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CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science


www.csiro.au





ATNF News


Issue No. 73, October 2012


ISSN 1323-6326


CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science - Undertaking world-leading astronomical
research


and operator of the Australia Telescope National Facility.





[pic]









Editorial


Welcome to the October 2012 edition of ATNF News. It has been a
particularly busy period since the last edition, from the announcement of
the site of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) in May and the successful
landing of the Mars Science Laboratory in August, to the triennial IAU
General Assembly in September and the opening of the Australian SKA
Pathfinder (ASKAP) and Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO) in early
October.


We start with a photographic account of the official opening of ASKAP and
the MRO, a high-profile event that took place on Friday 5 October. We also
look at the latest news from the ASKAP project and provide an update on
CSIRO's contribution to the international planning for the SKA.


We then feature the successful landing of 'Curiosity' on Mars and the
support role played by the Parkes radio telescope in tracking the entry,
descent and landing of the science laboratory.


In other news, we report on CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science participation
in the IAU General Assembly in Beijing, the CASS Radio School 2012, and
recent awards and appointments. We also include our regular features on new
postdoctoral staff, the graduate student program and recent distinguished
visitors.


It has also been a productive period for science. Four science articles
give a snapshot of the latest radio astronomy research being conducted with
the ATNF. These include:


. A review of the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array project by George Hobbs and
Dick Manchester


. A description of fascinating jet structures in PKS B2152-699 by Diana
Worrall and Mark Birkinshaw


. Catarina Ubach and coauthors' identification of signatures of grain
growth in protoplanetary discs, and


. A detailed study of gas and star formation in the Circinus galaxy by
Bi-Qing For, BÄrbel Koribalski and Tom Jarrett.


We conclude with our regular contributions on education and outreach
activities, ATNF operations and recent publications.


We hope you enjoy this issue. Your comments and suggestions are always
welcome. If you would like to contribute to future editions of ATNF News,
please contact the newsletter team.


Gabby Russell and Tony Crawshaw


The ATNF News Editorial Team


(newsletter@atnf.csiro.au)












Contents


Editorial 2

From the Chief of CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science 4

CSIRO celebrates official opening of ASKAP and the MRO 5

ASKAP and SKA news 6

ASKAP technologies 7

ASKAP science 7

SKA activities 8

Collaborator projects 10

Parkes supports Mars rover landing 11

On show at the IAU General Assembly 12

CASS Radio School 2012 13

Awards and appointments 15

Welcome to new postdoctoral staff 16

Graduate student program 17

Distinguished visitors 18

9,000 hours of the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array 19

PKS B2152-699 reveals details of its large-scale jet 27

Signatures of grain growth in protoplanetary discs 30

Gas and star formation in the Circinus galaxy 33

Education and outreach 38

Operations 39

Publications 42














From the Chief of CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science


Phil Diamond (Chief of CASS)


It is with a degree of sadness that I write this final message for ATNF
News, my last as Chief of CASS and as ATNF Director. As many in the
astronomy community will be aware, I departed CSIRO on 12 October to take
up the role of Director General with the international SKA Organisation
based in Manchester, UK. My new role will, of course, allow me to stay in
touch with CSIRO and the Australian astronomy community as the SKA
telescope project begins to takes shape.


While my time with CASS has been a relatively short two-and-a-bit years, it
has been personally satisfying to participate in the development and
official launch of the Australian SKA Pathfinder and Murchison Radio-
astronomy Observatory in Western Australia, and to lead such a talented
team of scientists and engineers delivering world-class science and
facilities. Other highlights of my time here have included celebrating the
50th anniversary of 'The Dish' at Parkes, being involved in the team that
successfully delivered SKA co-hosting rights, and experiencing the awe-
inspiring landing of the Mars rover 'Curiosity' from the CASS-operated
Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, which was responsible for
tracking the spacecraft.


My thanks go to the CASS team, I will treasure and remember your ingenuity
and spirit, as well as your help and advice in ensuring that the high
standards expected in such a post were met.


CASS has a truly outstanding heritage in radio astronomy and I'm sure will
continue to deliver great things into the future. When ASKAP is operational
next year, I look forward to seeing great science come from this innovative
instrument along with a continuation of the excellent science that is done
with the other telescopes that make up the ATNF.


Sarah Pearce, CASS Deputy Chief, has taken on the role of Acting Chief of
CASS while an international search takes place for my replacement.


