiev,V.I.(AstroSpaceCtr)
5.00 Hankins,T.(NewMexicoTech) P1976 HighTimeResolutionMeasurementsofPulsar Eilek,J.A.(NewMexicoTech) Microstructure Crossley,J.(NewMexicoTech) Sheckard,J.(NewMexicoTech)
49.00 Nice,D.J.(BrynMawrCollege) P2016 PrecisionMillisecondPulsarTiming Backer,D.C.(UCBerkeley) Demorest,P.(UCBerkeley)
16 NAICAPRPP2007
Ramachandran,R.(UCBerkeley) Stairs,I.(U.BritishColumbia) Ferdman,R.(U.BritishColumbia) Lommen,A.(Franklin&Marshall)
12.25 Stairs,I.(U.BritishColumbia) P2017 Long-TermTimingofPSRB1534+12 Thorsett,S.(UCSantaCruz)
8.75 Stairs,I.(U.BritishColumbia) P2019 High-PrecisionTimingofParkesMultibeam Ferdman,R.(U.BritishColumbia) MillisecondPulsars:VelocitiesandEvolution Faulkner,A.(U.Manchester) Lyne,A.G.(U.Manchester) Kramer,M.(U.Manchester) McLaughlin,M.(U.Manchester) Lorimer,D.(U.Manchester) Manchester,R.(ATNF-CSIRO) Hobbs,G.(ATNF-CSIRO) Camilo,F.(ColumbiaUniv.) D’Amico,N.(Oss.Ast.Cagliari) Possenti,A.(Oss.Ast.Cagliari) Burgay,M.(Oss.Ast.Cagliari) Nice,D.J.(BrynMawrCollege) Backer,D.C.(UCBerkeley) Ramachandran,R.(UCBerkeley) Demorest,P.(UCBerkeley)
17.75 Stinebring,D.R.(OberlinCollege) P2020 FurtherScintillationArcMonitoringofthePulsar B0834+06
396.50 Cordes,J.M.(Cornell) P2030 AnALFAPulsarSurveyoftheGalacticPlane Camilo,F.(ColumbiaUniv.) Nice,D.J.(BrynMawrCollege) Ramachandran,R.(UCBerkeley) Freire, P.C.(NAIC) Thorsett,S.(UCSantaCruz) Kaspi,V.(McGillUniv.) Backer,D.C.(UCBerkeley) Arzoumanian,Z.(NASA/GSFC) Chatterjee,S.(CfA) Kramer,M.(U.Manchester) McLaughlin,M.(WestVirginiaU.) Xiluri,K.(StewardObs.) Gaensler,B.(CfA) Stairs,I.(U.BritishColumbia) Weisberg,J.(CarletonCollege) Lazio,J.(NRL) Han,J-L.(Nat’lAst.Obs.China) Lommen,A.(Franklin&Marshall) Lorimer,D.(WestVirginiaU.) Crawford,F.(HaverfordCollege) Stappers,B.(StichtingAstron) Deshpande, A.(RamanRes.) Bhat,R.(SwinburneUniv.) Ransom,S.(NRAO)
Hours Observers Project # Title
NAICAPRPP2007 17
Vlemmings,W.(U.Manchester) Hessels,J.(McGillUniv.) Giguere,C-A.(McGillUniv.) Deneva,J.(Cornell) Champion,D.(U.Manchester) Reid,B.(Princeton) vanLeeuwen,J.(U.BritishColumbia) Kasian,L.(U.BritishColumbia)
14.50 Arzoumanian,A.(NASA/GSFC) P2066 CharacterizingOrbitalTorquesandtheOriginof Nice,D.J.(BrynMawrCollege) X-rayEmissionintheBlackWidowPulsar
9.00 Backer,D.C.(UCBerkeley) P2067 EstimationofPulseArrivalTimesforPSRB1937+21 Ramachandran,R.(UCBerkeley) UsingInterstellarHolography Demorest,P.(UCBerkeley) Walker,M.A.(KapteynInstitute) Jenet,F.(Univ.Texas) Johnston,S.(ATNF) Cordes,J.M.(Cornell)
12.00 Champion,D.(U.Manchester) P2068 High-PrecisionTimingofTwoRecycledPulsars Lorimer,D.(WestVirginiaU.) McLaughlin,M.(WestVirginiaU.) 6.25 Lorimer,D.(WestVirginiaU.) P2072 OneMoreOrbit:Long-TermTimingofPSRJ0407+ McLaughlin,M.(WestVirginiaU.) 1607
15.25 McLaughlin,M.(WestVirginiaU.) P2074 PSRJ1453+19-AnotherPulsarPlanetarySystem? Lorimer,D.(WestVirginiaU.) Champion,D.(U.Manchester) Cordes,J.M.(Cornell) Arzoumanian,A.(NASA/GSFC) Xilouris,K.(StewardObs.) Stairs,I.(U.BritishColumbia)
34.00 Stinebring,D.(OberlinCollege) P2076 ScintillationArcObservationsofPSRB1737+13
1.25 Lorimer,D.(WestVirginiaU.) P2099 RapidObservationsoftheRelativisticBinaryPulsar Cordes,J.M.(Cornell) Urgent J1906+07 P-ALFAConsortium
11.50 McLaughlin,M.(WestVirginiaU.) P2109 InvestigatingNewTransientRadioSources Lorimer,D.(WestVirginiaU.) Lyne,A.G.(U.Manchester) O’Brien,J.(U.Manchester)
39.75 Rankin,J.M.(U.Vermont) P2110 PolarimetricPulse-SequenceObservationsofBright Wright,G.A.E.(SussexUniv.) UnstudiedAreciboPulsars Srostlik,Z.(U.Vermont)
49.75 Wolszczan,A.(PennState) P2111 TimingObservationsofthePlanetsPulsar,PSR B1257+12
Hours Observers Project # Title
18 NAICAPRPP2007
8.75 Donovan,J.(ColumbiaUniv.) P2112 DeepSearchesforYoungPulsarsin“Shell” Camilo,F.(ColumbiaUniv.) Supernova
30.00 Bhat,R.(SwinburneUniv.) P2113 AnL-band(ALFA)SearchforGiantPulsesfromM33 Cordes,J.M.(Cornell) Deneva,J.(Cornell) Lazio,J.(NRL) McLaughlin,M.(WestVirginiaU.) Hankins,T.(NewMexicoTech)
13.50 Nowakowski,L.(UPRMayaguez) P2115 PossibleRadius-to-IntensityMappingandMode Rankin,J.M.(Univ.Vermont) Bhat,R.(SwinburneUniv.) Sotero,N.(UPRArecibo)
30.00 vanLeeuwen,J.(U.British P2116 ExposingDriftingSubpulsesfromtheSlowesttothe Columbia) FastestPulsars Stairs,I.(U.BritishColumbia) Ferdman,R.(U.BritishColumbia) Ramachandran,R.(UCBerkeley) Backer,D.(UCBerkeley) Demorest,P.(UCBerkeley) Nice,D.(BrynMawrCollege)
18.25 Hankins,T.(NewMexicoTech) P2160 Ultra-HighTimeResolutionMeasurementsofthe Sheckard,J.L.(NewMexicoTech) Crab“Giant”RadioPulsars
7.50 Hankins,T.(NewMexicoTech) P2161 GiantPulsesfromJ1752+2359 Sheckard,J.L.(NewMexicoTech)
7.50 Arzoumanian,Z.(NASA-GSFC) P2175 APulsarSearchtoSolvea50Year-OldMystery Cordes,J.(Cornell) Deneva,J.(Cornell)
99.00 Freire, P.C.(NAIC) P2176 TimingthePSRJ1741+1354BinarySystem Stairs,I.H.(U.BritishColumbia)
37.50 Nice,D.J.(BrynMawrCollege) P2177 ExploringPulsarsDiscoveredbyPAL Cordes,J.(Cornell)
70.50 Nice,D.J.(BrynMawrCollege) P2178 PrecisionMillisecondPulsarTiming Stairs,I.H.(U.BritishColumbia)
9.50 Stairs,I.H.(U.BritishColumbia) P2179 Long-TermTimingofPSRB1534+12 Thorsett,S.E.(UCSantaCruz)
13.00 Stairs,I.H.(U.BritishColumbia) P2180 TimingtheFirstRelativisticBinaryfromtheArecibo Lorimer,D.(WestVirginiaU.) Arzoumanian,Z.(NASA-GSFC) Backer,D.(UCBerkeley) Bhat,R.(SwinburneUniv.) Camilo,F.(ColumbiaUniv.) Champion,D.(CfA) Chatterjee,S.(CfA)
Hours Observers Project # Title
NAICAPRPP2007 19
Cordes,J.(Cornell) Crawford,F.(Franklin&Marshall) Deneva,J.(Cornell) Deshpande,A.(RamanRes.) Freire, P.C.(NAIC) Gaensler,B.(Harvard) Han,J.L.(Nat’lAst.Obs.ofChina) Hessels,J.(McGillUniv.) Kasian,L.(U.BritishColumbia) Kaspi,V.(McGillUniv.) Kramer,M.(U.Manchester) Lazio,J.(NRL) vanLeeuwen,J.(U.BritishColumbia) Lommen,A.(Franklin&Marshall) McLaughlin,M.(WestVirginiaU.) Nice,D.(BrynMawrCollege) Ransom,S.(NRAO) Stappers,B.(Astron.Inst.) Vlemmings,W.(U.Manchester) Weisberg,J.(CarletonCollege)
13.25 Stinebring,D.(OberlinCollege) P2189 50MHzScintillationObservationsofSeveralNearby Stappers,B.(U.Amsterdam) Pulsars
6.50 Ilardo,M.A.(N.CarolinaSchool P2201 SearchforGiantPulsesinThreeHighEdotPulsars ofScience&Math)
16.25 Rankin,J.M.(U.Vermont) P2202 PolarimetricPulse-SequenceObservationsofBright Wright,G.A.E.(SussexUniv.) UnstudiedAreciboPulsars
7.25 Stairs,I.H.(U.BritishColumbia) P2203 High-PrecisionTimingofBinaryandMillisecond Ferdman,R.(U.BritishColumbia) Pulsars Lyne,A.G.(U.Manchester) Faulkner,A.(U.Manchester) Kramer,M.(U.Manchester) McLaughlin,M.(WestVirginiaU.) Lorimer,D.(WestVirginiaU.) Manchester,R.(ATNF-CSIRO) Hobbs,G.(ATNF-CSIRO) Camilo,F.(ColumbiaUniv.) D’Amico,N.(Oss.Ast.Cagliari) Possenti,A.(Oss.Ast.Cagliari) Burgay,M.(Oss.Ast.Cagliari) Nice,D.(BrynMawrCollege) Backer,D.(UCBerkeley) Demorest,P.(UCBerkeley)
3.50 vanLeeuwen,J.(U.British P2204 SoftX-rayTransient1H1906+000:TheClosest Columbia) CounterparttotheMillisecondRadioPulsars Jonker,P.(CfA&SRON) Bildsten,L.(UCSantaBarbara) Ransom,S.(NRAOC’ville) Nelemans,G.(RadboudU.) Stairs,I.(U.BritishColumbia)
Hours Observers Project # Title
20 NAICAPRPP2007
9.50 McLaughlin,M.(W.VirginiaU.) P2205 MonitoringandTimingofRRATSources Cordes,J.M.(Cornell) Lorimer,D.(WestVirginiaU.)
51.00 Weisberg,J.(CarletonCollege) P2206 StudiesofRelativisticGravitationandPulsarPhysics Nice,D.J.(BrynMawrCollege) withtheFirstBinaryPulsarB1913+16
10.50 Nice,D.J.(BrynMawrCollege) P2239 TwoMassiveNeutronStars Stairs,I.H.(U.BritishColumbia) Backer,D.(UCBerkeley) Demorest,P.(UCBerkeley) Ferdman,R.(U.BritishColumbia) vanLeeuwen,J.(U.BritishColumbia)
1297.00(totalhours–PulsarAstronomy)
SpecialProjects
7.00 Salter, C.(NAIC) S1662 SummerStudentsHands-onProject Ghosh, T. (NAIC) TheDetectionofFormaldehydeinaMolecularCloud Lebrón, M. (NAIC) SeenatHalfthePresentAgeoftheUniverse Brooks,H.(ReedCollege) Buckley,S.(TrinityCollege) Colón,K..(CollegeofNewJersey) Graf,K.(Cornell) Hanson,H.(Univ.Wyoming) Mielke,C.(Univ.Arizona,Tucson) Ojalvo,I.(RensselaerPolytechnic) Rucker,D.(Univ.Arkansas) Bowen,D.(Cornell) Fernandez,M.X.(Dartmouth) Taylor,B.(Univ.Texas,Austin) Cabassa-Miranda,E.(UPRMayaguez) Gonzalez-Perez,I.(UPRMayaguez) Rivera,M.(UPRMayaguez)
7.00(TotalHours–SpecialProjects)
Hours Observers Project # Title
NAICAPRPP2007 21
Hours Observers Project # Title
VLBI
2.75 Barvainis,R.(NSF) BB191 6cmHAS Ulvestad,J.(NRAO)
2.75 Boyce,E.(MIT) BB217 CentralImageinGrav.LensB2319+051
4.50 Bietenholz,M.(YorkUniv.) BB219 2ndepochofobs.OfSN2001eminUGC11794: VLBA/MkIV4pol.
4.50 Forbrich,J.(MPIfR,Bonn) BF089 TwoTaurusProtostars
3.75 Hough,D.H.(TrinityUniv.) BH139 ImagingoftheExtremelyFaintNucleusinFRIIRadio Galaxy3C441 6.25 Knudsen,K.(MPIfA,Heidelberg) BK127 ResolvingtheAGNandtheStarburstinanIntensely StarformingQuasar
1.75 More,A.(MPIfR,Bonn) BM241 HSA-4cm-2016+112
4.00 Doyle,G.(ArmaghObservatory, ED026 BrownDwarf2MASS0036 N.Ireland) 3.75 etest
6.00 eVLBI
1.25 Paragi,Z.(JIVE) F06L2 L-bandftptest
1.25 Paragi,Z.(JIVE) F06C2 C-bandftptest
6.75 Brisken,W.(NRAO) GB057 VLBIObservationofScintillationArcs
7.50 Diamond,P.(JodrellBank) GD021 Primaryfringefinder1613+341
15.75 Lonsdale,C.(NRAO) GL028 HighSensitivityStudyofULIGs
5.75 Orienti,M.(INAFBologna) GM062 WhatCausestheVeryBroadHIAbsorptioninRadio Galaxies?
5.25 Vermeulen,R.(NFRA) GV017 OHMegamaseratz~0.25
1.25 Paragi,Z.(JIVE) N05L5 NetworkMonitoringExperiment
1.50 Paragi,Z.(JIVE) N06C2 NetworkMonitoringExperiment
1.00 VLBI
87.25(TotalHours–VLBI)
4301.00(RadioAstronomyTotalHours)
22 NAICAPRPP2007
Hours Observers Project # Title
Solar System Studies
51.75 Magri,C.(U.Maine) R1885 RadarandVisible/Near-InfraredInvestigationof Howell, E.S. (NAIC) PrimitiveMain-BeltAsteroids Nolan, M.C.(NAIC) Ostro,S.J.(JPL) Giorgini,J.(JPL)
11.50 Campbell,D.B.(Cornell) R2023 S-BandRadarMappingoftheLunarPoles Campbell,B.A.(NASM) Carter,L.(NASM) Margot,J.L.(Cornell) Stacy,N.(DefenceScience&Tech)
15.50 Shepard,M.K.(BloomsburgU.) R2026 ARadarSurveyofX/M/E/TypeAsteroids:ASearch Clark,B.E.(IthacaCollege) forMetallicCores
30.25 Harmon,J.K.(NAIC) R2079 RadarObservationsofMercuryDuringtheSummer Slade,M.A.(JPL) 2005Conjunction
2.75 Nolan, M.C.(NAIC) R2086 RadarImagingofAsteroid1999RQ36 Benner,L.A.M.(JPL) Howell, E.S. (NAIC) Ostro,S.J.(JPL) Giorgini,J.(JPL) Margot,J.L.(Cornell)
83.25 Ostro,S.J.(JPL) R2101 ProposalforRadarImagingofApollo,Phobos, Benner,L.A.M.(JPL) Deimos,andSeveralMainbeltAsteroids Magri,C.(Univ.Maine) Nolan, M.C.(NAIC) Giorgini,J.(JPL) Shepard,M.K.(BloomsburgU.) Howell, E.S. (NAIC) Margot,J.L.(Cornell)
16.25 Campbell,B.A.(NASM) R2102 RadarMappingoftheMoonat70-cmWavelength Campbell,D.B.(Cornell) UsingAreciboandtheGBT Carter,L.M.(NASM)
40.00 Campbell,D.B.(Cornell) R2103 SurfacePropertiesofTitanfromAreciboRadar Black,G.J.(Univ.Virginia) Observations Carter,L.M.(NASM)
8.50 Campbell,D.B.(Cornell) R2104 S-BandRadarObservationsofEnceladus,Dione,and Black,G.J.(Univ.Virginia) Tethys
6.75 Carter,L.M.(NASM) R2105 ARadarSearchforRegolithontheAsteroid2004 Campbell,D.B.(Cornell) VG64 Nolan, M.C.(NAIC)
15.75 Nicholson,P.D.(Cornell) R2106 S-BandRadarMappingofSaturn’sRings French,R.G.(WellesleyCollege) Campbell,D.B.(Cornell)
NAICAPRPP2007 23
10.00 Campbell,B.A.(NASM) R2107 70-cmWavelengthRadarObservationsofMars Campbell,D.B.(Cornell) Carter,L.M.(NASM) Harmon, J.K. (NAIC) Freeman,A.(JPL)
13.00 Haldemann,A.F.(JPL) R2108 Arecibo-GoldstoneMarsRadarInterferometric Harmon, J.K. (NAIC) Mapping Larsen,K.W.(Univ.Colorado) Jurgens,R.F.(JPL)
7.25 Nolan, M.C.(NAIC) R2137 RadarImagingofNear-EarthAsteroids1998ST49 Howell, E.S. (NAIC) and2002HW Benner,L.A.M.(JPL) Ostro,S.J.(JPL) Giorgini,J.D.(JPL)
11.00 Benner,L.A.M.(JPL) R2167 RadarAstrometryofNear-EarthAsteroid99942 Nolan, M.C.(NAIC) Apophis Giorgini,J.D.(JPL) Ostro,S.J.(JPL)
0.75 Busch,M.W.(Caltech) R2168 RadarImagingandShapeReconstructionof Ostro,S.J.(JPL) Asteroids10115(1992SK),23187(2000PN9), 9Metis,and105Artemis
8.75 Margot,J.L.(Cornell) R2169 RadarObservationsofHighPerihelionAsteroid2000 Giorgini,J.D.(JPL) BD19toQuantifyGeneralRelativityandSolar QuadrupoleMoments
24.50 Shepard,M.K.(BloomsburgU.) R2170 ObservationsofAsteroid68950(2002QF15)and Nolan, M.C.(NAIC) ContinuationofaLong-TermXMEMain-BeltSurvey
18.50 Campbell,D.B.(Cornell) R2182 LunarSurfaceStudiesviaS-BandRadarImageryand Campbell,B.A.(NASM) Interferometry
35.75 Nolan, M.C.(NAIC) R2183 RadarObservationsofComet73P/Schwassmann- Harmon, J.K. (NAIC) Wachmann3 Howell, E.S. (NAIC) Campbell,D.B.(Cornell) Margot,J.L.(Cornell) Ostro,S.J.(JPL) Benner,L.A.M.(JPL) Giorgini,J.D.(JPL)
23.75 Nolan, M.C.(NAIC) R2184 RadarImagingofNear-EarthAsteroids2004WB1 Howell, E.S. (NAIC) and2001SG276 Benner,L.A.M.(JPL) Ostro,S.J.(JPL) Giorgini,J.D.(JPL)
2.00 Nolan, M.C.(NAIC) R2188 RadarObservationsofAsteroid2005VS Urgent
Hours Observers Project # Title
24 NAICAPRPP2007
3.00 Nolan, M.C.(NAIC) R2190 RadarObservationsofAsteroid2005WC1 Benner,L.A.M.(JPL) Urgent
8.00 Howell, E.S. (NAIC) R2191 RotationallyResolvedRadarObservationsof105 Magri,C.(Univ.Maine) Urgent Artemis:Correlationwith3-micronSpectroscopy Nolan, M.C.(NAIC)
10.00 Taylor,P.A.(Cornell) R2208 PhysicalCharacterizationofPotentiallyHazardous Margot,J.L.(Cornell) Asteroid2004DC Nolan, M.C.(NAIC) Ostro,S.J.(JPL) Benner,L.A.M.(JPL) Giorgini,J.D.(JPL) Magri,C.(Univ.Maine)
8.25 Nolan, M.C.(NAIC) R2219 RadarObservationsofAsteroid2005TF49 Urgent
3.00 Simpson,R.(Stanford) R2223 BistaticMarsExpress-AreciboRadarObservationsof Nolan, M.C.(NAIC) Urgent “Stealth”RegionofMars
5.75 Benner,L.A.M.(JPL) R2225 AreciboRadarImagingofNear-EarthAsteroid2006 Nolan, M.C.(NAIC) Urgent GY2 Giorgini,J.D.(JPL) 11.00 Jensen,E.(UCLA) R2257 FaradayRotationoftheCassiniS-BandTransponder Miralles,M-P.(CfA) Urgent fromSolarCorona
2.25 Nolan, M.C.(NAIC) R2260 RadarObservationsofAsteroid2006QV89 Howell, E.S. (NAIC)
488.75(SolarSystemStudiestotalhours)
Space & Atmospheric Sciences413.25 Zhou,Q.(MiamiU.,Ohio) T1193 CoordinatedIncoherentScatterRadarand Aponte, N. (NAIC) OpticalObservationsDuringtheWorldDays Friedman, J.(NAIC) During1999-2000 González, S.(NAIC) MacPherson,B.(UPS) Sulzer, M.(NAIC) Tepley, C.(NAIC)
112.75 Djuth,F.T.(GeospaceResearch) T1892 AContinuumofGravityWavesintheArecibo Sulzer, M.(NAIC) Thermosphere? Mathews,J.D.(PennState) Tepley, C.(NAIC) Zhou,Q.(MiamiU.,Ohio)
Hours Observers Project # Title
NAICAPRPP2007 25
81.75 Zhou,Q.(MiamiU.,Ohio) T2029 ObservationsofGravityWaveActivitiesintheMeso- Morton,Y.T.(MiamiU.,Ohio) sphereUsingtheDualBeamIncoherentScatter Zhang,J.(MiamiU.,Ohio) Radar
23.25 Meisel,D.D.(SUNYGeneseo) T2084 StudiesofaNewlyDiscoveredAsteroidalDust Bauer,E.E.(SUNYGeneseo) Stream Mathews,J.D.(PennState)
28.50 Meriwether,J.W.(ClemsonU.) T2085 RadarandOpticalMappingoftheMidnight Tepley, C.(NAIC) Temperature Sulzer, M. (NAIC) Faivre,M.(ClemsonU.) Brown,B.(HarvardUniv.)
34.25 Nikoukar,R.(U.Illinois) T2090 ANewApproachtotheOptimalExtractionof Sulzer, M. (NAIC) IonosphericParametersfromIncoherentScatter RadarMeasurements
227.50 Waldrop,L.S.(U.Illinois) T2091 ACharacterizationofEnergeticNeutralAtomsin Noto,J.(SSI) ThermosphericalIonosphere/ExosphereCoupling Kerr,R.(NSF) Betremieaux,Y.(SSI)
20.50 Bhatt,A.N.(Cornell) T2131 GyroLineObservationsinEandFRegionsDuring Kelley,M.C.(Cornell) EveningHoursatArecibo Sulzer, M.P. (NAIC)
10.00 Fernandez, J.(NAIC) T2134 E-RegionSeasonalObservationsofIon-Neutral Sulzer, M.P. (NAIC) CollisionFrequenciesUsingPlasmaandIonLine Aponte, N. (NAIC) Measurements
73.75 Riggin,D.(ColoradoResearch) T2138 AreciboStudiesofGravityWaveMomentumFlux Fritts,D.C.(ColoradoResearch) andMeteoricFluxintheMLTRegion Janches,D.(ColoradoResearch) Zhou,Q.(MiamiUniv.-Ohio) 17.00 Mathews,J.(PennState) T2162 TestTimefor430MHzInterferometerProject Wiig, J.(NAIC)
98.00 Janches,D.(ColoradoResearch) T2163 AProposalforRadarMeteorObservationsduring Chandran,A.(Univ.Colorado) theSeasonalMinimumoftheSporadicActivityat Arecibo:ACrucialNeedfortheConfirmationof ModeledPredictionsanditsRelationtothe AtmosphericCa,Ca+andKLayers
50.75 Zhou,Q.(MiamiUniv.-Ohio) T2165 DeterminationofIonCompositioninthe Brenneman,M.(MiamiUniv.-Ohio) IntermediateLayers
36.00 Raizada, S. (NAIC) T2166 MeasurementofNegativeIonsintheD-Regionand Sulzer, M.P. (NAIC) ComparisonwithNewModels
Hours Observers Project # Title
26 NAICAPRPP2007
45.25 Nicolls,M.J.(Cornell) T2211 High-ResolutionElectronTemperatureMeasure- Aponte, N. (NAIC) mentsUsingthePlasmaLineAsymmetry Sulzer, M.P. (NAIC)
22.75 Djuth,F.T.(GeospaceResearch) T2212 TheNaturalPlasmaLineRevisitedasanAeronomical Carlson,H.C.(AFOSR) Diagnostic Sulzer, M.P. (NAIC)
15.00 Kelley,M.C.(Cornell) T2213 VerificationandCalibrationofOn-OrbitDetectionof Wong,V.K.(Cornell) IonosphericLayersandConductivityUsingtheGPS Nicolls,M.J.(Cornell) OccultationMethod Sulzer, M.P. (NAIC)
59.00 Lee,M.C.(MIT) T2214 OpticalandRadarDiagnosticsofEnergeticElectron Sulzer, M.P. (NAIC) PrecipitationOverArecibo,PuertoRico Burton,L.(MIT) Cohen,J.(MIT) Husmann,D.(MIT) Labno,A.(MIT) Pradipta,R.(MIT) Rokusek,D.(MIT)
41.00 Waldrop,L.(Univ.Illinois) T2226 ImprovedNeutralAtomicOxygenDensityEstimation Sulzer, M.P. (NAIC) Urgent UsingtheAreciboDual-BeamISR
23.00 Waldrop,L.(Univ.Illinois) T2250 TheBurnsideFactorRevisited:AModel-Independent González, S.(NAIC) IonMomentumBalanceStudy
8.25 Rapp,M.(Inst.Atmos.Phys., T2253 SignaturesofChargedMeteoricSmokeParticlesin Germany) IncoherentScatterRadarSpectra Strelnikova,I.(Inst.Atmos.Phys.) Raizada, S.(NAIC) Sulzer, M.P. (NAIC)
1441.50(Space&AtmosphericSciencestotalhours)
Hours Observers Project # Title
NAICAPRPP2007 27
Figure 2.4.1. NumberofObservatoryvisitorsperyear.
3. Accomplishments and Plans of the NAIC Scientific Staff
NAIC Staff scientists are actively engaged in ob-servational investigations and theoretical analysisinareasofastrophysicalresearchfromthecosmo-logicalstructureoftheuniversetotheshapeofas-teroidspassinginthevicinityoftheEarth.Nearlyalloftheresearchprojectsinvolvedcollaborationsbetween NAIC staff scientists and colleagues atuniversitiesand instituteselsewhere. And,nearlyalloftheresearchinprogressnow,orplannedtobegin thisprogramyear,will extendover severalyearsasdataaretaken,reduced,analyzedandfi-nallywrittenup forpublication. For that reason,theresearchreportedherewillnotbecompletedinPY2007but substantialprogress isexpected inalltheprojectsmentionedhere.
3.1 Cosmology
A VLBI visibility-survey of a complete sample ofmore than 1000 radio sources selected from theVLA-FIRST catalog to have 1.4 GHz flux densitygreaterthan1mJyhasrecentlybeencompleted.This VLBI survey used the ultra-high sensitivityachievable with the Arecibo and Efflesberg tele-scopesat21-cmwavelengthwitheachtelescopebeingequippedwithVLBA/Mk4recordingat512Mbits/s.Evenforon-sourceintegrationsofaslittleas1-second,allsourceswithcompactcomponentsoffluxdensitygreaterthan1-mJyaredetectableat8-sigma or higher. This permits a cosmologicallyimportant statistical comparison tobemadewith
the few extensive surveys done of brighter(>10-mJy)sources,e.g. thePerson-ReadheadsurveyandtheCaltech-JodrellBanksurvey.
AlloftheVLA-FIRSTsourcesselectedforstudyliewithintheSloanDigitalSkySurveyareaandall are identified with SDSS objects brighterthanV=24mag. Redshiftsareavailable forallobjects. Thus, thebodyofdata forwhichinter-comparisons are possible is very exten-sive thereby leveragingthescientificvalueofthecurrentdataset.Amongthescientificre-sultstobegatheredfromthisworkisadeter-mination of the relative fraction of AGN andStarburstgalaxiesasafunctionofredshiftforafaintsourcepopulationofobjects.[C.Salter,T.Ghosh]
2.4 Visiting Public at the Observatory
Summary.Asinpreviousyears,theVisitorCenterhostedmanyspecialeventsforthegeneralpublicandfortheNAIC/AreciboObservatorycommunityingeneral.TheseincludedtheNAIC/NRAOSingleDish Summer School, Geoscience Workshop, theGordon Lecture, and other scientific and educa-tionalworkshops.Weupdated15displaysattheVisitorCenterandare in theprocessofupdatingandaddingnewpanels.Threeeducationalwork-shopswereoffered(twoforteachersandoneforjournalists)ontheissueofpseudoscience,andwehostedanastronomysummercampfor25middleschoolstudents.ThenumberofvisitorstotheAre-ciboObservatorydeclinedby9%andwehavetak-enseveralmeasures tomaketheoperationmoreefficient.
General Public. AtrendthatbeganinFY2005reflecting an annual decrease in the number ofvisitorstotheAreciboObservatoryisalsoreflectedinthefiguresforFY2006.Thenumberofvisitorstothefacility inFY2006was99,496ascomparedto109,108inFY2005.This9%decreaseisseeninboth the general public, and the school childrenvisiting A.O. But the main reason affecting theflowofvisitorsinFY2006wasthedropinthenum-berofschoolgroupsvisits.ThisissueisdiscussedinSection5.1.
ThePuertoRicoHotelandTourismindustryisalsoreportinga10%decrease inroomoccupancyforthisperiod. Manybusinesses inPuertoRicohavebeen affected by the lack of economy growth intheregion.
28 NAICAPRPP2007
3.2 Early Galaxies
Using the Arecibo telescope and the GMRT, HIandOHobservationsweremade towarda radiosample of 27-objects, seventeen of which were“Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum” (GPS) objects andCompact Steep Spectrum (CSS) objects. No OHemissionorabsorptionwasdetected towardanyof the sources,but theHIdetection ratewas ap-proximately25%,includingfourpreviously-knownHIabsorptionsystems.
When the new results are combined from otherHI searches it is possible to compile a sample of96radiosourcesconsistingof27GPS,35CSS,13compactflatspectrumand21large(LRG)sources.TheHIabsorptiondetectionrateishighest,~45%,for the compact GPS sources and it is lowest fortheLRGsources.WefindHIcolumndensitytobeanticorrelatedwithsourcesize,asreportedearlierbyPihlstrometal.,a trend that isconsistentwithinferences fromoptical spectroscopy. TheHIcol-umndensityshowsnosignificantdependenceoneitherredshiftorluminosity,whicharethemselvesstronglycorrelated.Theseresultssuggestthattheenvironmentsof radiosourcesonGPS/CSSscalesaresimilaratdifferentredshifts.Further,inaccor-dance with the unification scheme, the GPS/CSSgalaxies have a HI detection rate, ~40%, that issignificantlyhigherthanthedetectionrate,~20%,towardtheGPS/CSSquasars.Alsoinaccordwiththe unification scheme, the strongest absorptioncomponentdetectedtowardGPSsourcesappearsblue-shiftedinastrongmajority(65%)ofthecases.All of these results are in accord with a growingbodyofevidencesupportingthemodel inwhichjet-cloudinteractionsplayanimportantroleinde-
terminingtheionizationandkinematicalpropertiesof the interstellargas inearlyandactivegalaxies.[T.Ghosh,C.Salter]
3.3 Active Galaxies
AspartoftheNAICsummerresearchprogramforundergraduates, under the supervision of TapasiGhosh, Emmanuel Momjian, and Chris Salter(NAIC), María Ximena Fernández (Vassar andDartmouth)workedonaproject that focusedon85galaxies fromthe2Jy IRAS-NVSSSamplewithfar-IR luminosities>109L
sun. Thissubsamplecon-
tained objects that lay in the R.A. (B1950) range20h-00h. The project resulted in several new HIandOHdetections,both inemissionandabsorp-tion.AmongthemostinterestingofthesewasthediscoveryofHIandOH-megamaseremissionfromtheULIRGIRAS23327+2913(L
IR=1.15×1012L
sun;
z~0.107).ThisULIRGisasystemoftwogalaxiesseparatedbyabout20kpcatthebeginningstagesofinteraction(Dinh-Vi-Trungetal.2001,ApJ,556,141),seeFigure3.3.1.Thenortherngalaxyisdis-turbed,while thesouthernone isanormalspiralwith a very thick bar structure. Dinh-Vi-Trung etal. report the detection of CO(1-0) only from theapparentlyundisturbedsoutherncomponent.Follow-up observations of this ULIRG were madebythegroupinOctober2006.Figure3.3.2showstheHIspectrumfromIRAS23327+2913.Thecen-tralvelocityofthedominantspectral feature indi-cates that this HI emission is associated with thesoutherncomponent,whiletheweaker“shoulder”at~32000km/scorrespondstotheredshiftofthenortherncomponent.Figure3.3.3showstheOHmegamaser spectrum,with thedominant featurefrom the 1667 MHz transition: this has a broad,
Figure 3.3.1. Left frame:thecontourplotsoftheCO(1-0)emissionfromIRAS23327+2913overlaidontheR-bandimage.Centralframe:contourplotofthesameR-bandimageatthesamescale.Rightframe:K-bandimage(Dinh-Vi-Trungetal.2001)
NAICAPRPP2007 29
probablydouble-peaked,structure.The1665MHztransition is very tentatively detected and corre-spondstothefeatureat~32700km/s.ThecentralvelocityoftheOH1667MHzlinesuggeststhatthemegamaseremissionfromthesystemismorelikelyto be associated with the southern component.Nomegamaseremission isdetectedat theveloc-itycorrespondingtothenorthern,disturbed,com-ponentof thisULIRG.Theresultspresentedhere,combinedwiththeCO(1-0)observationsofDinh-Vi-Trungetal.(2001),showthatIRAS23327+2913doesnotfitintothecommonlyacceptedscenariofor ULIRGS of a merger between two disk galax-ies,wherethetwoprogenitorsofthemergerarestrongly disturbed during the interacting phase,with the final product of the merger resemblinganellipticalgalaxy(Mihos&Hernquist1996,ApJ,464,641).[M.Fernandez,E.Momjian,T.Ghosh&C.Salter]
3.4 Normal Galaxies and Clusters
The evolution of the Tully-Fisher relation overcosmictimeismuchdebated.Ifgalaxiesweremoreluminousinthepast,weshouldobserveanoffsetintheTFRderivedindependentlyathighandlowredshiftz(i.e.,achangeofitszeropoint).However,studiesbasedonoptical spectroscopy(e.g.Floresetal.2006,AAP,455,107)havereachedconflict-ingconclusions.Resultsvaryfromsubstantiallumi-nosityevolution(inexcessofonemagnitudewithrespecttothez=0TFR)evenatmodestz,tonosig-nificantchangeuptoz~1.EvidenceforevolutionoftheTFR,orlackthereof,remainsinconclusive.
Barbara Catinella (NAIC-Arecibo) and collabora-torsatCornell(M.P.HaynesandR.Giovanelli)andtheUniversityofPittsburgh(J.P.GardnerandA.J.Connolly)haveundertakenatargetedsurveywiththe305-mAreciboradiotelescopetodetectHI-lineemission from disk galaxies at z>0.16 (i.e. at fre-quenciesbelow1220MHz).Amongotherapplica-tions,thisdatasetwillbeusedtostudytheevolu-tionoftheTFRatintermediateredshifts.Comparedtoopticalwidths,HImeasurementssamplealargerfractionofthedisks,wheretherotationcurvesaretypicallyflat,andarenotaffectedbyslitsmearing,bymisalignment,orbyapertureeffects. Thus, incontrasttostudiesbasedonopticalspectroscopy,radioobservationsallowadirect, technique-inde-pendentcomparisonwiththelocalTFR.
Naturally,detectionof21cmemissionfromgalax-iesatz>0.1isdifficult:thesignalsareweak,accu-rate redshiftsof the targetsneedtobeknown inadvance, the presence of radio frequency inter-ference restricts the accessible redshift windows,andthelargernumberofgalaxiessampledbytheantennabeamathigherredshiftleadstoincreasedconfusion problems. In fact, these observationshaveonlyrecentlybecomefeasiblethankstotech-nicalimprovementsatArecibo(Gregorianupgrade,anewL-widereceiverin2003,withaccesstofre-quenciesdownto1.12GHz),andtotheavailabilityoftheSloanDigitalSkySurvey3.2.
23FundingfortheSloanDigitalSkySurvey(SDSS)andSDSS-IIhasbeenprovidedbytheAlfredP.SloanFoundation,theParticipatingInstitutions,theNationalScienceFoundation,theU.S.Departmentof Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration,theJapaneseMonbukagakusho,theMaxPlanckSociety,andtheHigherEducationFundingCouncilforEngland.TheSDSSWebsiteathttp://www.sdss.org/,hosts itsdatabase,whichprovideshighquality photometric images, accurate redshifts, and line-emissioninformationforalargenumberofgalaxies.
Figure 3.3.2. SpectrumoftheHI21-cmlineemissionfromthe ULIRG IRAS23327+2913. The velocity resolution is 29km/s.
31000 31500 32000 32500 33000Heliocentric Velocity (km/s)
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5Fl
ux D
ensit
y (m
Jy)
IRAS 23327+2913 HI
31000 31500 32000 32500 33000Heliocentric Velocity (km/s)
0.0
0.5
1.0
Flux
Den
sity
(mJy
)
IRAS 23327+2913 OH
Figure 3.3.3.SpectrumoftheOH18-cmmegamaseremis-sion from IRAS23327+2913. The broad, probably double-peaked,dominantspectral featurecorrespondstothe1667MHztransitionfromthesoutherncomponentofthesystem.The1665MHzlineistentativelydetectedandcorrespondstothespectralfeatureat~32700km/s.Thevelocityresolutionis27km/s.
