Special Session 2
Astronomy in Antarctica
and
Future Visions for Antarctic Astronomy
UNSW
18th July 2003
Special Session 2Astronomy in AntarcticaandFuture Visions for Antarctic Astronomy |
UNSW |
|
18th July 2003 |
||
IAU01205 THE POTENTIAL FOR ASTRONOMY IN ANTARCTICA
Burton Michael G
University of New South Wales
The extremely dry, cold and tenuous air of the Antarctic plateau makes it the
premier site on the earth for a wide range of astronomical observations, especially
at infrared and millimetre
wavelengths. Background sky emission is one to two order of magnitudes less
in intensity and new windows in the atmosphere are opened for viewing through.
The high geomagnetic latitudes also make it particularly suitable for measurement
of cosmic ray fluxes, especially at low energy. The vast quantities of pure,
transparent ice provide for unparalled conditions for the measurement of neutrino
fluxes. This talk will overview the potential of Antarctica for a wide range
of astronomical observations, conditions that surpass any other ground- based
location in most circumstances. It will be an introductory lecture to the field,
designed for the non-specialist in Antarctic astronomy.
IAU02293 PHOTON ASTRONOMY FROM ANTARCTICA
Jackson Jim
University of ChicagoBoston University
Three unique conditions beneficial to astronomy arise in Antarctica: extreme
cold, dry air, and a stable atmosphere. Recent astronomical experiments in Antarctica
exploit these conditions to perform observations that cannot be done from temperate
sites. DASI imaged anisotropies in the Cosmic Microwave Background and made
the first detection of its
polarization. The Viper telescope used the ACBAR instrument to measure arcmin
scale fluctuations in the Microwave Background. The SPARO instrument, also using
VIPER, made sensitive, sub-mm polarization measurements of dust in the Galactic
Center region. The AST/RO telescope continues to investigate atomic carbon and
mid-J CO lines toward molecular clouds in the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds.
Finally, the SPIREX telescope made very sensitive wide-field images of star
forming regions in the thermal infrared.
IAU02270 PARTICLE ASTRONOMY FROM ANTARCTICA
Hulth Per Olof
Stockholm University
Antarctica offers unique opportunities for astroparticle physics. The ice covering the continent is very transparent allowing for efficient detection of Cherenkov light from neutrino induced interactions in this medium. The AMANDA telescope has been built deep in the ice sheet at the South Pole and is searching for high energy cosmic neutrinos. In the near future the one cubic kilometer neutrino telescope IceCube will start to be constructed at the same site. The cosmic ray air shower detector SPASE has been built at the surface above AMANDA giving an unique possibility to correlate cosmic ray and muon detection. Several ballon-borne experiments have studied the influx of cosmic ray particles using the very long duration flights possible at Antarctica. A new ballon-born experiment, ANITA, will study the highest energy neutrinos using a large fraction of the Antarctica ice sheet as target. This review will discuss the cosmic ray and neutrino experiments going on at Antarctica as well as the plans for the future.
IAU01232 THE 23 NOVEMBER 2003 TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE
IN ANTARCTICA
Pasachoff Jay M
Williams College
The total solar eclipse of 23 November 2003 will be visible only from Antarctica. The path of totality extends from Mirny at 93¡E to the Maitri Novolazarevskaya 12¡E. Totality lasts from 1 minute 54 seconds at Mirny with the Sun at an altitude of 14¡, to a maximum of 1 minute 57 seconds at greatest eclipse, halfway in toward Vostok, with the Sun at an altitude of 18¡, to 1 minute 20 s with the Sun 2¡ above the horizon where the path leaves the coast near Maitri. The rest of Antarctica will have only a partial eclipse, with the Sun's diameter 77% covered at McMurdo and 65¡ covered at the tip near South America. An icebreaker passenger ship is planning a 28-day voyage and airplanes are being arranged for observation. Scientific observations will include electronic imaging of the corona to compare with simultaneous space observations of the Sun. Links to maps and other items of coordination can be found at www.eclipses.info and www.totalsolareclipse.net, the sites of the IAU Program Group on Public Education at the Time of Eclipses and of the IAU Working Group on Eclipses, respectively. The NASA site with maps and other information is at http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/TSE2003/TSE2003.html.