I wish everyone all the best for the future and depart all the richer for
the experiences that I have gained here.






CSIRO celebrates official opening of ASKAP and the MRO


Flornes Conway-Derley and Tony Crawshaw (CASS)


Friday 5 October 2012 marked an historic occasion as, under clear blue
skies, Senator the Hon. Chris Evans, Minister for Tertiary Education,
Skills, Science and Research, officially opened CSIRO's newest radio
telescope, the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and the
Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO) on which ASKAP is sited.


Guests transported to the remote site for the day included board members of
the SKA Organisation, senior government representatives, ambassadors and
high commissioners of SKA member countries, neighbouring pastoralists and
traditional owners of the MRO, the Wajarri Yamatji.


Highlights of the ceremony included a 'Welcome to Country', traditional
dancing by members of the Wajarri Yamatji, and bestowing of traditional
Wajarri names to each of the ASKAP antennas. Addresses were given by Dr
Megan Clark (CSIRO Chief Executive), Simon Broad (Murchison Shire
President), the Hon. John Day (Western Australian Minister for Science and
Innovation), Godfrey Simpson (Wajarri Yamatji) and Minister Evans.
Proceedings concluded with the push of a button by Minister Evans,
initiating the slewing of the ASKAP antennas to point toward Virgo A as
test data began to stream in.


As part of festivities, public talks on ASKAP and the SKA were held in
Geraldton, and local celebrations took place at CASS sites at Marsfield,
Parkes, Narrabri and Tidbinbilla. A webcast of proceedings was also
available to viewers from around the world and continues to be available at
http://tinyvio.com/CSIRO_ASKAP_Opening_Ceremony.


Special thanks goes out to everyone involved in the organisation and
coordination of the ceremony and supporting events. From those on the
ground at the MRO, to those who joined in the local festivities, many
people worked tirelessly to ensure the opening was certainly a day to
remember.


ASKAP commissioning activities are currently underway, with operations due
to begin in 2013.




ASKAP and SKA news


Flornes Conway-Derley (CASS), Sarah Pearce (CASS),


Carole Jackson (CASS) and Steven Tingay (ICRAR/Curtin)


Update from the MRO


Assembly of all 36 antennas of the Australian Square Kilometre Array
Pathfinder (ASKAP) at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO) was
completed in May, and final site acceptance tests confirmed accuracy levels
a factor of two better than the required ASKAP specification.


The ASKAP antenna reflectors were designed to a surface accuracy of 1.0 mm,
to allow for astronomy-capable operation up to 10 GHz. The surface accuracy
actually achieved on all 36 antennas has been close to, or better than,
0.5mm, effectively increasing the range of astronomy-capable operation up
to 20 GHz.


Other essential works on site at the MRO have included the completion of
the control building, and the installation and testing of bespoke ASKAP
telescope operating system software into all computers on site.


First ever phase closure achieved with ASKAP PAFs


In July, a major milestone in ASKAP commissioning was achieved with the
first ever successful demonstration of phase closure between three phased
array feed (PAF) receivers installed on ASKAP antennas at the MRO.


There are currently four ASKAP antennas installed with PAF receivers and
associated beam-forming electronics. The fit-out of the complex receiver
and computing systems will enable ASKAP to survey the sky faster than any
other radio telescope.


Phase closure is an important step in calibrating the antennas in
preparation for interferometry with ASKAP by demonstrating the proper
functioning of the antennas and their electronic systems. This was the
first time the correlation has ever been demonstrated using a closed loop,
three-PAF system, removing phase offsets in observations to ensure a more
accurate imaging process.


The ASKAP systems commissioning team used the strong compact astronomical
source Virgo A to perform the correlations at the MRO, with data captured
simultaneously from the three beamformers and processed in real time. The
three baselines were then combined to form the closure phase, the results
of which were encouragingly close to zero degrees.


The ASKAP team then achieved further system verification success by
demonstrating simple multibeam imaging on three PAF-equipped ASKAP
antennas. Several hours of observation data was then used to construct a
rudimentary image of 1934-638, effectively demonstrating the full data
reduction path from the software correlator to imaging in ASKAP's purpose-
built software package, ASKAPsoft.


This is an essential step on the road to commissioning the Boolardy
Engineering Test Array (BETA), a six-element widefield interferometer made
up of the first six ASKAP antennas at the MRO to be installed with PAFs and
associated electronics.