30 NAICAPRPP2007
Thegroup'stargetsforHIspectroscopyatArecibowereextractedfromtheSDSSdatabaseonthebasisoftheirredshift,opticalemission-linestrength,incli-nation,diskmorphology,andrelativeisolation(tominimizeconfusionwithinthebeam).HIprofilesofadequatequalityforvelocity-widthmeasurementswere obtained for 20 galaxies with 0.17 ≤ z ≤ 0.25, with average total integration times between 2and6hours.Figure3.4.1showsthehighestred-shiftdetectionofHIemissionfromanormalgalaxytodate (z=0.2455). TheHI spectraof12of the20detectionsarepresentedinFigure5. Analysisoftheselectionbiasesofthissample,necessarytoestablish if there isachangeoftheTFzeropointbasedonthisdataset,isinprogress.[B.Catinella]
The Arecibo Galaxy Environment Survey recentlycovered five square degrees around the NGC7332/7339 galaxy pair. The survey detected thelarge spiral galaxy, NGC 7339 along with twopreviously unknown dwarf galaxies in the group(AGESJ2238+2352andAGESJ2236+2343).Thelenticular galaxy NGC 7332 and the dwarf sphe-roidalgalaxyKKR73werenotdetected,butupperlimitscanbesetontheirneutralhydrogenmasses.The survey also found at least twenty galaxies inthevolumebehindthegroup,outtoaredshiftof~17,000km/s.WiththecommissioningofthenewE-ALFAcorrelatorearlynextyear,itisexpectedthatAGESwillfindmoreofthedistantsourcesinfuturefields.[R.Minchin]
3.5 Intergalactic Gas and Tidal Remnants
Damped Lyman Alpha (DLA) absorption systemsareindicativeofalargecolumndensityofHIalongthe line of sight to a distant object. Always, theinterpretation is that DLA absorption arises in adisk galaxy and, depending on the angular scaleofthebackgroundsource,itcanbetheintegratedabsorptionoftheentireinterveningdiskoritcouldbeabsorptionresultingfromasingledarkcloudinthedisk.Theabsorptionlinewidthallowsustodis-criminatebetweenthesetwocases.DLAabsorp-tionsystemsarecommonlyseenintheabsorptionspectrumofz~1-3QSO,buttheyarenearlyabsentinthelocal,z<1universe.Someofthisiscertainlya selectioneffectas theLy- line isunobservablefromthegroundatz<1. Here iswheretheradioobservationshaveuniqueutility.
Recently,asearchhasbeenmadeofmore forHIabsorption searching for DLA systems towardmore than 200 distant, compact, radio sources.Thesearch issensitivitytoDLAsystemsat0<z<0.3. Dataare takenusing themethodofdoublepositionswitchingwherethetargetobjectandthecalibratorobjectwerebothobjects tobe studiedand,onthesky,theywereaclosepairofsources.DLAabsorptiontowardthe“target”wouldappearas absorption in the spectrum of the “reference”objectwhereasDLAabsorptioninthe“reference”would appear as a peak in the ratio spectrum.Analysisofthedataisunderwaywithapreliminaryindicationthatthedetectionrateisunlikelytoex-ceedabout5%.
(a) (b)
Figure 3.4.1.(Left)SDSSimageofthegalaxyJ142735.69+033434.2(fromtheSDSSSkyServerwebpageathttp://cas.sdss.org/dr5/en/);thesizeofthefieldshownis1.3´.(Right)Calibrated,smoothedHIspectrumobtainedatArecibo.TheverticalredlineindicatesthefrequencycorrespondingtotheSDSSredshift(z=0.2455).Thetotalon-sourceintegrationtimeis176minutes.ThisrepresentsthehighestredshiftdetectionofHIemissionfromanormalgalaxytodate.
NAICAPRPP2007 31
When finalized, this studywillhelp improvebothDLAstatisticsatlowredshift,andknowledgeoftheHImassfractionatthepresentepoch.Importantly,theradiosearchesarenotaffectedbyobscurationintheinterveninggalacticdiskssothestatisticalin-formationwillremainrobust.[T.Ghosh,C.Salter]
3.6 Milky Way Galaxy
An important gap in our understanding of theevolutionofstarsofmodestmass, likeourSun, istheabsenceofanabinitiounderstandingofmass-lossattheirasymptoticgiantbranch(AGB)phase.We have no accepted theoretical constraints onthe rate or on the evolution of dM/dt from AGBstars,andsoworkwithadhocrelationsadaptedtoinferredratesofdM/dt.Thishasbeenonereasonfor studying OH/IR stars. Recent work by Lewisshows that the problem has now become morecomplex, as when NIR and OH observations arecombinedwithmodellingresults,theysuggestthatthedM/dtofOH/IRstarsisstronglymodulatedonamuchlongertime-scalethanthepulsationalperi-odsofthestars.
Previouspointers to thisoccur inCOmappingofthecarbonstarIRC+10216,andinHubbleimagesof the Cat’s Eye and Egg nebulae, which exhibita sequence of concentric rings underlying all oftheir other structure. The NIR colors of OH/IRstarsdefineatightlinearlocusextendingoverfiveorders of magnitude in a 2MASS two-color plot.Lewis(AJ132,489)modelsthisusingtheradiativetransfercodeDUSTY,andfindsthattheNIRcolorsofasetofmodelsfromarangeofconstantdM/dtexactly trace the locus provided one uses a cold-silicatedustopacity,andstartswithastellarspec-tral energy distribution (SED) matching its bluestcolors.Itistheneasytomodelthedetachedshellthatgrowsunderthenormalexpansionofathick,dust-shellmodelwhendM/dt issettozero:thesemodelsalsofollowthelocus.OnebyproductistheassociationofachronologywiththeirNIRcolors,whichshowsthatittakes<100yrforashelltotra-verse theentirecolor locus. Andmuchthemostrapidcolorevolutionnaturallyoccurswhiledustisdeparting from the vicinity of the dust-formationradius,where ithas itsmaximumvolumedensity.Thisisthekeyfinding.
The firstevidence forageneraldeepmodulationofdM/dtisfrommassiveOH/IRstars,andisbasedoncombiningmodellingresultswiththedistribu-tion of NIR colors of cohorts of stars selected on
thebasisoftheirMIRcolors:80%ofthosewiththereddestMIRcolorsfallnearthemiddleofthelocusratherthanatitsredend,wheretheywouldoccuriftheirshellsweregeneratedbyaconstantdM/dt(Lewisetal.,AJ,127,501).ThisisonlyexplicableforthermallypulsingOH/IRstarsifthesestarshaveastronglymodulateddM/dt.
The second line of evidence comes from model-lingtherapidlossof1612MHzmasersfromlow-mass OH/IR stars. Four of those in the Areciboskyhavecompletelylosttheir1612MHzmasersinthelast20yr,andone,fromthe472dayLPVIRAS19479+2111, recently turned ON again. Gray,HoweandLewis(MNRAS364,783)modelledthespeed of the decline in maser intensity, by con-structing the set of time-dependent OH columndensities arising when dM/dt goes abruptly tozeroafterbeingconstantfor300yr,togetherwithatime-dependentradiativetransfermodelforthegenerationofthemasers.Thesemodelsmatchthedeclineofthemasers,andshowtheyarepumpedthroughthe53µmtransitions.ThesearesensitivetothereprocessingofthestellarSEDbytheinner-mostdustshell,whichisvacatedfirstwhendM/dt=0.Thisleadstoaweakeningofthepumpandtothe lossof themaser. TherapidswitchingON&OFFofthesemasersisthusshowntobeanartifactofastronglymodulateddM/dtfromanOH/IRstarthathadamodestprogenitormass.
With both massive and low-mass stars exhibitingstronglymodulatedmass-lossrates,stellarstructurecalculationsaredoomed to rely for some time tocomeonanaveragedM/dt,andtoinferthisfromobservations.ThisfindingalsohelpsustointerprettheNIRcolor-magnitudeplotsofcarbonstarsfromSpitzerobservationsofLocalGroupgalaxies,whichshowlightlypopulated“echosequences”trackingthefundamentalandfirstovertonesequences.
Coldatomicgasrepresents~30%oftheISMmassinourpartoftheGalaxy.Sincehydrogenisthemostabundantelementininterstellargas,theHI21-cmlineisanaturalprobeofthecoldatomicphase,thecoldestpartsofwhich(T<50K)canbedetectedasHIself-absorption(HISA)againstbrighterback-groundHIemission(Figure3.6.1).
Untilrecently,HISAstudiesofcoldHIwereham-peredbylowangularresolution,limitedskycover-age,orboth,makingitdifficulttomeasuretheab-sorptionproperlyandchart thecloudpopulationinanunbiasedway.Buttheseproblemshavebeenovercomewithnewlarge-scale,arcminute-resolu-
32 NAICAPRPP2007
tion 21cm radio synthesis surveys of the Galacticdisk.Recentworkshowsthat(1)arichandvariedHISApopulationcanbeseenathighangularreso-lution,and(2)mostofthesecoldHIcloudshaveno obvious counterparts in the standard 2.6mmCO J=1-0 line tracer of molecular gas. The lattercontradicts traditionalexpectations thatHISAgastraces the small fraction of molecular cloud gasthat isatomic,unless theCOproxy forH
2 is itself
suspect.
Algorithms have been developed to identify andanalyzetheCGPSHISAfeaturessystematically(Gib-sonetal.,2005a,2005b;seealsoGibson2002).Wehavefoundafaint, intricateHISApopulationthatappearsubiquitousandmaytraceturbulentfluctu-ationsintheinterstellarmedium.Bycontrast,stron-gerHISAisconcentratedintodiscretecomplexes,manywithradialvelocitiesexpectedforthedensitywaveofthePerseusspiralarm(Roberts,1972).In-deed,thestrongouter-GalaxyHISAweseeintheCGPSrequiresspiralarmvelocityperturbations inordertoexist;otherwise,thevelocity-distancerela-tionshipismonotonic,andnoorganizedHIemis-sion background can occur at the same velocityastheabsorbinggas.HISAthusprobesthespiralstructure of our galaxy from the inside. We havealsofoundthat,statistically,mostCGPSHISAdoesnotcorrespondwithsignificantCOemission.ThisdoesnotruleoutH
2untracedbyCO,apossibility
underinvestigationelsewhere.Or,someHISAmay
lackmoleculargasentirely.Equilibriumcloudmod-elshavedifficultyexplainingthelowHISAtemper-ature without molecular cooling, but equilibriummaynotapply.Instead,theHISAmaytracecoldHIbeforeorafteraphasechange.Inthestandardspi-ral shock picture, gas is compressed downstreamoftheshock,whereitformsmolecularcloudsandthenthemassivestarsthatdefinethespiralarm.Ifthisiscorrect,HISAistracingevolvinggasaswellasspiralstructure.
TheoriginalCGPSlongitudecoveragehasbeenex-tendedto65-175degrees,andwehavesubmittedaproposalforasecondextensionto190degrees.Inaddition,theVLAGalacticPlaneSurvey(VGPS;Taylor et al., 2002) has been observed over 18 -67 degrees longitude, and the Southern GalacticPlaneSurvey(McClure-Griffithsetal.,2001)cover-ing252-358degreesisbeingextendedthroughthe Galactic center to 20 degrees. Collectively,these and other projects to map molecular gasanddustinthesameareasarenowknownastheInternational Galactic Plane Survey (IGPS). Whenthe IGPS data are complete, they will allow HISAmapping over most of the Galactic disk. Already,theseeffortsarebearingfruit:apreliminaryanaly-sisofpartoftheVGPS(Gibsonetal.,2004)showedHISAisevenmorecommonherethanintheCGPS(Figure 3.6.2). The inner-Galaxy sightlines of theVGPSshouldbemorefavorableforHISA,sincegasonthenearsideoftheGalacticcenteralwayshas
Figure 3.6.1.Left:DarkHISAcloudsintheCGPS(Gibsonetal.,2000).SomeHISAfeatureshaveCOemission(contours),butsomedonot.Right:SpectraoftwoHISAfeaturesatv=-40km/s,withtotalHIemission(top),ON-OFFabsorptionstrength(middle),andCOemission(bottom).
NAICAPRPP2007 33
a far-side emission backgroundat the same velocity. The VGPSHISA also shows an improvedthough still imperfect CO cor-respondence, perhaps becauseof the same geometric effect.Mostintriguingistheprominentconcentration of HISA along anumberofvelocity features thatlooksuspiciouslylikespiralarms.Spiral structure has traditionallybeenmoredifficult todiscern inthe inner Galaxy, but HISA mayhelpwiththissituation.
Most sightlines in the sky lacksufficiently bright backgroundsto produce self-absorption, andsince the population of cold HIclouds should be randomly dis-tributed with respect to suchbackgrounds, the majority ofcold HI features should manifest as narrow-lineHIemission(NHIE)ratherthanHISA(onefamousexampleisVerschuur’sCloudA;seeKnapp&Ver-schuur,1972).ThealgorithmsusedtodetectHISAintheCGPSdatasetcanalsoberuninaninversemodeto identifyNHIE features.Early testsof thisfacilityonCGPSdatashowconsiderablepromise,withagreatmanyNHIEfeaturesappearingasor-ganizedstructuresontheskyandinvelocity.TheCGPS NHIE feature population outnumbers theCGPS HISA population considerably, as might beexpected.Furtherwork isplannedtoexplore thespatial distributions of the NHIE features and toconstraintheirpropertieswithadditionaldata.[S.Gibson]
3.7 Pulsars
TheP-ALFAsurveyhasdiscovered35newpulsarstodate. Thesewere foundusingthe“quicklook”processing. This program degrades the data bya factorof16 in timeand resolution toallow foralmostreal-timesearchingofpulsars.However,bydoingthis,thereductionprocesshassystematicallydegraded itssensitivity to fastpulsarsandpulsarsat high dispersion measures (DMs). The P-ALFAconsortium intends to re-reduceall itsdatawhileexploitingitsfullfrequencyandtimeresolution.
Duringthepastsummer,PatrickLazarus,anunder-graduatestudentatMcGillUniversity,workedwithDavidChampion,JasonHesselsandVickyKaspion
P-ALFAdatareduction.Theyworkedonaseriesofpythonscriptsdevelopedtoautomaticallyprocessthe P-ALFA data with full resolution using ScottRansom’s(NRAO)PRESTOroutines. Thesescriptsalsoloadtheresultsintoadatabase,tobehostedbytheCornellTheoryCenter.Finally,Patrickdevel-opedaviewerthatconnectstothedatabaseandallowscandidatestobebrowsedandflagged.Aspartof thetestingof thescriptsandthepipeline,severaldisksworthofdatahavebeenprocessed,andthepulsarsseeninthe“quicklook”processingwereagainreadilydetected.Inaddition,onenewpulsarhasbeendiscovered,PSRJ1903+03.ItwasdetectedwithaS/Nof24.2,aspinperiodof2.15ms,andaDMof~300cm-3pc. Fromtheconfir-mationandtimingobservationsmadetodate,itisclearthatthismillisecondpulsar(MSP)isinabinarysystem with an orbital period of several hundreddays.
Outside globular clusters this is the 5th fastestspinningpulsarknown:whenglobularclusterpul-sars are also included, it is the 11th. This objecthas the highest DM known for any MSP. This isextremelyimportant—itconfirmsthefactthattheP-ALFAsurveycanseeMSPsdeepintothediskofthe Galaxy, far from the Solar System, where thevastmajorityofMSPsawaitdiscovery. MSPs,par-ticularlythoseinbinarysystems,areimportantformanyareasofastrophysics(see,forinstance,articleonPSRJ1738+0333).
Figure 3.6.2.HISAlinestrengthintegratedoverlatitudefora25-degreesectionoftheVGPS,withdarkerfeaturesbeingstronger.ManyHISAfeaturesrunalmostparalleltolinesofconstantGalactocentricradiusR(overplottedforaflatrotationcurvewithR0=8.5kpcandv0=220km/s),whichisconsistentwiththeHISAtracingspiralstructureintheinnerGalaxy(Gibson,2004).
34 NAICAPRPP2007
Using models of the electron distribution of theGalaxyandthepulsarpopulation,DuncanLorimer(West Virginia Univ.) predicts that the presentobserving system (i.e. 100 MHz bandwidth, 268-s integrations) will detect 120 MSPs in the area32<l<77 and |b|<5. There are currently only9knownMSPs in thisarea thatarenot inglobu-larclusters. Thispredictionhastobetakenwithcaution,becausetheeffectsofscatteringareveryimportant in this case, and they are to a largeextent unknown. Nevertheless, they agree withthepredictionsmadebyPauloFreireatthe205thAAS meeting in Washington D.C. (http://www2.naic.edu/alfa/pulsar/AAS205.76.06.ppt). HeusedpulsarDMdistributionstoshowthat,iftheParkesMulti-beamsurveyhadthesametime(64µs)andspectral(0.39MHz)resolutionoftheP-ALFAsurvey,itwouldhavedetectedbetween40and60MSPsintheportionoftheAreciboskyitsurveyed.Thesewould probably have a flat distribution of DMsfrom0to400cm-3pc. Inreality, itdetected fourMSPs, all with DMs below 40 cm-3 pc. Pulsars athigherDMswerelostbecauseofdispersivesmear-ingacrossits3-MHzfilters.Furthermore,becauseoftherelativelysmalldwelltimes,theP-ALFAsur-veys have unprecedented sensitivity to MSPs inbinarysystemswithshortorbitalperiods.
Discovering120newMSPswouldtriplethenumberofknownMSPs inthediskof theGalaxy.Triplingthebandwidthofthesystem,afeattobeachievedwiththenewP-ALFAspectrometers,willdefinitelyincrease thenumberofdiscoveries. Will thispre-dictionbeverified? PatrickLazarus found1newMSP after searching 200 pointings (about 1400beams). This representsabout4squaredegrees;the full survey is to cover an area of about 440squaredegrees.SowemayfindalargenumberofMSPsafterall.
In2007workwillaccelerateonunderstandingre-cycledradiopulsars.Theseobjectspossessextraor-dinary long-term rotational stability; this makesthem extremely valuable tools in physics experi-ments:
• The density of matter at the center ofneutron stars is one or two orders ofmagnitude larger than the density ofatomic nuclei. The relation betweenpressureanddensityoftheneutronflu-id(knownasequationofstate,orEOS)isnotknownfortheseregimes.Studiesofrecycledpulsarscanconstrainit:
"Stiff" EOSs predict that matter ishighly incompressible. That wouldproduce very large stars that can-notwithstandlargespinfrequencieswithoutbreakingapart.Findingfast-spinningpulsarscouldthereforedis-provesuchEOSs.
Onthecontrary,thevery"soft"EOSspredict, because of their differentmicro-physical assumptions, lowerpressures for a given density. Morecompressible matter translates intosmaller, compact stars with veryhigh gravitational fields, with uppermasslimitsofabout1.6solarmasses(above that limit, the star implodesand forms a black hole). Finding amore massive star, we can excludesuch"soft"EOSs.
• Binary pulsars give us the only strong-fieldtestsofgravitationaltheories.Rus-sell Hulse and Joe Taylor earned theNobelPrize inPhysics in1993fortheirdiscoveryof the firstbinarypulsar,PSRB1916+13. The precise tracking of themotion of this object led to the confir-mationoftheexistenceofgravitationalwaves, a fundamental prediction ofGeneralRelativity.
These two astrophysics experiments are amongthe toppriorities for research inastrophysicsout-lined inthereportoftheNationalAcademiesen-titled“FromQuarkstotheCosmos:ElevenScienceQuestionsfortheNewCentury”(BoardonPhysicsandAstronomy,2003,NationalAcademiesPress).Some of the specific investigations underway in-cludethefollowing:
• NinenewpulsarshavesincebeenfoundinTerzan5.Oneofthem,Terzan5ad,isaneclipsingbinarysystem,anditisnow the fastest spinning pulsar known.Although it is still not fast enough toconstrain the equation of state seri-ously,otherfasterpulsarsmightstillbefoundinglobularclusters.Also,Terzan5adalreadyconstrainsmodelsofgravi-tationalwaveemission,anditmightbedetectedbyLIGOinthenearfuture.
• Continued timing observations willbe made of the first double pulsar,
NAICAPRPP2007 35
PSR J0737-3039 A and B at ATNF.Timing this pulsar for only three yearshasalreadyyieldedthe most precise strong-field tests of General Rela-tivity ever!
• The ALFA pulsar survey will benefitfrom the increased processing band-widthmadepossiblebythenewNAICPALFA spectrometer (see also the Are-cibo website of this survey and for in-formation on the spectrometer). Thishas recently discovered the second most relativistic system known, PSR J1906+0746. This system is alsoabout 1000 times younger than the double pulsar.Itbelongstoanewpopulation of young, binary systemsthatcouldincludeevenmoreeccentricand compacts orbits! This survey is ex-pected to find many hundredsof newpulsars. It is specially sensitive to fast-spinningpulsarsandpulsarswithshortorbitalperiods,infactithasjustfound its first MSP!
• Timing the PSR J1738+0333 binarysystematArecibohave recently result-edinthe lowest limits ever on emis-sion of dipolar gravitational waves.This is very important for constrainingalternative theories of gravitation! [P.Freire]
3.8 Solar System
Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann3madeacloseapproachtotheEarthinMay2006,andpresentedanexcellentobserving opportunity: The best sinceC/Iras-Araki-Alcock 1983. The comethas split into several fragments, andMike Nolan and John Harmon (NAIC)obtained radar images of two of thenucleus fragments and the first-everradar“image”ofthecomaoffragment“B”.EllenHowell (NAIC)obtainedspa-tially-resolvedOHspectratodeterminewateroutflowfluxandvelocity.
Radarobservationsofasteroid(99942)ApophisinMayByLanceBenner(JPL)and Mike Nolan reduced the uncer-taintyinitsorbit,reducingthepredicted
probabilitywiththeEarthin2036byaboutafactoroftwotoabout1in40,000.
A radar-derived shape model of the near-Earthasteroidbinarysystem1999KW4appears in twocompanionarticlestoappearinScience(seeFigure3.8.1).Thefirstpaper,bySteveOstro(JPL)etal.(Sci-ence, 2006, doi: 10.1126/science.1133622), useshigh resolution radar images allow the shape ofthelargercomponent(“Alpha”)tobedeterminedtowithin3% ineachdimension.Sincethebinaryorbit determines the mass, they accurately deter-minedthedensity(1.97±0.24g/cm3).
Together, Alpha’s size, shape, spin, density, andporosity reveal it to be an unconsolidated gravi-tationalaggregateclosetoitsbreakuppoint,sug-gestingthatKW4’sorigininvolvedspin-upanddis-ruptivemasssheddingofalooselyboundprecur-sorobject,probablywithinthepastmillionyears,andperhapsmuchmorerecently.Thedisruptionmay have been caused by tidal effects of a closeencounterwithaplanetorbytorquesduetother-mal radiation of absorbed sunlight (the “YORP”effect).Thenear-circularityofAlpha’spole-onpro-filefurthersuggeststhatthedisruptionmayhaveproduced a quasi-circular disc of particles ratherthanmerelyaprolateelongatedbody.
The second paper, by Daniel Scheeres (Univ. ofMichigan) and collaborators (Science, 2006, doi:10.1126/science.1133599)examinesthedynamicsof thebinary system.Theydetermined that solid-body effects and a coupling between rotationalandorbitalmotioncanbemorepronouncedandcanhavedifferenttimescalesthanwiththeother
Figure 3.8.1.Shapeofasteroidbinarysystem1999KW4,asderivedfromtherange-DopplerechoesoftheAreciboS-bandradar.(Courtesy,MikeNolan)
36 NAICAPRPP2007
binariesthatnaturehasprovided(binarystars,theEarth-MoonandPluto-Charonsystems,andmuchlargerbinaryasteroids like the Ida-Dactyl system).Previous studies of binary system dynamics havenothadtowrestlewithinteractionsofcomponentswhoseshapesareirregularandasymmetricalandwhoseinteriorsarenonrigid,porousassemblagesofgranularmaterials.ThenewresearchestablishesthetechniquesneededtoinvestigatebinaryNEAsanddisclosesphenomenacriticaltounderstandinghowtheseasteroidsoriginatedandevolved.
The3-MWgasturbinegeneratorthatpowerstheS-bandradarsystemwasfoundtohaveaseriousfaultduringaroutine inspection inJuly thisyear.Ithasnowbeenrepaired,andoperationsshouldhave resumed by the time of publication of thisnewsletter.
BeginninginJanuary2000,theSaturnsystemhasbeen observable for abouthalf an hour per night atArecibo: The transmitter isrunfor30minutes,thenthetelescope performs otherobservationsuntilitistimetoreceive the echoes an hourandahalflater.
A number of observing pro-grams have been observingSaturn’s rings and satellites.After the 2007 apparition,SaturnwillheadSouthoftheArecibo declination rangeuntil 2028, and the observ-ers are looking forward toa final observing season inJanuary and February2007.[M. Nolan, E. Howell and J.Harmon]
The long-period CometSWAN (C/2006 M4) wasdiscovered 12 July 2006 onSOHO spacecraft images.The comet experienced anoutburst on 25 October(IAUC8766)andhadbright-ened by more than 4 visualmagnitudes. This brighten-ingbehaviorinalong-periodcometoftensuggestsafrag-mentation of the nucleus.
Fragmentationeventsgenerallyresultinadramaticincreaseingasproductionandcouldleadtototaldisruptionofthebody. Observationsofsplitandfragmentingcometssuchasthisprovideanimpor-tantviewofthefresh,unprocessedinterioricesthatarepreservedfromthetimeoftheformationofthecomet in the early solar system. Fortunately, theAreciboObservatoryisquiteresponsivetotargetsof opportunity, particularly during daytime hourswhenmanyastronomicalobservationscannotbedone.WeobservedCometSWANon27-29Octo-ber, and detected the 1665 and 1667 MHz OHlines.WeobservedusingL-wide,centeredonthenucleus position, and in a hexagonal pattern 4.1arcminaway,whichcorrespondsto179,000kmatthedistanceofthecomet.The1667MHzspectraareshowninFigure3.8.2,withmodelfitsshownasdottedlines.Thehexagonisorientedwiththesun-ward and tailward direction as projected on thesky. Over the three-day period, there were only
Figure 3.8.2. TheOH1667MHzlineofCometSWAN(C/2006M4)on27October2006.Thenucleuspositionisinthecenter,andeachouterpositionis4.1arcminutesawayfromthe nucleus in the coma, which corresponds to 179,000 km at the comet. The modelspectraareshownasdottedlinesalongwiththedata.Themodelassumeshemisphericalsymmetry, sodeviations in individualoff spectramay indicate jetsorasymmetries in thecoma.(Courtesy,EllenHowell)
NAICAPRPP2007 37
minorchangesinobservedlinestrength,andthosecouldbeattributedtoexpectedchangesinexcita-tionof theOHas thecometmovedwith respectto the sun. More detailed analysis is continuing.Additionalobservationsmayindicatewhetherthisnewactivitywillcontinue,orifthiswasaone-timeevent and the comet will gradually fade back topreviousbrightness levels.Thesedatawillbepar-ticularlyinterestingforcomparisonwithourrecentobservations of the fragments of periodic Comet73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann3.
3.9 Fundamental Physics
PSR J1738+0333 is a 5.85-ms pulsar in a binarysystem with an orbital period of 8.5 hours, anda companion white dwarf (WD) with a mass of~0.2 solar masses. This millisecond pulsar (MSP)was found with the Parkes 64-m radio telescopeinasearchledbyBryanJacoby(thenatCaltech)andMatthewBailes(Swinburne).PauloFreirehasmadetimingobservationsofthispulsarforthelast3years,sopreliminaryresultshavebeenpresentedherebefore.However,thisisnowoneofthemostpreciselytimedpulsarsever,withrmsresidualsoforder200nsperWAPPperhour. Itsorbithasasmall apparent eccentricity of about 0.0000011,whichimpliesthattheorbit itselfdoesnotdepartfrombeingexactlycircular(witharadiusof102,000kmsini,whereiistheinclination)bymorethan80microns(and,yes,thisvalueiscorrect).
Recent optical work constrains the masses of thepulsar and its companion. Using the MagellantelescopeMartenvanKerkwijkidentifiedthecom-panion star and measured its spectrum, which isvery similar to the 0.203 solar mass companionof PSR J1909-3744. Further, the radial-velocitycurvewasmeasuredusingGeminiSouth(seeFig.3.9.1),fromwhichonecanderiveitsmassratioof8.1±0.3. The pulsar’s mass is therefore ~1.6±0.2solar masses (assuming a 10% uncertainty in themassofthecompanion).Thisisinterestingaswereittobemeasuredmoreprecisely,itcouldexcludesomemodelsforthebehaviourofmatteratdensi-ties higher than that of the atomic nucleus. It isalso important because it allows a calculation oftheexpectedrateoforbitaldecayduetotheemis-sion of quadrupolar gravitational waves (the sortpredicted by GR) of –(3.4±0.6)×10-14 s/s. This isvery important, because asymmetric systems likethis (where one of the components has a muchlargerself-gravitationalenergythantheother)canbeusedtoconstrainalternativetheoriesofgravita-
tioninawaythatisimpossiblefordoubleneutronstarsystems.
This calculated period derivative, which is ~60timessmallerthanthatoftheHulse-Taylorbinary,suggeststhattheorbitalperiodshouldshortenby~1microsecond/yr.After3yearsoftimingPaulofindsameasuredvalueof–(4.4±2.9)×10-14s/s.Thedifference between the predicted and observedvaluesisthesmallestevermeasured.This inturnintroducesthetightestconstraintsyetonthedipo-largravitationalwaveemissionpredictedbyalter-native theoriesofgravitation. Ifwe interpret thelimit on the emission of gravitational waves as aconstant “omega” in the Brans-Dicke formulationforgravity,we thenobtainw>2300 (s/0.2)2: thepreviouspulsar limit isw>1300(s/0.2)2 (thevari-ables isthechangeinthebindingenergyoftheneutron star as a function of the gravitationalconstantGwhich isnot fixed for theBrans-Dicketheory:itispredictedtobeintherange0.1to0.3,depending on the unknown equation of state).However, w is infinite in General Relativity (GR).Hence,Paulo’sresult,whilelessrestrictivethanthew>40,000derived fromtheCassini spacecraft, isobtained in the strong-field regime, which is theonlyregimethatcanconstrainallalternativetheo-riesofgravitation.
There is considerablepotential for improving thistestofGR. ContinuedtimingofPSRJ1738+0333overthenext5(10)yearsshouldincreasethepreci-
Figure 3.9.1. MeasuredradialvelocitiesofthewhitedwarfcompaniontoPSRJ1738+0333asafunctionoforbitalphase,from measurements of the Doppler shift of its spectral lines.Thebluecurve represents thebest fitmodel. The redcurverepresentstheline-of-sightvelocityofthepulsarasafunctionoforbitalphase;theamplitudeofthiscurveisroughly8timessmaller(MartenvanKerkwijk).
100
0
-100
-200
-300
-400
vel (
km/s
)
-0.5 0 0.5 1phase (Unitless)
38 NAICAPRPP2007
sionofthemeasuredorbitalperiodderivativebyafactorof10(40). Ifthemeasuredvaluethencon-formstoprediction,theuncertaintyofthepredic-tionitself(6×10-15s/s)becomesthelimitingfactorintheprecisionofthistest,asthekineticeffectscanbeaccuratelycorrectedfrompreciseknowledgeofthepropermotionandparallax. Wewouldthenachieve an order of magnitude improvement onall previous pulsar limits on dipolar gravitationalwaveemission,andanticipatealimitofw>15,000(s/0.2)2. Ontheotherhand,simplybyimprovingourknowledgeofthemassratiothroughaverag-ing more measurements, and by measuring theorbitaldecaymoreprecisely,weshouldbeabletodeterminethepulsarandcompanionmassesveryaccurately, this might be very important for thestudyoftheEOS.
4. Technical Accomplishments and Expectations
InPY2006progressonradioastronomyinstrumen-tationwasmade incompleting the fabricationofa cryogenic receiver for the 327 MHz band pri-marily forpulsartimingapplications, fabricatinganew receiver for the Arecibo planetary radar sys-tem,contractswereletfortwonewspectrometersspecializedfortheneedsofthePALFAandEALFAsurveyconsortiarespectively,andtheIF/LOsystembandwidth and flexibility were both increased inresponsetouserrequirements.
Progress in computing and data management(backup,archiving,access)wasfocusedonthedra-matically increasing data rate from the telescopethatresultsfrombroaderbandreceiversandsignalprocessingequipment,andfromthedata-multiply-ingeffectsofhavingmultiplesky-positionssampledsimultaneouslyasoccursthroughuseoftheALFAmultibeam receiver, and through the now-com-moncommensalobservingprograms.Dataman-agementeffortsarebudget-limitedatNAIC.
4.1 Radio Astronomy Instrumentation
327-MHz Cryogenic Receiver. Internationally,radioastronomysharesprimaryallocationofanar-rowsliceofthespectrumat327-MHzthatwasini-
tiallyassignedtoprotectthedeuteriumfine-struc-ture line. DI searches at Arecibo are made withsomeregularity,butbyfartheprimaryuseofthereceiveratthisfrequencyisforpulsartimingobser-vations. PulsartimingcanbedoneuniquelywellattheAreciboObservatorybecauseoftheunsur-passedsensitivityofthe305-mtelescope.Roughly,the timingprecisionachievable isproportional tothesensitivityofthetelescopebeingusedforthetiming. Here, sensitivity depends not just on thecollectingareabutalsoonthesystemtemperature
and the analyzed bandwidth. Pulsar astronomerusersatArecibopointedoutthatstill furthersen-sitivitygainswerepossibleiftheexisting327-MHzreceiverwerereplacedbyanewreceivercryogeni-cally cooled to reduce the receiver temperature,andhencethesystemtemperature,andthefrontendbandwidthwasincreased.Thesewerethede-finingspecificationsfortheproject,justcompletedinPY2006.
Figure 4.1.1. Photoof thenew327-MHzcryogenicre-ceiverwiththecryostatremoved.
Figure 4.1.2. Photoof thenew327-MHzcryogenic re-ceiverwiththedewar installed forreceiver testing in thelab.
NAICAPRPP2007 39
The completed receiver is shown in Figure 4.1.1withitscryostatremoved.Itisadualpolarizationreceiver, linear polarization, that is cooled to 15K.Afilterbankhasbeeninstalledtorejectout-of-bandRFI.Thetotalbandwidthis50MHz.Testsonthe telescope have demonstrated that the entirebandwidth isusableatArecibo,a result thataris-esbecauseotherspectrumusersofthebandthathave caused RFI difficulties in the past appear tohavemovedtheirapplicationstootherfrequencybands.
The327MHzcryogenicreceiverwillbeinregularscheduledserviceforusersinPY2007.
Planetary Radar Receiver.Theexistingreceiverandfeedhornsfortheplanetaryradarsystemwereconstructedinthemid1990’sduringtheAreciboGregorianUpgrade.Thereceiverwasbuiltoutofexistingpartsfromthelinefeedsystemandothersurplusequipment.Thefeedhornsforbothreceiveandtransmitareidenticalandweredesigned,built
andinstalledwithoutextensiveanalysisoranypat-terntesting.Ithasbecomeevidentfromobserva-tionsandmicrowavemodelingthatthefeedhornshave too much edge taper, about -20 db. at theedge of the tertiary. This under-illumination re-ducesthegainofthesystemonbothtransmitandreceive.AsthescientificusersoftheS-bandplane-taryradarsystemseektoobservesmallerandmoredistantobjectsincludingasteroidsandthesatellitesofSaturnandMars,highertelescopegainandthegreatersensitivityachievablewithalowernoisere-ceiverisrequired.Theplanetaryradarsystemup-gradeprojectwasinitiatedtooptimizethesystem
performance with two new feed horns designedforhighergain,andanewlow-noisereceiver.
Twonewfeedhornsweredesigned,carefullyana-lyzed andconstructed. Each one is optimized toits specific task, receive or transmit. The transmithorn has an edge taper of -15 db which is 2 dblessedgetaperthanthenominalof-17db.Trans-mitspilloverisnotanissue. Thesmallamountoflostpowerontransmitismorethancompensatedbythe increasedforwardgainthatresults fromamore uniform aperture illumination. The receivehorn has an edge taper of -17 db, the nominalvalue for theGregorianoptics. The receivehornoptimizesG/T,balancingincreasedgainfromlessedgetaperwithincreasednoisetemperaturefrommorespillover.Theinputmatchofbothhornswasmodeledandthenmeasuredasbetterthan-35dbovera100MHzbandwidth.ThetransmithornwastestedandinstalledonthetelescopeinPY2006;itisperformingasdesigned.
Thenewreceiveris initsfinalstagesofassembly.Allthecomponentsubassemblieshavebeenfabri-cated,assembledandtested.Photosareincludedhereasfigures4.1.3and4.1.4.
The receiver is intended to have a receiver noisetemperatureoflessthan5K.Thiswillbeachievedinpartbyplacingtheorthomodetransducer(OMT)inthedewarcooledto16K.Thepresentreceiverhasaturnstilejunctionatroomtemperaturewithassociatedlossywaveguideruns.Thenewreceiverwillonlyhaveashortrunofroundwaveguidefromthe horn leadingdirectly to thecryogenic stagesinthedewar.
The new receiv-er has amplifi-ers utilizing InPtransistors yield-ing an amplifiernoise tempera-ture of less than2K. The ampli-fiers are an exist-ing, advanced,design from themicrowave de-
Figure 4.1.3.Planetaryradarreceiverunderassembly.
Figure 4.1.4. Completedcryogenicdewar for theplanetary radar receiv-er.
40 NAICAPRPP2007
velopment laboratory at ChalmersUniversityinSweden.Themeasuredperformanceof theamplifiersmeetsspecifications(seeFig.4.1.5)
The OMT has a septum polarizerwhichdirectlyyieldscircularpolariza-tions.Thepresentturnstilehasabout-30dbofdiscriminationbetweenRCPandLCP.ThenewseptumOMThasapredictedperformanceof-33db.atbandcenter.Theroundwaveguidecomponentsthatmakethetransitionfromthefeedhorntothe16Kcryo-genic stage are all completed andtested.
Figure4.1.6showsthecurrentstatusof the S-band radar receiver assem-bly.Thereceiverwillbetestedonthetelescopeinthesummerof2007andavailable for visitor use immediatelythereafter.