IAU01451 SITE TESTING RESULTS AND AUTOMATION
Ashley Michael M
University of New South Wales
- brief summary of the AASTO program
- key points from the site testing results at South Pole
- very brief introduction to ICECAM and the AASTINO
- key results from ICECAM and the AASTINO instruments
- next year's instrument plans at South Pole and Dome C,
including a brief mention of Doug Caldwell's experiment
IAU02502 MM SITE TESTING RESULTS AND PLANS
Luca Valenziano
university of roma tre
Results relative to three campaigns at Dome Concordia, aimed to
measure the millimetric sky noise, are presented. The atmospheric noise during
summer seems to be definitely lower with respect to what measured with the same
instrumentation in other geographical locations. We will illustrate the instruments
used along with the scientific results obtained. Plans for the deployment of
a submillimetric telescope in the 3 meter class at Dome Concordia ( COCHISE:
Cosmological Observations at Concordia with High-sensitivity Instrument for
Source Extraction) will be also reported.
IAU01331 INFRARED OBSERVATIONS IN ANTARCTICA: THE
SPIREX PROJECT
Rathborne Jill
UNSW
The 60cm SPIREX telescope, located at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, was the first prototype system for a thermal IR imager in Antarctica. Observations over two winter seasons achieved remarkably high resolution, wide field images in the wavelength range 3--5um across many star forming complexes. These images in particular, reveal the locations of photodissociation regions (PDRs) and pinpoint young objects through their high L-band fluxes. This talk will give a briefly review of the SPIREX project and present a summary of observational results. The SPIREX project was a collaboration between the Center for Astrophysical Research in Antarctica (CARA), the National Optical Astronomy Observatories (NOAO) and the Joint Australian Centre for Astrophysical Research in Antarctica (JACARA).
IAU01301 RESULTS FROM THE AST/RO SURVEY OF THE GALACTIC
CENTER REGION
Stark Antony A
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
The Antarctic Submillimeter Telescope and Remote Observatory (AST/RO) is surveying the inner Milky Way in the J = 7-6 and J = 4-3 transitions of CO and the ground-state fine structure transitions of C I. So far, over 24,000 positions have been observed, covering the inner 3 degrees of the Galaxy. CO J = 4-3 emission is found to be approximately coextensive with low-J CO emission, while CO J = 7-6 is more spatially confined. C I emission is more diffuse than even CO J = 1-0. Analysing these data in conjunction with earlier, lower frequency data in a Large Velocity Gradient model results in kinetic temperature and density maps of the inner 200 pc. Kinetic temperature has relatively high values (70 K) at cloud edges, and declines to 20 K in the interiors. Typical pressure in dense Galactic Center gas is n T ~ 2e5 K cm^-3. Martin Christopher L, Walsh Wilfred M, Xiao Kecheng , Lane Adair P, Walker Christopher K, Stutzki Juergen
IAU01975 SUBMILLIMETER OPACITY AND STABILITY AT
THE SOUTH POLE.
Peterson Jeffrey
Carnegie Mellon University
Data on the sub-millimeter opacity, and the stability of opacity at the South Pole will be presented. Comparisons to Mauna Kea and Llano de Chajnantor will be made. Data from all three sites over four years will be discussed. Radford Simon
IAU02440 BALLOON BORNE CMBR RESULTS FROM ANTARCTICA
de Bernardis Paolo
Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita' La Sapienza
The long duration flights of stratospheric balloons around Antarctica provide a nice opportunity to map the Cosmic Microwave Background, with good sky and spectral coverage, and affordable cost. After a short review of the different experiments of this kind, we focus on the results of the BOOMERanG experiment and on its future evolution, in the framework on the post-WMAP era of CMB measurements. BOOMERanG has mapped about 4% of the sky with a resolution of 10-20 arcmin at 90, 150, 240 and 410 GHz in the 1998 flight. A smaller region was mapped at 150, 240 and 350 GHz in the 2003 flight with polarization sensitive detectors. BOOMERanG team
IAU02242 DASI AND FUTURE ICE BASED CMB OBSERVATIONS
Carlstrom John
University of Chicago
The Degree Angular Scale Interferometer (DASI) recently obtained the first detection of the polarization of Cosmic Microwave Background using data from 270 days of dedicated observations during its second and third seasons at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole research station. The observed polarization is found to have an amplitude and spatial pattern consistent with predictions, offering a validation of the standard theoretical framework of CMB physics and lending confidence to the values of cosmological parameters that have been derived from CMB measurements. The results from DASI and ACBAR have proven that the South Pole is an exceptional site for conducting sensitive CMB measurements. In addition to presenting the DASI results, this talk will briefly review planned CMB experiments to be deployed to the South Pole. Kovak John E, Leitch Erik M, Pryke Clem , Halverson Nils , Holzapfel William
IAU02329 ANTARCTIC COSMIC RAY ASTRONOMY
Duldig Marc
Australian Antarctic Division
Cosmic ray observations related to Antarctica commenced in the austral summer
of 1947-48 from sub-Antarctic Heard and Macquarie Islands and from the HMAS
Wyatt Earp. Muon telescope observations from Mawson station, Antarctica, commenced
in 1955. The International Geophysical Year was the impetus for the installation
of a number of neutron monitors around Antarctica, observing the lowest energy
cosmic rays
accessible by ground based instruments. In 1971 a new observatory was built
at Mawson including the only underground muon telescope system at polar latitudes
in either hemisphere. In the 1980s the South Pole Air Shower Experiment (SPASE)
opened the highest energy cosmic ray window over Antarctica and this was followed
by the in-ice neutrino experiment AMANDA. Over more than half a century, cosmic
ray astronomy has been undertaken from Antarctica and its surrounding regions
and these observations have been critical to our growing understanding of nearby
astrophysical structures. For example the Parker spiral magnetic field of the
sun was confirmed through Mawson observations of a Solar flare induced Ground
Level Enahncement in 1960, long before spacecraft were able to directly observe
the interplanetary magnetic field. A summary of the Antarctic
instrumental developments and the scientific advances that resulted will be
presented.