Operation of the initial BETA array will be an invaluable testbed for the
ASKAP team to learn how to achieve the best possible performance from the
full 36 antenna ASKAP telescope, and further develop technologies in using
PAFs for radio astronomy.


ASKAP technologies


Next generation PAF under development


Since August 2011, development of a second generation ('Mark II') receiver
chain for ASKAP has been underway through a work package known as ASKAP
design enhancement (ADE).


The main focus for the team has been design optimisation of a new PAF, with
an emphasis on reducing total system costs (including utilising new cost-
effective technologies); design for manufacturability and testability has
also been given careful consideration. By creating a highly reliable and
modular design, the ADE system will also provide ASKAP with a high degree
of availability, provide significant benefits in system performance, will
reduce manufacture complexity and increase maintainability.


Enhancements to the system include improved performance across the ASKAP
band for the PAF receiver, signal transmission using 'RF-over-fibre',
direct sampling of the radio signal at the MRO control building, and
hardware for digital signal processing that uses the latest in field-
programmable gate array and high speed communication devices.


Continued testing of PAF data capture, beamformers and antenna drive
software continues with regular observing sessions scheduled at the Parkes
Testbed Facility, a 12-m testbed antenna equipped with a prototype PAF
working in conjunction with the multibeam receiver installed on the 64-m
Parkes radio telescope.


The testbed will remain an invaluable resource for developing new receiver
technology and gaining crucial insight into PAF performance. Recently it
was used to test a proof-of-concept design for the Mark II PAF,
successfully demonstrating excellent performance across the entire ASKAP
frequency band.


ASKAP science


ASKAP central processor installation to start in 2013


In August, CSIRO welcomed the announcement by Senator the Hon. Chris Evans,
Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research, of the new
supercomputer to be installed at iVEC's Pawsey Centre in Perth, Western
Australia.


The procurement agreement for the Pawsey Centre includes the purchase,
installation, integration and commissioning of the petascale supercomputer
that provides support to ASKAP and other international projects based at
the MRO.


The supercomputer will be a Cray Cascade system capable of processing radio
astronomy data in real time with partitions for multipurpose research.
Installation of the ASKAP central processor, a 200 TFlop/s system with a 1
PByte Lustre file system, is expected to begin in 2013. Coinciding with
this will be installation of the first stage of the general purpose
research petascale system, the expansion of which will see increased
performance to 1.2 petaflops in 2014.


The first-stage deployment of tape libraries and a HSM file system for the
ASKAP central processor in 2013, with capacity up to 5 PBytes, is expected
to support one year of observing with ASKAP. In 2014, this will be expanded
to at least 25 PBytes for the ASKAP science data archive.


iVEC's Pawsey Centre represents the third and final phase of the Federal
Government's Super Science Initiative to boost supercomputing capabilities
and scientific research in Australia. The ASKAP team has been testing the
processing capabilities of the first two phases of the system since July
2011 as 'early adopters', simulating how ASKAP data will be processed to
create images of the radio sky.


Supercomputing resources at iVEC's Pawsey Centre will also be available for
data-intensive projects across the scientific spectrum, including
biotechnology, geosciences and nanotechnology.


New Project Scientist for ASKAP


Dr Lisa Harvey-Smith was recently appointed Project Scientist for ASKAP to
provide critical input and leadership in the areas of ASKAP performance,
survey science team management, commissioning, and international SKA
developments.


Previously CSIRO Project Scientist for the SKA, Lisa worked closely within
the international SKA project and the wider astronomical community to
refine the science case for the SKA with a particular emphasis on keeping
technology developments aligned with science goals.


Lisa is also a member of the continuum (EMU) and polarisation (POSSUM)
ASKAP survey science teams, playing a leading role in the design and
verification of data catalogues. Lisa is now looking forward to working
more closely with all ten ASKAP survey science teams.


SKA activities


SKA pre-construction phase update


On 25 May, the international SKA Organisation announced that the SKA radio
telescope will be deployed in Australia and southern Africa. The
organisation noted that a dual-site implementation model for the SKA had
been agreed by the majority of its members.


Construction of the SKA Phase 1 is planned to start in 2016 with sets of
antennas with complementary frequencies to be placed on each continent. In
Phase 1, 60 mid-frequency SKA dishes equipped with phased array feeds, as
well as an array of low-frequency antennas, will be built in Australia.