4.2 IF/LO System
Thecontinuing interestof telescopeusers inana-lyzingwiderbandwidthsformanyscienceapplica-tionshasmeantthatthecapabilitiesoftheObser-
vatoryIFandLOsystemshavetobecontinuallyex-panded. Presently, the fundamentalmixing fromRFtoIFatArecibohappensatthereceiver;theIFisthenbroughtdowntothecontrolroomviaop-tical fiber for furtherprocessing. Plansarebeingdeveloped to make use of the rapidly expandingA/Dcapabilitiesofcommercialhardware,andthedecliningcostsof thishardwareandoptical fibertransmittersandreceivers,tosampletheRFatthereceiver, bring the RF down to the control roomand do all subsequent RF processing in the con-trol room. This has many advantages includingthatofeliminatingtheneedtomaintainIFinstru-mentation on the telescope platform, there is animportantweightsavingsontheplatform,andtheconvenienceoflocatingallsignalprocessingforallreceivers in a single, climate-controlled, room. InPY2007theseplanswillbefurtherdeveloped.NohardwarepurchasesareplannedinPY2007.
ThecapabilitiestoprocessstillmoreIF/LOsignalsin the control room were expanded significantlyin PY2006 in anticipation of the need to supporttwonewspectrometersinPY2007.Specifically,theIF/LOcapabilitieswereaugmentedtoatotalof16channels.Thesechannelsmaybedividedasneed-ed,butthedrivingrequirementwastosupportthe
Figure 4.1.6. Assembly of the S-band radarreceiver.
Figure 4.1.5.MeasuredperformanceoftheChalmersInP-basedLNAsthatarebeingusedinthenewplanetaryradarreceiver.
NAICAPRPP2007 41
7ALFAdual-polarizationbeamswith twospares.Inaddition,hardwarewasinstalledtoenableasin-gle-pixelbeamtobeprocessedforspectroscopyat800-MHzbandwidth.
4.3 Backends
PALFA and EALFA Spectrometers. The pri-marymotivationfortheALFAmultibeamreceiveristofacilitatelarge-scalesurveysofthesky.Majorlegacy surveys with three distinct scientific objec-tivesareplannedbyconsortiaoftelescopeusers:asurveyofgalacticHI(GALFA),apulsarsurvey(PAL-FA)andasurveyof the local, z<0.2,extragalacticsky (EALFA). Thesignalprocessing requirementsof these three consortia are sufficiently differentthat NAIC agreed to provide separate backendsforeachconsortium.Thisgivesanopportunityforthethreegroupstoobservesimultaneously:withthereceiverIFsplitandsentseparatelytoeachofthethreespectrometers,thethreesurveyscanbeconductedatthesametimewithoutanyonesur-veyinterferingwiththeothers.Werefertothisas“commensal”observing.
ThefirstofthethreeALFAspectrometers,theGAL-FAspectrometer,wasbuiltandinstalledinPY2004;itwascommissionedandput intoroutineservice
foruserobservationsinPY2005.Ithasrunwith-outafaultfornearlytwoyears.Constructionwasdone under NAIC con-tract at the Universityof California, Berkeley,Space Sciences Labora-torybythegroupledbyDr.DanWerthimer.
The two new spec-trometers are designedfor the applications ofthe PALFA and EALFAconsortium groups re-spectively. The techni-cal requirements forthe instruments wereestablishedinmeetingsamong the Arecibotechnical staff, the Are-cibo scientific staff and
representatives of the PALFA and EALFA consor-tia. The fundamental spectrometer specificationsaregivenintheTable.
The spectrometer project is a contract arrange-mentbetweenNAICandJeffMock.Thedivisionofresponsibilitiesisthis:
• Mock delivers to Arecibo FPGA basedhardwaresufficienttoprocess16simul-taneous IFsignals. This includesthe IFsampler, Xilinx processor, control firm-ware,GbitEthernetinterface.
Figure 4.2.1.IF/LOracksinthetelescopecontrolroomattheAreciboObservatory.
Figure 4.3.1. Demonstration units for the PALFA andEALFAspectrometerhardwareatArecibofortesting,Jan-uary2007.
42 NAICAPRPP2007
• NAIC is responsible for the 300 MHzbandwidthIFsplitin2bands,I&Qbase-bandsignals,theclockandLOdistribu-tion,andthenecessaryhigh-speeddatastorageanddataarchive.Thisincludesanynecessarycomputeservers.
Mock delivered demonstration hardware to theObservatoryinJanuary2007fortesting.Thetestsrevealed no major deficiencies. The project con-tinuesontowarditsplannedoperationalreadinessdateofJune2007.
4.4 Computing: Storage and Networking
InPY2006thesciencedatatakenatthetelescopeandrecordedforarchivalstorageorbackupattheObservatoryamountedtomorethan80TBytes,justfortheastronomyprogram.Wecanexpectthatin
PY2007thenewspectrometerswillcausethisfig-uretoincreasebyatleastafactorofbetweenthreeandten.Inpreparation,weareplanningoninstall-ingmuchlargercapacityRAIDvolumestosupporttheongoingobservingprogramsandatape-basedsystemforlonger-termstorage.
The Arecibo Observatory has no ambition to be-comeacomputationaldatacenterthathostsdata-setstobeaccessedbyexternalusers.Recognizingthat theneedsof theastronomicalcommunity intheU.S.includeaccesstodataproductsfromAre-cibo,NAIC ismakingarrangementswiththeCor-nellTheoryCentertohosttheArecibodataandtoservethecommunityofdatabaseusers inaccess-ingthesedatathroughtheVOprotocol.
Table 4.3.1 P-ALFA and E-ALFA Basic Spectrometer SpecificationsP-ALFA
(Include GALFACTS)E-ALFA
Analog Input 7-beams,2-pols/beam14IFsignalsnominallycovering100-400MHz14channelIFtoquadraturebase-bandconverter
7-beams,2-pols/beam14IFsignalsnominallycovering100-400MHz14channelIFtoquadraturebase-bandconverter
Sampling Four12-bit300MHzADCs(2pols,basebanddata,IandQinputs)Sub-bandingin100MHz,orsmaller,bandstocoverthe300MHzFlexibilityforsteeringthesub-bands
Four12-bit200MHzADCs(2pols,basebanddata,IandQinputs)Sub-bandingin100MHz,orsmaller,bandstocoverthe200MHzFlexibilityforsteeringthesub-bands
Outputs Selectablenumber(256,512,1024,2048)spectralchannelsover300MHzperpolarizationOutputbits,12Selectabletimesampling(16µsec,32µsec,64µsec);1msecforGAL-FACTSCrossproductsforGALFACTSorpolarizationsummingforpulsarsExternalclockandsyncSpectralnormalizationExternalwinkingcal
8192spectralchannelsover200MHzperpolarizationOutputbits,12~3msectimesamplingforRFIexci-sion--fixed,notselectableCrossproductsforRFIIdentificationExternalclockandsyncCapabilityforradarblanking
Desirable Options Capabilityforreprogrammablepoly-phasefiltershapesshouldnotbeexcludedComputationsdoneinPCwheneverpossible
NAICAPRPP2007 43
been affected by the lack of economy growth intheregion.
School Groups. The school visits program al-lowsschoolgroups,frombothpublicandprivateinstitutions, to visit by appointment the AreciboObservatory and tour its Angel Ramos Founda-tionVisitorCenter. InPY2006,350schoolgroupstouredtheAreciboObservatory.Ascomparedtothepreviousyear,inPY2005therewasa21%de-creaseinthenumberofschoolgroupsvisitingAO,andthisaccountsforabout8,000fewervisitors.Inadditiontotheschoolgroupsvisits,alargenumberofadditionalgroupsarealsoscheduledeveryyear.These include university, industry, government,boy scouts, and other community organizations.InPY2006wehosted53specialgroups.
Scheduled Group Visits to the Arecibo Observatory 2000-2006
PYSchool
GroupsSpecial Groups
Total Groups
No. of Visitors
2000 515 77 592 29,234
2001 548 128 676 36,544
2002 532 84 616 34,446
2003 563 102 665 35,838
2004 525 125 650 31,896
2005 444 66 516 28,546
2006 350 53 403 20,439
ThegovernmentofPuertoRicohadalargebudgetdeficit in PY06. This problem forced many agen-cies, inparticulardeDepartmentofEducation,toeithercloseor limit theiractivities. Many schools(andsummercamps)hadtocanceltheirscheduledvisitstoAOduetolackoffunds.
Conferences and Special Events. During theyear,weofferedanumberofspeciallectures,toursand workshops to schools, universities, and thecommunity. We provided five (one-day session)workshops for science teachers, two for pre-ser-viceteachers,andthreeforhighschoolstudents.Inaddition,wehostedatwo-weeksummerwork-shopaspartof theAreciboGeoscienceDiversityProject.
TheVisitorCenteralsohostedanumberofscien-tificmeetingsduringtheyear.TheseincludedtheNAIC/NRAOSingleDishSummerSchool,theAre-cibo Conjugate Workshop, and the Gordon Lec-ture.
5. NAIC Education and Outreach Programs
5.1 Angel Ramos Visitor Center
Summary. ThisreportcoverstheperiodbetweenJuly 1, 2005 and June 30, 2006. As in previousyears,theVisitorCenterhostedmanyspecialeventsfor the general public and for the NAIC/AreciboObservatorycommunityingeneral.Theseinclud-ed the NAIC/NRAO Single Dish Summer School,Geoscience Workshop, the Gordon Lecture, andotherscientificandeducationalworkshops. Weupdated15displaysattheVisitorCenterandareintheprocessofupdatingandaddingnewpanels.Three educational workshops were offered (twofor teachers and one for journalists) on the issueof pseudoscience, and we hosted an astronomysummercampfor25middleschoolstudents.ThenumberofvisitorstotheAreciboObservatoryde-clinedby9%andwehavetakenseveralmeasurestomaketheoperationmoreefficient.
General Public. AtrendthatbeganinPY2005reflecting an annual decrease in the number ofvisitorstotheAreciboObservatoryisalsoreflectedinthefiguresforPY2006.Thenumberofvisitorstothefacility inPY2006was99,496ascomparedto109,108inPY2005.This9%decreaseisseeninboth the general public, and the school childrenvisitingA.O.ButthemainreasonaffectingtheflowofvisitorsinPY2006wasthedropinthenumberofschoolgroupsvisits. This issueisdiscussedinthenextsection.ThePuertoRicoHotelandTourismindustryisalsoreportinga10%decrease inroomoccupancyforthisperiod. Manybusinesses inPuertoRicohave
44 NAICAPRPP2007
From Arecibo to the Universe Summer Camp (UPR, NSF, Math-Science Partnerships). Dur-ingtheweekofJune11to16,theAreciboObser-vatoryhostedtheresidentialsummercamp“FromArecibototheUniverse”for24middleschoolstu-dents from participating ALACIMA schools. Allparticipants completed the program successfully.As part of the summer camp activities, studentshadtheopportunitytotourtheAreciboObserva-toryandmeetscientists,engineers,andtechnicalstaff.Throughtheseinteractions, par-ticipantswereableto enrich their ex-perienceand learnabout professionalcareers.
From Arecibo tothe Universe wasdesigned as anintroductory as-tronomy workshop
developedthroughhands-onactivitiesontheso-larsystem,stars,galaxies,andtheuniverse. Par-ticipants learned to use an optical telescope andperformed astronomical observations on Saturn,Jupiter,andtheSun.Inaddition,theylearnedtoidentifythesummerconstellationsandthenamesofthebrighteststars.
Theprogramincludedadedicatedperiodof2hrseachdayforrecreation.Underconstantsupervi-
sionbyoursummercampstaffandaprofessionallifeguard,participantsenjoyedourswimmingpoolandbasketball/volleyballfacilities.
Pseudoscience Workshops (NASA-PR Space Grant). InanefforttoimprovethelevelofscienceliteracyontheIsland,aseriesofworkshopswereofferedonthetopicofpseudoscience.Thepresen-tationofpseudoscientifictopicsinthemedia(radio,TV, press,web)appears tobe increasing. Topicsinclude: UFO’s, astrology, magnetic healing, andmanyothers. Pseudoscientific ideasaremanytimespresentedas“scientificknowledge”andthiscreatesa seriousconfusion in thegeneralpublic;particularlyinstudents,teachersandjournalists.
We offered two residential workshops (3 dayseach) for scienceteachers and twoworkshops (1 dayeach) for journal-ists. Each sessionallowed partici-pants to establish
the difference be-tween science andpseudoscience, andto identify the basicelements that arecommon to pseudo-scientificideas.
Arecibo Geoscience Diversity Project (NSF Geoscience Diversity Program). The third
Educational Workshops Offered at AO in PY2006
Date TimeNo. of
ParticipantsInstitution
Oct12-14,’05 PseudoscienceWorkshop 25teachers NASASpaceGrant
Nov30,‘05 StellarEvolution 30HSstudents VegaBajaSchool
Jan9,‘06 SpaceWeather 40teachers NASA/UPRMayagüez
Feb24,‘06ScaleModelsin
Astronomy25undergrads UPRRioPiedras
Mar3,‘06 Telescopes 20BoyScoutsTroop261,Capitan
Correa
Mar18-19,‘06Pseudoscienceforthe
Press15reporters NASASpaceGrant
Mar22-25,‘06 PseudoscienceWorkshop 25teachers NASASpaceGrant
June11-16,‘06FromArecibotothe
UniverseSummerCamp25 middle school
studentsUPR(NSF-MSP)
NAICAPRPP2007 45
year of our NSF sponsored Geoscience Diversityprogramwentverywell. Studentsand teachersfromfourschoolsand8undergraduatesfromtheUPRparticipatedintheprogram.Thisyearwehadparticipation from the Domingo Aponte CollazoSchoolinLares,FerandoCallejoSchoolinManati,theEstherFelicianoMendozaSchoolinAguadilla,and the Enrique Borras School in Arecibo. Eachschoolprovidedateamof5studentsandascienceteacher.Twoschools(LaresandManati)workedwiththeUPRonaresearchprogramattheCanoTiburones wetland. Here they measured waterquality and identified bacteria in aquatic plantsknown to absorb metal ions. The Aguadilla andArecibo schools worked at the Arecibo Observa-torycomparingdifferentgalaxypopulationsusingdatacollectedbytheALFALFAsurvey.Participantspresented their research projects at the AreciboGeoscienceCongress,heldat theAreciboObser-
vatoryonApril29,2006.
Jazz Band in AO.OnMarch31,2006,wehostedtheschoolbandfromXavierHighsSchoolinNewYorkforaspecialpresentationtoourstaff. ManyemployeescametoenjoythispresentationofferedduringthelunchhourattheAOgazebo.
Bring your Child to Work Day. TheVisitorCen-terhosteda1-hourworkshopforAOstaffchildrenaspartofthe“BringyourChildtoWorkDay”.AgeneraloverviewaboutAOwasprovidedaswellasahands-oncoloringbookactivityaboutthera-diotelescope.
Financial Report. Inthissectionasummaryofthe financial activities associated with the opera-tionoftheAngelRamosFoundationVisitorCenteris presented. The VC operating budget is com-
Invited Lectures at AO in PY2006
Date TitleNo. of
ParticipantsInstitution
July28,‘05 RadioAstronomy 60undergrads UPRMayagüez
Nov5,‘05 Universe 300teachersMSPTeacher
Conference,SanJuan
Dec5,‘05 AreciboObservatory 20 JobCorps,Isabela
Dec6,‘05 AreciboObservatory 60 SanFelipeSchool
Dec8,‘05 Universe 30students CamuySchool
Jan27,‘06 SolarSystem 30students LuisF.PerezSchool
Feb7,‘06 Universe 150students LaMilagrosaSchool
Feb22,‘06 Universe 45studentsAcademia Discipulos de Cristo
(VegaBaja)
Apr5,‘06 HistoryofAstronomy 60undergrads InteramericanUniv.,Bayamon
Apr20,‘06 SETI 150HSstudents InteramericanUniv.,Ponce
Scientific Meetings Offered at AO in PY2006
Date TitleNo. of
ParticipantsInstitution
July10-16,‘05SingleDish
SummerSchool50 NAIC/NRAO
Feb14-16,‘06 NAICVCMeeting 50 NAIC
Feb27,‘06 MicrowaveRadiometry 40 UPR
Mar8-9,‘06 AUSACMeeting 50 NAIC
Apr2,‘06 NationalWeatherServiceMeeting 30 NWS-NOAA
Apr17-19,‘06 AreciboConjugateWorkshop 50 NAIC/NSF
Apr29,‘06 GeoscienceCongress 60 NAIC
June27,‘06 WillianGordonLecture 80 Cornell
46 NAICAPRPP2007
prisedbytheincomeobtainedthroughadmissionsand store sales, and the operating expenses duetopersonnel,maintenance,and inventory. Sala-riesandwagesaccountfor48%oftheoperatingcosts, store merchandize and vending suppliesfor 34%, and the remaining operating costs for18%.InPY2006,theVisitorCenterhadrevenuesfor$839,539,andoperatingexpensesof$796,932foranetincomeof$42,603.
Plan of Action. OnNovember1,2005we in-creasedthecostofadmissiontotheVisitorCenterby$1.00.Thisactionwasnecessarygiventheim-pactofhighgaspricesonouroperatingcosts.Thenew fee contributed about $50,000 in revenuesforPY06.Wehavealsoreducedtonumberofpart-timeemployees,andareintheprocessofbuildingacoffeeshopthatwillprovideanewsourceofin-come.
5.2 2006 REU Program
TheAreciboObservatoryorganized its2006REUsummer student program for 10 weeks from theendofMaytomidAugust.Thisprogramexposesstudentstovariousactivitieswiththeaimofmotivat-ingthemtopursuetheirfuturecareerinresearch.Theselectionprocessishighlycompetitivewith11studentsgettingselectedfromdifferentuniversitiesoutofnearly115applicants.Theseelevenstudentswerefundedfromdifferentsources,(a)eightweresupported by the NSF REU grant, (b) two recentgraduatessupportedbyNAIC,and(c)onewasse-lected on the basis of the Observatory Director’sdiscretion. In addition, three students from UPR-Mayagüez(UPR-M)workedattheObservatoryand
Special Visits and Events at AO in PY2006
Date TitleNo. of
Participants
Sept9,‘05 Novo-NordiPharmaceuticalMeeting 15
Oct4,‘05 WorkersCompTraining 75
Nov23,‘05 Bristol-MyersTour 5
Dec15,‘05 AMGENMeeting&Tour 12
Jan23-27,‘06 CornellHRTraining 20
Jan25,‘06 TelescopePaintingProjectMeeting 50
Jan27,‘06 NSFDirectorVisit&Tour 5
Feb1,‘06 MedtronicMeeting 25
Mar12,‘06 FordhamUniversity 12
Mar14,‘06 PhilipsAcademy,Massachusetts 100
Mar31,‘06 XavierHighSchool(JazzBand) 50
Apr27,‘06 BringYourChildtoWorkDay 20
werefundedbythePartnershipforSpaceScienceEducation and Research (PaSSER) program, andone was supported by ‘Fundación Comunitariade Puerto Rico’ and worked on a project relatedtoeducationandoutreachactivitytopromotesci-enceforthedisabled.Apartfromthis,thereweretwograduatestudentsfromtheUniversityofColo-rado (CU) supportedbyColoradoResearchAsso-ciates(CoRA),workingwiththeirPh.D.supervisorDr.DiegoJanches(CoRA),whousedthefacilitiesattheObservatoryfortheirresearchwork.Thesestudents, Amal Chandran and Jonathan Fentzke,participatedintheREUactivitiesandalsogave20-minutepresentationstowardstheendofthepro-gram.Oneofthehighlightsofthisyear’sprogramwastheparticipationofstudentsfromU.S.univer-sities,andtwofromoutsidetheU.S.Onestudent(SoniaBuckley)attendscollegeintheU.K.andone(Ximena Fernández) is originally from Colombia,whichallowedstudentsfromdiversebackgroundstointeract.
ProfessorsJulioUrbina(PennStateUniversity)andJosé Rosado (UPR-M) visited the Observatory thissummerandmentoredafewREUstudents.Also,Prof.CarmenPantoja (UPRRioPiedras—UPR-RP)andherstudentspentamonthworkingattheOb-servatory’sÁngelRamosVisitorCentertodeveloptechniquesforpromotingscienceamongthevisionand hearing impaired. Several Observatory staffmembers gave lectures to the students with theobjectiveofintroducingthemtothefundamentalsand applications of the various instruments avail-ableonsite.Thetalks includedavarietyof topicscovering areas related to astronomy, ionospheric
NAICAPRPP2007 47
science,planetaryradar,andelectronicswithfocusonthecurrentresearchactivitiesusingthefacilitiesattheObservatory.Thiswascomplementedwithavisittothe500-fthighplatformthatcontainssev-eral receivers. The engineers and technical staffshowed them the 430 MHz transmitters, whichwasbeneficialtotheengineeringstudents.Averydistinguished visitor, Dr. Jocelyn Bell, was invitedtotheObservatoryasthe2006WilliamE.andElvaF.GordonDistinguishedLecturer.Duringhervisit,shegaveapopularlectureon“ReflectionsontheDiscovery of Pulsars” on 27 June 2006. A get-to-getherwasarrangedthatallowedfemalescientistsandstudents to interactwithherandgave themanexcellentopportunitytodiscussissuesrelatedtowomeninscience.Also,severalvisitorstotheOb-servatorygavetalksthatwereattendedbytheREUstudents.Thislistincludes:D.Campbell,P.Taylor,Eliana Nossa (all Cornell), X. Chu (CU), G. Cortés(NAIC, Cornell), D. Werthimer (UC Berkeley), andJ.C.Morales(UniversityofTurabo).
The research experience for REU students com-prisedamandatoryproject(individual)andanop-tionalproject(groupof3to4students)asapartofahands-onexperiment.Themandatoryprojectinvolvedeitherrealtimeobservationsorpreviouslyobtained data and their analysis/interpretation.Those who wanted to obtain experience on theproceduresrelatedtoobservingwereofferedpar-ticipationinhands-onexperimentsthatwerecon-ducted by Arecibo staff members Mayra Lebrón,Chris Salter and Tapasi Ghosh. Three runs werescheduledthatprovidedstudentsanexcellentop-portunitytogettheir‘handsdirty’.Asummaryofthehands-onexperimentsisprovidedlaterinthisdocument.
Thestudentswereaskedtogive20-minutepresen-tations summarizing the project they worked onduringtheirstayattheObservatory.Someofthestudentswillpresenttheirworkinmeetings/confer-ences.TheaeronomystudentsplantoparticipateintheCEDAR(Coupling,EnergeticsandDynamicsof Atmospheric Regions) meeting in June 2007.Similarly,theastronomystudentswillpresentpost-ersatthemeetingsoftheAmericanAstronomicalSociety in October 2006 and January 2007. It isworthmentioningthatoneofthestudents(Ms.X.Fernández)whoworkedwithT.Ghosh,C.S.SalterandE.Momijandiscoveredanewgalaxyandhasexpressedherinterestinparticipatinginfollow-upwork and to pursue astronomy as her future ca-reer.
Thereisafamoussayingthat‘AllworkandnoplaymakesJackadullboy’.TomakesurethatstudentsgotachancetoexperiencelifeoutsidetheObser-vatory, a variety of activities were arranged thatgave them an opportunity to explore the cultureandnatureoftheCaribbeanisland.Manythanksto all the administrative staff, especially María-Ju-dithRodríguez,LucyLópez,WilsonArias,CarmenSegarra,CarmenTorres,EvaRobles,JoséCordero,andallthedriversfortheircooperationandtime.Asawelcome to students,aBBQwasorganizednear the recreational area. We encouraged stu-dentstogiveusfeedbackabouttheirinterestsandtried to organize events accordingly. Some stu-dentsbecamecertifiedforscubadivingandthenvisited places like the Mona and Vieques Islandsthatarefamousfortheirbeautifulbeachesandsealife. Thisgave themachance tocamp,hikeandsnorkel indifferent locations. ThestudentsspentaweekendcampingintheElYunqueRainForest.Also,aculturaltriptoOldSanJuanwasarrangedthatwascoupledwithavisittotheBacardífactorythatisfamousformanufacturingthemostpopularrumintheworld.TherewasaneducationaltriptotheInstituteofTropicalEcosystemStudieslocatedintheRainForest,whichalsohostsREUstudentsandiscoordinatedbyDr.AlonsoRamírez.ThiswaslaterreciprocatedbyavisittotheObservatorybytheRainForestREUstudents. AtriptoaculturalfestivalinthenearbytownofHatillowasorganizedthat exposed students to the local music, danceandfood.Onmanyoccasions,studentswereac-companiedbystaffmembers(P.Freire,J.Wiig,P.Farias,andH.Vo),whofollowedalongtoseveralbeachesandotherscenicspots.Wealsotookthemout to thecinemaanddanceestablishments. To-wardtheendofthesummer,anotherBBQwasar-rangedtowelcometheRainForestREUstudentsand also to give a farewell to our own students.Thetwogroupsplayedvolleyballandexchangedtheir experiences. On several occasions, the stu-dentsorganizedeveningget-togethersattheVSQandinvitedstaffmembersandvice-versa.
2006 Summer Student Projects.
•SupportedbyNSFREUFunds:
HeidiBrooksiscurrentlyasenioratReedCollege.AsanREUstudent,sheworkedwithDr.EllenHow-ellandstudiedtheorbitsofbinaryasteroidsinthenear-earth population as a means for obtainingmeasurementsoftheirdensities. Sheworkedpri-marily with radar-obtained delay Doppler images
48 NAICAPRPP2007
of2003YT1,2002BM26,and2006GY2.Shere-cordedtherangeseparationoftheprimaryandsec-ondaryasteroidsatvarioustimeintervals,aswellastheirrespectivebandwidths.Thevaluesobtainedforrangeseparationwereplottedversustimeandfittedtosinecurves,aswouldresultfromthe(as-sumed) circular orbits of the secondaries. Theywerefoundtoexhibitthefollowingperiods:2003YT1,36.7±1.8hours;2002BM26,either12.5±0.2or25.8±0.3;and2006GY2,11.7±0.2hours.Ad-ditionaldataforYT1,alongwiththeuseofamod-elingprogramcalledShapeallowedconstraintstobe placed on the geometry of the system. Fromtheseinputs,Heidiwasabletocalculatethemassandvolumeoftheprimarytobe(1.27±0.39)×1012
kgand0.63±0.10km3,respectively,resultinginafi-nalestimateofthedensitytobe2.01±0.70g/cm3.
SoniaBuckleyisafirst-yearundergraduatestudentatTrinityCollegeDublin,Ireland,studyingNaturalSciences.SheworkedwithJohannesWiigtocali-brate the Pennsylvania State University all-sky im-ager.Theall-skyimagerisasensitivedigitalcamerathatcollectsimagesoftheentirenightskyforthepurposeofstudyingairglowevents. Sonia’sproj-ectinvolvedtheintensitycalibrationandflat-field-ingoftheimager.Todothis,manyimageshadtobetakenofalightsourceofknownintensityunderdifferentconditions.Theimagerwasdismountedfrom its position in the airglow laboratory andsetupunderneathaC14calibrationsource. Thecalibration data was collected over the course ofseveral nights to avoid light contamination. So-nia then used IDL to analyze these results andcarry out the calibration. The program doframe.pro for automatically flat-fielding and convertingpixelcountstointensityvaluesofanyimagetakenwith thecamerawascreatedusing the resultsofthe calibration. All the results and IDL programswillbepostedon thewebat http://allsky.ee.psu.edualongwiththeimagestakeneverynightwiththe all-sky imager so that anyone can access thedata.Thismeansthatthecalibrationdatawillbeusedwhenstudyingtheimagestoobtainmoreac-curate,understandableimages.
KnicoleColónisaseniorattheCollegeofNewJer-sey.SheworkedwithDr.MayraLebrónonreduc-ing and analyzing the 18 cm (1665, 1667, 1612,and1720MHz),6cm(4765,4751,and4660MHz)and5cm(6031,6035,6049,and6017MHz)OHlines,aswellasthe4830MHzH
2COandthe6668
MHz CH3OH lines, all arising in the massive star-
forming region IRAS19111+1048. All lineswere
observedonJuly4-5,2005usingtheAreciboTele-scope L-band, C-band and C-high receivers. Theanalysis was completed using Arecibo routinesforreducingcorrelatordata. Maseremissionwasconfirmedinthe1665,1667,6031,and6035MHzOH lines, and each maser line was accompaniedbyanabsorptionfeature.Bycomparisonwithpre-viousstudies,allbutthe6031MHzlineappeartobehighlyvariable.The6cmOHlines,the18cm(ground-state)and5cm(excited-state)OHsatellitelines,andtheabsorptionfeaturesinthefourmasinglineswerefoundtoexhibitweakandbroadspec-tralprofileslocatedatvelocitiesslightlyhigherthanthatofthesource,indicatingthattheirappearancemaybeduetoa formofquasi-thermalexcitationratherthanthemasingprocess.CurrentlythereisnoevidenceforeitherH
2OorCH
3OHmasers,but
massiveCOoutflowshavebeendetectedthroughpreviousstudies.AlongwiththedetectionofOHmasers,thesepropertiesplaceIRAS19111+1048inalatestageofprotostellarevolutioninwhichtheHIIregionhasexpandedanddevelopedenoughtoallowforconditionsthatareunabletogenerateH
2O or CH
3OH masers. As a separate result, the
near and far kinematical distances to this sourcewere determined to be, respectively, 4.4 and 7.6kpc.
Kevin Graf is a senior at Cornell University andworked with Ganesh Rajagopalan. His work fo-cusedon theC-HighReceiverat theObservatorythat is mostly used for 6.7 GHz Methanol Maserlinesurveys.However,thereisinterestinupgrad-ing the receiver to a dual-beam receiver for con-tinuumobservations. Thereceiverpossesses twofeed horns and two front-end receiver chains.The planned implementation of Dicke-switch-ingatratesofapproximately10Hzfollowingthedewarshouldnullifythe1/f-noisefromfluctuatingatmospheric emissions. The type WBA13 MMICamplifiers used at the C-High Receiver front-end,however,possessHeterojunction-FETs,whichareknown for 1/f-noise that can limit the sensitivityofcontinuumobservations.Usingthetestsetupsassembled and verified this summer, the stabilityofthetypeWBA13MMICamplifiers,aswellasoftheC-HighReceiverasawhole,willbecharacter-ized.TheAllanVarianceofthesamplesshouldof-ferrecommendedintegrationtimesandswitchingrates. These results should guide the process ofthe dual-beam upgrade as well as provide usefulinformationtoobserverswhousethereceiverforcontinuumobservations.
NAICAPRPP2007 49
Heather Hanson is a se-nior at the University ofWyoming. She workedwith Dr. Mike Nolan andher project focused onthe asteroid 105 Artemis,whichisaC-typemain-beltasteroidthathasbeenob-servedtocontainhydratedmineralsonatleastapor-tionofitssurface.Seventy-five percent of all aster-oidsbelongtotheC-typeclassification.Theseaster-oids are often observedtohaveabsorptionbandsnear0.7micronsand3.0microns.The0.7-micronabsorption feature indicates the presence of ironbearingphyllosilicatesthatarerelatedtohydratedminerals,whilethebroad3.0micronabsorptioniscausedbyoverlappingabsorptionbandsfromH
2O
andOHlayersinhydratedminerals.Oftenthe0.7-micronbandisnotobservedbuthydratedmineralsarepresentandabsorptionat3.0micronsisseen.To further understand the link between the ab-senceand/orpresenceof thedifferentbands, ra-dardatafromtheAreciboObservatoryandspectrafromtheIRTFonMaunaKeahavebeenobtainedforanumberofasteroids.Manyoftheradardatashowirregular,non-symmetricbrightfeaturesthatmaybelinkedtothereflectivityofthesurface,andthereforethecompositioninsteadoftheshapeoftheasteroid.Bothradarobservationsandnear-in-fraredspectraof105Artemishavebeenobtainedandanalyzed.Heathercoordinatedtheradarandspectraldatausinglightcurvedataobtainedfromthe amateur astronomy community. Through amodelingprogramcalledShape,thesedatawereusedtomakeasimplified3Dmodelof105Artemisinordertomaptheareaswherehydratedminer-als have been observed. Once mapped, the linkbetween the hydrated minerals and radar-brightareascanbetested.
ClintonMielke isa seniorat theUniversityofAri-zona,Tucson.HeworkedwithDr.PauloFreirethissummer,theresidentpulsarexpert.Paulogavehimthechoicebetweentwoprojectstoworkon,andsteppinguptothechallenge,hedecidedtounder-takeboth.First,heworkedonanumericalsimula-tionofaparticularbinarypulsarsystem.Byusingthe4thorderRungeKuttaalgorithm,hetestedthegeneralrelativisticperturbationonthepulsar’sor-bit,andfoundaprecessionoftheperiastronover
a specific timescale that agreed with theoreticalmodels. Unfortunately, the amount of drift hasbeenfoundtobetoosmalltoobserve,soalthoughhis code worked well, the binary system is not astrongcandidatefortestingGeneralRelativity.
Onhissecondproject,Clintonwroteanorbitalfit-tingprogramthatuses theLevenberg-Marquardtmethodtoperformaleastsquaresfit.Whengivenaninputfileofepochsandperiods,thealgorithmfindsKeplerianorbitalelementsandafewaddition-alparametersfortheparticularsysteminquestion.Thisprogramwilllikelybecomeavaluabletoolforastronomersinthepulsarcommunity,asnoopensourcealternativeseemstoexistforthisparticularapplication.HewillbecoordinatinghiseffortswithPaulo over the upcoming few months to modifythis application and bring it into use amongst allwhoneedit.
IsobelOjalvoisaseniorstudentatRensselaerPoly-technic Institute inTroy,NYstudyingphysicsandmathematics.HerREUsummerprojectsupervisorswereDrs.StevenGibsonandRobertMinchin.HerREUprojectwas todeterminewhat isneeded toputdataobtained fromtheAreciboL-BandFeedArray (ALFA) onto the Virtual Observatory (VO)and to implement a preliminary database andwebsite.TheVOisaninternationalcollaborationtomakelargeastronomicalsurveysavailabletothepublicwithasuiteofsearchandintercomparisontools. Isobel’s focus was on the VO interface forALFA surveys of the Galactic interstellar medium(GALFA) and HI environments around other gal-axies(AGES),bothofwhicharegeneratinglarge,3-dimensional data sets. She used the scriptinglanguagePerlasacommongatewayinterfacetoaccess the data and investigated how to provide
50 NAICAPRPP2007
a web-interface that will allow users outside theObservatorytoextractsubsetsofthedataviatheWorldWideWeb.
DanielRucker isa fourth-yearundergraduatestu-dent at University of Arkansas at Little Rock, ma-joring inSystemsEngineering. Heworkedunderthe supervision of Prof. Julio Urbina and RyanSeal on the development and implementation ofanFPGA-basedradarcontrollerfortheSpaceandAtmospheric Sciences Group at the Arecibo Ob-servatory. This device will be integrated with therecently developed multi-channel digital receiveracquisitionsystemtoconduct radarobservations.Theradarcontrollerwillprovideupto16controlsignals:samplestarttriggertothereceiverboard,T/R switching, RF pulse, blanking, coding, etc. Itwill also control two 8-bit digital-to-analog con-verters (DACs) for multi-frequency signal genera-tion.Thedeviceisanexternalmodulethatispro-grammedviatheUSB2.0portandoffersatotalof50I/Opins.Configurationandoperationofthede-viceisachievedwithageneral-purposecomputerthroughagraphicalinterfaceunderLinuxOS.
•SupportedbyNAICfunds:
DavidBowengraduatedfromCornellUniversityinMay2006.ThissummerheworkedwithGaneshRajagopalanonaprojectrelatedtosignalinterfer-ence.Broadbandsignalinformationisvitaltoiden-tifyinganddiagnosingsignalinterferenceinradioastronomy and radar experiments at the AreciboObservatory. Previously, data available remotelyhasbeenband-limitedandhasnotrevealedeffectsofsystemproblemsandRFI fromsourcessuchaslightning.Datafromaninstrumentcapableofdis-playingthebroadbandsignalneedstobeavailableto remote users at the time of their experiments.These remote users include engineers in theirhomes in theAreciboareaaswellas scientists inarbitrarylocationsaroundtheworld.
Using an Agilent E4403B ESA-L series spectrumanalyzer, broadband signal information must bemadeavailable.Sincethedatamustreachpoten-tiallyaroundtheworld,thedatamustbeavailablethroughaninternetgateway,orwebserver.Twosolutions were implemented: LabVIEW programsusingthewebpublishingutilityandaJavaclient/serverprogrampair.LabVIEWwasmoreeasilyim-plemented,butrequiredtheoverheadofaruntimeenginetobeinteractive(calledembeddedmode).Atthecostofrefreshrate,LabVIEWwebpublish-
ingcouldexistinamonitoringmodethatdoesnotrequirearuntimeengine.Bothmethodswereim-plementedandareavailable.TheJavaclient/serverpairwasalsoimplemented.Javawouldnotrequirearuntimeengineandoffersahighrefreshrate,atthecostofmoredifficultimplementationandmoredifficultfutureupgradesandmodifications.Givena stable Java client/server pair, the Java versionwouldbebetterforscientistswhowon’thavetheLabVIEWruntimeengine.
MaríaXimenaFernández isa seniorcurrentlyen-rolledinadualdegreeprogram,whereshestud-iesPhysicsandAstronomyatVassarCollegeandEngineeringSciencesatDartmouthCollege.AttheObservatory,sheworkedwithDrs.TapasiGhosh,EmmanuelMomjian,andChrisSalteranalyzingHI21cmandOH18cmspectrallineobservationsofagroupofluminousinfraredgalaxies(LIRGs).Thesegalaxiesemitmostoftheirenergyatinfraredwave-lengthsandarefoundininteracting/mergingsys-tems.Theintenseinfraredluminosity(L
ir>1011L
o)
isduetothedustheatingfromextremestarburstand/or active galactic nuclei energy sources. In2004, Arecibo observations were made usingtheL-BandWide receiverof85LIRGs from the2Jy IRAS-NVSS sample. The sample was observedwithON/OFFordoublepositionswitching (DPS)modes, depending on the radio continuum fluxdensity of the target sources, and the data werereducedwithIDL.TheteamdetectedHIin82gal-axies (16 new detections), and OH in 7 galaxies(5newdetections).Insomecases,theHIspectrashowed the classic Gaussian or double horn dis-tributions, while the majority exhibited distortedfeaturesindicatingthattheyareinaninteracting/mergingsystem. IRAS23327+2913 isconsideredtobethemostintriguingsourceinthesample.Thisultra-luminousinfraredgalaxy(ULIRG,L
ir>1012L
o),
whichisdescribedintheliteratureasapairofnu-cleiinthebeginningstagesofinteraction,wasde-tectedinbothneutralhydrogenandOHmegama-seremissionfromthesystem,whichhadnotbeenreportedbefore.
Brandon Taylor graduated from the University ofTexasatAustinthispastMaywithadegreeinElec-tricalEngineering.Whilethere,heworkediniono-sphericresearchattheAppliedResearchLaborato-ries. PriortocomingtotheAreciboObservatory,healsospentasummerasanREUstudentattheMITHaystackObservatory.