IAU01207 PROSPECTS FOR ANTARCTIC BALLOON-BORNE NEUTRINO
ASTRONOMY
Halzen Francis (for Peter Gorham)
Dept. of Physics, University of Hawaii at Manoa
The recent confirmation of the Askaryan process--coherent radio
Cherenkov radiation from high energy particle interactions--has given strong
validation for several new initiatives in high energy neutrino astronomy. One
of the most intriguing possibilities is that of using long-duration balloons
to synoptically monitor an enormous volume of Antarctic ice, more than 1M cubic
km, for evidence of neutrino interactions in the EeV range, due to the so-called
GZK neutrinos. GZK neutrinos, named from the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin process
by which ultra-high energy cosmic rays lose energy on 10 Mpc scales, are among
the most certain of cosmic neutrino fluxes, and will carry crucial information
in resolving the question of the origin of the highest energy cosmic rays. The
Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA), as NASA LDB mission scheduled
for launch in 2006, may be the first neutrino telescope to glimpse this flux,
by virtue of the huge
interaction volume that it can sample
IAU02075 SOUTH POLE ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY: RESEARCH
ACTIVITIES
Papitashvili Vladimir
Office of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation
The recognition that low temperatures would result in very low level of water
vapor in the atmosphere made Antarctica an ideal place for ground-based astrophysical
observations. In 1991, NSF established the Center for Astrophysical Research
in Antarctica, which produced spectacular results over its decade-long lifetime.
An 8-m radio telescope was funded recently and become operational in 2007. Another
funded project is a small telescope aiming on the background imaging of cosmic
extragalactic polarization to test experimentally inflation of the Universe.
The community is also considering proposing a 2-m infrared telescope. The South
Pole also houses the ice-based detector array AMANDA, which captures cosmic
neutrinos carrying information
about violent cosmic events at the edges of the Universe or from black holes.
This facility will be soon expanded to the cubic-kilometer 3-D array called
IceCube, setting the neutrino astronomy to a cutting-edge science level. The
South Pole observations of acoustic waves in the SunÕs atmosphere allow
sounding of solar interiors, establishing a new field of helioseismology. In
addition, USAP runs the joint NSF/NASA program on the long-duration balloons,
launched from McMurdo to circumnavigate Antarctica in few weeks. Currently NASA
tests an ultra-long duration balloon capable of carrying payloads on high-altitude
100-day missions. Peacock Dennis
IAU02377 CONCORDIA STATION AT DOME-C: SITE FOR ASTRONOMICAL
RESEARCH.