Since the announcement of the dual-site outcome, two additional countries
have been admitted to the organisation - Sweden is the ninth member
country, and India is an associate member.


Building on the foundation of the project execution plan, the SKA
Organisation has led the development of a full work breakdown structure
(WBS) covering all aspects of the first year of the pre-construction phase,
which will culminate with the systems requirements reviews.


The WBS is divided into a number of major sections covering aspects such as
project management, science, site, power and the technology work packages.


Critically, the impact of the dual-site implementation does not change the
fundamental assumption that as much technology and infrastructure as
possible should be common to all SKA systems. The expectation is that
consortia of institutes, companies and other stakeholders will respond to
an up-coming request for proposals from the SKA Organisation early in 2013.


Representatives from CSIRO, led by CASS Deputy Chief Sarah Pearce,
continued to convene a number of Australia-New Zealand strategy discussions
so that all stakeholders are ready to participate in the various consortia.
These discussions included representatives from universities, research
institutes, industry, the Australian Department of Industry, Innovation,
Science, Research and Tertiary Education (DIISRTE) and other stakeholders.


Concurrently, DIISRTE has run open briefings for industry to encourage
interest in participating in the pre-construction work. An informal
'Expressions of Interest' process is being run by DIISRTE to filter
companies who are pre-qualified to engage with the emerging consortia.


Within CASS we have identified which of the consortia we wish to
participate in, allocated some preliminary resources and begun more
detailed discussions with national and international partners. Current
priorities are towards consortia for dish array (with an emphasis on
receiver systems - for all feed types - and PAF systems work), computing,
and site and infrastructure, with lower levels of engagement in a number of
other work packages.


In September, a team of nine from CASS and the CSIRO ICT Centre attended
the ICEAA conference in Cape Town, South Africa. The 'ICEAA12' event
brought together three parallel conferences: the International Conference
on Electromagnetics in Advanced Applications (ICEAA), the IEEE-APS Topical
conference on Antennas and Propagation and the inaugural URSI
Electromagnetic and Environment and Interference symposium (EEIS).


Of particular interest were day-long sessions on radio astronomy (including
the SKA) and imaging arrays for radio astronomy, with CSIRO representatives
presenting papers on aspects of ASKAP's ADE PAF system developments during
the latter session.


An international workshop on PAFs for the SKA was also held during the
conference, to take advantage of the number of engineers at ICEAA who also
participate in the informal 'PAFSKA' collaboration. The workshop commenced
with an overview from each institute/country on current developments, which
gave an excellent snapshot of a range of PAF developments including recent
work in Australia (CSIRO) on chequerboard-type PAFs, in Canada (National
Research Council) and The Netherlands (ASTRON) on Vivaldi-type PAFs, and in
the US (Brigham Young University and National Radio Astronomy Observatory)
on crossed-dipole PAFs.


These presentations provoked discussion on the real challenges of achieving
thermal noise performance in light of instrumental and sky effects
(including the ever-present global positioning system signals). The
afternoon of the workshop was dedicated to reviewing some of the critical
issues regarding the design SKA optics, most of which are not particularly
PAF-specific but impact all feed choices and the future-proofing of the
SKA. The workshop was well appreciated by the attendees and identified many
aspects of SKA design which the SKA dish array consortium will have to
address.


International SKA Organisation visits Australia


CASS recently welcomed members of the SKA Organisation team to its
Marsfield headquarters in Sydney and the MRO in Western Australia as part
of a familiarisation visit to further explore synergies between ASKAP and
the SKA project in preparation for Phase 1 of the SKA.


In Sydney, a number of workshops were convened that included discussions on
system engineering and detailed presentations from the ASKAP team on the
design history of ASKAP.


The following week, CASS hosted the group at the MRO for a two-day
familiarisation visit. There the team learnt in further detail more about
ASKAP, the MRO and the larger Murchison region, and had an opportunity to
appreciate the vast, remote and radio-quiet nature of the location.


While in Western Australia, the team also visited related organisations
such as the iVEC Pawsey Centre, where development of next-generation
computing facilities for ASKAP and the SKA are currently underway, and the
International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research in Perth.


In September, the SKA Organisation team had taken a similar trip to the SKA
site in South Africa. These visits will be useful in developing an
implementation plan for the integration of the SKA precursor telescopes and
associated infrastructure at both locations into Phase 1 of the SKA.