This summer, he worked with Dr. Hien Vo on a
NAICAPRPP2007 51
project tostatisticallyanalyzeSubauroralPolariza-tionStreams(SAPS).SAPS,whichcanbedetectedbyelevated iondriftsequatorwardof theauroraloval, are associated with disturbed ionosphericconditions.AbetterunderstandingoftheseeventscanimproveionosphericmodelsandreduceerrorsinGPSandothersatellitecommunications.
Brandon’sprojectwasaimedatexploitingthecon-tinuous data collection of DMSP satellites to pro-vide a better statistical analysis of SAPS than hadpreviouslybeenperformed. Hedevelopedanal-gorithmtoautomaticallyprocessayear’sworthofsatellitedataandtodetectandquantifyhigh iondriftsasSAPS.Additionalcodewaswrittentocom-parevariouspropertiesoftheseSAPSinavarietyofgeomagneticconditions.Inadditiontotheresultsachievedthissummer,theprojectwillbeextendedbyDr.Vo.
•SupportedbyPaSSERfunds:
EdvierCabassa-Miranda,asophomoreatTheUni-versityofPuertoRico-Mayagüez,workedwithProf.JulioUrbina(PSU)andusedCoquiIIobservationsfromthe50MHzradarlocatednearSalinas,PuertoRico, tomeasureobservedcounts ofboth specu-larandnon-specularmeteor trails in theE-regionionosphere. These observations were made overatimespanrangingfrom18:00to08:00onvari-ous days in 1998 and 1999. The Coqui II radarhas two sub-arrays, both pointed to the north inthemagneticmeridianplane,perpendiculartothemagnetic field elevation angle of approximately41degrees.Traditionalmeteorradarsrequiretrailspecularity(trailperpendiculartoradarbeam)fora reflection, but over the last decade, two newtypesofradar-meteorreflections,knownasmeteorheadechoesandnon-speculartrails,havebecomeknownorwidelyused.Heattemptedtoseeifthisradariscapableofdetectingtheheadechoes.Heanalyzedthesignalsbyremovingunwantedinter-ferenceusingsomeroutinesthathedevelopedinIDL.NowthefutureworkistotrytogenerateRTIimagestoseetheheadechoes.Hewouldalsoliketoconductsimulations.
Israel González-Pérez Jr., who is an undergradu-ate in electrical engineering at The University ofPuertoRicoatMayagüez,returnedtoArecibothissummer to continue a project started during theprevious summerunder the tutelageofDr. Jona-thanFriedman(NAIC).ThisistheconstructionofatestbedandcalibrationsystemforaFaradayfilter.Thepurposeofthefiltersystemistotakemeasure-
mentsofthetemperatureandpotassiumcontentin the mesosphere during the daytime, utilizingLiDARtechnology.Thetestbediscomposedofatunable single-mode external cavity diode laser,the filter, a potassium vapor cell in an oven withfluorescence detection, and a Fabry-Perot etalon.Theovenandcontrollercircuit,constructedduringthe summer of 2005, heat a potassium spectrumcell,andweusethelasertoexcitefluorescenceina“Doppler-free”configuration.Sincetheemissionlinesofthepotassiumarewellknown,itispossibleto use the system to tune the laser and obtain areliable wavelength scale for the filter calibrationmeasurements.
Thechallenge for thispast summerwas to installtheFabry-Perotetalonandtodetectfluorescencefromthevaporcellinthe“Doppler-freeconfigura-tion”. Unfortunately, in the course of these mea-surements it was discovered that thecell did notactually contain potassium. Another cell wasboughtforthesystemandanewovenfabricatedinorder touse it. Thework for thesummerwasbasicallythemodificationofthenewovenandtheconstructionoftheFabry-Perotetalon.Asthesum-merwasending,Israelwasabletogetanassign-ment to finish the project through the UniversityofPuertoRico,thankstoProf.JoséRosado.Israelisnowputtingtheworkingelementsof thissystemintoastandardarrangementforlong-termuse.
Melissa Rivera is currently an undergraduate stu-dentinElectricalEngineeringatTheUniversityofPuerto Rico at Mayagüez, with a strong interestinCommunications,PhysicsandAstronomy. Sheis also the Vice-President of the Caribbean Astro-nomicalSocietyofPuertoRico.Herprojectat theObservatoryfocusedonanalysisofdatafromJica-marcaObservatoryusingitsradarnamedJULIA(Ji-camarca Unattended Long-term Investigations oftheIonosphereandAtmosphere),andshewasad-visedbyProf.JoséRosado(UPR-M).Thisstudyana-lyzedperturbations in theelectric fieldasa resultofgeomagneticsubstormsonequatoriallatitudes.The method that she used to obtain conclusionsforthesephenomenaiscalledSuperposedEpochAnalysis, which is a very powerful technique. Itconsists of sorting data into categories and com-paringmeansfordifferentcategories.Thismethodmustbeappliedcarefullyandlogically.
TheanalysisoftheradardatashowsdisturbancesinthedaytimeequatorialgeomagneticHfieldas-sociatedwithspecificphasesofisolatedsubstorms.
52 NAICAPRPP2007
Threewell-documentedsubstormswereexaminedin India,butnowwith this investigation, shehasfoundmorethan102daysofperturbationsatdif-ferenthoursanddifferentdaysin2004and2005.This pattern of response constitutes the first-timeevidence for the occurrence of equatorial H-fieldperturbationsrelatedtothegrowthphaseaswellastheexpansionphaseofindividualsubstorms.
•FundingfromOtherSources:
Gloria Isidro worked at the Visitor Center underthe supervision of Drs. Carmen Pantoja and JoséAlonsowithascholarshipfromthe“FundacionCo-munitaria de Puerto Rico.” She is a graduate stu-dentattheDepartmentofMathematicsatTheUni-versityofPuertoRico,RíoPiedras.Thissummershedeveloped a guide for the Observatory for blindvisitors.Theguideconsistsof threedocuments inBraillewithtextandhighrelief figuresdescribingthepartsofthetelescope,importanttermsusedinradioastronomy,and frequentlyaskedquestions.TogetherwithProf.CarlosLaRosa(UPR-Utuado)atactilemodelofthetelescopewasalsodeveloped.These materials will help in making the AreciboObservatoryamoreaccessiblefacilityandanOb-servatoryforall.
5.3 Connecting to Arecibo
StudentsinSouthTexasgottheirfirstglimpseintotheAreciboObservatoryControlRoomviaanewwebcamthatlinksUTBandthePuertoRicoobser-vatory. On October 23, 2006, operator WilfredoPortalatinturnedtothecameraandwavedatthestudents—theyroaredwithexcitementatthisfirstencounter.ThecellphoneandlaptopconnectionisthefirststepforthisgroupastheystarttobuildanAreciboRemoteCommandCenter(ARCC).
Rick Jenet, a professor at the University of TexasatBrownsville,receivedanNSFCareerGrantthatis funding theconstructionof theARCC. This fa-
cility will allow high school, undergraduate, andgraduate students to work in teams to performactualobservationsofradiopulsars.Theywillusethedatabothtosearchforlow-frequencygravita-tionalwavesandconstrainthecosmicpopulationof super-massive black hole binary systems. ThefirstprojectthestudentswillbeobservingforisthePALFAproject.
TheARCCstudentshavebeenworkingondesignsoftheUTBRemoteCommandCenterforthepastsixweeks.Duringtheirplanning,studentsworkedwith limited budget and space while dreamingand designing a facility ideally suited for remoteviewing.Studentdesignshaveincorporateditemssuch as a star-field projection onto the ceiling oftheroomtogiveavisualrepresentationofthepor-tionoftheskycurrentlybeingobserved.Theyalsodesignedaconferenceareaforpresentations.Themyriad of control windows necessary will be dis-playedonaseriesofinterlinkedprojectionscreensandmonitors.
OneoftheunusualaspectsoftheARCCprogramisthelevelofintegrationofhighschoolstudents.Currently,thereare13highschooljuniorandse-niorstudentswhoareapartoftheARCCresearchgroup. These students are led by Andy Miller, aPorterHighSchoolphysicsandastronomyteacher.Thestudentsattendgroupmeetingsattheuniver-sity campus on Monday nights. These meetingsgivethemtheopportunitytocollaboratewiththeundergraduate students, graduate students, andresearchscientiststhatformthegroup.A special thanks to the people at Arecibo whohelped with the camera installation: Phil Perillat,TimHankins,ArunVenkataraman,andReyVélez.
5.4 ALFALFA Visiting Scientists
In a November 16 meeting in Ithaca, Jamie Lo-maxpresentedherseniorthesisprojectbasedonALFALFA.OdedSpectorhadjustarrivedfromTelAvivUniversityaswell.HeisgettingstartedonanALFALFA-basedPh.D.thesis.
Dr.RebeccaKoopmann,anAssociateProfessorintheDepartmentofPhysics&AstronomyatUnionCollegeisonsabbaticalatCornellasavisitingNAICscientist(throughJuly2007)andasamemberoftheExtraGalacticgroupworkingontheALFALFAsurvey. Becky is especially interested in the con-nectionbetweenHIandstar formationinnearbyspiral galaxies and has done extensive work on
NAICAPRPP2007 53
howgalaxies intheVirgoclusterdifferfromtheirmoreisolatedcounterparts.WhileatCornell,Beckyhas become immersed in the ALFALFA project,conducting observations, making grids and ex-tracting sources. Her particular research focus isonthestudyofearly-typegalaxiesinVirgothataredetectedbyALFALFA.ThisOctober,BeckyvisitedGeorgiaSouthernUniversitywhereshegaveacol-loquium on ALFALFA and helped Sarah and JimHigdon install the ALFALFA IDL-based reductionpipeline. Sarah will travel to Arecibo for a weekin January 2007 with two GSU undergraduatestudents to conduct the ALFALFA observations.Becky has hosted the very successful 2005 and2006undergraduateALFALFAworkshopsheldatUnionCollege.SheisleadingtheALFALFAunder-graduateeducation teamdevelopmentofeduca-tionalmaterialsandactivitiesespeciallygearedforundergraduates involved in ALFALFA. ThroughBecky,wearesuretherewillbeasteadystreamofundergraduateswhohavethethrillofdiscoveringnewgalaxies!
Dr. Noah Brosch is on sabbatical from Tel AvivUniversity’sSchoolofPhysicsandAstronomyandfromtheDirectorshipofitsWiseObservatory.Hisresearch interests range from star formation pro-cesses in dwarf galaxies to small objects in ourSolar System (asteroids and meteors). Among hisvarious tasks, one of the more challenging is be-ingthePrincipalInvestigatoroftheUVspacetele-scopeTAUVEXbuiltinIsraelandscheduledtobelaunchedin2007.ThevisittoCornellhasallowedNoahtobecomefamiliarwiththeALFALFAdataac-quisitionandpipelineandtoplanoutthescientific
studyofstarforma-tion in extremelyisolated galaxies,ones which areunlikely to haveexperienced inter-actions in recentcosmic times. Hehas been joinedmost recently byhis graduate stu-dentOdedSpector.Oded is workingon the criteria bywhich the isolatedsample will be se-lected;thestudyofthese galaxies willserve as the basis
forhisPh.D.dissertationresearch.NoahandOdedwill spendseveralweeks inArecibo inDecember2006toconducttheALFALFAobservations.Wewish Noah great success with TAUVEX and lookforward to findingout justwhat triggers star for-mationingalaxiesthatdon’thaveanyneighbors.
Dr. Thomas Balonek, a Professor of Physics & As-tronomyatColgateUniversity, isonsabbaticalatCornell as a visiting NAIC scientist (through April2007)andisamemberoftheExtraGalacticgrouptoworkontheALFALFAsurvey.Hisresearchspe-cialtyistheradioandopticalvariabilityofquasarsandAGNbut,sincebecominginvolvedinALFAL-FAlastyear,hehasgottenveryexcitedaboutthestudyofHIingalaxiesandgroupsofgalaxies.Dur-inghisstayatCornell,TomhasbeenparticipatingintheALFALFAobservationsbothinAreciboandremotely,andisnowoneoftheALFALFA“expertobservers”.HejustspentThanksgivingatArecibointroducing ALFALFA (and Arecibo!) to AileenO’Donoghue,JeffMillerandsenior
JamieLomaxofSt.LawrenceUniversity.Tom’scur-rent ALFALFA project is a study of the spiral-richZwickyClusterZwCL1400+0949anditsenvirons.Tom began this work last year as the senior re-searchprojectofhis studentBrianWalsh,who isnow a graduate student at Boston University. ItmightberememberedthatTomwasasummerstu-dentatArecibo in1973,butwebothpromisetokeeppicturestakenduringthatsummersecret!
54 NAICAPRPP2007
try of a Candidate Contact Binary, Icarus, 182(2),pp.474-481,June2006
Bogdanov,S., J.E. Grindlay,C.O. Heinke,F.Camilo,P.C.C. Freire,and W. Becker, Chandra X-RayObservationsof19MillisecondPulsars in theGlobularCluster47Tucanae,Astrophys.J.,646(2),pp.1104-1115,Aug2006
Burgay,M., N. D’Amico,A. Possenti,R.N. Manchester,A.G. Lyne,M. Kramer,M.A.McLaughlin,D.R. Lorimer,F. Camilo,I.H. Stairs,P.C.C.Freire,andB.C.Joshi,TheDoublePulsarSys-temJ0737-3039,MemoriedellaSocietaAstronom-icaItalianaSupplement,9,p.345,2006
Burgay,M.,B.C.Joshi,N.D’Amico,A.Possenti,A.G. Lyne,R.N. Manchester, M.A. McLaughlin,M.Kramer,F. Camilo, andP.C.C. Freire,The ParkesHigh-Latitude Pulsar Survey, MNRAS, 368(1), pp.283-292,May2006
Busch,M.W., S.J. Ostro,L. A. M. Benner,J.D. Giorgini,R. F. Jurgens, R. Rose,C. Magri,P.Pravec,D. J. Scheeres,and S. B. Broschart, Radarand optical observations and physical modelingof near-Earth Asteroid 10115 (1992 SK), Icarus,181(1),pp.145-155,March2006[TimesCited:2]
¢Campbell, B.A. and D.B. Campbell, Regolithproperties in thesouthpolar regionof theMoonfrom70-cmradarpolarimetry,Icarus,180(1),pp.1-7,Jan2006[TimesCited:2]
¢Carter,L.M.,D.B.CampbellandB.A.Campbell,Volcanic deposits in shield fields and highlandregions on Venus: Surface properties from radarpolarimetry, J. Geophys. Res., 111, E06005, June2006
¢Catinella,B., R. Giovanelli,and M.P.Haynes,TemplateRotationCurves forDiskGalax-ies,Astrophys. J.,640(2),pp.751-761,April2006[TimesCited:2]
¢Champion,D.J., D.R. Lorimer,M.A.McLaughlin,K.M. Xilouris,Z. Arzoumanian,P.C.C. Freire,A.N. Lommen,J.M. Cordes,and F.Camilo,AreciboTimingandSingle-PulseObserva-tions of 17 Pulsars, MNRAS, 363(3), pp. 929-936,Nov2005[TimesCited:3]
¢Champion,D.J., M.A. McLaughlin, and D.R.Lorimer,ASurveyforPulsarsinEGRETErrorBoxes,MNRAS, 364(3), pp. 1011-1014, Oct 2005 [TimesCited:1]
6. Arecibo Observatory Publications (PY2006)
October 1, 2005 – September 30, 2006
In PY2006, 36 astronomy papers were pub-lished in refereed journals that presented originalobservational data from the Arecibo Observatory.Thesepapersareidentifiedbyabluesquare(¢).Inaddition,theNAIC/AOstaffandotherscientistswereauthorsofanother24papers(identifiedbelowbyaredcircle)thatwerepublishedinrefereedjournalsinPY2006thatexclusivelyinvolvedarchivaldatafromAO,data fromother telescopes,orwere theoreticalpapersinvolvingnonewobservationaldata.Elevenpapers presenting original observations from theArecibo Observatory are currently in press or haverecentlybeensubmittedtorefereedjournals.Allthepapers are listed below. NAIC/AO staff names arebolded.
ASTRONOMY
Araya,E.,P.Hofner,L.Olmi,S.Kurtz,andH.Linz,Arecibo observations of formaldehyde in L1551,2006,toappearinAstron.J.
Auld,R.,R.F.Minchin,J.I.Davies,B.Catinella,W.vanDriel,P.A.Henning,S.Kinder,E.Momjian,E.Muller, K. O’Neil, S. Sabatini, S. Schneider, G. Bot-hun, L. Cortese, M. Disney, G.L. Hoffman, M. Put-man, J.L. Rosenberg, M. Baes, W.J.G. de Blok, A.Boselli,E.Brinks,N.Brosch,J.Irwin,I.D.Karachent-sev,V.A.Kilborn,B.Koribalski,andK.Spekkens,TheAreciboGalaxyEnvironmentSurvey:precursorob-servationsoftheNGC628group,2006,toappearinMNRAS
Beelen,A.,P.Cox,J.Pety,C.L.Carilli,F.Bertoldi,E.Momjian,A.Omont,P.Petitjean,A.O.Petric,Star-burstActivityintheHostGalaxyofthez=2.58Qua-sarJ1409+5628,2005,toappearinAstron.Astro-phys.
¢Benner,L.A.M., J.D. Giorgini,S.J. Ostro,M.C.Nolan,and M.W. Busch,(99942) Apophis, IAUCirc.,8711,2,Ed.Green,D.W.E.,May2006
¢Benner,A.M.,M.C.Nolan,S.J.Ostro,J.D.Gior-gini,D.P.Pray,A.W.Harris,andC.Magri,Near-EarthAsteroid2005CR37:RadarImagesandPhotome-
NAICAPRPP2007 55
¢Cordes,J.M.,B.Rickett,W.Coles,andD.Stine-bring,TheoryofParabolicArcsinInterstellarScin-tillationSpectra,Astrophys.J.,637(1),pp.346-365,Jan2006
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Campbell, B.A., L.M. Carter, D.B. Campbell, B.R.Hawke,R.R.Ghent,andJ.L.Margot,20-mResolu-tionRadarStudiesof theAristarchusPlateauandReinerGammaFormation,37thAnnualLunarandPlanetaryScienceConf.,March13-17,2006,LeagueCity,TX,abstractno.1717,Mar2006
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Day,F.M. and E. Momjian,The Impact of Arec-ibo’s Sensitivity on VLBA Observations, AmericanAstronomicalSocietyMeeting207,#29.07;Bulletinof theAmericanAstronomical Society,Vol.37,p.1212,Dec2005
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Freire,P.; ALFAPulsarConsortiumCollaboration,ALFA Pulsar Surveys: Searching for Fundamental
60 NAICAPRPP2007
tioninaTurbulentISM,InternationalAstronomicalUnion.Symp.no.237,held14-18August,2006inPrague,CzechRepublic,S237,#61,Aug2006
Giovanelli,R.,M.P.Haynes,B.Kent,A.Saintonge,S.Stierwalt,N. Brosch,L. Hoffman,J. Rosenberg,B.Catinella,and E. Momjian, ALFALFA DiscoveryofanHICloudComplexintheVirgoCluster,Amer-ican Astronomical Society Meeting 207, #179.22,Dec2005
Haynes, M.P., ALFA Surveys as Complements tootherMajorSurveys,AmericanAstronomicalSoci-etyMeeting207,#192.08;BulletinoftheAmericanAstronomicalSociety,Vol.37,p.1489,Dec2005
Haynes,M.P.,R.Giovanelli,B.R.Kent,A.Saintonge,S.Stierwalt,B. Catinella,E.M. Momjian,G.L.Hoffman,J.R.Rosenberg,N.Brosch,J.I.Davies,andR.L.Minchin,ComplexStructure in theALFALFAHIDistributionAroundVirgoHI21,AmericanAstro-nomicalSocietyMeeting207,#179.23,Dec2005
Heinke,C.O., J.E. Grindlay,P.D. Edmonds, H.N.Cohn,P.M. Lugger,F. Camilo,S. Bogdanov,andP.C. Freire,X-ray Binaries in the Globular Cluster47Tucanae,inInteractingBinaries:Accretion,Evo-lution,andOutcomes.AIPConf.Proc.,797,pp.40-45,Oct2005
Henkel,C.,K.M.Menten,J.Braatz,R.Mauersberg-er,A.Weiss,M.Lebrón,A.Tarchi,A.B.Peck,C.L.Carilli,andD.A.Lubowich,Extragalacticammonia,Highlights of Astronomy, IAU Symp. 13, pp. 879-881,2005
Henning,P.A., C.M. Springob,B. Catinella,E.Momjian,B. Koribalski,K. Masters,E. Muller,C.Pantoja,M. Putman,J.L. Rosenberg,S. Schneider,and L. Staveley-Smith, Surveying The Zone OfAvoidance With The Arecibo L-band Feed Ar-ray,AmericanAstronomical SocietyMeeting208,#53.04,June2006
Hessels,J.,S.Ransom,I.Stairs,P.Freire,S.Begin,V.Kaspi,andF.Camilo,Radiopulsarsinglobularclus-ters,36thCOSPARScientificAssembly.Held16-23July2004,inBeijing,China,p.1436,2006
Howell,E.S.,A.J.Lovell,B.Butler,F.P.Schloerb,andS.A.Torchinsky,RadioOHObservationsofComet9P/Tempel1BeforeandAfterDeepImpact,Ameri-can Astronomical Society Meeting 207, #187.04,Dec2005
Laboratories of Extreme Physics, American Astro-nomicalSocietyMeeting207,#192.05,Dec2005
Freire,P.,PulsarSurveyswithALFA,36thCOSPARScientificAssembly.Held16-23July2004,inBei-jing,China,p.1431,2006
Freire,P.,B. Jacoby,M.Bailes,I. Stairs,A.Mott,R.Ferdman,D.Nice,andD.C.Backer,DiscoveryAndTimingofthePSRJ1741+1351BinaryPulsar,Amer-ican Astronomical Society Meeting 208, #72.06,June2006
Freudling,W., L. Staveley-Smith,M. Calabretta,B.Catinella,W. vanDriel,S. Linder,R. Minchin,E.Momjian,M.Zwaan,AUDSTeam,TheALFAUltraDeepSurvey(AUDS),AmericanAstronomicalSoci-etyMeeting207,#88.08,Dec2005
Frey,S.,L.I.Gurvits,D.C.Gabuzda,C.J.Salter,D.R.Altschuler,P.Perillat,M.F.Aller,H.D.Aller,H.Hi-rabayashi,andM.M.Davis,VSOPMonitoringoftheCompactBLLacObjectAO0235+164,Pub.oftheAstron.SocietyofJapan,58(2),pp.217-222,April2006
Ghent, R.R., B.A. Campbell, B.R. Hawke, and D.B.Campbell, Earth-based 70-cm radar observationsofthesoutheastlimboftheMoon,AmericanGeo-physical Union, Fall Meeting, abstract P33D-02,Dec2005
Ghent, R.R., B.A. Campbell, B.R. Hawke, and D.B.Campbell,RemoteSensingandGeologicStudiesoftheSoutheasternQuadrantoftheMoon,37thAn-nualLunarandPlanetaryScienceConf.,March13-17,2006,LeagueCity,TX,abstractno.1815,Mar2006
Gibson, S., GALFACTS: A Full-Stokes ContinuumSurveyoftheAreciboSky,AmericanAstronomicalSocietyMeeting207,#192.07,Dec2005Gibson,S.J.,J.M.Stil,A.R.Taylor,C.M.Brunt,D.W.Kavars,andJ.M.Dickey,ColdGalacticHIintheFirstand Second Quadrants, American AstronomicalSocietyMeeting207,#81.01,Dec2005
Gibson,S.J., Galactic Spiral Structure in HI Emis-sion and Self-Absorption, American AstronomicalSocietyMeeting208,#49.02,June2006
Gibson,S.J.,A.R.Taylor,J.M.Stil,C.M.Brunt,D.W.Kavars,andJ.M.Dickey,ColdHIinTurbulentEddiesand Galactic Spiral Shocks, Triggered Star Forma-
NAICAPRPP2007 61
Howell,E.S.,C.Magri,H.M.Hanson,andM.C.No-lan, Correlating IRTF Spectra and Arecibo RadarObservations of Low-Albedo Main-Belt Asteroids,AmericanAstronomicalSociety,DPSmeeting#38,#59.08,Sept2006
Kasian,L.E.;PALFAConsortium,NewObservationsof the Young Relativistic Binary PSR J1906+0746,American Astronomical Society Meeting 208,#4.02,June2006
Keeney, B.A., Do Starburst Winds Escape TheirParent Galaxies?, American Astronomical SocietyMeeting207,#43.04;BulletinoftheAmericanAs-tronomicalSociety,Vol.37,p.1229,Dec2005
Kent,B.R., R. Giovanelli,M.P. Haynes,A.Saintonge,S.Stierwalt,N.Brosch,B.Catinella,G.L. Hoffman,E. Momjian,and J.L. Rosenberg,AL-FALFA Observations of the Virgo cluster and itsenvirons,AmericanAstronomicalSocietyMeeting207,#179.20;BulletinoftheAmericanAstronomi-calSociety,Vol.37,p.1457,Dec2005
Khachokian,E.Y., G.T. Ter-Kazarian,andY.Terzian,OnMulti-NucleiFeaturesofSomeMarkari-an Galaxies, Galaxy Evolution Across the HubbleTime,InternationalAstronomicalUnion.Symp.no.235,held14-17August,2006inPrague,CzechRe-public,S235,#223,Aug2006
Koopmann,R.A., M.P. Haynes,J. Alonso,R.Giovanelli,G.L. Hoffmann,B.R. Kent,S.Stierwalt,and J.J. Salzer,The ALFALFA Under-graduate Workshop: Promoting UndergraduateParticipationinaLegacySurveyProject,AmericanAstronomicalSocietyMeeting207,#179.24;Bulle-tinoftheAmericanAstronomicalSociety,Vol.37,p.1458,Dec2005
Kornreich,D.A.,A.W.Mitschang,andA.K.Furniss,Deep ALFALFA HI Mapping of the AnomalouslyLarge Disk of NGC 5701, American AstronomicalSocietyMeeting208,#14.17,June2006
Kouprianova,E.G., A.V. Stepanov,and V.V.Zaitsev,RadiopulsationsfromADLeo:diagnosticsofelectriccurrentsandplasmaparametersinstellarflares,HighlightsofRecentProgressintheSeismol-ogy of the Sun and Sun-Like Stars, 26th meetingof the IAU, Joint Discussion 17, 23 August 2006,Prague,CzechRepublic,JD17,#24,Aug2006
Kramer, M., Future radio observatories for pulsarstudies, On the Present and Future of Pulsar As-tronomy,26thmeetingoftheIAU,JointDiscussion2, 16-17 August, 2006, Prague, Czech Republic,JD02,#44,Aug2006
Kronberg, P.P., The Astrophysical Importance ofLow-level, Low Frequency Intergalactic Radiome-try,FromClarkLaketotheLongWavelengthArray:BillErickson’sRadioScienceASPConferenceSeries,Vol.345,Proc.of theConf.held8-11September,2004inSantaFe,NewMexico,USA.EditedbyN.Kassim,M.Perez,M.Junor,andP.Henning,p.276,Jan2006
Lewis, B.M., On the reemergence of 1612 MHzmasersinIRAS19479+2111,AmericanAstronomi-cal Society Meeting 207, #104.06; Bulletin of theAmerican Astronomical Society, Vol. 37, p.1335,Dec2005
Lewis,B.M., Identifying theYoungestProtoPlan-etary Nebulae, Planetary Nebulae in our GalaxyandBeyond,Proc.oftheInternationalAstronomi-calUnion,Symp.#234,M.J.BarlowandR.H.Mén-dez,eds.CambridgeUniversityPress,pp.449-450,2006
Lommen,A.N., R.A. Kipphorn,D.J. Nice,E.M.Splaver, I.H. Stairs,and D.C. Backer, The ParallaxandProperMotionofPSRJ0030+0451,AmericanAstronomicalSocietyMeeting207,#183.06;Bulle-tinoftheAmericanAstronomicalSociety,Vol.37,p.1469,Dec2005
Lovell,A.J.E.S.Howell,H.Marine,B.J.Butler,andF.P.Schloerb,OHRadioMappingObservationsofComet73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann3,AmericanAstronomical Society, DPS meeting #38, #06.04,Sept2006
Mantovani,F.,A.Rossetti,W.Junor,D.J.Saikia,andC.J. Salter,VLBA Polarimetric Observations ofYoung Radio Sources, Future Directions in HighResolution Astronomy: The 10th Anniversary ofthe VLBA, ASP Conf. Proc., Vol. 340. Edited by J.RomneyandM.Reid.SanFrancisco:AstronomicalSocietyofthePacific,2005,p.186,Nov2005
Margot, J.L., P. Pravec, M.C. Nolan, E.S. Howell,L.A.M.Benner,J.D.Giorgini,R.F.Jurgens,S.J.Ostro,M.A. Slade, C. Magri, P.A. Taylor, P.D. Nicholson,andD.B.Campbell,HermesasanExceptionalCaseAmong Binary Near-Earth Asteroids, Near Earth
62 NAICAPRPP2007
ObservationsoftheSub-DLAatz=0.0063towardsPG1216+069, American Astronomical SocietyMeeting208,#15.03,June2006
Nice,D.J., J.M. Weisberg,and J.H. Taylor,AreciboMeasurementoftheProperMotionofBinaryPul-sar B1913+16, American Astronomical SocietyMeeting207,#183.05;BulletinoftheAmericanAs-tronomicalSociety,Vol.37,p.1468,Dec2005
Nice, D.J., High precision millisecond and binarypulsar timing at Arecibo, 36th COSPAR ScientificAssembly.Held16-23July2004,inBeijing,China.,p.3227,2006.
Nice,D.J.,PulsarTiminganditsFuturePerspective,On the Present and Future of Pulsar Astronomy,26thmeetingoftheIAU,JointDiscussion2,16-17August,2006,Prague,CzechRepublic,JD02,#57,Aug2006
Nolan,M.C.,L.A.M.Benner,G.Black,D.B.Camp-bell, J.D. Giorgini, A.A. Hine, E.S. Howell, J.L.Margot,andS.J.Ostro,Radarobservationsofnear-earthasteroids,HighlightsofAstronomyIAUSymp.13,p.759,2005
Nolan,M.C., A.A. Hine,E.S. Howell,L.A.M.Benner,J.D. Giorgini,S.J. Ostro,G.J. Black,D.B.Campbell,J.L. Margot,L.M. Carter,and C. Magri,Extreme Diversity of Near-Earth Asteroid PhysicalPropertiesfromAreciboRadarImaging,AmericanAstronomicalSocietyMeeting207,#04.15,Bulletinof theAmericanAstronomical Society,Vol.37,p.1155,Dec2005
Nolan, M.C., J.K. Harmon, E.S. Howell, L.A.M.Benner,J.D.Giorgini,S.J.Ostro,D.B.Campbell,andJ.L.Margot,RadarObservationsOfComet73P/Sch-wassmann-Wachmann 3, American AstronomicalSociety,DPSmeeting#38,#12.06,Sept2006
Ostro,S.J., L. Benner,J.D. Giorgini,C. Magri,J.L. Margot,M.C. Nolan,and M.K. Shepard,Radar Reconnaissance Of Near-Earth Asteroids,Near Earth Objects, Our Celestial Neighbors: Op-portunity and Risk, International AstronomicalUnion.Symp.no.236,held14-18August,2006inPrague,CzechRepublic,S236,#6,Aug2006
Ostro,S.J., J.L. Margot, L.A.M. Benner, J.D.Giorgini,D.J. Scheeres,E.G. Fahnestock,S.B.Broschart,J. Bellerose,M.C. Nolan,C. Magri,P.Pravec,P.Scheirich,R.Rose,R.F.Jurgens,S.Suzuki,
Objects,OurCelestialNeighbors:OpportunityandRisk,InternationalAstronomicalUnion,Symp.236,held14-18August,2006inPrague,CzechRepub-lic,S236,#35,Aug2006
Minchin,R.F., E-ALFAConsortiumCollaboration,AGES, AUDS, ALFALFA, ZOA—Surveying the Ex-tragalactic Sky fromA toZ,AmericanAstronomi-cal Society Meeting 207, #192.02; Bulletin of theAmerican Astronomical Society, Vol. 37, p. 1488,Dec2005
Minchin,R.F., J.I. Davies,M.J. Disney,A.R.Marble,C.D. Impey,P.J. Boyce,D.A. Garcia,M.Grossi,C.A. Jordan,R.H. Lang,S. Roberts, S. Saba-tini,andW.vanDriel,HighResolutionHIImagingofVIRGOHI21-ADarkGalaxyintheVirgoClus-ter, American Astronomical Society Meeting 207,#188.13,Dec2005
Minchin,R.F., R. Auld,J.I. Davies,B. Catinella,S.Linder,E. Momjian,E. Muller,S. Sabatini,S.E.Schneider,M.D. Stage,W. van Driel, AGES Team,FirstResultsfromtheAreciboGalaxyEnvironmentSurvey, American Astronomical Society Meeting208,#53.06,June2006
Minchin,R.F., R. Auld,R., J.I. Davies,B. Catinel-la, L. Cortese,S. Linder,E. Momjian,E. Muller,K.O’Neil,K.,J.Rosenberg,S.Sabatini,S.E.Schneider,M.D.Stage,andW.vanDriel,TheAreciboGalaxyEnvironments Survey - Description of the SurveyandEarlyResults,GalaxyEvolutionAcrosstheHub-bleTime,InternationalAstronomicalUnion.Symp.no.235,held14-17August,2006inPrague,CzechRepublic,S235,#284,Aug2006Momjian,E.,T.H.Troland,J.D.Romney,C.L.Carilli,andG.B.Taylor,SensitiveVLBIObservationsoftheULIRGIRAS17208-0014,FutureDirectionsinHighResolution Astronomy: The 10th Anniversary oftheVLBA,ASPConferenceProceedings,Vol.340.EditedbyJ.RomneyandM.Reid.SanFrancisco:As-tronomicalSocietyofthePacific,p.232,Nov2005
Momjian,E., J.D. Romney,C.L. Carilli,and T.H.Troland,HSAobservationsofOHMegamaserEmis-sion from the ULIRG IRAS 17208-0014, AmericanAstronomicalSocietyMeeting207,#21.04;Bulletinof theAmericanAstronomical Society,Vol.37,p.1191,Dec2005
Momjian,E.,C.J.Salter,T.Ghosh,J.Chengalur,N.Kanekar,B.A.Keeney,andJ.T.Stocke,AreciboHI
NAICAPRPP2007 63
andE.M.deJong,RadarInvestigationofAsteroid66391 (1999 KW4), American Astronomical Soci-ety,DPSmeeting#38,#65.02,Sept2006
Pandian,J.D., P.F. Goldsmith,and A.A.Deshpande,The Arecibo Methanol Maser Galac-tic Plane Survey, American Astronomical SocietyMeeting207,#165.02;BulletinoftheAmericanAs-tronomicalSociety,Vol.37,p.1424,Dec2005
Possenti,A., M. Burgay, N. D’Amico,A. Lyne,M.Kramer,M.McLaughlin,D.Lorimer,R.Manchester,F.Camilo,J.Sarkissian,P.Freire,B.C.Joshi,I.Stairs,andR.Ferdman,TwoYearsofWorkintheJ0737-3039Laboratory,inAstrophysicalSourcesofHighEnergy Particles and Radiation, AIP Conf. Proc.,801,pp.272-277,Nov2005
Ransom,S.M., J.W.T. Hessels,I.H. Stairs,P.C.C.Freire,V.M.Kaspi,andF.Camilo,AGlobularClus-terPulsarRenaissancewith theGreenBankTele-scope, American Astronomical Society Meeting207,#32.05,Dec2005
Reddy,V., R.R. Dyvig,P. Pravec,P. Kusnirak,L.Kornos,J. Vilagi,A. Galad,S. Gajdos,D.P. Pray,L.A.M.Benner,M.C.Nolan,J.D.Giorgini,S.J.Ostro,and P.A. Abell, Photometric and Radar Observa-tionsof2005AB:ANewBinaryNear-EarthAster-oid,37thAnnualLunarandPlanetaryScienceCon-ference, March 13-17, 2006, League City, Texas,abstractno.1755,March2006
Roshi,D.A.,High-frequencyCarbonRecombinationLineasaProbetoStudytheEnvironmentofUltra-compactHIIregions,inTriggeredStarFormationinaTurbulentISM,InternationalAstronomicalUnion.Symp.no.237,held14-18August,2006inPrague,CzechRepublic,S237,#202,Aug2006
Saintonge,A., C. Marinoni,K.L. Masters, M.P.Haynes,R. Giovanelli, and T. Contini,Multi-wave-length Study of Galaxy Rotation Curves and itsApplicationtoCosmology,2005,toappearintheproc.oftheVthMarseilleInternationalCosmologyConf.