Candidi Maurizio - IFSI/CNR
Progress made in the construction of station CONCORDIA at Dome-C in the past two years is such that the official opening for winter-over operation is now set to early 2004. The advances made in construction and testing, the overall plan for operation, the logistic facilities and methods will be described; options for french-italian bilateral, for european and international multilateral cooperation, as provided by the Steering Committee will be detailed. Possible instrumentation to be installed and relevant proposals for scientific programmes will be outlined. A general overview of the structure and programs of SCAR (the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research of ICSU) will be presented, with special attention to the role of astronomical research.Ferrari Attilio
IAU02181 THE SOUTH POLE EXOPLANET TRANSIT SEARCH
Caldwell Douglas A
SETI Institute
The unique conditions and location of the South Pole make it the best place on Earth to detect transiting short-period extrasolar planets. The long winter night, constant star elevation, high altitude, and dark sky all combine to make the expected detection efficiency almost a factor of three higher than for a comparable survey at a mid-latitude site. We have constructed an automated transit photometry system for over-winter deployment at the South Pole. The photometer uses a large-format CCD and a fast f/1.5 300 mm focal length lens to give a seven degree field-of-view. The photometer will be mounted on Mt. Stromlo Observatory's G-mount, which has been operating successfully at the South Pole for several seasons. The system will operate for two winter seasons. It will monitor ~10,000 stars from V=9 to 13 magnitude continuously for 6 weeks with the goal to observe two fields per dark season. We expect to detect 10 to 15 transiting extrasolar planets in two years of observations.Witteborn Fred C, Showen Robert L, Ninkov Zoran , Martin Kevin R, Doyle Laurance R, Borucki William J
French astronomy at dome C
Eric Fossat
As the Concordia station construction is now nearly finished, the french astronomical community has finally started to raise its motivation for this unique site. Beyond the site qualification at optical wavelength, that is now under deployment, Asterseismology will obviously take advantage of the very long night with an expected reduced scintillation. But not only. The other obvious fields to be developed there, at IR and submm wavelentgths, like deep survey, IR spectroscopy in various bands, and also the very high resolution and high contrast imaging that will benefit of the unique seeing parameters are now also attracting several french groups. Several international projects are under construction, at the european scale first, and also much broader. I will briefly scan the July 2003 status of these projects.
IAU02240 THE 8M SOUTH POLE TELESCOPE
Carlstrom John E
University of Chicago
A new 8 meter diameter telescope is being constructed for deployment at the
NSF South Pole research station. The telescope is designed for conducting large
area surveys with unprecedented sensitivity to low surface brightness emission
such as primary and secondary CMB anisotropy. To achieve the highest sensitivity,
the telescope design employs an off-axis primary with a 10m clear aperture.
The central 8m of this aperture and the associated optics will have a combine
surface accuracy of better then 20 microns to allow precision operation
through all the submillimeter atmospheric windows. The telescope will also be
surrounded with a large reflecting ground screen to reduce contamination from
the ground and local interference. The telescope will first be outfitted with
a 1000 element bolometer array to conduct a survey over a few thousand degrees
for galaxy clusters through their Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect. The survey should
find many thousands of clusters with a mass selection criteria that is remarkably
uniform with redshift; all clusters above 3 x 10{14} solar masses will be found
at all redshifts. Armed with redshifts obtained from optical/IR follow-up, the
survey yields should allow tight constraints to be placed on the equation of
state of the dark energy. The SPT Collaboration
IAU02338 IRAIT: A FACILITY FOR IR ASTRONOMY AT DOME
C
Tosti Gino
Department of Physics University of Perugia
We present the status of IRAIT (Italian Robotic Antarctic InfraredTelescope)
and the plans for its forthcoming installation at the Antarctic base of Dome
C. After a short description of the telescope itself, and of the auxiliary equipment
for its transportation and quick setup in Antarctica, we review the foreseen
focal plane instrumentation, including a near infrared image-spectrometer and
a mid infrared camera. Recent developments of the collaboration in Europe, aimed
at upgrading the project to a really international effort, are described and
the role of French and Spanish teams in the new scheme are outlined. Finally,
some key projects that should especially benefit from a permanent in infrared
facility in Antarctica are illustrated,in the fields of stellar and extragalactic
physics.
Busso Maurizio
IAU02469 NEUTRINO ASTRONOMY: FROM AMANDA TO ICECUBE
Halzen Francis
University of Wisconsin, Department of Physics
The case for neutrino astronomy has been made since the 1950's by pioneers who realized that, of all high-energy particles, only neutrinos can directly convey astrophysical information from the edge of the Universe and from deep inside its most cataclysmic high-energy regions near black holes. With the Antarctic Muon And Neutrino Detector Array (AMANDA), we have performed the first scans of the sky using neutrinos of TeV-energy and above as cosmic messengers. Most importantly, by observing neutrinos produced by cosmic rays in the Earth's atmosphere, we presented a proof of concept for an expandable technology with which to build the ultimate kilometer-scale neutrino observatory, IceCube, now under construction.
IAU02044 BEYOND DOME C
Storey John W
University of New South Wales
Characterising the observing conditions at the very best locations on the Antarctic Plateau is an essential first step towards the construction of major astronomical facilities there. We describe the AASTINO, a self-contained fully autonomous site-testing platform that is curently deployed to Dome C, and discuss the steps needed to extend its operation to more remote sites such as Dome A. The implications of these studies for the planning of future large telescopes---such as the Douglas Mawson Telescope, large sub-millimetre faciites, and infrared interferometers---will also be presented. Ashley Michael C, Burton Michael G
| Return to Top |  |
Contact Details |
| Last updated: 3/11/2003 | E-mail: sps2@phys.unsw.edu.au | |
| Created and maintained by Steven Longmore | ||