Collaborator projects


MWA close to completion: first science observations beckon


The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is one of three SKA precursor
instruments, the only low-frequency precursor and the first SKA precursor
to reach construction completion. Over the past nine months, the MWA
project has completed all physical infrastructure work at the MRO,
completed production of all antennas, receivers and correlator components,
and has implemented a data archive.


The MWA team is now in the final stages of integrating the full facility at
the MRO, with construction completion of the full instrument expected in
November/December 2012.


Engineering and science commissioning activities commenced on the partially
complete instrument in September, with final commissioning of the full
instrument to take place in early 2013. Science observations are expected
to commence with the full instrument in mid-2013.


The MWA is an 'open skies' facility and the MWA Board has recently
completed a revision of the project policies concerning time allocation on
the facility and data access (available at
http://mwatelescope.org/info/documents.html).


Before the end of 2012, the MWA project team aims to release the first call
for proposals to the astronomy community, to support a time allocation
process that will commence in early 2013; observing is expected to commence
from approximately mid-2013. Ahead of the first call for proposals, two key
publications are in the final stages of production. The first is a full
technical description of the MWA system capabilities (Tingay et al. 2012,
PASA accepted:arXiv:1206:6945). The second is a full description of the MWA
science case (Bowman et al. 2012, PASA submitted).


In excellent news for the MWA project, DIISRTE has recently provided
initial funding (via Astronomy Australia Limited) for MWA operations, for
the calendar years 2013 and 2014. This funding allows the project to open
the facility for science observations on time and allows both the project
and users to plan for the next few years.


To keep up-to-date with the final stages of MWA construction, and
activities such as the formal launch event (which will take place on 30
November 2012), visit the MWA Facebook page at Murchison Widefield Array on
Facebook.




Parkes supports Mars rover landing


Phil Edwards (CASS)


Monday 6 August 2012 was a red-letter day for exploration of the red
planet, with NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) successfully landing on
Mars. CSIRO's Parkes radio telescope played an important support role to
the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex in tracking the entry,
descent and landing of the MSL.


The complex series of manoeuvres required to land the 900-kg rover
'Curiosity' on the surface of Mars were dubbed the 'seven minutes of
terror' as all actions were pre-programmed with no opportunity for manual
intervention if anything went awry. The main task of monitoring Curiosity's
entry, descent and landing was handled by the Canberra Deep Space
Communication Complex (CDSCC), which CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science
manages on NASA's behalf. CDSCC's 70-m and two 34-m antennas at Tidbinbilla
received signals from the spacecraft directly at first, and then relayed
through NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft which has been in Mars' orbit since
2001.


A smaller role in the monitoring of the entry, descent and landing was
played by CSIRO's Parkes 64-m radio telescope. In addition to the 8-GHz
band telemetry tracked by CDSCC, the spacecraft transmitted a beacon at
401.58 MHz. Although the Parkes 70-cm receiver had been retired from active
service in 2003, it was able to be revived, re-tuned, and refurbished to
operate at this frequency, and was installed in the focus cabin for tests
and characterisation of the radio frequency environment during a two-week
telescope shutdown in May-June 2012.


Monday 6 August dawned calm and clear, eliminating fears of the famous wind
storm at Parkes on the day of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. With John
Sarkissian at the telescope's controls, the signal was obtained on schedule
and successfully tracked until the direct line-of-sight to the spacecraft
was lost. Events during the descent such as the ejection of the heat shield
and deployment of the parachute clearly showed up as small changes in the
Doppler-shifted beacon frequency.


At Marsfield, Tidbinbilla and Parkes, staff and a huge public presence
watched a direct feed of the NASA television coverage (there was surprise
in some quarters when the television coverage stated that the signal had
been detected at the MRO, until it was pointed out this was the 'Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter').


The Curiosity rover is designed to assess whether Mars ever had an
environment suitable to support small microbial life forms. The 900 kg
vehicle landed at, and will initially explore, Gale Crater, named after
Australian Walter Gale (1865-1945). Gale was a keen amateur astronomer and
an ardent supporter of the suggestion of possible life on Mars, and so it
is quite appropriate that one of the main scientific objectives of the
mission is to 'identify features that may represent the effects of
biological processes' (so-called biosignatures).


Full credit goes to the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory team who designed
the mission and guided Curiosity to a successful landing, and to the CASS
staff at CDSCC who ensured every bit was captured and relayed back to JPL.