Saintonge,A., R. Giovanelli,M.P. Haynes,B.Kent,S. Stierwalt,N. Brosch,B. Catinella,and E.Momjian,ASignalExtractionUtilityfortheALFAL-FASurvey,AmericanAstronomicalSocietyMeeting207,#187.02,Dec2005Salzer,J.J., N.M. Tresser,J.L. Rosenberg,and S.Stevenson,S., An Optically Unbiased Look at the
LocalUniverse:PropertiesoftheADBSHI-SelectedSampleofGalaxies,AmericanAstronomicalSocietyMeeting207,#179.19;BulletinoftheAmericanAs-tronomicalSociety,Vol.37,p.1457,Dec2005
Sarma,A.P., T.H. Troland,J.D. Romney,and T.H.Huynh,T.H.,VLBAZeemaneffectobservationsofwatermasers in the star forming regionOH43.8-0.1,AmericanAstronomical SocietyMeeting207,#195.01;BulletinoftheAmericanAstronomicalSo-ciety,Vol.37,p.1492,Dec2005
Scheeres,D.J., E.G. Fahnestock,S.J. Ostro,J.L. Margot,L.A.M. Benner,S.B. Broschart,J.Bellerose,J.D. Giorgini,M.C. Nolan,C. Magri,P.Pravec,P.Scheirich,R.Rose,R.F.Jurgens,S.Suzuki,and E.M. DeJong, Dynamical Investigation of As-teroid66391(1999KW4),AmericanAstronomicalSociety,DPSmeeting#38,#65.03,Sept2006
Shepard,M.K., B.E. Clark,L.A.M. Benner,J.D.Giorgini,C. Magri,M.C. Nolan,and S.J. Ostro,More Results from a Long-Term Radar Survey ofM-ClassAsteroids,AmericanAstronomicalSociety,DPSmeeting#38,#71.01,Sept2006
Shore,S.N., T.N. Larosa,L. Magnani,andF.Costagliola,TurbulenceinHighLatitudeClouds,in Triggered Star Formation in a Turbulent ISM,InternationalAstronomicalUnion.Symp.no.237,held14-18August,2006inPrague,CzechRepub-lic,S237,#3,Aug2006
Simpson,R.A., G.L. Tyler,M.C. Nolan,M.Pätzold,andB.Häusler,MarsExpressBistaticRadarExplores Stealth, American Astronomical Society,DPSmeeting#38,#67.06,Sept2006
Spekkens,K.,E.Momjian,B.R.Kent,R.Giovanelli,M.P. Haynes,B. Catinella,S. Stierwalt,and A.Saintonge,ALFALFA Discovery of an HI CloudComplex in the Virgo Cluster: Aperture Synthe-sis Observations, American Astronomical SocietyMeeting207,#179.25,Dec2005
Stacey,G.J., S.R. Golwala,C.M. Bradford,C.D.Dowell,G. Cortes-Medellin,T. Nikola,J.Zmuidzinas,T.L. Herter,S.J. Radford,J.P. Lloyd,A.W. Blain, R.L. Brown, and 9 coauthors, Instru-mentationfortheCCATTelescope,MillimeterandSubmillimeter Detectors and Instrumentation forAstronomyIII,J.Zmuidzinas,W.S.Holland,S.With-ington,andW.D.Duncan,eds.,Proc.of theSPIE,Vol.6275,July2006
64 NAICAPRPP2007
2, 16-17 August, 2006, Prague, Czech Republic,JD02,#46,Aug2006
West,A.A., D.A. Garcia-Appadoo,and J.J.Dalcanton,SDSS/HIPASS Volume Limited GalaxySurvey, American Astronomical Society Meeting208,#53.01,June2006
Stairs,I.H., M. Kramer,R. Manchester,M.McLaughlin,A. Lyne,R. Ferdman,M. Burgay,D.Lorimer,A.Possenti,N.D’Amico,B.Joshi,P.Freire,andF.Camilo,RecentObservationsoftheDoublePulsar, American Astronomical Society Meeting208,#33.04,June2006
Stanimirovic,S., Recent Results From Galfa: ‘Gold-enEye’ On Disk/halo Interfaces, American Astro-nomicalSocietyMeeting208,#34.02,June2006
Stierwalt,S., M.P. Haynes,R. Giovanelli,B.Kent,A. Saintonge,I.D. Karachentsev,V.E. Karachentseva,N. Brosch,B. Catinella,L.Hoffman,andE.Momjian,ALFALFASurveyoftheLeoRegion,AmericanAstronomicalSocietyMeet-ing207,#187.03,Dec2005
Taylor,P.A.,J.L.Margot,M.C.Nolan,L.A.Benner,S.J.Ostro,J.D.Giorgini,andC.Magri,RadarImagingofBinaryNear-EarthAsteroid2004DC,AmericanAstronomical Society, DPS meeting #38, #50.04,Sept2006
Toribio,M.C.,FirstResults fromVLAObservationsofFiveSpiralGalaxiesintheVirgoClusterRegion,GalaxyEvolutionAcrosstheHubbleTime,Interna-tionalAstronomicalUnion.Symp.no.235,held14-17August,2006inPrague,CzechRepublic,S235,#390,Aug2006
Troland,T.H.,MagneticFieldStrengthsintheColdNeutralMediumoftheGalaxy,AstronomicalPolar-imetry: Current Status and Future Directions ASPConferenceSeries,Vol.343,Proc.oftheConf.held15-19 March, 2004 in Waikoloa, Hawai’i, USA. A.Adamson, C. Aspin, C. J. Davis, and T. Fujiyoshi,eds.,p.64,Dec2005
Ulvestad,J.S., K.E. Johnson,and S.G. Neff,A VLBISearch for Radio Supernovae in Super Star Clus-ters,AmericanAstronomicalSocietyMeeting207,#113.09;BulletinoftheAmericanAstronomicalSo-ciety,Vol.37,p.1346,Dec2005
Wells, K., D.B. Campbell, B.A. Campbell, and L.M.Carter,TheSize-FrequencyDistributionofFar-FieldTycho Secondary Craters, American AstronomicalSociety,DPSmeeting#38,#57.12,Sept2006
Weltevrede, P.. B. Stappers, and J. Rankin, andG. Wright, Is PSR B0656+14 a very nearby RRATsource?,On thePresentandFutureofPulsarAs-tronomy,26thmeetingoftheIAU,JointDiscussion
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7. NAIC External Federal Funding & Active Subcontracts
External Funding
Sponsor $$$ PI Period of Award Title of Project
CURRENTJPL $37,655 S. Gibson 9/13/06 - 9/30/08 Cold Diffuse Clouds: The Missing
Link in Molecular Cloud FormationJoint Institute for VLBI in Europe $412,000 A.
VenkataramanTBD EXPReS: A Production Astronomy e-
VLBI InfrastructureNASA $244,700 D. Campbell 8/1/03 - 7/31/06 Surface Properties From Radar and
Radio ObservationsNSF $20,000 R. Brown 9/1/06 - 2/28/07 Community Workshop: Building the
Foundation for US Astronomy at m/cm Wavelengths in 2010 and Beyond
NSF $58,842 J. Friedman 4/1/05 - 3/31/10 Collaborative Research: High-Resolution Resonance Lidar Detection of Meteor Trails
NSF $167,899 J. FriedmanC. Tepley
11/1/05 - 10/31/08
Collaborative Research: CEDAR Daytime Potassium Lidar at Arecibo
NSF $596,836 J. AlonsoS. Gonzalez
5/1/03 - 12/31/06 The Arecibo Geoscience Diversity Program: Enhancing the Education of Hispanics Through Research Experiences
Space Environment Corp. (NSF) $95,000 S. Gonzalez 10/1/03 - 9/30/07 Investigation of the Accuracy of Ionospheric Models at Mid-Latitudes...Implementation of Ionospheric Metric at CCMC
University of Puerto Rico (NASA) $239,349 C. Tepley 3/13/02 - 8/31/05 Studies of Tropical Weather and Climate at the Arecibo Observatory
University of Puerto Rico (NASA) $72,884 C. Tepley 9/1/04 - 8/31/07 Further Studies of Aerosols and Climate at the Arecibo Observatory
PENDINGAFOSR/DURIP $942,000 M. Sulzer,
S. Gonzalez4/1/07 - 3/31/08 The Arecibo HF Facility: An
Instrument to Study Ionospheric and Plasma Physics in the Near-Earth Space Environment
NSF $289.08 S. Raizada,J. Friedman,
C. Tepley
2/10/07 - 2/9/10 CEDAR: An Observational and Theoretical Study of the Climatology of the Ca/Ca+ Layer in the MLT at Arecibo and its Relation to the Sporadic Micrometeor Flux
NSF $966,156 J. Alonso 5/1/07 - 4/30/10 The Arecibo Geoscience Diversity Project: A Track 2 Initiative for a Mentored Research Experience for Pre-College, Teacher, and Undergraduate Hispanics
Space Telescope Science Institute $9,916 R. Minchin 1/1/07 - 12/30/07 The Nearest Gas-Rich Giant GalaxyUniversity of Puerto Rico (NASA) $146,690 C. Tepley 7/1/07 - 6/30/10 Understanding Cloud and Aerosol
Dynamics in Tropical Coastal Regions
University of Puerto Rico (NASA) $207,402 C. Tepley 6/1/05 - 5/31/08 Cloud Studies at the Arecibo Observatory
66 NAICAPRPP2007
e
S
a
Active Subcontracts
Subcontractor $$$ PI Period of Award Purpose
Ammann & Whitney Consulting Engineers, PC
$50,000 T. Anderson 4/1/06 - 3/31/10 Engineering Consulting for the Arecibo Telescop
Columbia University $1,750 F. Camillo 4/1/05 - 3/31/07 Software Development on Behalf of the p-ALFA Consortium
Jeff Mock $400,000 J. Mock 1/1/06 - 4/30/07 P/E ALFA SpectrometersNorthwest Research Associates, Inc. $87,399 D. Janches 4/1/06 - 4/1/07 Developing New AO Programs
Penn State University $60,000 J. Breakall 9/1/06 - 5/31/07 HF DesignPenn State University $62,358 J. Mathews 1/1/06 - 9/30/07 Next Generation SAUniversity of California, Berkeley $16,336 D.B. Backer 4/1/05 - 3/31/07 Software Development on Behalf of
the p-ALFA ConsortiumUniversity of Colorado $61,311 X. Chu 9/1/06 - 11/30/07 Student Support for Collaborative
Research CEDAR Daytime Potassium Doppler Lidar at Arecibo
University of Colorado $14,499 X. Chu 6/1/06 - 7/31/07 Study of MLT Thermal Structure and Dynamics in Tropical Area Using Arecibo Dat
University of Puerto Rico $234,916 M. Ramos 10/1/03 - 12/31/06
The Arecibo Geoscience Diversity Program
NAIC External Federal Funding & Active Subcontracts continued
NAICAPRPP2007 67
8. Division of Effort for Staff
n
Distribution of EffortName Title FTE HQ AST ATM REU VC CU* Total
Key PersonnelR.L. Brown Director, NAIC 1.00 x 1.00 1.00 T. Hankins Interim Site Director - R. Kerr AO Dir of Operations 1.00 1.00 1.00 S. Gonzalez Asst Dir, SAS 1.00 0.75 0.25 1.00
Sub-total 3.00 2.75 0.25 0.00 0.00 0.00 3.00Scientific Staff
J.L. Margot Asst Prof 0.35 x 0.35 0.35 M. Haynes Deputy Director, NAIC xB.M. Lewis Head, Astronomy Program 1.00 1.00 1.00 M. Nolan Head, Tech Services; Head, SSS 1.00 0.85 0.15 1.00 B. Catinella Post DocJ. Fernandez Post Doc 1.00 1.00 1.00 P. Santos Post Doc 1.00 1.00 1.00 R. Minchin Post Doc 1.00 1.00 1.00 E. Howell Res Assoc 1.00 1.00 1.00 E. Momjian Res Assoc 1.00 1.00 1.00 H. Vo Res Assoc 1.00 0.70 0.30 1.00 M. Lebron Res AssocM. Lerner Res Assoc 1.00 1.00 1.00 N. Aponte Res Assoc 1.00 1.00 1.00 P. Freire Res Assoc 1.00 1.00 1.00 S. Gibson Res Assoc 1.00 1.00 1.00 C. Tepley Sr Res Assoc 1.00 1.00 1.00 C.J. Salter Sr Res Assoc 1.00 1.00 1.00 G. Cortes-Medellin Sr Res Assoc xJ. Friedman Sr Res Assoc 1.00 1.00 1.00 J.K. Harmon Sr Res Assoc 1.00 1.00 1.00 M. Sulzer Sr Res Assoc 1.00 1.00 1.00 S. Raizada Sr Res Assoc 1.00 0.50 0.50 1.00 T. Ghosh Sr Res AssocD.R. Altschuler Sr Res Assoc, Dir OPUSA. Lovell Visiting Scientist xL.Waldrop Visiting Scientist xN. Brosch Visiting Scientist x xR. Koopman Visiting Scientist x xT. Balonek Visiting Scientist x xW. Gordon Visiting Scientist
Sub-total 18.35 10.20 7.35 0.00 0.00 0.80 18.35Graduate Students
E. Nossa GRA x xJ. Pandian GRA x x xVacant Pre-Doc Student 1.00 1.00 1.00 Vacant Pre-Doc Student 1.00 1.00 1.00 I. Seker Research Intern 1.00 1.00 1.00
Sub-total 3.00 1.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 3.00 Managers
D. Marsh Admin Director 1.00 x 0.80 0.20 1.00 J. Cordero Business Manager 1.00 0.85 0.15 1.00 Vacant Chief Telescope Engineer 1.00 1.00 1.00W. Arias EH&S Officer 1.00 0.80 0.20 1.00 S. Bravo Guard-Security SuprvA.G. Venkatarama Head, Computer Dept 1.00 1.00 1.00 G. Rajagopalan Head, Electronics Dept 1.00 1.00 1.00 J. Alonso Head, Visitor Center 1.00 0.75 0.25 1.00 M. Rodriguez HR Manager 1.00 0.80 0.20 1.00
Sub-total 8.00 6.25 0.75 0.00 0.75 0.25 8.00
68 NAICAPRPP2007
Division of Effort for Staff continued
Distribution of EffortName Title FTE HQ AST ATM REU VC CU* Total
Professional/TechnicalVacant ALFA Programmer 1.00 1.00 1.00 A.M. Vazquez Computer Programmer 1.00 1.00 1.00 A. Hine Data AnalystE. Robles Data Analyst 1.00 1.00 1.00 W. Greene Electrical Engr (Transmitters) 1.00 0.50 0.50 1.00 M.A. Morales Electronics Maint EngrV. Iguina Electronics Maint EngrJ. Acevedo HR/Scientific Services 1.00 1.00 1.00 G. Comes Info Tech Engr II 1.00 1.00 1.00 J.A. Jimenez Mech Engr/Maintenance 1.00 1.00 1.00 F.O. Soberal Platform Maint Supervisor 1.00 1.00 1.00 D. Whitlow Res Support Spec 1.00 0.85 0.15 1.00 H. Camacho Res Support Spec-Digital 1.00 1.00 1.00 R. Seal Res Support Spec-Digital 1.00 1.00 1.00 T. Hall Res Support Spec-Digital 1.00 1.00 1.00 L.A. Baker Res Support Specialist 1.00 x 1.00 1.00 B. Genter Res Support Spec-ReceiversVacant Res Support Spec-ReceiversR. Velez Res Support Spec-RFI 1.00 1.00 1.00 G. Shankaran Sr Compt Staff Supp Spec 0.50 0.50 0.50 J.L. Rodriguez Sr Compt Staff Supp Spec 1.00 1.00 1.00 P.J. Perillat Sr Compt Staff Supp Spec 1.00 0.75 0.25 1.00 N. Despiau Sr Telescope Operator 1.00 1.00 1.00 W. Portalatin Sr Telescope Operator 1.00 1.00 1.00 K.D. Kabelac Tech Serv Supervisor xE.L. Ruiz Tech Support SpecR. Garcia Tech Support Spec 1.00 1.00 1.00 H. Hernandez Telescope Scheduler/SOS 1.00 1.00 1.00
Sub-total 20.50 15.60 4.90 0.00 0.00 0.00 20.50Administrative/Clerical
Vacant Executive Staff Asst 1.00 0.75 0.25 1.00 W. Turner Executive Staff Asst 1.00 x 1.00 1.00 Vacant Finance Specialist xJose Luis Cruz Head, Telescope Ops 1.00 1.00 1.00 M. Santiago Purchasing Supv 1.00 1.00 1.00 M. Irizarry Store Manager 1.00 1.00 1.00
Sub-total 5.00 3.75 0.25 0.00 1.00 0.00 5.00Clerical
C. Torres Admin Aide 1.00 1.00 1.00 J. Tarbell Admin Asst 1.00 x 0.80 0.20 1.00 W. Perez Admin AsstA. Ortiz Asst. Store Manager 1.00 1.00 1.00 S. Cuevas de Jesus Elect Sup Coord 1.00 1.00 1.00 C. Rosario Executive Secty 1.00 1.00 1.00 M. Mercado Executive Secty 1.00 1.00 1.00 W. Santiago Executive Secty 1.00 1.00 1.00 L. Lopez HR & Benefits Asst 1.00 0.80 0.20 1.00 M. Gerena HR & Payroll AsstC.G. Segarra Library Asst 1.00 1.00 1.00 M. Herrera Office Assistant 1.00 1.00 1.00 C. Caban Purchasing AideM. Lopez Purchasing Aide 1.00 1.00 1.00 (19) UPR Students VC Tour Guides 6.00 6.00 6.00 S. DeVaul Workstudy Student 0.30 x 0.30 0.30
Sub-total 17.30 8.90 0.40 0.00 8.00 0.00 17.30
NAICAPRPP2007 69
Division of Effort for Staff continued
Distribution of EffortName Title FTE HQ AST ATM REU VC CU* Total
TechnicalJ.L. Padilla DrafterVacant DriverE. DeJesus Electrician 1.00 1.00 1.00 M. Alvarez ElectricianA. Nolla Electronics Tech 1.00 0.75 0.25 1.00 A. Santoni Ruiz Electronics Tech 1.00 0.50 0.50 1.00 C. Rios-Velez Electronics Tech 1.00 1.00 1.00 J. Capo Electronics TechJ. Rosa Electronics TechJ.A. Soto Electronics Tech 1.00 1.00 1.00 J.E. Vives Electronics Tech 1.00 1.00 1.00 J.M. Rios Electronics Tech 1.00 1.00 1.00 V. Negron Electronics Tech 1.00 0.50 0.50 1.00 W. Iguina Electronics Tech 1.00 1.00 1.00 D.W. Overbaugh Equipment Tech xE. Cruz Martinez Systems Operator I 1.00 1.00 1.00 E. Gonzalez Systems Operator I 1.00 1.00 1.00 J. Marrero Systems Operator I 1.00 1.00 1.00 W. Hernandez Systems Operator I 1.00 1.00 1.00W. Torres Rivera Telescope Operator
Sub-total 13.00 10.75 2.25 0.00 0.00 0.00 13.00Maintenance
J. Velez Air Cond Mech 1.00 1.00 1.00 I. Perez Auto MechA. Alonzo Carpenter/PlumberA. Rivera Groundskeeper 1.00 1.00 1.00 Antonio Perez GroundskeeperA. Maldonado Guard 1.00 1.00 1.00 C. Lebron GuardD. Padilla-Arce Guard 1.00 1.00 1.00 I. Chico Cruz Guard 1.00 1.00 1.00 J.E. Maldonado Guard 1.00 1.00 1.00 J.M. Velez Guard 1.00 1.00 1.00 M. Lopez Guard 1.00 1.00 1.00 P. Perez Guard 1.00 1.00 1.00 R. Robles Guard 1.00 1.00 1.00 Vacant GuardVacant GuardA. Correa Guard-Asst SuprvM. Rodriguez Heavy Equip OperatorAngel Perez Janitor 1.00 1.00 1.00 E. Batista Laborer 1.00 1.00 1.00 A. Aquino Machine Shop Foreman 1.00 1.00 1.00 J. Perez Sr Mechanic 1.00 1.00 1.00 S. Chico Supply Clerk 1.00 1.00 1.00 J. Rosado Telescope Maint Supv 1.00 1.00 1.00 E. Del Pilar Telescope Mechanic 1.00 1.00 1.00 E. Lopez Martinez Telescope Mechanic 1.00 1.00 1.00 O. Rodriguez Telescope Mechanic 1.00 1.00 1.00 C. Sein Telescope Rigger/Painter 1.00 1.00 1.00 E. Gonzalez Telescope Rigger/Painter 1.00 1.00 1.00
70 NAICAPRPP2007
Division of Effort for Staff continued
Distribution of EffortName Title FTE HQ AST ATM REU VC CU* TotalF. Rodriguez Perez Telescope Rigger/Painter 1.00 1.00 1.00 H. Crespo Telescope Rigger/Painter 1.00 1.00 1.00 J. Rodriguez-Sein Telescope Rigger/Painter 1.00 1.00 1.00 J.M. Chacon Telescope Rigger/Painter 1.00 1.00 1.00 M. Nieves Telescope Rigger/Painter 1.00 1.00 1.00 N. Gonzalez Correa Telescope Rigger/Painter 1.00 1.00 1.00 V. Santiago Trade SupervisorO. Rolan Trades Helper 1.00 1.00 1.00 G. Milian Util Maint Worker 1.00 1.00 1.00 J.A. Rodriguez Util Maint Worker 1.00 1.00 1.00 Jose Rodriquez Util Maint Worker 1.00 1.00 1.00 R. Cajigas Util Maint Worker 1.00 1.00 1.00 M. Cortes Welder/Mechanic 1.00 1.00 1.00
Sub-total 33.00 31.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.00 4.00VSQ/Cafeteria
Vacant Asst CookG. Rosario Head Cook 1.00 1.00 1.00 C. Ruiz Housekeeper 1.00 1.00 1.00 E. Santiago Housekeeper 1.00 1.00 1.00 R. Roman Kitchen Helper 1.00 1.00 1.00
Sub-total 4.00 4.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.00
Total NAIC Employee Effort 125.15 94.20 17.15 0.00 11.75 1.05 125.15
*Includes Cornell funds and/or salaries paid by other internal or external funding sources.
Note: This listing includes all staff employed at some point during the 2006 program year, up to the publication date of this APRPP.The names shown in italics indicate a staff member who has departed NAIC in the last program year.The positions underlined were eliminated with the November 2006 staff reduction.The sub-totals and totals shown include active positions, up to the publication date of this APRPP
NAICAPRPP2007 71
9. NAIC Organization Chart and Description
9.1 Management Plan: Organization Charts
The National Astronomy and Ionosphere Centerisconducted inaccordancewiththeCooperativeAgreementbetweentheNationalScienceFounda-tion and Cornell University42. The organizationalhierarchyof thetwo institutions thatareparty tothisCooperativeAgreementisasshownonFigure9.1.
TheNSFisresponsibleforprovidingfunding,gen-eraloversight,monitoringandevaluationtohelpassurethattheNAICisbeingmanagedandoper-atedinaccordancewithapprovedplans.Insup-portofastableoperationalenvironmentforNAIC,theNSFstrives tomakeannual funding forNAICavailable to Cornell University in a timely fashionand to provide the necessary document reviewsandapprovalsasrequired.
WithintheNSF,theNAICcontactistheNAICPro-gramManagerwho isappointedwithin theDivi-sionofAstronomicalSciences(AST);heorsheisre-sponsibleforscientific,programmaticandbudgetreview and for providing the NAIC Director withagencyguidance.Inaddition,theNAICProgramManagerisresponsibleforestablishinganeffectiveliaisonwiththemanagerwithintheUpperAtmo-sphereDivisionwhohasresponsibilityfortheNAICAeronomyprogramtoassurethatinformationonNAIC programmatics and review is available andshared.
The NSF Division of Acquisition and CooperativeSupport (DACS) is responsible for CooperativeAgreementmattersbetweentheNSFandCornellUniversity.Formalcommunicationsrelatedtocon-tracts and required Cooperative Agreement des-ignated approvals is accomplished by the DACSthrough communication with the NAIC Adminis-trationDirector. AnnualfundingandcontractualobligationsflowfromtheNSFDACStotheCornellUniversityOfficeofSponsoredProgramsasspeci-fiedintheCooperativeAgreement.
24CooperativeAgreementNo.AST-0431904betweentheNationalScienceFoundation,Arlington,VA22230andCornellUniversity,Ithaca,NY,14853,datedOctober1,2005.
CornellUniversity,as theCooperativeAgreementawardee,isresponsiblefortheperformanceoftheNAIC. As illustrated in Figure 9.1, within CornellUniversitytheNAICreportstotheViceProvostforResearch.NAIChastheresponsibilityforscientificoperationsoftheobservatory,staffingitandensur-ingadequateoversightoftheexecutionandper-formance of the Observatory in accordance withtherequirementsofitsusers.
InthespiritoftheNSF-CornellUniversityCoopera-tiveAgreementforNAIC,communicationbetweenNSF and Cornell is maintained on all institutionallevelsfromthatoftheCornellPresidentprovidingtheannualreportoftheNAICVisitingCommitteeto the NSF Director, to the day-to-day reportingand programmatic interaction of the NAIC Direc-torwith theNSF/ASTDivisionProgramManager.Again,thisisshownonFigure9.1.
The National Astronomy and Ionosphere Centeris one of twenty-two research centers managedby Cornell University. The NAIC director reportsthroughtheViceProvostforResearchtotheCor-nell University President. This top level organiza-tionwithintheuniversitystructureis illustratedinFigure9.1.
Ultimate responsibility for the management andoperation of NAIC rests with the University Presi-dent.TocarryoutthisresponsibilitythePresidentestablishedanexternalVisitingCommitteetocon-ductanannualreviewofthemanagementeffec-tiveness of NAIC with emphasis on the scientificprogram of the NAIC, long range planning, andbudget.
The Cornell University Vice Provost for Researchhastheresponsibilitytooverseetheprogrammaticplan,staffingandbudgetofNAIC.HealsoservesastheResponsibleExecutiveunderthetermsoftheCooperativeAgreement.Inthiscapacity,theViceProvost isaidedbyaCornelladvisorycommittee,the Cornell NAIC Oversight Committee (CNOC),thatregularlyreviewstheoperationandmanage-mentofNAICmonitoringprogressandplans.
Cornell management of NAIC is defined in theNAICManagementPlan53.TheSeniorNAICman-agementconsistsoftheDirector,DeputyDirectorandtheAdministrationDirector.Althougheachof
5NAICManagementPlan,November2005.PreparedbytheNationalAstronomyandIonosphereCenter,CornellUniversity,Ithaca,NY,14853
72 NAICAPRPP2007
theseindividualshasdifferent,well-definedprima-ryresponsibilitiesasspecifiedintheManagementPlan,theoverallmanagementtaskisaccomplishedasthesumoftheirseparateandsharedefforts.Anadvisorycommittee, theAreciboUsersandScien-tificAdvisoryCommittee(AUSAC),meetsannuallytoreviewthescopeandspecificsoftheNAICsci-entificprogram,toprovideadviceonobservatoryprioritiesandtorecommendnewinitiatives.
Thus, Cornell University oversight of the NAIC isprovided at three levels: The Visiting Committeeassesses NAIC management structure and effec-tivenessand reports to theCornellPresident’sof-fice; theCNOCreviewsNAICprogrammaticsandreportstotheCornellofficeoftheViceProvostforResearch;andtheAUSACprovidesausersassess-mentofNAICoperationstotheNAICdirector.
TheoperationalmanagementstructureoftheAre-ciboObservatoryitselfisshownonFigure9.2.TheObservatory Director is responsible for the scien-tificoperationoftheArecibotelescopeandalltheobservatoryinstrumentsthatfunctioninsupportoftheObservatory’sscientificprogram.TheObserva-
toryDirectorisassistedbyDepartmentHeadswhoaretheresponsiblemanagersforthetasksshowninFigure9.2.AlloftheDepartmentHeadsreporttotheObservatoryDirector. TheObservatoryDi-rectorreportstotheNAICDirector.
The organizational structure of the Arecibo Ob-servatory enables the observatory staff to servethe diverse needs of the multidisciplinary scienceprogramat theobservatory. Taskprioritization isestablishedbytheObservatorydirectorworkinginweekly, scheduled, consultation with the depart-mentheads.
Major projects at the Observatory require specialmanagementattention.Eachoftheseprojects,asapprovedforfundingbytheObservatorydirector,hasitsownprojectplan(tasks,resourcesandsched-ule).ProjectmanagementisprovidedbyaprojectmanagerselectedbytheObservatorydirector.Foreachproject,thedirectoralsoselectsanindividualtoserveasprojectscientist.Theroleoftheprojectscientististogivescientificguidancetothemanag-erforanyprojectdecisionsthathaveimplicationsrelatedtotheprojectscopeortothe interfaceof
Figure 9.1. InstitutionalrelationshipsbetweenCornellUniversityandtheNSFformanagementoftheNAIC.
NAICAPRPP2007 73
Figure 9.2.OrganizationChartfortheNAICAreciboObservatory
74 NAICAPRPP2007
the project to the Arecibo system. Every projecthasaprojectmanagerandaprojectscientist,eventhose concerned with site building/remodeling.SuchamanagementstructurehelpsreinforcetheideathatthingsdoneattheNAICshouldbedonetobenefitscientificobjectives.CommunicatingthisunderstandingtoallthoseinvolvedwiththeNAICis one of the underlying Cornell managementgoals.
Comprehensive accounting and managementof all NAIC activities—operations and projects—ismade possible by the NAIC Work BreakdownStructure (WBS). The WBS is a tool used by theNAICdirector’sofficetotrackprogressandmoni-tor personnel assignhments. The WBS allows theNAICdirector tomeasureprogressbycomparingtheannualplanforbudgetallocationandperson-nelassignmentagainsttheyear-endactualbudgetexpenditureandactualpersonneleffortassignedforeachactivity.
AtNAIC,personnelassignmentsandbudgetsaremadeandtrackedatWBSlevel-2.
NAIC Work Breakdown Structure
1. NAIC Management1.1 Director’sOffice1.2 Administration1.3 ProgramDevelopment1.4 EngineeringDesignServices1.5 US SKA Technology Development
Project
2. Arecibo Observatory Operations2.1 ManagementandAdministration2.2 BusinessServicesandHumanResourc-
es2.3 ScientificSupport2.4 SiteServicesandTrades2.5 Telescope2.6 Electronics2.7 Computing2.8 Environment,SafetyandHealth2.9 SpectrumManagement
3. Arecibo Observatory Technical Pro-gram3.1 Telescope3.2 Electronics3.3 ComputingandCommunications3.4 OpticalInstrumentation3.5 BuildingInfrastructure
3.6 MajorMaintenance
4. Scientific Research Program4.1 Radio/RadarAstronomy4.2 SpaceandAtmosphericSciences
5. HF Project5.1 ProjectManagement5.2 Transmitter5.3 FeedSystem5.4 Electronics5.5 TelescopeSuspensionSystem5.6 MonitorandControl5.7 SystemEngineering
6. Platform Painting Project6.1ProjectManagement6.2EngineeringOversight6.3ContractsandLabor
7. Angel Ramos Foundation Visitors Center7.1 EducationandStudentPrograms7.2 CommunityOutreachPrograms7.3 NewInitiatives
8. Office for the Public Understanding of Science8.1 TeacherandPublicWorkshops8.2 Publications8.3 NewInitiatives
9. Major New Initiatives9.1 U.S. SKA Technology Development
Project9.2 AreciboGeomagneticConjugateFa-
cilityProject
9.2 List and Vitae of New Professional Staff
Nonewprofessional staffwerehiredduringpro-gramyear2006.
NAICAPRPP2007 75
10. Status Report and Plan for PY2007
10.1 Scientific Plans
ScientificproposalsmadetoNAICforresearchontheArecibotelescopeinPY2007includestudiesofthegascontent,distributionanddynamicsofdis-tantgalaxies,studiesoftheMilkyWaygalaxy,stud-ies of stars and star-forming regions in the MilkyWay,anddetailedstudiesofsolarsystemobjects.These peer-reviewed proposals received from us-ersandlocalstafftogethercomprisethescientificplansforNAICinPY2007.Noindividualorinstitu-tioncansecureaccesstothetelescopeotherthanbymeansofsubmittingapeer-reviewedresearchproposal.
Galaxies.ThreemajorsurveysoftheHIgascon-tent in galaxies, and in the environment sharedamong galaxies, are in progress. These two sur-veys are (1) ALFALFA, the Arecibo Legacy FastALFASurveythatbeganinPY2005withanobserv-ing program that will continue through PY2013;(2) a deeper imaging survey, the Arecibo GalaxyEnvironment Survey (AGES), that begin a seven-year program of observations in PY2006, and (3)theALFAUltra-DeepSurvey(AUDS)thatwillbegininPY2007andfinishitsobservationalstagein2013or2014.AllthreesurveysarebeingdonewiththenewALFAmultibeamimagingarrayreceiver.
Overthecourseofthenext5-7years,ALFALFAwillsurvey7000squaredegreesoftheskyandwillde-tectsome16,000extragalacticHIsources.Itisspe-cificallydesignedtoprobethefaintendoftheHImassfunctionintheverylocaluniverseanditwillprovide a complete census of HI in the surveyedsky area, making it especially useful in synergywithotherwideareasurveysconductedatopticalandinfraredwavelengths,suchastheSloanDigi-talSkySurvey(SDSS),andthe2-micronUniversityofMassachusettssurvey(2MASS). Inconjunctionwithopticalstudiesofcomparablevolumes,ALFAwill explore the “missing satellite problem”, theapparent contradiction between the number oflowmasshaloesobservedintheLocalgroup,andsurroundinggroups,withthatpredictedfromnu-mericalsimulations.ALFALFAwillalsoprovidethebasisforstudiesofthedynamicsofgalaxieswithin
the Local and nearby superclusters, it will allowmeasurement of the HI diameter function, and itwillenableafirstwide-areablindsearchforHItidalfeatures,HIabsorbersatz<0.06,andOHmegama-sersinthewavelengthrange0.16<z<0.25.
TheALFALFAsurveydesignisbasedonnumericalsimulationsofgalaxydistributionandvelocities,in-cludingpeculiarvelocities.Fromthesesimulationscome the expectations that ALFALFA will detect16,000 objects, sampling a wide range of hostsfromlocal,verylowHImassdwarfstogas-richmas-sivegalaxiesseentoz~0.06.HIspectraprovideredshifts,HImassesandrotationalwidthsfornor-malgalaxies, trace thehistoryof tidaleventsandprovidequantitativemeasuresofthepotentialforfuturestarformationviacomparativeHIcontents.Asablindsurvey,ALFALFAisnotbiasedtowardsthehighsurfacebrightnessgalaxiestypicallyfoundinopticalgalaxycatalogsandithasadequatean-gularandspectralresolutiontobeusedonitsown,withouttheneedforfollowupobservationstode-terminepositions,identificationsandHIsizes.ThearchivaldataproductsfromALFALFAwillbelinkedtotheNationalVirtualObservatoryandwillbein-valuable for multi-wavelength data mining by awidespectrumofastronomersfarmoreextensivethanthoseengagedinthesurveyitself.Akeyele-mentofthisprogramistoprovidebroadapplica-tion, legacy data products that will maximize thescience return from the investment of telescopetime.
AGESisthesecondmajorALFAgalaxysurvey.Itbegan inPY2006. AGES is studying indetail theatomic hydrogen properties of a wide variety ofgalactic environments concentrating on low HImassesandlowHIcolumndensities.Theenviron-mentsbeingstudiedrangefromapparentvoidsinthelarge-scalestructureofthelocalgalaxydistribu-tion, to isolatedspiralgalaxiesand theirhalos, togalaxy-richregionsassociatedwithgalaxyclustersandfilamentarystructures.Theintentionistoinves-tigate theHImass function ineachenvironment,to measure the spatial distribution of HI selectedgalaxies, to identify individual low mass and lowcolumndensityobjectsandtocomparetheresultswith expectations derived from QSO absorptionlinestudiesandsimulationsofgalaxyformation.
ThespecificscientificgoalsoftheAGESsurveyarethefollowing:
76 NAICAPRPP2007
• Investigate the HI mass function in dif-ferent environments—around large gal-axies, in groups of galaxies, clusters ofgalaxiesandbeyondtheLocalSuperclu-ster—forcomparisonwithgalaxyevolu-tionmodels.
• Giventheexcellentcorrelationbetweenstar formation rate and 20-cm continu-umluminosity,AGESwillusethecontin-uumemissiontomeasurethestarforma-tionratesofalargenumberofgalaxiesselected by their gaseous rather thantheiropticalorfar-infraredproperties.
• Probe the contribution of neutral gastothebaryonicmassdensity—the“miss-ing”baryonicmatterproblemwillbeex-ploredtogreaterdepththanpreviouslypossible.
• Studythenatureof,andpossiblelinkbe-tween,HVCsanddwarfgalaxiessearch-ingforasolutiontotheCDMsub-struc-tureproblem.
• Identifygaseous tidal featuresassigna-tures of galaxy interactions and merg-ers.Seektounderstandtheimportanceof mergers as a mechanism for the as-semblyofgalaxies,andforgasremovalmechanismsinclustersandgroups.
• Probethenatureofdarkmatterbystudy-ingthevelocitydispersionsofgalaxiesingroupsandclusters.
• Probe the nature of dark matter bystudyingthedynamicalmassesofgalax-iescalculatedfromthemeasuredgalaxyrotationcurves.
• Compute the magnitude of the meta-galactic ionizingradiationfieldbymea-suringthetruncationoftheHIhalosoflargegalaxies.
• Identify isolatedneutralgascloudsandrelatetheirsurroundingstotheirforma-tioneitherasremnantsorprecursorsofthegalaxyformationprocess.
• Compare the HI detected by QSO ab-sorption line and 21-cm emission lineobservations.Arethesetwodetermina-tionsconsistentwitheachother?
• UnderstandthespatialdistributionofHI-selectedgalaxies.
• Compare the AGES galaxy distributionwithnumericalmodelsofgalaxyforma-tionprovidinginputandtestsoftheva-lidityofthesimulations.
• Serendipitous findings: a large surveysuchasAGEScoveringlargeareasofskytolowmasslimitsandcolumndensitieshas great potential for making unex-pecteddiscoveries.
AUDSwillusethenewNAICEALFAspectrometerto analyze the entire frequency band 1420 MHz– 1225 MHz carrying out a blind HI survey withunprecedented sensitivity, approximately 50 µJy/beam. ThefrequencycoveragecorrespondstoarangeofHIredshiftsof0<z<0.16.AUDSwillstudyaselectedareaontheskyof0.36squaredegrees.TheAUDSsurveyismorethananorderofmagni-tudemore sensitive thanotherHI surveysunder-wayatArecibooranywhereelseintheworld.
TheprimaryscientificgoalsoftheAUDSsurveyareto investigate the evolution of HI gas in the uni-verseandexplorethelow-densitygasattheedgesofgalaxies.Thesurveywillbethedeepest“blind”HI survey ever conducted. It will provide for thefirst timeadirect linkbetweenHIabsorption linemeasurementsathighand intermediate redshiftsand21-cmemissionlinemeasurementsatlowred-shifts.TheexpectednumberofHIdetectionsmadewithAUDSatz>0.1willbelargerthanthatofallprevioustargetedandblindsurveyscombined.
TheAUDSobservingprogramwillbeginatArecibowiththenewEALFAspectrometerinPY2007.
ApartfromthemajorALFAsurveys,severalimpor-tant ‘traditional’programsareplannedinPY2007toaddress specific scientificquestions. Onesuchprogram will conduct mapping observations ofbothHIandOHtowardsandsurroundingtheex-tended,bright,continuumregionassociatedwithNGC 383 (3C 31; Arp 331) in the Pisces-PerseusSupercluster. Thisgroup isexceptional for itsex-tendedcontinuumbrightnessandlargespatialex-tentcomprisingeightgalaxieswhichforma longgalaxychain.Continuumemissionisoccasionallydetected with inter-group gas implying dynamicflows and/or high magnetic fields. These obser-vations will be the first of their type: in additionto probing the usual three-dimensional (position-position-velocity) neutral gas distribution, velocitydispersionandhaloextent, theywillprovide twodimensionalgastemperaturedatathroughoutthecontinuumemissionregion.Thegroupissuitablynearbythatitwillbeusefulasatest-bedforprob-inghigherredshift,dampedLymanalphasystems.
NAICAPRPP2007 77
The observing program will map the large scaledistributionoftheintra-clusterHIoftheNGC383group.Thespecificscientificobjectivesincludethefollowing:
• Ascertain the full distribution of intra-clustergas,andtherefore theshapeofthe supporting gravitational potentialfieldwhichresultsfromthemassoftheconstituentgalaxies.
• Probe the distribution and strengthof the absorbed component that willuniquely provide information on thetemperature and pressure of the intra-groupgas.
• Reveal the connectivity of the intra-groupgas,andtherebyforthefirsttime,understandthecomplexdynamicsandrelationships of the large number ofgroupmembersand their tidal interac-tions.
Finally, theobservationswill formpartofa largerlongtermprojectaimedatgeneratingadatabaseof absorption measurements through extendedHIfeaturesofanumberofperturbedsystemsandthroughintra-galaxyclustergas.Systematicdiffer-ences between the characteristics of profiles ob-served through tidal features, outflow processesandintra-galaxyclustergascanbeanalyzedonthebasisofmorerobuststatisticsultimatelyhelpingtodiscover fundamental differences and similaritiesofthethermalconditionsofgasintheseenviron-ments.
TheprimaryresearchtargetsfortheHI21-cmob-servations are gas-rich spiral galaxies. Ellipticalgalaxies,characterizedbytheiroldstellarpopula-tionand littlegascontent,aremorechallenging,butequally interesting,targets. Severalstudies inPY2007arefocusedonunderstandingthehistoryof elliptical galaxies by means of observations oftheiratomic(HI)andmolecular (CO)gas. As thetelescopesusedforthemillimeter-wavelengthCOobservations improve the quality of their instru-mentation, and hence improve their sensitivity,studiesofgasinellipticalgalaxiesislimitedprimar-ilybythepaucityofsufficientlysensitiveHI21-cmobservations.InPY2007thisdeficiencywillbead-dressed through long integrations with the Are-cibotelescope.
A complete sample of elliptical galaxies selectedfromtheNearbyGalaxiesCatalogwillbesearched
forbothCOemissionandHIemission.TheHIob-servationswillbemadeatArecibo.Animportantobjectiveoftheseobservationsistoassessthepos-sibility recently discussed that the molecular andatomic gas in elliptical gas has different physicalorigins.Ofthe46ellipticalandSOgalaxiesinthesample,allbut7havebeensearchedforHIemis-sion but only 13 have been detected previously.COemissionhasbeendetectedinall46.TheAre-ciboobservationswillimprovetheHIsensitivitylim-itsbymorethananorderofmagnitudeallowingmanymoreofthegalaxiestobedetectedortopro-duceupperlimitsthatarephysicallymeaningfulforansweringthefundamentalquestions.
Weak, redshifted. Ly-α absorption lines are ubiq-uitousinfar-UVspectraofnearbyquasars.Whilenotascommonasthehigh-zLy-αforest,theselinenonetheless hold important clues to the baryoncontentofthelocaluniverse.Somelow-zLy-αab-sorbersarebroadandweak,andmaybedirectlyassociatedwithwarm-hotfilamentsofintergalacticgas. Narrowabsorption linesaremorecommon:the strongest often appear to be associated withgalaxies and may trace extended halo gas, whileweakerabsorbersaredistributedmorerandomly,suggestinganintergalacticorigin.
The association between galaxies and absorb-ers is important for many reasons. Galaxies andintergalactic hydrogen are expected to trace thesame filamentarydistributionofdarkmatter seenin cosmological simulations. Thus, such correla-tions can provide a strong test for predictions oftheCDMmodel.Furthermore,thegasprobedbythe quasar sight-line, if directly associated with anearbygalaxy,providesinformationonthespatialandkinematicdistributionsofmatterinthegalaxyitself.Incaseswherethequasarsight-lineliesrela-tivefar(>100kpc)fromthecenterofthegalaxy,theobservedabsorptionsystemsmaybeprobinggas in the far reachesof thegalaxy’sdarkmatterhaloandcanthenbeusedtoplaceconstraintsonthegalaxies’rotationcurvesatlargeradiiaswellaspotentiallyservingasahallmarkofspiralgalaxieswithextremelyextendedHIdisksand/orhalos.
Although the correlation between galaxies andLy-α absorbers at low redshifts has been studiedobservationally, not much is known about themorphologiesanddynamicalpropertiesoftheab-sorbinggalaxiesthemselves.Inparticular,dataonthe HI morphologies and dynamical properties isstill lacking. Deep observations of the absorbing
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galaxiesthemselvessuchascanbeobtainedonlywiththeArecibotelescopeareneededtoprovidedetailedinformationonthegalaxies’extendedHImorphologiesanddynamics,andwouldbecom-plementarytothespatialinformation.
In PY2007 a systematic study of Ly-α absorbinggalaxieswillbedonetoaddressthreecriticalques-tions:
• Do theHIpropertiesofgalaxiesassoci-atedwithLy-αabsorbersdifferquantita-tivelycompared to thoseof fieldgalax-ies?
• Foredge-ongalaxies,istheLy-αabsorp-tionlinevelocityconsistentwiththeas-sociatedgalaxy’sHIrotationvelocity?
• Does the presence of Ly-α absorptionrelatively far (~170 kpc) from a galaxyindicatetheexistenceofanextendedHIdiskorhalo?
Byobservingseveralgalaxiesinavarietyofconfig-urationsrelativetotheLy-αabsorbers,theAreciboobservationswillprovideneeded insight into thenatureoftheLy-α/galaxyconnection.
Bynumber,dwarfgalaxiesarethemostcommontype.Theirstarformingenvironmentsaresimplerthanthose inmassivespirals,makingthemexcel-lentsystemsforthestudyofstarformationtrigger-ingandregulation.Asmallsubsetofdwarfgalax-ieshasbeenfoundtobeextraordinarilybright inthe IR PAH lines indicative of a large reservoir ofverysmalldustgrains. Whyare these fewdwarfgalaxies so unusual? In PY2007 an attempt willbemadetoanswer thisquestionbymeansofHI21-cmobservationsatArecibo.Theresultswillbecombined with 8-µ PAH emission maps to deter-minethephysicalpropertiesofthestarformingre-gions,suchastheatomicgastostellarmassratio,gastodustratio,starformationefficiency,andgasdepletiontimescales.
Thedeterminationofrotationalparametersofdiskgalaxies is crucial to understanding disk galaxyformationandevolutionovercosmictime,andtoconstrain models of galaxy structure. In particu-lar, N-body simulations of cosmological scenariosmustbeable to reproduceobservedscaling rela-tionssuchastheTully-Fisherrelation.Presently,averylivelyissueisthequestionoftheevolutionoftheTully-Fisherrelationovercosmictime. Obser-vationssuggestthattheco-movingstarformation
ratewashigherinthepast.Luminosityevolutionisalsoexpectedbasedoncosmologicalsimulations.If galaxies were more luminous in the past, weshouldobserveanoffsetintheTully-Fisherrelationderived independently at high and low redshifts.However, studies based on optical spectroscopyhavereachedconflictingconclusions.Resultsvaryfromsubstantial luminosityevolution inexcessofonemagnitudewithrespecttotheTully-Fisherre-lation derived forgalaxies at z= 0, evenat mod-estredshiftstonosignificantchangeatz~1.Evi-denceforevolutionoftheTully-Fisherrelation,oralackthereof,isinconclusive.
Studying the change in the Tully-Fisher relationat intermediate redshifts using radio HI velocitywidthsoffersmanyimportantadvantagesovertheoptical studies. Compared to optical widths, HImeasurements same a larger fraction of the gal-axy disks, where the rotation curves are typicallyflat.Theradioobservationsarenotaffectedbyslitsmearingandmisalignmentorbyapertureeffects.Thus,incontrasttostudiesbasedonopticalspec-troscopy,HIspectroscopyallowsustoperformadi-rectcomparisonwiththelocalTully-Fisherrelationthatistechniqueindependent.InPY2007observa-tionswillbemadewiththeArecibotelescopeofasampleof24-galaxiesselectedfromtheSDSSthatwillprovideasuitablydiscriminatingtest.
Ultraluminous infrared galaxies are a populationofgalaxiesthatemitfar-IRradiationwithenergiescomparabletothoseofthemostluminousquasars.NearlyeveryULIRGappearstohaveundergoneamerger/interaction and contains massive star for-mationand/oranactivegalacticnucleusinducedby gravitational interactions. The extraordinarilyhighgasdensitiesandenergydensitiesinULIRGsmakethemnaturallocationstoexpectverystrongmagneticfields.Minimumenergyargumentssug-gestcharacteristicfieldstrengthsmaybe~100µG,twenty-timesgreaterthanthemagneticfieldinthediskoftheMilkyWay.AnalternateapproachtoestimatingthemagneticfieldinULIRGsistoappealto the equipartition argument that applies in theMilky Way between magnetic field and ISM sur-facedensity.Thiswouldsuggestamagneticfieldstrengthasgreatas1-10mG. Ineithercase, theestimatedfieldstrengthsshouldbedetectablebytheZeemaneffectintheirOHmegamaserspectrallines.
In PY2007 all the OH megamaser galaxies visiblefromArecibowillbeobservedintheirOHspectral
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linesinasystematicsearchfortheZeemaneffect.Positive detections will enable one or another ofthesimplescalingrelationsnotedabovetobecon-firmedforuseinothergalaxieslackingsuchintenseOHspectrallines.
Understanding the relationship between HI andstars in the ISM of galaxies is critical to the studyofgalaxyevolution.Becausestellarpopulationsingalaxies formfromcollapsedcloudsofhydrogen,wecanpresumethatgalaxiesevolvebyconvertingtheirgasintostarsandthatgalaxieswithfewstarsand large quantities of gas must be less evolvedthan those with little gas and many stars. How-ever,howagalaxyfollowsthisevolutionarypathisfarmorecomplicated.Factorssuchasmass,metalcontent,gas fraction, internalmotions,andotherenvironmentalconditionsplayanimportantroleindetermining the rate at which HI gets convertedintostars.
The extremes of galaxy evolution are particularlyillustrative.Galaxiesthathavefewornostars,butpossess large quantities of HI represent the mostprimitivestageofevolution.Galaxieswithlittlegasbutmanystarsaresomeof themostevolvedga-lacticsystemsintheuniverse,whichhavepresum-ablyconsumedalloftheirHI.Mostobservedgalax-ies fall somewhere between these two extremes.Theyhavesomereservoirsofgasandhavealreadyaccumulated populations of stars, and thereforerepresent a continuum of intermediately evolvedgalaxies.Bycollectingalargesameofgalaxies,us-ingdifferenttechniques,itispossibletocovertheentirerangeofevolutionarystates.
Until recently, theability to create sucha samplewas impossible. The required observing timeplacedseriouslimitsonthenumberofgalaxiesonecouldincludeinanysample.Fortunately,therearemanylarge,unbiased,surveysnowunderway,giv-ingastronomerstheabilitytoaccesslargeamountsofdatainareasonableamountoftime.Inparticu-lar,acomparisonhasbeenmadebetweengalax-iesdetectedbytheirHIemissionintheHIPASSsur-veydoneattheParkestelescope,andthegalaxiesfoundinthatsameregionofskydetectedbytheSloan Digital Sky Survey. There are 131 galaxiescataloged by the SDSS with optical redshifts lessthan 3000 km/s that cannot be identified in theHIPASSsurveydata.Manyofthesegalaxieshaveopticalspectrathatsuggestactivestarformationisoccurring.Thesesystemsareespeciallyinterestingbecauseonewouldexpectanappreciablereservoir
ofgastoaccompanystarformation.ObservationswillbemadeatAreciboinPY2007with~25timesthesensitivityoftheHIPASSsurveyobservationstotryandresolvethislogicalinconsistency.
Theseobservationswillbecriticalalsoinconstrain-ingthebaryoncontentofnearbygalaxies.HIPASSand SDSS together do a good job of measuringmost of the baryons in the joint dataset, eitherthroughtheirHImassorthestellarmasscomputedfromtheircolors.However,forthemanygalaxiesnotdetectedinHIPASSonlythestellarmasscanbeknown.Yet,particularlyatthelow-luminosityend,themassinHIcouldstillbesignificant.Thisprojectwill address the missing data, either detecting orsettingstrongupperlimitsontheHIcontentofallgalaxiesinthesample.
The Milky Way Galaxy. TheconsortiumofusersinterestedinsurveyingtheMilkyWaygalaxywithALFA,theGALFAconsortium,hasalsobeguninitialsurveyobservations thatwill continue inPY2007.TheGALFAemphasisinPY2007includesstudyofturbulence intheISMandtheenergysourcesforthat turbulence, a comparison of the atomic andmolecularcomponentsin“molecular”clouds,care-ful large-scale mapping of clouds/regions in theMilkyWayofspecialastrophysicalinterest.
If the Milky way was a uniformly-rotating galaxylarge-scalelongitude-velocity,(l,v),HImapswouldreflect that uniform rotation in smooth contours.Thisisnotwhatisseen.Infact,the(l,v)diagramsofHI21-cmemissionintheGalacticplaneusuallyshow small high-velocity bumps protruding fromtheir surroundings. These bumps represent linewings that extend to velocities beyond the maxi-mumorminimumvaluespermittedbyGalacticro-tation.These“forbiddenvelocity”wingsarediffer-entfromhigh-velocitycloudsinthesensethatthewings are extended and not separated from theGalacticHIemission.Sincethehigh-velocitywingsexist at velocities forbidden by Galactic rotation,they must result from local dynamical processes,e.g.supernovaexplosions,stellarwinds,collisionsof high-velocity clouds, and such phenomenon.Severalexamplesofsuchlocalizedforbidden-veloc-itylinewingsareknowninexistingdatasets,buttheirrootcauseisunknown.ALFAwillbeusedtoprobethisphenomenonbyexaminingwithmuchbetterangularresolutionthelocationandextentoftheforbidden-velocitylinewingsand,withthisinformation, to identify the underlying source ofthe turbulent energy input to the ISM. With this
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understandingintheknowncases,alargersurveywillbeconductedtomapthephenomenonintheGalacticplanevisiblefromArecibo.
InourGalaxy,molecularcloudcomplexesandtheatomic disk are distinct entities. The molecularcloudsaremoreconcentratedinspace,havemorethanoneorderofmagnitudehigherdensity,andare generally much colder than atomic gas. ThelinewidthoftheatomicISMisdeterminedbypres-surebalanceand isontheorderof tensofkm/s.The linewidth of molecular clouds, on the otherhand,isontheorderofonekm/sandisdominatedbyturbulenceincloseequipartitionwiththecloudgravitationalenergy.Thus,unlikeatomicgas,mo-lecular clouds are self-gravitating, turbulent ob-jects.Thechangeofbalancebetweengravityandinternal turbulence leads to star formation. Thisis the conventional understanding; clearly manypointsneedverificationandclarification. Thepri-marygoalofoneof thekeyGALFAprojects is toimproveourunderstandingof the formationandageofmolecularcloudsbystudyingtherelation-shipbetweenneutralandmolecularhydrogen.
ALFAwillbeusedtomaptheHIdistributionandvelocity structure in the Taurus molecular cloud.These observations will be used to complementaCOdatasetthattracesthemolecularhydrogendistributioninthiscloud.InordertoisolatetheHIin the Taurus cloud from that in the foregroundandbackground,observationswillbemadeofthenarrow HI self-absorption lines that arise from HIgaswithinthecloud.TheHI/H2ratioisasensitivemeasure of the elapsed lifetime of the molecularcloud.HencetheAreciboobservationswillplaceacriticalconstraintontheevolutionoftheTauruscloud. Specifically, columndensitiesofbothcoldHIandH2willbecomputedfromtheobservationsandthatratiowillbestudiedasafunctionoftotalgasdensity,kinematicenvironment,andotherpa-rameters. Theobservationswillenablethe inves-tigators to disentangle the atomic-molecular rela-tionshipintheTauruscloud.
InPY2007theGALFAconsortiumwillmakefurtherprogress on a complete, Nyquist-sampled, surveyof the whole inner Galactic plane to |b| ≤ 10˚ in HI 21-cmlineemissionusingALFA.ALFAisuniquelyabletoaddressmanyoutstandingquestionsinthefieldofGalacticastronomy. Its fastmappingabil-ity,highangularresolution,andunparalleledsen-sitivity allow the systematic study of whole cloudpopulations,structuresandphysicalprocessesover
manysizescalesandacrossarangeofinterstellarenvironments. To understand these inter-relatedphenomena, it isnecessarytomapthe innerGal-axythoroughlyoveralatituderangeofatleast|b|≤ 10˚. Such coverage shows the many disk features in context, features such as star-forming regions,superbubbles,and theHIenvelopesofmolecularclouds.Italsoallowscloudpopulations,HIrelicsofsupernovae,anddiskturbulencetobeexaminedasafunctionofheightabovetheplanetoelevationsoforder1kpc,thusprobingthetransitionfromthethintothethickdisk.Mostimportantly,abroadlat-ituderangeisessentialfordiscerningtheGalacticchimneystructuresthatformthebaseofthedisk-haloenergyexchange;thesefeaturesoftenextendmanydegreesofftheplaneandareimpossibletostudywithoutproperlatitudecoverage.
The major scientific areas of investigation for theGALFAinnerGalaxyHIsurveyarethefollowing:
• Characterizationofthephysicalcauseoffaint,extended,emission-linewings;
• Understanding the causal relation be-tweenthecoldneutralmediumasseeninemissionandinabsorption;
• Probingthephysicsofinterstellar“chim-neys”,“worms”andtheenergytransportfromtheGalacticdisktothehalo;
• Investigating the origin and evolutionofmolecularcloudsbyestablishingthespatial and kinematic association ofGMCswithHIfeatures;
• Seeking for the physical cause of inter-stellarturbulenceusingstatisticalanaly-sesofHIlinekinematicsandcorrelationswithsourcesofenergeticfeaturesintheGalaxy.
AsisthecasewiththestudyofgalaxiesatArecibo,researchersinvestigatingphenomenaintheMilkyWaynotonlydosobymeansofwideareasurveysbutalsobystudyingsmallareasofspecialinterest.InPY2007observationswillbemadeofatomicandmoleculargasinawidevarietyofenvironmentsin-cludingHIinaspectacularGalacticfilament,“dark”gasinthelocalISM,andOHintheedgesoftrans-lucentclouds.
Lastyearanewpopulationofcoldneutralmedium(CNM)HIcloudswasdiscoveredthatarecharacter-izedbyverylowHIcolumndensities,theso-called“low-N(HI)”clouds.ThecloudshavepeakHIopti-caldepthsofonly0.1%to2%,andcolumndensi-
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ties no more than 1018 cm-2, 30-50 times lowerthancharacteristicofthelargerensembleofgalac-ticHIclouds.Howarethesecloudsrelatedtothetraditional spectrum of CNM clouds? To answerthis questions observations were made at Areci-bo inPY2006toward22extragalacticcontinuumsources. At least 18 new low-N(HI) clouds werediscovered.
InPY200719additionalcontinuumsourceswillbeobservedsearchingforadditionalexamplesofthelow-N(HI)cloudphenomenon.Thefocusofthesenew observations will be on a detailed compari-sonof theobservationaldatawithseveral recenttheoreticalmodelsfortheproductionoflow-N(HI)cloudsthathaveappearedintheliterature.
Stars and Nebulae. SoftGamma-rayRepeaters(SGRs) are a class of unusual sources thought tobeveryyoungneutronstars.Theyarecharacter-ized primarily by occasional repeating bursts oflow energy (soft) gamma rays, as well as by raregiantgammarayflaresthatareatleasttwoordersof magnitude higher in fluence than the smallerevents.Themorecommonsmallamplitudeburstshave durations less than ~ 1 sec, have rise timesofafewtensofmsec,andhavefluencesthatareroughly correlated with duration. In quiescence,SGRs display X-ray pulsations with periods in therange5-8sec,spin-downratesintherange10-11–10-12,andX-rayemissionbelow10keVthat iswelldescribedbyapowerlawwithphotonindex~2.SomeSGRsmaybeassociatedwithsupernovaremnantsbutthisisstillcontroversial.
SGRshavebeenarguedasbeing“magnetars”,iso-lated ultra-highly magnetized neutron stars. Thepulsed emission mechanism was conceived of asbeinganalogoustotheradiopulsarmechanisminwhichtherotationalspin-downpowerstheradia-tionprocess.Analternativeviewrecentlypresent-edargues instead that thegammarayburstsarearesultofmagneticenergystoredinthenon-po-tentialmagneticfields inthemagnetospherethatperiodicallyleadtoreconnection-typeeventssuchasiscommoninthesun.
In PY2007 these two models will be tested by si-multaneousradioandgamma-rayobservationsofSGR 1900+14 scheduled as target-of-opportunitysessionstriggeredbyspacecraftsuchasSwiftandRXTE.Therisetimeoftheradioevent,thetimeofitspeakbrightnessanditsdurationaretheobser-vationalparametersofgreatestinteresttobecom-
paredwithsimilarparametersfromthecoincidentgammarayevent.SchedulingwillbechallengingfortheArecibotelescope.
TheSGRareexoticstars,perhapsasexoticasstarscomeintheMilkyWay.AttheotherextremearedMestarsthat,bynumber,accountformorethan75%ofthestellarpopulationinthesolarneighbor-hood.ManydMestarsexhibitsignificantlevelsofcoronalactivitydueto thestrongmagnetic fieldsthatcovermostof their surface. A recentsurveyoflate-typedwarfsshowedthatmorethan50%ofthestarsofspectralclassM4toM9havehighlevelsofmagneticactivity.
Flareson theSunandondMestarsarenowbe-lieved to be basically similar in their origin anddevelopment. In general, both phenomena arebelieved to arise from the rupture of a stressedmagnetic structurewhichbymagneticbuoyancyis forced upwards through the photosphere intothecorona/transition regionwhere reconnectionofmagneticfieldoccursfollowedbyconsiderableenergy release. In this model, the parameters oftheradioemissionthatderivesfromtheflarecanbeusedreliablytoinferthepropertiesoftheflare.
In PY2007 the Arecibo telescope will be used tomonitorthewell-knowndMeflarestarADLeoob-serving simultaneously at both radio frequencies(atArecibo)andatvisualwavelengthsfromobser-vatoriesinEurope.Theobservationsofoscillationsin the optical and radio during flares will enabletheresearcherstoinvestigatethepropertiesoftheemissionandtoconstrainbetterthesourcesizeviathe techniques emerging from solar coronal seis-mology.
Pulsars.ThethirdoftheALFAscientificconsortiaisthePALFAgroupthatisconductingalarge-scalepulsarsurveyoftheGalacticplane. ThesesurveyobservationsbeganinPY2005andwillcontinueinPY2007. The survey is expected to lead to otherspinoffproposals, includingaproposal for timingobservationsofthepulsarsdiscovered.
Radio pulsars continue to provide unique oppor-tunitiesfortestingtheoriesofgravityandprobingstates of matter otherwise inaccessible to experi-mentalscience.Inlargesamples,theyalsoallowde-tailedmodelingofthemagnetoioniccomponentsof the interstellar medium. For these and otherreasonsalarge-scalesurveythatbegaininPY2005aimstodiscoverrareobjectsespeciallysuitablefor
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theirphysicalandastrophysicspayoffs. Ofpartic-ular importance are pulsars in short-period orbitswith relativistic companions, ultrafast milli-secondpulsars(MSPs)withperiodsP<1.5msthatprovideimportant constraints on the nuclear equation ofstateandMSPswithstablespinrates thatcanbeusedasdetectorsof long-period(>years)gravita-tionalwaves.Longperiodpulsars(>5sec)areofinterestforunderstandingtheirconnection,ifany,withmagnetars.Additionally,anyobjectswithes-peciallylargespacevelocities,asrevealedthroughsubsequentastrometry,willhelpconstrainaspectsof the formationofneutronstars incore-collapsesupernovae. Whileparticular,rareobjectswillbethe initial focusof survey followupobservations,long-termpayoffwilloccurfromthetotalityofpul-sardetections, thatcanbeusedtomaptheelec-tron density and its fluctuations and the Galacticmagneticfield.Finally,multi-wavelengthanalysesofselectedobjectswillprovidefurtherinformationonhowneutronstarsinteractwiththeISM,onsu-pernovae-pulsarstatistics,andontherelationshipof radio pulsars to unidentified sources found insurveysathighenergies.
ThePALFAconsortiumwillconductaGalacticcen-susofradiopulsarsthataimstodetectatleasthalfoftheactiveradiopulsarsthatarebeamedatus.Takingbeamingandtheradiolifetimesofpulsarsintoaccount,thefiducialbirthrateofneutronstars,onepercentury,impliesthatthereare2x104de-tectablepulsarsintheGalaxy.Approximatelyone-quarterof thesepulsarsare in theAreciboskysothereareabout5000pulsarsaccessibletoArecibo,halfofwhichareatlowGalacticlatitudes.
Onecandescribethreeprimarymotivationsforalargescalepulsarsurvey:
1.Thelargerthenumberofpulsardetectionsthemorelikelyitistofindrareobjectsthatprovidethe greatest opportunities for use as physicallaboratories. These include binary pulsars asdescribed above, and also those with blackhole companions; MSPs that can be used asdetectorsofcosmologicalgravitationalwaves;MSPs spinning faster than 1.5 ms, possibly asfastas0.5ms,thatprovetheequationofstateunder extreme conditions; hypervelocity pul-sarswithtranslationsspeedsinexcessof1000km/s,whichconstrainbothcore-collapsephys-icsandthegravitationalpotentialoftheMilkyWay;andobjectswithunusualspinproperties,suchasthoseshowing“glitches”andapparent
precessionalmotions.
2. Ina fullGalacticcensus the largenumberofpulsarscanbeusedtodelineatetheadvancedstagesofstellarevolutionthatleadtosuperno-vaeandcompactobjects.Inparticular,withalargesamplethebranchingratiocanbedeter-minedfortheformationofpulsarsandmagnet-ars.Fromalargesample,onecanalsoestimatetheeffectivebirthrateforMSPsandforthosebi-narypulsarsthatarelikelytocoalesceontimescalesshortenoughtobeofinterestassourcesofperiodic,chirpedgravitationalwaves.
3.AmaximalpulsarsurveycanbeusedtoprobeandmaptheISMatanunprecedentedlevelofdetail.Measurablepropagationeffectsincludedispersion,scattering,Faradayrotation,andHIabsorption that provide, respectively, line-of-sight integrals of the free electron density, ofthefluctuatingelectrondensity,oftheproductofelectrondensityand lineofsightmagneticfield,andoftheneutralhydrogendensity.To-gether,theseparameterswillallowmoreaccu-ratemodelsoftheGalaxytobeconstructed.
CanonicalpulsarsandMSPsaccountfor~90%and~10%ofallpulsars,respectively,withrelativisticbi-naries and high-field pulsars comprising < 1%. Itwouldnotbesurprisingtofindadditionaltypesofpulsarsinahigh-yieldsurvey.ThatexpectationisaprimarydriverforthePALFAsurvey.
Pulsars,asextremelyprecise “clocks” fullyembed-dedinavarietyofastrophysicalenvironments,areusedtoprobethoseenvironmentsandthephysicsthatapplies inthatenvironment. This isdonebyrepeatedlytimingthepulsars—comparingthemea-sured arrival time of a pulsar’s signal to the timeexpectedonthebasisofpriormeasurements.Anydeparturefromthesetwotimescanbeattributedtomotionofthepulsarresultingfromlocalforces;thenatureofthoseforcescanbeinvestigated.InPY2007thefollowingpulsartimingprogramsareplanned:
1. High precision timing of the double neutronstar system J1829+2456 over the next yearwillenableadirectmeasurementofthepropermotionofthesystemtobemadeandfromthatonecanestablishhowmuchof thedP/dt re-sultsfromsecularacceleration.AvalueofdP/dtcorrectedforpropermotionwillpermittheageofthepulsartobecalculated.Alreadythe
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agelowerlimitis12.9Gyr.Suchalargeageal-readyimpliesthatJ1829+2456hadabirthspinperiod close to its current value, 40.1 msec.Knowledgeofthetransversevelocitycanalsobe used to model the kick produced by thebirthoftheneutronstarandsoconstraintheinitialconditionsofthesystem.
2. TimingobservationswillbeginofPSRJ1903+03,thefirstmillisecondpulsartobediscoveredinthe Arecibo PALFA survey. With a period of2.15 ms and a dispersion measure of 297 pccm-3,thisisaperfectexampleofashortperiod,highDMpulsartowhichthePALFAsurveyisuniquelysensitive.PSRJ1903+03isaunique-ly distant and precise pulsar which will allowchangesinDMtobetrackedaccurately.Varia-tions in DM provide a direct measurementofthe integrated spectrum of electron densityfluctuations in the ISMalong the line-of-sight.ConventionalwisdomholdsthattheamplitudeofDMvariationsisrelatedtothesquarerootofthedistancetoapulsar;timingofPSRJ1903+03willallowthistobetestedoveramuchgreaterdistancethancouldbedonewithanypreviousmspulsar.
3. Overthepastyear,severalmysteriousneutronstarshavebeenfoundwithveryunusualprop-erties.AmongtheseisthenewpopulationofRotatingRadioTransients (RRATs). Theseob-jectsarecharacterizedbyradioburstswithdu-rationsbetween2and30msandaveragein-tervalsbetweenburstsrangingfrom4minutesto3hours.PSRJ0628+09isaRRATdiscoveredintheAreciboPALFAsurveywithaperiodof1.2 s; timing observations will help greatly inestablishingitsnature.PSRB1931+24,a813-mspulsarwithatypicalageandmagneticfield,is another mysterious transient pulsar. This“sometimespulsar”mysteriously turnsoffandon in a quasi-periodic fashion, with intervalsbetween “on”and “off”periods ranging from25to35daysandonintervalslasting5to10days. This isthefirsttimethatsomethinglikethishasbeenseenforanypulsaranditpointsto a massive increase in magnetospheric out-flowwhenthepulsarison.ThisobjectandtheRRATs together have challenged our under-standing of pulsar emission mechanisms andhighlighted how little we know about pulsarproperties and populations. Timing observa-tionsinPY2007willaddressthisdeficiency.
4. TimingofthedoubleneutronstarsystemPSRB1534+12 will (a) improve the measurementof profile variation on orbital timescales, andhencerefinetheuniquemeasurementofspin-orbit coupling in a strongly self-gravitatingsystem; (b) improve themeasurementsof thepost-Kepleriantimingparameterssandrtoim-provethepurelyquasi-statictestofgeneralrel-ativity—animportantcomplementtothemixedquasi-static/radiativetestinPSRB1913+16(theHulse-Taylorpulsar);(c)betterdeterminedP/dtandhencetheGR-deriveddistancetothepul-sar,animportantinputtotheexpectedeventratesforLIGO;(d)monitordispersionmeasurechanges and provide ephemerides for VLBIobservations; and (e) produce a calibrated 2-dimensionalmapofthepulsarbeamshape.
5. Continued timing of the young relativistic bi-narypulsarPSRJ1906+0746discoveredinthePALFA survey. This youngpulsar is inanec-centric4-hourorbit.Timingobservationsoverthelastyearhavefacilitatedameasurementofthetimedilationaswellas theshiftofperias-tron passage, resulting in mass estimates forthepulsaranditscompanion. These indicatethtthecompanionismostlikelyasecondneu-tronstar.Onthetimescaleofyears,weexpecttomeasuretheorbitalperioddecay,whichwilloverconstrainthesystemandprovideatestofstrong-field gravity. The pulsar shows strongprofileevolutionwithtime,whichisbeingusedtoinvestigatethepulsar’s2-dimensionalbeamshapeand thephenomenonofgeodeticpre-cession. Finally, an attempt will be made toidentify radio pulsations from the companionstar.
6. Highprecisiontimingofninemillisecondpul-sarsatmonthlyintervalsovertwoyearswillbeused to establish improved determinations ofneutronstarmasses,measurepulsarparallaxesandpropermotions,setlimitsonthepresenceof a gravitational wave background, and testand measure terrestrial clocks, ephemeredes,andreferenceframes.Differentapplicationsre-quiredifferentobservingstrategies.Forsomeapplications,suchasmeasurementofrelativis-ticsecularchangesinorbitalelements,intensecampaignsatseveralwidelyspacedepochsareoptimal. Forotherapplications,mostnotablyastrometryandgravitationalwavebackgroundmeasurements, it isbestthattheobservationsbe made continuously and uniformly over
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manyyears.
Pulsarsarestrikingsourcesofcoherentradioemis-sion but the nature of their radio emission is farfrom understood. The physics of the process bywhichradiofrequencyemissionisgeneratedinthemagnetospheresofneutronstarswillbeexploredinPY2006throughseveralobservationalprogramsatArecibo,twoofwhicharethefollowing.
1. PSRB1951+32isayoung39.5-mspulsarinthecore of the supernova remnant CTB 80. Thepulsar’sspin-downageof107kyriscompara-bletotheagedeterminedfromitspropermo-tionandtothedynamicalageofCTB80.Lo-catedneartheedgeofthecoreofCTB80andmoving rapidly away from the center of theremnant,thesystemrepresentstheinterestingstage of pulsar evolution when the neutronstar penetrates and interacts with the inter-stellarmediumsweptupbytheremnant.Thepulsar’srelativisticwindtheninteractswiththesupernovashell,re-energizinganddistortingitand causing the emission of electromagneticradiationoverabroadrangeofwavelengths.OnewouldexpectthatPSRB1951+32wouldexhibit giant pulses because it shares manysimilarities with the prototypical giant pulsepulsarintheCrabnebula.TheobservationstobeconductedatAreciboinPY2007aimtoim-proveoutknowledgeofgiantpulsesbysearch-ingforsuchemissionfromPSRB1951+32.Be-sides being very energetic, giant pulses arecharacterized by narrow pulse widths, highdegreesofpolarization,andpowerlawenergydistributions.ItwillbeveryinterestingtoseeifPSRB1951+32hasallofthesecharacteristics.
2. The question of whether the same physicalmechanism operates to produce pulses in allpulsars is a challenging one to answer. OneapproachtotheanswerbeingpursuedatAre-cibo inPY2007 is to study thegiantpulses inthe pulsar in the Crab nebula and comparethem with high time resolution observationsof threeotherbrightpulsars. Inpreviousob-servationsoftheCrabpulsarstrikingandunex-pected intrinsicdifferenceswerefound inthedynamic spectrumof themainpulseand theinterpulse. The time and spectral signaturesofthemainpulseareconsistentwithonepro-posed model of pulsar radio emission; thoseof the interpulsecannotbeexplainedbyanycurrentmodel.Thenewobservationsofother
brightpulsarssimilartotheCrabpulsarwillde-terminewhetherthedynamicspectraofother,more ‘normal’pulsars resembleeither typeofspectralbehaviorseenintheCrabpulsar.
Solar System Studies. TheNAICAreciboObser-vatoryhas theuniquecapability tooffer itsuserstheopportunitytostudysolarsystemobjectsusingpassiveradioastronomytechniquesandusingac-tive radar observations. Both capabilities will beusedextensivelybyresearchgroupsinPY2006.
Comets are a primary target as they offer us aglimpseofprimitivematerialfromthesolarnebulathathashad littleornochemicalor thermalpro-cessingsinceitsformationaspartofthepre-solarnebula.Manyofthetracegasesincometiceshavespectral lines in the visible and near-infrared, butthebulkofthecometnucleusismadeupofwaterice,whichisdifficulttoobservefromtheground.TheradioOH linesat18-cmwavelengthareoneofthefewwaystomeasurethewaterabundanceinthecomaofacomet,andtoinferthemasslossrate.
ThefluxofOHemissionisrelatedtothetotalnum-berofOHmolecules,whichinturnisrelatedtothewatersublimatedfromthecometnucleus.Passiveradiospectroscopyhastwoadvantagesoversmallaperture optical and UV spectroscopy. First, thelargeradiobeamprovidesanintegratedmeasure-mentoftheamountofOHinthecomaandislessaffectedbytimevariabilityoroutgassingmorpholo-gy.Second,measurementsofthewidthandshapeoftheOHlinesmaybeusedtoinferthevelocityofgasesinthecomaandtoassesstheuniformityofwaterproductionover thenucleus. Determiningthe water production rate and outgassing veloc-ityisimportanttodeterminetheproductionratesoftracegasesinthecoma.Thewaterproductionrateisalsoneededinordertocomparecometstoeachotherandtodetermineabsoluteabundancesoftracegasesanddust.
Interpretation of radio OH observations dependsonthe lineexcitationmechanism. TheexcitationoftheOHgroundstateΛdoubletincometsisac-complishedbyabsorptionofsolarUVphotonsfol-lowedbycascadebacktothegroundstate. Therateofexcitationdependscriticallyonhowtheso-larspectrumisDopplershiftedasseenbythecom-et. At some radial velocities, theΛ doublet mayhave itspopulation invertedoranti-inverted,pro-vidinganaturalamplificationorabsorptionofthe
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cosmicmicrowavebackgroundbehindthecomet.Atotherheliocentricradialvelocities,however,thepopulationintheΛdoubletisthermalandthelinesbecomedifficultorimpossibletodetect.Whileitisbesttoobserveattimesinthecomet’sorbitwhenthe excitation is favorable, it is also a good con-straintontheinversionpredictionstoobservenearthe time when the excitation crosses from inver-siontoanti-inversion,orzero-crossingvelocities.
In highly productive comets, OH spectral lines intheinnercomaappearweakerthanexpectedbe-cause gas collisions thermalize and quench themaseremission.Inlessproductivecomets,thede-greeofquenchingshouldbelower—itdependsin-verselyonthesquarerootoftheproductionrate.Quenchingcanstronglyaffect thewaterproduc-tionrateinferredfromthelinefluxandhenceitisimportanttogainabetterobservationalandtheo-reticalunderstandingofthismechanism.
Opportunities to observe comets are rare. InPY2007 extending into PY2008 OH observa-tionswillbemadeofthefollowingsevencomets:C/2006 VZ13 LINEAR, 46P/Wirtanen, 8P/Tuttle,6P/d’Arrest, 15P/Finlay, 144P/Kushida and 19P/Borrelley.Forallthesecometsobservationswillbemade three timeson twoadjacentdaysover the3weeksorsothateachcometisvisiblefromAre-cibo. Experience with previous OH observationsofcometsdoneatArecibohasshownthatrepeti-tiveobservationsare indispensableforseparatingshort-termvariabilityfromoutgassing,whileobser-vationalspacingbyaweekormorearenecessarytocharacterizelong-termvariations.
Comet Tuttle that will be in the 2007 winter skywill be the subject of a worldwide observationalcampaign;theAreciboOHobservationswillbeanimportantcontributiontothe“bigpicture”forthisobject.CometBorrellywasthetargetoftheDeepSpace1mission,soithasaknownshape,spinpe-riodandsurfacegeology.ThisinformationmakesobservationsofOHinthiscometparticularlydesir-able:aknownnucleussizeallowsthegasproduc-tionratestobeusedtoestimatewhatfractionofthesurfaceisactive,andaknownspinperiodcanbeusedtolinkperiodicchangesinoutgassingtochangingsolarfluxontoactiveregions.