Parkes may have had a small cameo role in the tracking support, but
everything went to plan. NASA Scientist Sami Asmar, who was present at
Parkes for the track, noted, "For JPL and the MSL project, the role Parkes
played in support of entry, descent and landing was considered extremely
important since all critical portions of the mission needed a proven and
reliable back-up. Parkes performed flawlessly due to the efforts of the
team in testing and preparations."


Overall, CDSCC and Parkes completed a fantastically successful double act,
placing CASS into the international limelight.


On show at the IAU General Assembly


Simon Johnston and Rob Hollow (CASS)


The International Astronomical Union (IAU) holds its General Assembly every
three years. Following the successful 2010 event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
the 2013 meeting was held in the imposing China National Convention Center
near the Olympic precinct in Beijing, China from 20 to 31 August. CASS
staff played a leading role in the management of the IAU and its divisions,
running symposia, presenting talks and posters, renewing old friendships
and forging new collaborations.


Highlights from the many different activities that CASS staff were engaged
in included the pulsar symposium. This started in excellent fashion with a
presentation by Mike Keith where he announced the discovery of a high
dispersion fast transient from the latest Parkes pulsar survey, which
generated a buzz that continued throughout the week. The interstellar
medium meetings were well attended in the first week with the extragalactic
talks given prominence in the second week.


Dave Jauncey (recently retired from CSIRO) delved into the history of radio
astronomy while the 'future facilities' session contained a mouth-watering
smorgasbord of instruments we can expect to come online over the next
decade. CASS Chief Phil Diamond presented the latest news from the ASKAP
project including the hot-off-the-press result of phase closure between
three phased array feeds at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory.


CSIRO was a sponsor of the General Assembly and CASS had an exhibition
booth for the two-week event. Chinese visitors to the booth commented on
the strong collaboration and links between China, Australia and CSIRO, in
particular. An additional valuable role of the booth was that many
Australian attendees, not just those from CSIRO, used it as a meeting point
to catch up with others at the assembly, introducing them to CASS
activities in the process.


The event was extremely well organised and the weekend tours allowed an
excellent sampling of Chinese culture with trips to the Great Wall and the
Forbidden City. The next IAU General Assembly will take place in Hawaii in
2016.




CASS Radio School 2012


Tom Franzen (CASS)


This year, the CASS Radio School took place at the Australia Telescope
Compact Array (ATCA) near Narrabri, NSW, from 24 to 28 September. Thirty-
eight students attended the school, including participants from New
Zealand, Malaysia and Japan, and there were 19 speakers. We were fortunate
to have as international speakers Ravi Subrahmanyan and Urvashi Rau from
the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.


Most students had little or no knowledge of synthesis imaging before
arriving at the school. Some of the participants had already attended last
year's CASS radio school held at Parkes, where the focus was mainly on
single dish telescopes.


The lectures were held in the visitor centre. All the presentations can now
be found at ATNF Radio School 2012.


The school started with a presentation by Phil Edwards, introducing
students to the facilities that make up the ATNF. Douglas Bock reviewed the
basics of radio astronomy, while Ron Ekers and Ravi Subrahmanyan outlined
the principles of interferometry, bringing beginner students up to speed.
John Reynolds described the basics of Fourier transforms and their
application to radio astronomy. In the last talk of the day, Phil Edwards
took us on a whistle-stop tour of radio telescopes all over the world. The
day ended with a 'question and answer' session which gave students the
opportunity to seek clarification on any of the material presented during
the day. In the evening, a dinner was held at the Seplin Estate Winery in
Wee Waa. There was no shortage of entertainment: Phil ran an astronomy and
general knowledge quiz, and students at each table were challenged to build
their own telescope out of a bundle of wire.


On Tuesday morning, John Tuthill and Suzy Jackson covered signal processing
and receiver systems. Mark Wieringa outlined the steps required to
calibrate ATCA data, while Urvashi Rau went over imaging and deconvolution.
The session ended with a talk on observing strategies by Shari Breen during
which students were showered with chocolate-flavoured frogs if they were
able to answer questions on the material just presented.


Wednesday began with Malte Marquarding demonstrating the use of various
computing tools in astronomy, including the virtues of version control.
There were two talks on polarimetry: the basics were covered in Jimi
Green's lecture, which also included an overview of the exciting science
that can be carried out from polarimetric observations; while more of the
formalism and advanced calibration techniques were covered in Bob Sault's
lecture. Emil Lenc discussed how different types of error, leading to image
defects, may be diagnosed. The evening was spent at the observatory. Noodle
dishes were served outside the lodge for dinner! This was followed by a
fascinating talk by Ron on Pluto and its reclassification as a dwarf
planet; it was great to hear insight from Ron, who was President of the
International Astronomical Union at the time the decision to reclassify
Pluto was made.