Thesampleofsevencometsinthenext18-monthsor so will provide a fortuitous sample of objectsfromwhichimportantdiagnosticcomparisonscanbemade.
Theuniquecapabilityat theAreciboObservatoryto make radar observations of solar system ob-jects—planets, satellites, comets and asteroids—fa-cilitatespreciseorbitaldynamicsmeasurementsbe-causeoftheexceptionalrange(timeofflight)andradialvelocityprecisioninherentinradarmeasure-ments.SeveralobservingprogramsinPY2007willexploit this capability for innovative astrophysicalmeasurements.
Oneobservingprogramwillobtainpreciseastrom-etryoftheNearEarthObject(NEO)2000EE14totestgeneralrelativity.Briefly,NEO2000EE14hasaperihelionshiftrateof15arcsecondspercenturyduetogeneralrelativityandtheoblateSun. ThemeasurementsplanningforPY2007constituteonecomponentofalargerobservingprograminwhichtheorbitsofadozenNEOsaremonitoredoversev-eralyearstoreduceuncertaintiesonGRparametersandtoprovideadynamicalmeasurementorupperbound on the gravitational quadrupole momentoftheSun(J2). Considerableimprovementsoverprevious studies involving measurements of theperihelionshiftofMercuryandIcarusareexpectdbecause (1) several newly-discovered asteroidshaveorbitsofferingabettersensitivitytothesolarJ2; (2) the sample of NEOs incorporates a rangeofheliocentricdistancesandinclinationsthatcanunambiguouslyseparateGRandJ2effects;and(3)thecenterofmasslocationsofsmallbodiesismoreaccuratelydeterminedthanthatofMercury.
Simulations show that radar measurements of adozenNEOstobeaccumulatedoverthenext15yearscandiscriminatechangesinthePPNparame-terβatthe10-4levelandchangesinJ2atthe10-8level.Thiswouldimproveuncertaintiesonβbyanorderofmagnitudeandwouldput thepreferredhelioseismology value of J2 toavery serious testwithadirectdynamicalmeasurement. Theradarmeasurements offer clear prospects for improvedand independentestimatesof theGRandJ2pa-rameters.
Radar is an exceptionally powerful probe of thesurfacecompositionofasteroidsandplanetarysur-faces.InPY2007radarobservationswillbemadeoftheasteroids2005NW444,2005GLand2005WJ56inordertostudythesurfacephysicalproper-tiesandtosearchforthepresenceorabsenceofregolithon theseobjects. TheseasteroidsmakecloseapproachestoEarthinthecomingyear;ob-servations will also provide precise rotation ratesandsizemeasurements.Iftheincidentradarwave
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refracts into a surface and is reflected by buriedscatterers,thereturnechowillhaveanetlinearlypolarizedcomponentthatcanbemeasuredusingthroughafullpolarimetricanalysis.ThistechniquehasbeenusedtostudythelunarregolithandVe-nus volcanic deposits, and has been successfullyappliedtotheastroids1999JM8and4179Touta-tis,bothofwhichshowevidenceforregolith.ThePY2007 observations are part of a larger projecttoobserveasampleofasteroidsandcorrelatetheradar polarimetric properties with different sizes,shapesandcompositions.
Asteroids in general constitute an enormous, di-verse population of solid bodies whose study isessential to our understanding of the origin andevolutionofthesolarsystem.Somemightberem-nantsofthefirstmaterialtoaccretefromconden-satesintheprimitivesolarnebula,whileothersarethought to have undergone varying degrees ofmelting, internal differentiation, and chemical al-teration.Virtuallyallhavesufferedcollisions,andmany are probably either pieces of ancient dis-ruptedbodiesorgravitationallyboundcollectionsoffragments.Asteroidsdemonstrateprimaryprin-ciplesgoverningplanetaryevolutionataccessiblescales,andacomprehensiveunderstandingofas-teroid formation circumstances and evolutionaryhistories is one of the fundamental goals drivingplanetaryscience.
Radar is the most powerful ground-based tech-niqueforphysicalcharacterizationofasteroids,pri-marilybecausemeasurementsofthedistributionofechopowerintimedelay(range)andDopplerfre-quency (radial velocity) provide spatially resolvedimages thatcanbe inverted toyieldglobal topo-graphic and shape information. The accuracy ofradar-basedshapereconstructiondependsontheecho signal-to-noise ratio and the images’ cover-ageinorientationaswellasonthetarget’sshape,spin state, and scattering properties in a mannerthathasbeenexploredandcalibrated.
ManyNEOshavebeen imagedwith theAreciboradar,and3-Dshapemodelshavebeenpublishedfortwelveofthem.However,echoesfrommain-beltasteroids(MBAs)aremuchweakerfromcloselyapproachingNEOs,andaradar-derived3-DshapemodelhasbeenpublishedforonlyoneMBA.Theobservations planned for PY2007 will greatly ex-pandthestateofourunderstanding.Twenty-onelargeMBAswillbeobservedthatpresentradarob-servingopportunitieswithlargesingle-datesignal-
to-noise. Arecibo is the only radar system in theworldthathassufficientpowerandsensitivityforsuchaproject.Theobjectiveistoobtainunprec-edentedinformationaboutthelarge-scale(severalkilometer) structure of the radar-facing portionsof the surface. Under ideal circumstances, inver-sionofthe imagestoestimateaglobal3Dshapemodel may be warranted. However, even if toomuchofthesurfaceremainshiddenfromtheradar(becauseofahighsubradarlatitudeorarotationperiod that precludes thorough Arecibo rotationphasecoverage),theshapeinversionsoftwarestillcanestimate the topographyofwell-imagedpor-tions of the surface and can simultaneously uselightcurvedatatoplaceconstraintsontheoverallshape. These observations will produce the firstcomprehensiveshapeinformationdatasetonmainbeltasteroids.
Again,inPY2007,NEOobservationsprovidesomeimportant targets. Specifically, observations willbemadeoftheasteroids(3200)Phaethon,(4954)Eric,(11500)1989URand2005WJ56.Thesepre-cisionobservationswillbeusedtoconstructphysi-cal shape models, understand their surface prop-erties, search for satellites and refine the orbitalparameters. Phaethon and Eric are among thelargestobjects intheNEOpopulation. PhaethonistheparentbodyoftheGeminidsmeteorsbutun-likeothermeteorparentbodies,itisclassifiedasanasteroidandnotacomet. Searchesforcometaryactivity have been negative, so its origin remainsenigmatic. Theobservationsplanned forPY2007willresolveacontroversyconcerningitsdiameterandopticalalbedo.1989URhasaveryslowro-tationperiodsuggestiveofnon-principalaxisrota-tion, theoriginsofwhicharepoorlyunderstood.2005WJ56willbeanextremelystrongtarget;ra-dar imaging will place thousands of pixels on itssurfaceandwillrevealsurfacefeaturesinspectacu-lardetail.
Finally, the Moon will be imaged once again inPY2007ateverhigherangularresolution.Thein-creased angular resolution comes from develop-mentofmoresophisticatedwaysoffocusingradarimages collected over long integration periodsyieldingspatialresolutionasfineas20-mat12.6-cm radar wavelength and 150-m at 70-cm radarwavelength. At 20-m resolution, the images arecomparable to the best existing large-are space-craft photos. The observations planned for theArecibotelescopethisyearwilladdresssignificantoutstandingquestionsregardingthegeologichis-
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toryoftheMoon’ssurfaceandtheresourcepoten-tialofvolcanicashdepositsandshadedpolarar-eas.Theworkproposedforthisyearbuildsontheanalysisofsimilarobservationsoverthepastseveralyearsthathaveaddressedissuessuchasiceatthelunarsouthpole,theoriginofdarkhaloesaroundmanyimpactcraters,andthedistributionofMareOrientalerelatedcryptomaria. ThesesubjectsareofkeeninteresttothoseplanningexploratoryvisitstotheMoon.It issatisfyingtobeabletoprovidethefundamentalinsightfromground-basedradarobservationsmadeattheAreciboObservatory.
10.2 Technical Plans
Telescope: Tertiary Mirror Motion and Con-trol. With the addition of the Gregorian, it wasunderstoodthatthetelescopefocuswouldbedif-ficulttomaintaintohighprecisionduringthedaywhensolarheatingof themainplatformsuspen-sioncablescausedthecablestolengthenandtheplatformtodescendslightly. Thiseffect,togetherwiththeasymmetricalloadoftheGregoriandomeathighzenithanglescausesthetiedownstolosetension and, of course, when the tie downs losetension they lose theirability toposition theplat-form at the correct height necessary to keep theGregorianreceiversinfocus.Theproblemismostacuteathighfrequencieswhereagivenheighter-rorisalargerfractionalwavelengtherror.Thede-signsolutiontothisrecognizedproblemintheGre-gorian upgrade project was to drive the positionof the tertiary mirror changing the focal positionby the amount necessary to compensate exactlyfortheslackinthetiedowns.AllthetertiarydrivemotorsandcontrollerswereinstalledaspartoftheGregorianupgradeproject. But theywerenevercalibratedandhaveneverbeenusedbecausethedrivemotorswerefoundtobesourcesofRFI.
WiththeincreaseddemandforobservationsatX-band,andespeciallyforthe increasinglyfrequentuseofbothX-bandandC-bandduringthedayforVLBIobservations,itwasapparentthatitwastimeto implement the capability to move and controlthetertiarymirror.InPY2007aprojecthasbegunforthistask.HectorComacho,thenewleadoftheAOdigitalengineeringgroup,hasprojectrespon-sibility. He isworking inclosecollaborationwithMikeNolanandPhilPerillattodefinetheproblemandeffectasolution.
Thescopeofworkincludesestablishingahardfidu-cialonthetertiarydrive,afundamentalreference
pointtowhichthetertiarymirrorcanbedrivenreli-ablyandrepeatedlyintheeventapowerfailureoracomputerfailureshouldoccurwhilethetertiaryis inmotion. Inaddition, calibrating thephysicalmotionofthetertiary intermsof itseffectonthetelescope pointing is a major task for which PhilPerillat’sinvolvementandexperiencewillbeindis-pensable.Thiswillbedoneaspartofthetelescopere-pointing following completion of the platformpaintingproject.
Thetertiarymirrorcontrolprojectrequiresapproxi-mately$50kinmaterialsexclusiveofanymaterialsrequired to correct RFI problems. Operationally,theplanistomovethetertiarymirrorinfrequentlyamong two, or a small number of ‘optimum’ po-sitions chosen for the requirements of particularweatherconditions.Thedrivemotorswillbepow-ereddownbetweenmotionstoeliminatethepos-sibility of spurious RFI. NAIC PY2007 funds havebeen allocated to this project as has the prioritytimeofengineerComacho. Theproject issched-uledforcompletionearlyinPY2008.
Telescope: Platform Painting Project. Con-cernedabouttheconditionofthecoatingontheplatformoftheArecibotelescope,NAICcontractedwiththeconsultingfirmofKTA-Tator,Inc.ofPitts-burgh, PA to conduct a condition analysis of thecoatingonthestructuralsteelplatform.TheKTAreporthighlightedanumberofconcerns,themostimportantofwhichisthatthesteelintheoriginaltelescope construction is covered with mill scalethat was not removed at the time the steel wasfabricatedintheearly1960s.Themillscalepeelsoffovertime,andhasdonesoontheArecibotele-scope, allowing moisture to seep under the millscaleandcausecorrosioninthebasemetal. Theonlyremedyforthissituationistocleanthesteelabrasively(e.g.sandblastit)removingthemillscaledownto“whitemetal”andthenprimeandrecoatthesteel.
NAIC worked with the KTA consultant to definecarefullythescopeofworkfortheentirecleaningand coating task including the choice of primerandfinishcoattobeused.Recommendationsasto the tools tobeused for the job,and the tech-niquesnecessarytoapplyadurablecoatingwerealsosuppliedtoNAICbytheKTAconsultant.WiththehelpofKTA,abidpackagewaspreparedanddistributedtopotentialcontractors: sixbidswerereceived. Spensieri painting of Syracuse, NY wasselected. ThecontractwithSpensieriwasnegoti-
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atedandsignedinJanuary2007.
TheplatformpaintingprojectwillbegininPY2007.Workonthetelescopewill requireapproximately12 weeks. Funding has been arranged from acombinationofNAICcarryoverfundsandNSFnewfunds provided through the Cooperative Agree-mentinPY2007.
Telescope: Structural Condition. In 2003NAICcontractedwithAmmann&Whitneytoper-formathoroughsurveyofthestructuralconditionof the Arecibo telescope. The resultant A&W re-port,AreciboRadioTelescopeStructuralConditionSurvey2003,concluded“Thesurveyfindsthatthetelescopeasawholeisingoodconditionbutthatthecablesandthefeedsupportsystemareinneedof a complete painting”…”Secondary deficienciesand recommendationscanbe found in thebodyofthisreport”. Asdescribedintheabovesectionof this APRPP, NAIChas contracted for the struc-turalsteelplatformtobecompletelycleanedandpainted;inthiswaytheprincipalrecommendationoftheA&Wtelescopeconditionsurveywillbeim-plemented.The“secondarydeficiencies”notedinthe A&W report have been addressed with highpriority by the Arecibo Observatory site platformcrewinthecourseoftheirroutinetelescopemain-tenancetasksoverthepastthreeyears.
Inresponsetoexternalconcernsabouttheeffica-cyoftheNAICresponsestotheA&W“secondarydeficiencies”, NAIC established a telescope “TigerTeam”inMarch2006toreviewtheNAICresponsesandtoprovideoversightforfuturetelescopestruc-turalmaintenancetasks. TheTigerTeamismadeup of seven NAIC and Cornell engineers and sci-entistswhosecombinedexperienceworkingwiththe Arecibo telescope exceeds 150-years. Thesepeopleare:
AreciboTelescopeTigerTeam DonCampbell FelipeSoberal HalCraft MichaelNolan PhilPerillat WilsonArias LynnBaker(Chair)
TheTigerTeammeetseveryothermonthormorefrequentlyas required. At themost recentmeet-ing,February2007,theTigerTeamminutesrecordthe following: “Felipe Soberal confirmed that all
of the critical items mentioned in the A&W 2003conditionreportarebeinginspectedregularlywithno problems noted. A crack prone sharp cornermentioned in theA&Wcondition reportwasdis-cussedinthe lastmeetingandrecommendedformodification.Felipewillmakethismodificationinthenearfuture.”
Owingto theextensiveexperienceof thepeopleontheTigerTeam,theTigerTeamismeanttoiden-tifyconcernsandproposemaintenancetasksthattheteamitselfbelievestobeinthebestinterestofNAIC’sstewardshipoftheArecibotelescope.Theydothis.Whatfollowsisthediscussion,recommen-dationsandactionsfromtheTigerTeammeetingofFebruary2007.
Thestressesinthemaincableselicitedseveralcom-ments.DonCampbellreminded[theTigerTeam]thatweagreedtoremeasurethecatenaryinsev-eral cables, especially the ones with unbalancedloads to double check the results from the previ-ous tension survey. Phil Perillat emphasized thatthe measurements be made with consistent set-tingsofalldrives (dome,carriagehouse,azimutharm,tiedowns)andconsistenttemperature.Thecabletensiondataistakenatafixed,balancedcon-dition. AstudybyA&Wtoquantify theeffectofthedynamic,unbalancedloadsthecablesencoun-ter during operations is planned. This study hasbeendelayedbypreparationsforthepaintingproj-ectwhichalsohasbeendelayed.Includedinthisstudywillbeareviewofthemaximumunbalancedtorque allowed (Phil Perillat). The unbalancedtorque limit has been repeatedly discussed andprobablychangedsincetheGregorianupgradingandshouldbefinallyclarified.
FelipeSoberalraisedaconcernaboutpossiblecor-rosionjustinsidethecableendsockets.Oneback-staycablehasbeenreplacedinthepastbecauseofbrokenstrands. Thebrokenstrands inthatcablewereprobablyduetocorrosioninsidethesocket,especiallyintheouterlayerofstrands.Thecorro-sionarisesbecausethezincpottingmaterialdoesnot “wetout” the individual strandsnear theexitpoint fromthesocket. Thecable interiorhasdryairpumpedintoitandthereisdryairpumpedintothesocketitselfwhichshouldeliminatethecorro-sionbutthesehiddenareasremainaconcern.Onapositivenote,therehasnotbeenabrokenstrandreportedsinceJuly2003.Felipe discussed the Gregorian dome elevationwheels.Therehavebeentwowheelsthatcracked
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inservice.ThesewheelswereanalyzedbyLuciusPitkin, a firm that specializes in inspection andfailureanalysis. Theirconclusionwas the failureswereduetopoorqualitycontrol intheinductionhardeningoftheexterior.Felipeissendingmorewheels,twooperationalandtwosparesforanaly-sisbyLuciusPitkintocheckthequalityofthemet-allurgy.Partofthewheelfailureproblemmaybeduetothepoorweightdistributionoftheoriginalbogeydesign.Thebogieswereupgradedin2001toanimproveddesignwithbetterweightdistribu-tion. Oneof thecracked wheelsoccuredbeforethisupgradeandoneafter,althoughthesecondcracked wheel was in service on the old bogies.Therehavebeennofurthercrackedwheelssincethen.Thewheelsareinspectedandlubricatedof-tenandmicroswitcheshavebeenfittedtodetectanywheelfailures.
FelipeSoberalalsoreviewedthestateoftheeleva-tionrail rollingsurface. Therearesomecracks intherollingsurfaceinareaswherethedomespendsthemajorityofitstimeinoperation.Thesesectionswill be replaced after the painting project. Thecracksprimarilyarisewheretherail isoverapan-el point which is a very stiff and narrow supportpoint. Felipe recommends welding in a supportplatewhichwill spread the support loadingovera longer length of rail and reduce the cracking.ThecommitteerecomendedthatFelipeprovideadrawingtoA&Wsotheycanreviewthereinforce-mentconcept.
FelipeSoberaldiscussedlooseboltsthatattachthesecondary backup structure to the collar truss inthe Gregorian dome. A few of these have beenfound loose and retightened. Felipe expressedsomeconcernthattheboltsmayhavebeenover-stressedandthatiswhytheywereloose.Thesug-gestion was made to replace some of the boltsfoundlooseandhavetheremovedboltstestedforan overstress condition. If the bolts are workingloosefromvibrationorthermalcyclingthensomemethodofholdingthemtightshouldbeapplied.
DonCampbellremindedthatanewconditionsur-vey should be performed soon, later in 2007 orearly2008.Considerationshouldbegiventohav-inganotherfirmbesidesA&Wperformthecondi-tionsurvey. Whoeverdoes thesurveyshouldbeguided by a detailed list of items from NAIC andtheTigerTeamcommittee.ThetelescopeTigerTeamisfunctioningeffectivelyinanoversightcapacitytoassureCornellthatthe
structural condition of the Arecibo telescope re-mainssound.
Receivers. As described in Section 4 of thisAPRPP, twonewreceiverswillbecompletedandmadeavailabletotelescopeusersinPY2007.Bothreceivers represent new generation technologyappliedtofrequencybandsofhighprioritytotheU.S.astronomicalcommunity: both replaceexist-ingAOreceivers.
Anew2380MHzradarreceiverwasdesignedandbuilttotherequirementsoftheplanetaryradarsys-tem.It’sprimarydesignspecificationistoachieveasystemtemperatureontheskyoflessthan20K,andimprovementofmorethan25%overthesys-temtemperatureofthepresentradarreceiver.Thiswill be the lowest noise receiver on the Arecibotelescope. Further,anadvancedfeeddesignwillbetterilluminatethetelescopeleadingtoanetim-provementintheratiooftelescopegaintosystemtemperature,G/T,ofnearly50%.Allcomponentsofthereceiverarecomplete;assemblyisproceed-ingattheObservatory.Testsonthetelescopewillbeginaftercompletionofthepaintingproject;thereceiverwillbeavailableforvisitoruseinthethirdquarterof2007.
Thesecondnewreceivertobemadeavailabletousers in PY2007 is the cryogenically cooled 327MHz receiver also described in Section 4 of thisAPRPP.Thisreceiveriscompleteandinitscommis-sioningphaseonthetelescope.It’sprimaryappli-cationisexpectedtobeforprecisionpulsartimingprograms.
The heavily-constrained PY2007 NAIC budget re-ceivedfromNSFASTdoesnotallowforanyfurtherreceiver design, construction or upgrade mainte-nanceatNAICinPY2007.
Planetary Radar Transmitter. The2380MHztransmitter operates at a peak power of approxi-mately1MWwith theRFpower suppliedby twoklystronseachofwhichgenerates500kW. Bothoftheseklystronshaveneededrepairoverthelasttwo program years resulting in an extraordinaryexpense of nearly $250k each year. Fortunately,thebest-effortrepairsweresuccessfulforbothklys-tronsand theRF transmitter isnowrunning rou-tinelyforallscheduledobservations.
The2380MHzplanetaryradartransmitterisaCW(continuous wave) transmitter that must be sup-
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pliedwithuninterruptedelectricalpowerofapproximately 2 MW. At the Arecibo Ob-servatory this is done using a purpose-spe-cificdieselturbinegenerator.Thegenerator,builtbySunTurbines,adivisionofCaterpil-lar Inc, has reached the point in its usagecycle—a combination of run-time and num-berof starts—that routinemajoroverhaul isrequired. Wehavesolicitedbudgetaryesti-matesfortheturbineoverhaulfromCaterpil-lar and from third-party vendors. The costwill exceed$350k. Theheavily-constrainedPY2007NAICbudgetreceivedfromNSFASTdoesnotallowfortheupgradetobedoneinPY2007.Forbudgetaryreasonsonly,wewilldefertheturbinemaintenanceuntilPY2008.
Backends: Spectrometers. Two newspectrometers will be delivered to AO in PY2007thataredesigned for the special requirementsofthe PALFA survey and the EALFA survey respec-tively. Each of these spectrometers was built byJeffMockundercontract toNAIC. The technicalspecificationsofeacharetabulatedinSection4ofthis APRPP. The hardware configuration of bothis identical. The spectrometers use FPGA-basedprocessors that realize the frequency separationusingdigitalpolyphasefilterswithshapesspecifiedbythePALFAandEALFAconsortiumrespectively.Both spectrometers process all 14 IF inputs fromALFA (with 2 spares) using 7 processor ‘boxes’,eachofwhichanalyzes2polarizationsfromoneofthesevenALFAbeams.
JeffMockbroughttwo‘boxes’toAreciboinJanu-ary2007to test the functionalityof theseproto-typeinstruments,andtochecktheinterfacesfromtheboxestotheobservatoryIFanddatamanage-mentsystems.Thetestingwasentirelysuccessful.AbriefreportoftheJanuary2007testingatAOfromJeff followsbelow(http://www.mock.com/pdev/fl_ealfa.html).
Figure10.2.1showsthespectrometersetupintheArecibocontrolroom.Therackintheforegroundistemporary.Twospectrometersaremountedinthe topof the rack. Themiddleof the rackcon-tains some random attenuators and test signalgenerators.The twoprototypemixersare in thelowerthirdoftherack,andtheservermachinefordumpingdataisinthebottomoftherack.Thein-terfacetothetelescopeisthroughconnectionstotheracksinthebackground.Thesignalgeneratorsinthebackgroundracksareusedforthe2ndLOsandADCclockforthespectrometers.
BarbaraCatinellaandEmmanuelMomjianpickedoutafewknownEALFAobjectsthatwereobserv-ableduringthetelescopetestingtime.Theypoint-ed the telescope to collect both on-source andoff-source integrations for threeobjects.All threeobjects were reasonably easy to identify, Phil Pe-rillattoldmehowtoproperlyextractthebaselineusingtheoff-sourcesignaltoproducetheseplots.The A&B polarities are summed after integration,thebaselinewasremovedusingtheoff-sourceob-servation.
NGC 1156 isareasonablybrightobject.Thisisa60-second integration using two overlapping 8k-point PFB transforms, each covers 170MHz, theresultcovers the300MHzofALFA.Datawascol-lectedwith10msintegrationsandassembledintolongerintegrationsduringpostprocessing.
UGC 1291isasomewhatdimmerobject.Thisisa120-secondintegrationusingtwooverlapping8k-pointPFBtransforms,eachcovers170MHz.
Figure 10.2.1.SpectrometersetupintheArecibocontrolroom.
Figure 10.2.2. A60-secondintegrationusingtwooverlap-ping8k-pointPFBtransforms.(Courtesy:JeffMock)
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AGC 110443wasthedimmestobjectweattempt-edtoobserve.Thisisa120-secondintegrationus-ingtwooverlapping8k-pointPFBtransforms,eachcovers170MHz.
The competed PALFA and EALFA spectrometerswillbecommissionedatAOfollowingcompletionoftheplatformpaintingprojectandwillbemadeavailableforscheduleduseinthethirdquarterof2007.
Data Management, Backup and Archive at the Arecibo Observatory.TheprimarygoalinPY2007 for computing hardware and data man-agementistoprovidethestoragecapacityneededfortheALFAlegacysurveys.Toillustratethescaleof the data management problem at AO quanti-tatively, here are the data flow statistics at theObservatoryfromthemajoruserprogramsruninPY2006:
Observational Research Program
Data Storage Backup Requirements
PALFA 50.67TB
GALFA 3.03TB
EALFA 1.54TB
OtherPulsarPrograms 22.13TB
Aeronomy 5.16TB
TheserverstorageattheObservatoryisbasedonscaleable RAID clusters fed by a gigabit Ethernetnetwork. Presently,theRAIDvolumescostabout$1.50 per GB; removable standalone drives usedby many observing teams to transport their datatotheirhomeinstitutionscostabout$0.40perGB.Longtermarchiving/backupfacilitiesattheObser-vatorymakeuseof½-inchcartridgetapetechnolo-giesandroboticlibraries.TwosuchsystemsareinuseatAO:
• SDLT-1(160GB/tape,writeat15MB/s,cost$0.25/GB)
• UltriumLTO-3(400GB,writeat25MB/s,cost$0.20/GB)
Computing clusters are being upgraded to use64-bitprocessorsincludingtheAMDOpteronandCPUsbasedonthePower5coresystem.Networkinfrastructure will be expanded to support high-bandwidth “spigots” (e.g. USB2 and Firewire) forcopyingdata toportablemediasoas to facilitateusers’desirestotransportextremelylargedatasetstotheirhomeinstitutions.
The new PALFA and EALFA spectrometers dis-cussed in the previous section of this APRPP willincreasethedataflowgeneratedatthetelescopemanytimesover.ThePALFAspectrometerdrivesourrequirementsfordatamanagement;itwillrou-tinelyproducedataatarateof0.5TB/hour.Ourplans for coping with this enormous flow are toprovidethefollowing:
• Dual-coreXeonCPU• 8-channelSATAIIRAID• 6x750GBSATAIIdisks• Ultra320SCSIfortapedrive• DualGigabitEthernet
This is all purchased hardware. The heavily-con-strainedPY2007NAICbudget received fromNSFASTdoesnotallowforthesepurchasestobemadeinPY2007.ThismeansthatschedulingofthePAL-FAspectrometerwillhavetobeartificially limited
Figure 10.2.4.A120-secondintegrationusingtwooverlap-ping8k-pointPFBtransforms.(Courtesy:JeffMock)
Figure 10.2.3. A120-secondintegrationusingtwoover-lapping8k-pointPFBtransforms.(Courtesy:JeffMock)
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inPY2007and/orthatthestaffassignedtocopy-ingdatafromdisktotapewillhavetobeincreasedinordertocopewiththedataflow.Itisaproblemthat sufficient, one-time, capital funds can readilysolve.
One of the major institutional challenges of theALFAsurveysistoprovidelong-termarchivaldatastorageandcommunityaccess.ThevariousALFAsurveysrequiretheconstructionoflargedatabasesat all stages of data reduction from raw data tofinished data product. These databases requirepermanentarchiving,managementandaccessbythe science team, construction of data productsandtoolstotheiraccessandusebyotherscientistsandtheinterestedpublic.Mostofthesurveyswilldeliver irreplaceable datasets, irreplaceable eitherbecausetheyareuniquetotheepochatwhichtheobservations were made (astronomical phenom-enachange!)orbecausetheyarenot likelytobesupercededbyfutureonesfortheseveraldecadesthat it will take before superior observing facili-tiesareoperational.Forthesereasons,inPY2007NAICwillcontinueitsmajorinitiativetosecurear-chivaldatabasestorageandaccessfacilitiesfortheALFAsurveydata,anddosobymeansofpartner-shipsformedwiththeCornellTheoryCenter(CTC).TheCTChastheinterestandtheexpertisetosat-isfytheALFAarchiverequirements.Animportantconsideration for NAIC is that the databases areconstructedinfullcompliancewiththeguidelinesof theVirtualObservatory (VO)sothat theALFAsurveyscanbe“mined”inconjunctionwithotherlargeastronomical surveydatasetsconstructedatotherwavelengths.Because database management is a skill new toNAIC,andbecauseitistheintentofNAICtopart-nerwiththeCTCthatreceivesNSFsupporttoman-agescientificdata,NAICwillrecruitforandhireadatabase expert to organize and implement thisfunctionalityfortheALFAsurveyteams.Theindi-vidualhiredforthispositionmustbeexperiencedinworkingwiththeVO.
10.3 Major Project Plans
InPY2007NAICisengagedintwomajorprojects,aprojecttoclean(sandblast)andpaintthestruc-turalsteelonthetelescopeplatform,andinitiationofworkonthe5-yearU.S.SquareKilometerArrayTechnologyDevelopmentProject(TDP)shouldtheTDPproposalbeacceptedandfundedbytheNSF.
Telescope Platform Painting Project. ThisprojectwasdescribedinSection10oftheAPRPP.It will begin and be completed in PY2007 withfundsprovidedbyNSF/ASTthatareinadditiontothefundsbudgetedinSection12ofthisAPRPP.
U.S. SKA Technology Development Project. (a)ProjectPurpose
TheU.S.SKATDPisthefirststepinaprogressionofwell-definedsteps leadingtothenextgenerationradio telescope for meter and centimeter wave-lengths,theSquareKilometerArray(SKA).
TheSKAwilltransformradioastronomythrougharevolutionarydesignthatcombinesanincreaseinsensitivityofafactorof20ormoreoverexistingra-diotelescopeswiththecapabilitytoimagelargere-gionsoftheskyinstantaneouslyoverawiderangeofangularresolution.TheSKAdesignincorporatesasuiteofoperationalmodesthatenablesurveyob-servations,targetedstudiesforimagingandspec-troscopic analysis, and time-domain sampling forstudiesof transientorvariableobjects. ThewidevarietyofSKAoperationalmodes, itsplannedfre-quency coverage from ~100 MHz to 22 GHz orhigher,andtheunrivaledsensitivityresultingfromitsenormouscollectingarea,assuresthattheSKAdiscoveryspaceisextremelyrich.Keyscienceob-jectives of the SKA emphasize probes of funda-mentalphysicssuchasthoseencapsulatedintheeleven questions noted in the National ResearchCouncil publication Connecting Quarks with theCosmos.TheSKAscienceobjectivesincludepreci-siontestsoftheoriesofgravityandexplorationsofthenatureofdarkmatterandofdarkenergy.Theyalsoincludethecosmicoriginsofmagneticfields,theorigins ofblack holesand the roleplayed bythegalacticnucleithatharborsupermassiveblackholes ingenerating throughburstsof star forma-tionthelightthatfirstilluminatedthecosmos.Ad-ditionally,theSKAwill leadustotargetsthatpro-videkeystoanunderstandingoftheoriginsoflife,keyssuchasorganicmoleculesandaminoacidsinspace,theformationofplanetarysystemsand,per-haps, radio signals tracing communications fromcivilizationselsewhere.
Development of the SKA is an international en-deavor that is coordinated through the Interna-tionalSKASteeringCommittee(ISSC),onethirdofwhose members are affiliated with institutions intheUnitedStates.Presently,severalradicallydiffer-
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entdesigns for theSKAarebeing investigated indifferentcountries.IntheU.S.,nineresearchuni-versitiesandsevenresearchinstituteshavejoinedtogetheras theU.S. SKAConsortium topursueatelescope concept meeting the science require-mentsoftheSKAthatisasynthesisarraycomprisedofalargenumberofsmalldiameterantennas.ThisLNSD concept provides the requisite SKA collect-ing area by utilizing approximately 4400 12-me-terdiameterparabolicantennas.Eachantennaisequippedwithlownoisereceiversandbroadbanddataacquisitionanddatatransmissionsystems.ByusingsuchconventionaltechnologythetechnicalriskinherentintheLNSDconceptislow.Butthenecessity to cover the enormous SKA frequencyrange,thenecessitytocombinethesignalsfromalltheantennasoverawidereceivedbandwidth,andthenecessitytoconstructandoperatesuchanar-rayatanaffordablecostaresignificantchallenges.NAIC,as themanagingorganizationfor theTDP,will lead the partnership of U.S. academic institu-tionstodemonstratethatthesechallengescanbemet through the concepts developed in the U.S.SKATechnologyDevelopmentProject.
(b)ProjectScope
Theprimaryobjectivesof theTDPare thefollowing:
• To design and construct a prototype12m antenna that meets the SKA re-quirements and can be used as a costbasisfortheSKAprojectbaseline;
• To design and construct prototype re-ceiving systems, including cryocoolersand optical components, covering theentireSKAfrequencyrange;
• To demonstrate, through tests on anoff-the-shelf6mantennabuiltusingthetechnologyplannedforthe12mproto-type, that theSKA requirement forcol-lectingareadividedbysystemtempera-ture(A/T
sys)ismetforthatoneantenna;
• To develop algorithms suitable for theLNSDconcept forarray calibration, im-aging,formingofmultiplebeamssimul-taneously,radiofrequency interferencemanagement,anddatatransport. ThisworkwillleverageandextendongoingstudiesbyothersonsimilarissuesfortheLowFrequencyArray(LOFAR)andtheExpandedVeryLargeArray(EVLA);
• To use a 6m test antenna at the AllenTelescopeArray(ATA)toverifythrough
observationstheperformanceof feeds,lownoiseamplifiersandLNSDconceptalgorithms;
• TodevelopamodelofLNSDconceptar-rayoperations;
• To use experience gained with ATAoperations and detailed studies of theprototypeLNSDhardware,todevelopathoroughcostestimateforconstructionandoperationofthefullSKALNSDproj-ectbaseline.
The successful execution of the TDP will yield acompleteprojectbaseline for theLNSDSKAfromwhich construction can begin. As a means toreachthisend,theLNSDtechnologydevelopmentprojectprovidesaframeworkthateffectivelybringstogetherateamofexpertsfrommanyinstitutionsallworkingtoassurethattheSKA,asthenextgen-erationradiotelescope,willbeaworthyresearchcomplement to existing and planned telescopesacrosstheelectromagneticspectrumaswellastonon-photonic facilities such as gravitational-waveobservatories. Together, these facilitieswillallowscientistsandstudentsofthenextdecadestoun-tanglethecomplexityofthecosmos.
(c)ProjectPlan,ScheduleandBudget
The TDP is a stand-alone proposal submitted totheNSFbyNAIC/CornellonbehalfoftheU.S.SKAConsortium. TheTDPprojectplan, scheduleandbudgetisthoroughlyoutlinedintheTDPproposal.TheTDPdoesnotdependonresourcesprovidedthroughtheNAICCooperativeAgreement,andassuchthebudgetfortheTDPisnotincludedintheNAICbudgetpresentedinthisPY2007APRPP.
ShouldtheTDPbefunded,theprojectwillusefullcostaccountingsothattheeffortofexistingNAICstaffworkingontheprojectwillbeproperly,andfully,chargedtotheproject.
10.4 Operational Changes in Response to the Senior Review Recommendations for NAIC
The NSF division of astronomical sciences (AST)releasedthereportoftheSeniorReviewpanelonNovember 3rd. The report, http://www.nsf.gov/mps/ast/ast_senior_review.jsp, includes three rec-ommendationsforNAIC.Theseare:
1. ReduceNSFastronomydivisionsupportforAreciboto$8Moverthenext3years;
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2. Schedule the survey programs for 80% ofthe time used for astronomy on the tele-scopethrough2010;
3. In 2011, plan either to close Arecibo oroperate it with a much smaller astronomybudget;additionalfundstobeprovidedbyothersources.
TheCornell/NAICstatementinresponsetotheSe-niorReviewreportfollows.
Cornell/NAIC Statement. CornellfullysupportsthegoalstheSeniorReviewandsharesintheviewthat science is a forward-looking enterprise; newresearch facilities are essential to future progress.CornellisalsoproudofthescientificachievementsthathavebeenmadeattheNAICAreciboObserva-torybycreativeresearchersoverthemorethan40yearsthatCornellhasmanagedandoperatedtheObservatory.WeappreciatethesupportivewordsofpraiseintheSRreportcongratulatingCornellonitseffectiveoperationofthefacility.
The NAIC Arecibo Observatory is a facility of theNational Science Foundation. Cornell managesNAIConbehalfoftheU.S.scientificcommunityforthe advancement of radio science. The principalstakeholder in NAIC is the U.S. scientific commu-nity. IftheU.S.scientificcommunity,throughtheSenior Review or some similar community-based,informed, process recommends that changesshouldbemade in thewayNAIC is fundedor inthescopeoftheservicesitprovidestothecommu-nity, Cornell/NAIC will work conscientiously withthecommunityanditsNSFsponsortoimplementthosechanges.
TheSeniorReviewrecommendsthatoverthenext3years theNSF funding for supportof theNAICastronomyprogramshouldbedecreasedbynearly25%,fromanannualbudgetof$10.5Mtoannualbudgetof$8M.Cornell/NAICispreparedtomakethechanges in thescopeof theNAICastronomyprogram, and in the operating structure of theArecibo Observatory, that will enable the adjust-ment to a much reduced astronomy program tobemade.Inplanningforsuchchangeswerecog-nize,asdidtheSeniorReviewreport,thatthereiseveryreasontoexpectthattheAreciboObserva-torycanbescientificallyproductiveforthenextde-cadeandevenfurtherintothefuture.Inorderforthistohappen,CornellhaspointedouttotheNSFthatthelong-termsafetyoftheArecibotelescoperequires that the accumulated corrosion on the
telescopeplatformmustberemovedandtheplat-formre-painted.NSFhasendorsedthisviewandaplan is inplacetocleanandpaint theplatformin 2007, a multi-million dollar project to be doneviaa financialpartnershipbetweenNSFandCor-nell.Theplatformpaintingwillgivethetelescopeastructurallifetimeof20years.
TheSeniorReview is less sanguineabout thepri-orityNSFastronomyfundingforNAICdeservesincompetitionwiththatofotherfacilities,particular-lynewfacilities, in theperiodbeyond2010. TheSRreportmentionsthatNSFmaywanttoreduceNAICastronomyoperationsfundingevenfurther,below$8M/year,in2011.ThereportalsosuggeststhatNSFmaywanttoconsiderclosingtheAreciboObservatoryafter2011.AndfinallytheSRreportnotes that theSRcharge is toadviseNSF for theperiodbetweendecadalsurveys,andhenceissuesthatapply tothepost-2010yearsaresubjects forthe next decadal survey committee to consider;theyarenotissuesonwhichtheSRrecommenda-tionsaregermane.Clearly,thereisnocommunityconsensusyetontheprioritiesforthenextdecade,andtherecannotbeuntilthedecadalsurveyiscon-ducted.Inlightofthissituation,Cornell/NAICwilltakenoactionsthatwilllimittheoptionsavailabletothedecadalsurveycommittee.Inparticular,noplanningwillbedone,oractionstaken,leadingtoclosureoftheAreciboObservatory.
TheprimaryrecommendationoftheSRreportforNAIC/AreciboObservatory,thatfundingfortheas-tronomyprogrambereducedfrom$10.5Mannu-allyto$8Mannuallyover3years,isonethatCor-nell/NAIC will implement by reducing the scopeof the astronomy program. Although this cut ofnearly25%inthebudgetoftheNAICastronomyprogram will necessitate that major changes bemade,itwillalsomotivateNAICtofocusondevel-opingnewresearchcapabilities,particularlythosethatenablehigh-priority,community-based, radioscienceinitiativessuchastheinternationalSquareKilometerArray toproceedexpeditiously tocom-pletion.
Inordertoaccommodatethe$8Mannualbudgetfor the astronomy program, the scope of the as-tronomyprogramwillchangefromoneinwhichthe NAIC Arecibo Observatory offers a full rangeof instrumentation and support services for radioastronomicalresearch,toamorelimitedprogramthat focuses on the unique ability of the world’slargestradiotelescopetosurveyandstudyfaintob-
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jectsintheuniverse.Specificreductionsinscopeoftheastronomyprogramincludethefollowing:
WewilleliminateallAST-supportedNAICprogramelementsthatarenotdirectlyrelatedtooperationoftheNAICastronomyresearchprogram.Wewillreduce thenumberof telescopeobservinghoursfor astronomy to approximately 3800 hours peryear.(Nowitis4800hoursperyear).
• Nearly all astronomy observations onthetelescopewillbescheduledatnight,leaving the days free for maintenanceactivities.
• We will do telescope and instrumentmaintenance 8-hours per day, 5-daysperweek(Monday-Friday).
• Because80%oftheastronomyobserva-tionswillbeforsurveyobservations,wewillreducethenumberofreceiversavail-ableforastronomyobservationsfrom13to6.Thiswillmakeiteasiertomaintaintheremainingreceivers.
• Thesurveyobservations require less lo-cal support. Accordingly, scientificandsupport services in many areas will bereduced.
• Wewillencourageremoteobservationstoreducethenumberofon-sitevisitorsrequiring Observatory assistance. Thiswill enable us to reduce the cafeteriahours,andtripstotheairport,forexam-ple.Studentvisitsfortrainingstillwillbeencouraged.
• WewillcontinuetooperatetheAreciboPlanetary Radar in FY2007 as we seekadditional support for it from NSF andothersources.
11. Longe Range Report and Plan
11.1 Major Program Goals and Emphasis
TheoverridingprogramgoalofNAIC,ontheshorttermaswellasonamuch longer term, isnot tobuild and operate large research facilities for theacademicresearchcommunity,butrathertobuild,operateandmanagemajorresearchfacilitieswiththecommunity.InPY2007,andinthefiveyearsor
moreyearsimmediatelyfollowingthat,theNAICisworkinginpartnershipwiththeU.S.academicre-searchcommunitytowardthefollowingcommongoals:
• Operate and maintain the first high-throughput survey instrument at theObservatory, the Arecibo L-band FeedArray(ALFA),thatisdesignedtoenablerapid,large-scale,skysurveys.Thisproj-ect isbeingdoneasacooperationbe-tweenNAICandthreeverylarge(50-75member)topicalconsortiaofacademicresearchers;
• Developandprovidefundingforback-end instrumentation and software forALFAas joint initiativesbetweenNAICand experienced university-based re-searchers.Thisincludes,butisnotlim-itedto, fabrication,commissioningandoperation of the PALFA and EALFAspectrometers;
• Implement and augment “commensal”observing,asharingoftelescopetimeinwhich the signals from theALFA frontends are analyzed simultaneously bytwoormorespectrometersoperatedbygroupswithdifferentscienceobjectives,butwithacommonneedtosurveytheskyatL-band;
• Develop and assure the implementa-tionofALFAlegacydatabasesthatareaccessible to all researchers throughthe Virtual Observatory so that use ofthe ALFA data products are a primarymechanism for students and scientistsof all disciplines to benefit by the pro-grammaticmissionofNAIC;
• Build on the multibeam experience ofALFA for the design, prototype andconstruction of the next generation ofphased array focal plane receivers forthe Arecibo telescope as informed bythedesiresandinvolvementoftheusercommunity. This technology develop-ment initiative has relevance to thetechnicalrequirementsoftheSKA;
• DevelopfurthertheAreciboresearchca-pabilitiesinsupportofVeryLongBase-lineInterferometry(VLBI)inpartnershipwiththeU.S.communityofresearchersusing the VLBA and the HSA, and thecommunityofEuropeanresearchersus-ing the EVN. The cornerstone task in
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thenextfiveyearsisafour-foldincreaseinthedataratefromArecibotothein-ternetbackboneinthemainlandU.S.;
• Evaluate concept designs for low-costradio antennas of modest aperture, aprototypeofwhichwouldbeconnect-ed interferometrically with the 305-mArecibotelescopeasthefoundationofa major initiative to search for cosmicsourcesoftransientradioemission;
• Install, operate and maintain an iono-sphericheatingfacility(HF)ontheAre-cibo telescopewith technical specifica-tion established through consultationwiththeU.S.aeronomycommunity;
• Develop and fund the HF feed designand fabrication as a joint initiative be-tweenNAICandexperienceduniversityresearchers;
• Maintain, operate and enhance theunique 2.380 GHz planetary radar sys-tematArecibo in response tocommu-nity-generatedneeds.Asnotedinsec-tion10of thisAPRPPanear-termgoalis to assure that the required overhauloftheturbineelectricgeneratorcanbecompletedinthenextprogramyear.
• ServeasthemanagingorganizationforU.S. participation in the InternationalSquare Kilometer Array (SKA) project,thenextgenerationfacilityforradioas-tronomicalresearch;
• EstablishaProjectOfficeatNAICfortheU.S.SKATechnologyDevelopmentProj-ect(TDP)andprovidetheprojectman-agement for the TDP needed for thesuccessfulexecutionofallparticipatinguniversityeffortsontheTDP;
• Createaneffectiveoutreachstructuretofostergreater interestandinvolvementinsciencebyunderservedminoritypop-ulationsinPuertoRicoandthroughouttheU.S.Hispaniccommunity;
• Developprogramsthatenhancethere-search participation of undergraduatestudentsinresearchatNAIC;
• EnhanceNAICinvolvementinSpectrumManagement,internationally,nationallyandlocally;
• Organize community meetings to de-fine the scientific requirements andtechnical specifications for an incoher-ent scatter radar research facility tobebuiltattheArecibomagneticconjugate
pointinArgentina.
Noneoftheseobjectivescanbeachievedwithouteffective partnerships. In the case of the majorscientificinitiatives—ALFA,SKA,HF—thesepartner-shipsarewiththeU.S.and internationalscientificcommunities.Otherpartnerships,suchastheini-tiative to implement an interferometric capabilityat Arecibo, are with colleges and universities inPuertoRico.CornellUniversity,throughitsfacultyinvolvementinNAIC,isaneffectivepartnerinfos-teringthemulti-institutionalcollaborationsneededtopromoteresearchendeavors.Inparticular,theCornell faculty provide NAIC with an importantinterfacetotheU.S.university-basedscholarsandstudentsbecausetheywork inthesameenviron-ment and have the same needs as their peers atinstitutionselsewhere.Theyfacilitatepartnerships.Cornellprovidestheintellectualframeworktofos-terthegrowthofseveralofthesepartnerships.
11.2 Risk Factors Affecting Program Goals
The primary risk factors limiting NAIC ability toachieve its partnership goals are budget and thewidely-readrecommendationsintheNSF/ASTSe-niorReviewreport that refer toNAICasa facility“in transition” from a viable national research in-stitutiontooneslatedforclosure.Fosteringpart-nershipsisaninvestmentintrust.Ifonepotentialpartnerhastheimpressionthattheotherpotentialpartnercannotbetrustedtocarryouthisrespon-sibilities in the partnership, that partnership willnevergetofftheground.TheSeniorReviewrec-ommendationthatNAICbeclosed in2011badlyeroded the confidence of NAIC partners and po-tentialpartnersinthelong-termstabilityofNAICasanationalcenterwithwhichmajorprogramsmaybedevelopedandimplemented.
TheNAICbudgetisarelatedconcern.InSection2ofthisAPRPPweshowedtheNSFfundinghistoryofNAIC,andof theNSFDivisionofAstronomicalSciences(AST),forthedecadebeginningin1999.WereproducethatplotinFig.11.2.1.Intheeight-year period 2000-2007 in which the AST budgetdoubled,ASTfundingforNAICdeclinedsteadilyinreal terms,neveronce in thoseeightyearsmeet-ing the rate of inflation. These were the 8-yearsinwhichNAICtookfinancialresponsibilityfortwomajornewresearchprograms—theAreciboplane-taryradarprogram(formerlyfundedbyNASA),andtheALFAprogramof legacyskysurveys—bothofwhichrequireexpendituresofapproximately$1M
NAICAPRPP2007 97
annually.ThenetresultisthattheannualASTop-eratingbudgetfortheAreciboObservatory,about$10.5M,expressedasafractionofthereplacementcostoftheAreciboObservatory,>$250M,is<4.2%.Themanagementguideline fora research facilityisthatthisratioshouldbeabout10%.OtherASTnational centers operate on annual budgets thatareabout6%oftheObservatoryreplacementcost.NAICisbeingasked,annually,tooperateonfund-ingthatissignificantlylessthantheotherobserva-toriesandasaconsequenceNAIChasbeenforcedto implement cost-saving operational proceduresthatareunique.Thisisasignificantmanagementchallenge, especially so as it is one that is re-pre-sentedtoNAICeachandeveryyear!
ThespecificmanagementconcernstoAOoverthebudgetincludethefollowing:
• TheAOheadofelectronicsaskshowitis possible for NAIC to keep pace withadvancing technology with a shrinkingtechnical staffanddeclining instrumen-tationbudget.
• The AO head of computing asks howNAICcanaffordtheon-linedatastoragerequirements of the ALFA (especially
PALFA)legacyskysurveys.• All AO technical leaders ask how can
NAICretainitssuperbengineeringstaffmembersiftheengineerscannotbegiv-enintellectually-challengingdesign/con-struction projects and are instead onlygivenroutinemaintenancetasks.
• TheAOheadoftheplanetaryradarsys-temwouldlikeassurancethatiftheover-hauloftheturbineelectricgeneratorhastobepostponedbeyondPY2007owingtoa lackof the fundsnecessary for thejob (~$350k) that the overhaul can befundedinPY2008.
11.3 Management, Contractual, Financial and Technical Issues
In confronting the management, contractual, fi-nancial and technical issues that inevitably ariseintheoperationofaresearchfacilityofthesizeofNAIC,NAIChasaccess to theextensiveproblem-solvingresourcesthatareavailabletoitbyvirtueofitsbeingpartofCornellUniversity.CornellUniversityisoneofthecornerstonesofU.S.highereducationandresearch.Itisaprivate,en-dowed university and also the federal land-grant
Figure 11.2.1. FundinghistoryofNAICandNSF/ASTexpressedasacumulativepercentagechangefromFY1999.Projectionsbeyond2007arebasedonthePresidentialrequestforFY2008andtherecommenda-tionsoftheSeniorReview.
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institution of New York State. It is composed offourteenschoolsandcolleges—sevenundergradu-ate units and four graduate and professional in-stitutions in Ithaca, twomedical schoolsandpro-fessionalinstitutionsinNewYorkCity,andoneinQatar, in the middle east. The university owns,leases or uses approximately 18,000,000 squarefeet of classroom, laboratory, office, building andresidentialspace. Corporately,Cornell isabig in-stitution with an annual budget that exceeds $2billion.TheadministrativeservicesofCornellUni-versity—human resources, legal services, businessservices,etc.—functiontohandlethis$2billionperyearinstitution.Thisisthescaleoftheframeworkthat supports the $12 million per year institutionthat isNAIC. It isverysturdysupport. TheNAICbenefitsdirectlyand tangibly fromCornell’sman-agement;theNSFbenefitsindirectlyfromhavingasuccessfullymanagedresearchfacility.Thisformsthebasisforacooperativerelationshipthatbringssuccesstobothparties—awin-winpartnership.
Without question, the greatest benefit to NAICbeing part of Cornell University is the intellectualguidance the university faculty have brought tothemanagementoftheobservatoryfor40years.Inadditiontoprovidingtheinspirationfortheob-servatory, the faculty has fostered continued de-velopmentoftheAreciboresearchcapabilitiesbyprovidingconsistentandsteadyadvice.TheyhavealsoservedasaninterfacetotheU.S.researchcom-munitybothbyprovidingleadershipinintellectualpursuitsandinforgingeffectivemulti-institutionalcollaborations for research endeavors at Arecibo.TheCornellfacultycanbeaneffectiveinterfacetoUSuniversity-basedscholarsandstudentsbecausetheCornellfacultyworkinthesameenvironmentandhavethesameneedsastheirpeersatinstitu-tionselsewhere.TheNAICcommunityisenlargedand enriched by the involvement of the Cornellfacultyandtheirstudents.
Fromabusinessperspective,CornellbringstotheNAICanextensiveinfrastructureofcorporatesup-port services, including: payroll,accounting,pur-chasing,humanresources,legal,internalaudit,en-vironmenthealthandsafety,projectmanagement,andriskmanagement.Sincethesearecentralad-ministrativefunctionstheyarefundedmainlyfromthe University’s general budget, which includesfacilitiesandadministrativecostrecoveries.Thereare very few support services which the NAIC fi-nancesdirectlyfromNSFfunds(legalexpertise inPuertoRicoisonesuchexample).
AllNAICemployeesareemployeesofCornellUni-versity.Asaresult,theytooshareinthebenefitsof being part of a large institution. Among themost utilitarian of such benefits to the individualemployeesarehumanresourcesservices(counsel-ing, retirement planning, etc.) and computer ac-cesstotheuniversitylibraryservices.Thelatterisindispensabletothetechnicalstaffand,indeed,itisthisserviceprovidedbyCornellthatmakesitpos-sibleforNAICtomanageasophisticatedresearchfacilitythousandsofmilesfromIthacaandtocon-sidermanagingnewinitiativesthatcouldwellbelocatedevenfurtherremoved.
ByNAICbeingan integralpartofCornellUniver-sity,theresourcesoccasionallyneededinmanyar-eastomanageriskisavailable.
InitiatedinPY2006andcontinuingnowinPY2007,theCornellUniversityArchives,whichispartoftheCornell University Library System, has initiated aprojecttoestablishaformalNAIC/AreciboObser-vatoryArchive.Thisprojectincludes:
• Identifying Cornell offices with relevantarchivalmaterial;
• Working with the administrative staffwithin NAIC to develop a records andinformation management system toensure that records of enduring valuearecollected,organized,preservedandmadeaccessible;
• Identifying and contacting former staffmembers, directors, and other key per-sonnel who have relevant papers andcollections appropriate for transfer totheArchives;
• Transferring historically significant ma-terial to the Archives where it will behousedinasecure,temperatureandhu-miditycontrolledenvironment,enhanc-ing access for staff and researchers bycreatinganonlineguidetothematerial;and,
• IdentifyingexistingcollectionswithintheDivision ofRareandManuscriptCollec-tions thathavematerial relevant to thisprojectandlinkingthesesitestothenewNAIC/AreciboObservatoryArchive.
11.4 Requirements for Support of the Sci-entific Community
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GenerationoftheplanforNAICsupportofthesci-entificcommunityisinformedbytwoprincipalre-quirements.FirstistherecognitionthattheNAIC,asaNSF-fundednationalresearchcenter,supportsa multi-disciplinary program of research servingmainly the U.S. university community for whicheducation of the next generation of scholars is aprimaryresponsibility.Themulti-disciplinarychar-acterofNAICistruenowfortheAreciboObserva-torywhereresearchfacilitiesareprovidedforradioastronomy, radar probes of solar system objects,ionosphericradarstudies,andopticalstudiesoftheupperatmosphere.Theadditionofthemajornewinitiatives currently being pursued by NAIC, theSKAinparticular,is,potentially,amajornewobser-vatorythatwillfurtherincreasethemulti-disciplin-ary character of NAIC. They will also greatly en-hanceeducationalopportunitiesatNAIC.Second,is the point frequently highlighted in this APRPP,that the Cornell vision for NAIC has no provisionin it for NAIC to become a NSF facility that is solargeandso independent that it cancreatea re-searchstructure(facilities,instrumentsandpeople)withthemissionofdevelopingresearchinitiativesfor the community. Instead, the NAIC mission istodevelopresearch initiativeswiththecommuni-ty.Asaresearchuniversityitself,Cornellsharestheeducationalgoals,andunderstandsfirst-handtheconcerns,andneeds,oftheuniversitycommunityservedbyNAIC.
As noted in section 11.1 above, the motivatinggoal forNAIC is todeveloppartnershipswiththeU.S. academic research community toward com-mon goals. We recognize that a national centersuchasNAICisanaturalforumforpromotingre-search and education partnerships. On the larg-est scale, university-based scientists and studentshave access to all the research facilities of NAIC,and the NAIC support staff, without charge. Onan entire range of smaller scales, the NAIC facili-tatestheresearchandeducationinitiativesoftheuniversity community by providing technical andeducational services, technical designs, and man-agementleadershiptailoredtospecificcommunityneeds.Inreturn,communityresearchersbringin-struments, ideasandsoftwaretotheObservatoryandmakethemavailableforthebenefitofothers.Thismakesforthefoundationofasoundpartner-ship,eachpartysharingitsexpertisewiththeoth-ers. ProvisionofsufficientNSFfundingtoenableNAICtofacilitatesuchpartnershipsistheprimaryNAICrequirementforsupportoftheU.S.academicresearchcommunity.
Onamuchlargerscale,NAIChasbeenplayingaleadership role in organizing the U.S. communityto promote its interests in developing the futureof meter/centimeter-wavelength astronomy inthe U.S. In August 2006, NAIC lead a communi-ty-based workshop called “Building the Founda-tion for U.S. Astronomy at m/cm Wavelengths in2010 and Beyond”. The meeting was co-hostedbyNAIC,NRAOandtheU.S.SKAConsortiumwithmuch-appreciatedfinancialsupportfromNSF/AST.ThemeetingwasoneofaseriesdesignedtoleadtoathoughtfulpositionpaperforU.S.radioastron-omerstopresenttothenextdecadalsurvey.Thefinal report of this workshop, reproduced below,hasimportantimplicationsforthefutureofAOandother long-wavelengthU.S. facilities. Communityleadership isanessential role forNAIC;NAICwillorganize a follow up community meeting in thesecond half of calendar year 2007 to be held inWashington,D.C.
Building the Foundation for U.S. Astrono-my at m/cm Wavelengths in 2010 and Be-yond – A meeting held 3-4 August 2006 Tucson, AZ
Recommendations and Actions21August2006
The meeting succeeded in bringing together aninter-disciplinary cross section of the astronomycommunity interested in the future developmentofm/cmastronomyintheU.S.Adiscussionofsci-enceopportunitiesforwhichobservationsatlongwavelengthscanprovideuniquescientific insightprovided the starting point for the meeting. Thisdiscussionwasaidedbyreferencetothesetofkeyscience areas identified for the Square KilometreArray. These areas include topics in fundamentalphysics and cosmology (Epoch of Reionization,darkmatteranddarkenergy,gravityandpulsars,cosmicmagnetism),galaxyevolutionasprobedbyHIobservationsandobservationsofredshiftedCOemission, and the important Cradle of Life topics(protostellar and protoplanetary disks and youngstars, molecules and SETI). Additionally, contrib-utedtalksonmorerecentconceptualideasstimu-latedevenbroaderdiscussion.
Withinthesebroadsciencecategories,keyscienceobjectiveswere identifiedat themeetingby fourtopicalworkinggroups.Throughdiscussionofthe
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workinggroupreportsinameetingofthewhole,twospecifickeyprojectsofextremelybroadscien-tific interestwerehighlightedaspriorityopportu-nities for which m/cm observations are uniquelyrequired:
• Detection and imaging of HI emissionandabsorptionfromtheEoR;
• A massive sky survey for HI emissionfrom galaxies as a function of redshift. The goal of this “billion-galaxy” surveyto redshiftsof z=1.5orhigher is topa-rameterizethepropertiesofdarkenergyprimarily by studying the signature ofbaryonoscillations.Adeterminationofthecosmicevolutionofthegascontentin galaxies with unprecedented com-pletenessisalsoenabled.
Severalotherexcitingopportunitieswerediscussedandnotedasimportantdriversforfuturetelescopesandinstrumentationneeds,including:
• Large sky-area, unbiased searches forradio transient sources on time scalesrangingfromnanosecondstoyears;
• Large sky-area searches dedicated toidentifyingasmuchofthepulsarpopu-lation in the Milky Way as possible, upto ~20,000 pulsars. The primary goalsare: (a) to establish a large sample ofmillisecondpulsarsthatcanbeusedasalong-termtimingarrayforthedetectionofthenano-Hertzgravitywaves,whichresult fromcosmic stringsand fromsu-permassive black-hole mergers; (b) todiscoverandconductprecisetimingob-servations of those rare, compact, rela-tivisticbinarypulsars(withneutronstarandblack-holecompanions),whichwillallow us to probe gravity over a widerange of environmental conditions, ex-tendingtothestronggravityregimeoflines-of-sight that graze the event hori-zonoftheblackhole;(c)todiscoverandconduct precise timing observations ofpulsarsorbitingSgrA*inordertoprobespace-time close to a rotating, massive,blackhole.
• Imagingprotostellarandprotoplanetarydisksattheearlieststagesofformation,andedge-onsystemsatallevolutionarystages, where the disks are opaque atmillimeterwavelengthsandatallshort-
erwavelengthsowingtodustobscura-tion.
• Imaginglower-ordermolecularlinetran-sitionsfromthefirstgalaxies.ThelowerorderCO transitionsprovide theclean-est measure of the total molecular gasmass—the fuel for galaxy formation, aswellasthebestmethodfordetermininggalaxy dynamics, and hence total(gravitating) mass. Further, cm-wavetelescopes are the most appropriateforstudyingemissionfromhighdipole-moment molecules, such as HCN andHCO+, in the first galaxies, due to thelargecritical densities required forexci-tation.Thesemoleculesarethebesttrac-ersofdensegasdirectlyassociatedwithstarformation.
• Large area polometric sky surveys tostudycosmicmagnetisminastrophysicalenvironmentsatallepochs.
Thescienceareasmapintoobservationalopportu-nities throughout the250:1 rangeof frequencies(0.1 to 25 GHz) that comprise the m/cm wave-lengthspectralband.SeveralWorkshopspeakershighlighted the fact that covering this enormousfrequency range necessarily demands that wethink in terms of multiple technical solutions. Asaspecificexample,anarrayof inexpensivedipoleantennas was agreed to be an optimal technicalsolution forconstructingthevery largecollectingareaneededat frequenciesbelow~300MHz forimaging EoR/HI in emission and absorption. Athigherfrequencies,from~300MHzto25GHz,anarray(orarrays)ofparabolicantennasappearstobetheoptimalwaytocoverthenearly100:1broadspectralbandwidth.
Thediscussiononhow to realize thekey scienceopportunities for theU.S.communitywasframedaroundthreespectralregions.
Low-frequency band, 100 – 300 MHz. Theen-thusiasticsupportfortheEoR/HIprojectasa“mustdo”projectwasconsideredintwophases.Thefirstphaseisdedicatedtodetectionofthephenomenonandcharacterizationofitssignature.Thisphase,itwas agreed, is best done by means of the manyexperiments currently underway (LOFAR, MWA,PAPER, 21CMA). The second phase, after detec-tion,wouldbededicatedtoimagingEoR/HIemis-sionandabsorptionoveraverylargeskyarea.Thiswould requireanarray ofmuch larger collecting
NAICAPRPP2007 101
area,andonewithhigher resolution, than thoseplannedforthepathfinderexperiments.Thearraymust be one that is optimized for surface bright-nesssensitivity. Itmustbe locatedonasitewiththelowestpossibleRFIcontamination. Currently,anEoRarrayisstillconsideredtobepartoftheSKAproject because EoR imaging science is expectedto require thesquarekilometerofcollectingareaand because it isdirectly germane to thecosmo-logicalhistoryofatomichydrogen,anothermajoremphasis of the SKA. However, technology forEoRsciencecanbedevelopedmuchmorequicklythanfortherestoftheSKAfrequencyrange.Forthisreason,theworkshopparticipantsconsidereditappropriatethatEoRarraysbeconstructedinde-pendently.GivenstronginterestandactivityintheU.S.,a roadmap forEoRscienceshouldbedevel-oped forpresentation to thenextdecadal surveythatoutlinesadecisiontreefordecidingwhetheralargerarrayneedstobebuiltinthe2010-2020de-cade,andifso,whatarethestepstoitsrealization.Theroadmapshouldbedevelopedincooperationwithourinternationalcolleagueswhoareworkingon EoR experimental arrays such as LOFAR andMWA.
Mid-frequency band, 300 MHz – 3 GHz. Anar-raythatcoversthemid-frequencybandisofgreatinterestparticularlyforthelarge-areasurveyofHIemissionfromgalaxiesatredshiftsto1.5,orhigh-er.Inaddition,thisbandappearstobeextremelypromisingasalargeradiosynopticsurveytelescope(LRSST) that would provide a powerful probe ofthetransientradiouniverse. LRSSTwoulddeliverlargesamplesfromradio-onlypopulationsaswellassynergisticcapabilitiestotheopticalLSSTandtogravitationalwaveobservatories. Finally, twoofthe key science areas for the SKA, gravity studieswith pulsars and cosmic magnetism, are also en-abledwiththeextensionofthisbandbeyondthe1.4GHzrestfrequencyofHItoabout3GHz.Theinternational SKA project has also focused majoremphasisontheHIredshiftsurvey,andhereagainitisintheU.S.interesttoworkwiththeSKAprojecttoconstructaroadmap,includingdefinitionoftheU.S. implementation role, leading to this capabil-ity.TheworkplanfortheUSTechnologyDevelop-mentProject(TDP)fortheSKAwillincludeprojectsthatarerelevanttothisfrequencyrange.
High-frequency band, 3 GHz to 25 GHz.Fre-quenciesabove3GHzareofgreatinterestforusingpulsarstoprobethemetricaroundSgrA*,formap-pingGalacticforegroundsrelevanttodetectionof
CMBpolarization,forredshiftedlineemissionfromCO, HCN and HCO+, forastrometricobservationsofredshiftedH2Omasers,andfor“CradleofLife”enterprises.Thereisclearinterestinreaching25GHz(orevenhigher,ifaffordable)forthepurposeofunderstandingprotoplanetaryanddebrisdisksthat are too dense to probe with ALMA. Long-baselinecapability(1000sofkm)isessentialforim-agingthedetailsofdisks (andformakingmoviesofdisksundergoingplanetformationoveraperiodofmanyyears),andofthestellarblackholesandneutronstarsthatrevealthesameenergycollima-tionandjetflowsthataresoubiquitousinquasars.Theradioastrometricprecisionof10microarcsecwill rival theaccuracy of future space-basedopti-caltelescopesandallowustoobtainfundamentalparametersofstellarmassesanddistances.Inaddi-tion,relativeastrometricmeasurementsofextraga-lacticwatermegamasersmayleadtovaluesoftheHubble constant more accurate than 3%, provid-ingacriticalconstraintontheequationofstateofdarkenergy.
The SKA technical plans for research capabilityat frequencies > 3 GHz are still being developed.However, high frequency technical developmentisaparticularstrengthoftheU.S.communityow-ingtoworkbeingdoneforALMA,EVLA,ATAandthe DSN array. There are many examples in theU.Sof innovationanddevelopmentunderwayorplanned with a solid focus on reducing the costofreceiving,detectingandprocessingcosmicsig-nalsatfrequencies>3GHz.Forthisreason,itwasagreed that this band was the best of the threeimportant wavebands for the U.S. to take a lead-ingrole.TDPworkforthisfrequencybandwouldbuild upon the existing U.S. technical and scien-tificfoundationandfocusonmaximizingA/Tasafunctionoffrequencyforafixedcostbudget.Theimplementationroadmapforthesecapabilitieswillbe developed based on the achievements of theTDP,again incloseconsultationwiththe interna-tionalSKAproject.AnimportantquestionfortheU.S.community iswhetherthekeyscienceat fre-quencies>3GHzrequiresanew~$1BtelescopeorwhetherexistingU.S.facilities,augmentedwithadditionalcollectionarea,isasuitablealternative.
Recommendations:
1. EncouragestrongNSFsupportforEoR/HIpathfinder experiments such as that cur-rently being provided to MWA and otherinitiatives. The science is extremely com-
102 NAICAPRPP2007
pelling,andvital, tostudiesofthephysicsoftheearlyuniverse.
2. Encourage theU.S. representatives to theInternational SKA Steering Committee(ISSC)topromotedevelopmentofaroad-mapforEoR/HIscience. Theplanshouldinclude a meaningful participatory andcontributoryroleforU.S.researchersandarealisticassessmentoftheU.S.timescaleformajorfinancialcommitment.
3. Encourage theU.S. representatives to theISSC to promote the development of aroadmapleadingtoanarrayoptimizedfora very large-scale survey of HI in galaxiestoz=1.5(orhigherredshift)andforsurveysfor transients, pulsars, and Faraday rota-tion.TheplanshouldincludeameaningfulparticipatoryandcontributoryroleforU.S.researchers and a realistic assessment oftheU.S.timescaleformajorfinancialcom-mitment.
4. Develop the scope of work for the TDPwithin the U.S. community such that theTDP supports the role agreed for U.S. in-volvement in item 3 without duplicationofeffortsunderwaybyotherSKAinterna-tionalgroups.
5. DeveloparoadmapforactivitieswithintheTDP that builds on existing capabilities intheU.S.at frequencies>3GHz, includingcapabilities at Arecibo, ATA, EVLA, VLBA,andGBT,thatcanbeusedtoinformplan-ningbytheinternationalSKAproject.Theroadmapplanning shouldbedone in co-operationwiththeinternationalSKAproj-ect.
Action Items:
1. Identify a work plan for the NSF-fundedTDP that takes into account activities tak-ingplacewithinthenationalcenters(NAICand NRAO), and at U.S. universities andinstitutes,followingtherecommendationsnotedabove.
2. SetupUSWorkingGroupson:
• EoR (to establish an EoR/HI road-map for defining the context andplanfora largetelescopetoimagetheEoR/HI.)
• Precision astrometry that exploitsthecapabilityofm/cmastronomyto
achieve exceptionallyhighangularresolutiononlongbaselines.
• Dark Energy and the Radio LSST. Thetaskistooutlineindetailthesci-entific and technical requirementsfor the HI sky survey extending tohighredshifts,alongwithanallskyFaraday rotation survey, a Galacticcensus of pulsars, and a synopticsurveyofthetransientradiosky.
• Optimization of pulsar timing forprobing Sgr A* and for use of mil-lisecond pulsars as gravitationalwavedetectors.
• Definition of the requirements forimaging nearby protoplanetarydisks and for detecting redshiftedmolecular lines in the early uni-verse.
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12. Budget Report
AST ATM REU TotalSenior Personnel 340,000 90,000 430,000 Other Personnel
Post Docs/RAs 1,170,000 355,500 1,525,500 Other Prof 1,550,000 220,000 1,770,000 Graduate Students 20,000 - 20,000 Undergrad Students 7,000 - 7,000 Secretarial-Clerical 240,940 10,000 250,940 Other 1,275,000 115,000 1,390,000
Total Personnel 4,602,940 790,500 5,393,440 Fringe Benefits 1,518,970 260,865 1,779,835 Total Salaries, Wages & Benefits 6,121,910 1,051,365 7,173,275
Equipment/Capital 149,030 10,000 159,030
Travel - - Domestic 150,000 55,000 205,000 Foreign 40,000 5,000 45,000
Participant Support CostsStipends - - 39,600 39,600 Travel 16,000 - 20,800 36,800 Subsistence 6,000 - 550 6,550 Other 3,000 - 11,000 14,000
Total Participant Support Costs 25,000 - 71,950 96,950
Other Direct Costs - - Materials and Supplies 599,060 110,000 709,060 Pub/Doc/Diss 30,000 15,000 45,000 Consultant Services 20,000 - 20,000 Computer Services 100,000 15,000 115,000 Subawards 25,000 120,000 145,000 Other 1,800,000 248,635 2,048,635
Total Other Direct Costs 2,574,060 508,635 3,082,695
Total Direct Costs 9,060,000 1,630,000 71,950 10,761,950
Indirect Costs 1,400,000 170,000 - 1,570,000
Total Direct and Indirect Costs 10,460,000* 1,800,000 $71,950 1,871,950
* Note: This AST budget for new funds does not include additional funds to be provided by the NSF for the telescope painting
project, estimated at ~$2.9M.
2007 Funding RequestAll Programs
104 NAICAPRPP2007
Budget Report continued
PY 2007 Budget Justification
New NSF Funds (all programs)
• Salaries and WagesFundsarebudgetedasdetailedontheeffortdistributionchart,Section8.Inadditiontobasesalaries,fundsareprovidedforovertime,shiftdifferential,4%meritincreases,andthemandatedPuertoRicanChristmasbonus.
• Fringe BenefitsThefringebenefitrateappliedhasbeenapprovedbytheDepartmentofHealthandHumanServicesforapplicationtofederallysponsoredprograms.Arateof33%hasbeenappliedfromOctober2006throughSeptember2007forallbenefits-eligibleemployees.
• Participant Support CostsREUfundsrepresent$71,950.AdditionalASTfunds($25K)arebudgetedforaworkshop(topicTBD)tobehostedattheAreciboObservatory.
• Equipment/CapitalThefollowingisabreakdownoftheestimatedexpendituresintheASTequipment/capitalbudgetline: InstrumentationDevelopment $19,030 S-BandRadarSystem 50,000 FocalPhaseArray 80,000 TOTAL 149,030
Atthistime,noindividualequipmentitemsinexcessof$25KareplannedfortheATMprogram.
• Indirect CostsTherateshavebeenapprovedbytheDepartmentofHealthandHumanServicesforapplicationtospon-soredprograms.TheIDChasbeenestimatedasfollows:
AST MTDC IDC rate IDC AO 5,800,000 11% 640,000 HQ 1,300,000 58/59% 760,000 Total 7,100,000 1,400,000
ATM MTDC IDC rate IDC
AO 1,360,000 11% 149,700 HQ 35,000 58/59% 20,300 Total 1,395,000 170,000
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Budget Report continued
PY 2006 Subagreements
AST AmmannandWhitneySubcontract
ATM
PennStateUniversity NorthwestResearchAssociates UniversityofColorado PennStateUniversity
Carryover Funds
FundsremainingatthecloseofPY2006total$3.3Mandareallocatedasfollows:
PlatformPainting 2,000,000 ALFASpectrometers 500,000 MaintenanceTrailerInstallation 250,000 MiscCommitments 250,000 TurbineMaintenanceandRepair 135,000 InstrumentationDevelopment 80,000 PayrollTimekeepingUpgrade 50,000 TertiaryDriveSystemUpgrade 35,000
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PY 2006 Final Financial ReportCooperative Agreement #9809484/0431904
AST ATM REU Total ExpensesA Senior Personnel 305,904 29,930 335,834B Other Personnel
Post Docs/Research Assoc 1,040,776 427,514 1,468,290Other Professionals 1,946,361 402,361 2,348,722Graduate Students 19,502 0 19,502Undergraduate Students 6,592 1,000 7,592Secretarial-Clerical 283,675 12,600 296,275Other 1,679,065 143,903 1,822,968Total Personnel (A+B) 5,281,875 1,017,308 6,299,183
C Fringe Benefits 1,641,722 315,134 1,956,856Total Salaries, Wages & Benefits 6,923,597 1,332,442 8,256,039
D Equipment/Capital Construct. 499,757 -14,290 485,467E Travel
Travel-domestic 201,805 74,425 276,230Travel-foreign 48,733 4,328 53,061
F Participant Support CostsStipends 0 0 38,035 38,035Travel 863 18,284 10,749 29,896Subsistence -3,918 0 686 -3,232Other 5,943 3,848 14,324 24,115
G Other Direct CostsMaterials and Supplies 872,831 152,439 1,025,270Pub/Doc/Diss 37,948 16,496 54,444Consultant Services 15,559 0 15,559Subawards 124,121 71,224 195,345Computer Services 58,165 50,540 108,705Other 944,630 143,422 1,088,052Total Other Direct Costs 2,053,254 434,121 0 2,487,375
H Total Directs Costs (A - G) 9,730,034 1,853,158 63,794 11,646,986I Indirect Costs 1,367,871 194,433 1,562,304J Total Direct and Indirect 11,097,905 2,047,591 63,794 13,209,290
Expenses by SSOW/CSA
Budget Report continued
NAICAPRPP2007 107
APPENDIX A:
2007 COMMITTEES
NAIC Visiting Committee (VC):
PhilipDiamond,JodrellBankObservatory DavidFritts,ColoradoResearchAssocatesdivision/ NorthwestResearchAssociates GillianKnapp,PrincetonUniversity RichardKron,UniversityofChicago RobertSchunk,UtahStateUniversity RichardSimpson,StanfordUniversity RussTaylor,UniversityofCalgary PaulVandenBout,NRAO
Arecibo Users & Scientific Advisory Committee (AUSAC):
FrankDjuth,GeospaceResearch,Inc. SheperdDoeleman,HaystackObservatory LyleHoffman,LafayetteCollege FarzadKamalabadi,UniversityofIllinois AmyLovell,AgnesScottCollege DavidNice,BrynMawrCollege MaryPutman,UniversityofMichigan ScottRansom,NRAO LiesevanZee,UniversityofIndiana
Cornell-NAIC Oversight Committee (CNOC):
JamesAlexander,DepartmentofPhysics JosephBurns,DepartmentofAstronomy JamesCordes(Chair),DepartmentofAstronomy DonaldFarley,SchoolofElectricalEngineering JosephVeverka,DepartmentofAstronomy