Some more advanced topics were covered on Thursday. Ravi Subrahmanyan
started off with a comprehensive talk on self calibration and high dynamic
range imaging. Tim Cornwell gave a talk on widefield imaging in which he
included a description of the latest, cutting-edge techniques being
developed to process future data from the Australian Square Kilometre Array
Pathfinder. Lister Staveley-Smith covered mosaicing and explained how radio
interferometer data can be combined with single dish data to fill in the
shortest spacings. Finally, Aaron Chippendale reviewed the development of
phased array feeds, describing the latest work being carried out at CASS.


On Friday, Andrew Hopkins gave a presentation on image analysis, with an
emphasis on source finding and statistics. Steven Tingay described the
technique of Very Long Baseline Interferometry and how it can be used as a
tracer of the most energetic and dynamic processes in the Universe. Urvashi
Rau gave another very informative talk, this time on wideband imaging, a
highly relevant topic given the large instantaneous bandwidths now offered
by ATCA and other instruments. The school ended again with Andrew Hopkins
giving students some advice on how to write observing or funding proposals
and valuable insight into the review process.


Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons were taken up by tutorials.
Students were advised to follow a tutorial on Miriad data reduction (basic
continuum, advanced continuum or spectral line) during one of the
afternoons, but were able to choose from a list of activities for the
remainder of the time. The electives on offer were ATCA observing, advanced
ATCA observing, making ATCA schedule files, Mopra observing, antenna/screen
room tour, tour of the Sydney University Stellar Interferometer and the
Ionospheric Prediction Service, and SIMPLE telescope demonstration. In the
advanced ATCA observing tutorial, Ron asked students to apply what they had
learnt in the lectures by challenging them to interpret the visibility data
displayed in real time for observations of different types of sources under
varying conditions. The SIMPLE telescope demonstration was oversubscribed.
This was designed to demonstrate how a radio interferometer works using
only a few electronic components and a computer. SIMPLE is a two-element 20-
MHz interferometer used for educational purposes and is capable of
detecting the Galactic plane, Centaurus A and the Sun during periods of
solar activity. Students were shown how the interferometer works by Dave
Brodrick, Chris Bremming and Steven Tingay.


Since many of the students were leaving by train on Saturday, several went
to Sawn Rocks in Mt. Kaputar National Park, a rock formation resembling a
huge wall of organ pipes, on Friday afternoon. A high note on which to end
the school!


The feedback we received from the students was very positive and I would
like to thank the following people for making the radio school possible:
first of all, the speakers for making the trip to Narrabri and giving such
great presentations; the observatory staff for running the tutorials;
Margaret McFee for organising transportation, accommodation and evening
functions; Robin Wark for organising the tutorials and for her advice and
support during the run up to the school; Jamie Stevens for preparing the
USB sticks for distribution of lecture slides and other materials; the
catering staff for keeping everyone supplied with lunches and
morning/afternoon coffees; Alex Hill, Phil Edwards, Naomi McClure-Griffiths
and Dave McConnell who were on the scientific organising committee; and
Amanda Gray for administrative support and handling student registrations.




Awards and appointments


Gabby Russell (CASS)


Three CASS astronomers, George Hobbs, BÄrbel Koribalski and Jill Rathborne,
have recently received recognition of their research excellence.
Congratulations George, BÄrbel and Jill!


ARC Future Fellowship for George Hobbs


Over the four-year term of his Australian Research Council Future
Fellowship, George Hobbs will aim to detect gravitational waves using
precision pulsar timing observations. Direct detection of these waves is of
huge international importance and will keep Australia at the forefront of
the new research field of gravitational wave astronomy as it grows with the
planned radio telescopes of the future. George's appointment reflects the
excellent research he has been doing over the past few years in the hunt
for gravitational waves and his role in the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array
project (see page 19 for more information on the Parkes Pulsar Timing
Array).


George joins Nick Seymour as a Future Fellow in CASS.


BÄrbel Koribalski appointed OCE Science Leader


In August 2012, BÄrbel Koribalski was awarded a prestigious CSIRO Office of
the Chief Executive Science (OCE) Leader position.


This is a five-year position providing funding for two postdoctoral staff
and two PhD students to work with BÄrbel, enhancing her leading role in
multiwavelength investigations into galaxy formation and evolution. BÄrbel
is the co-Principal Investigator, along with Lister Staveley-Smith
(ICRAR/UWA), of WALLABY, one of the two high-priority ASKAP survey
projects. BÄrbel will use the resources from the OCE Science Leader
position to strengthen her extragalactic research team working towards SKA
Pathfinder HI surveys.


Julius Career Award for Jill Rathborne


A recipient of CSIRO's highly sought after Julius Career Award, Jill
Rathborne will have the opportunity to continue her cutting-edge research
into the formation of high-mass stars and to strengthen existing
collaborations both within Australia and around the world. Over the three-
year period of this award, Jill will use next-generation facilities such as
the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), visit key
collaborators at world-leading institutes and undertake a sabbatical to
work with international ALMA experts. Jill's international colleagues will
also be encouraged to visit CSIRO: in doing so, Jill will help build new
science networks for herself and her research group.




Welcome to new postdoctoral staff


Gabby Russell and Simon Johnston (CASS)


Since the April 2012 edition of ATNF News was published, CASS has welcomed
three new postdoctoral staff. We asked each of them to tell us, in their
own words, about their research interests. Please join us in welcoming
Yanett, Peter and Tim.


Yanett Contreras


CSIRO Office of the Chief Executive Postdoctoral Fellow


PhD: Universidad de Chile, Chile, 2012


"My research interests are filamentary molecular clouds and the chemical
evolution of the clumps and cores that will give rise to high-mass stars
within them. For this research, the MALT90 survey (currently underway) is
very important because it will allow us to establish a chemical evolution
of the regions where the stars are born allowing us to understand how high-
mass stars are formed."


Peter Kamphuis


CSIRO Office of the Chief Executive Postdoctoral Fellow


PhD: Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, The
Netherlands, 2008


"I am mostly interested in the formation and evolution of galaxies. My PhD
work was focused on the kinematics of hydrogen in the halos of spiral
galaxies in order to get a better understanding of how the gas is accreted
and cycled in these galaxies. During my time as a Humboldt Fellow at the
Astronomical Institute Ruhr-University-Bochum in Germany my interests were
expanded to include the automated fitting of models to interferometric
radio data, an approach that I'll be exploring with the aim to reliably
extract kinematical parameters from the WALLABY survey. Here at CASS I hope
to keep on working on both subjects as well as other projects such as
LVHIS."


Tim Shimwell


CSIRO Office of the Chief Executive Postdoctoral Fellow


PhD: University of Cambridge, UK, 2011


"My PhD work was focused on the detection of massive galaxy clusters via
their Sunyaev Zel'dovich signature. Whilst at CASS I look forward to
continuing my research on galaxy clusters but also exploring new areas of
research. I am pleased to be part of the ASKAP commissioning team and hope
to help with this very exciting project's rapid progress."





Two postdoctoral staff, Shea Brown and Shane O'Sullivan, have recently
completed their terms and taken up positions at Ohio University, USA and
the University of Sydney, respectively.




Graduate student program


BÄrbel Koribalski (CASS)





We would like to officially welcome the following students into the CASS co-
supervision program:


. Vasaant Krishnan (University of Tasmania) - Astrometric observation of
methanol masers, with supervisors Dr Simon Ellingsen (University of
Tasmania) and Dr Shari Breen (CASS)


. Paul Brook (Oxford University) - Variability in pulsars, with
supervisors Dr Aris Karastergiou (Oxford University) and Dr Simon
Johnston (CASS)


. Guillaume Drouart (ESO) - AGN and stellar components in HzRGs, with
supervisors Dr Brigitte Rocca-Volmerange (IAP), Dr Carlos De Breuck
(ESO), Dr JoÊl Vernet (ESO) and Dr Nick Seymour (CASS)


. Jingbo Wang (Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory, China) - Pulsar
astronomy and gravitational wave detection, with supervisors Dr Nina
(Na) Wang (Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory) and Dr George Hobbs
(CASS)


. Xinping Deng (National Space Science Center, Chinese Academic of
Sciences) - Pulsar timing and its application in spacecraft
navigation, with supervisors Dr Jianhua Zheng (NSSC, China) and Dr
George Hobbs (CASS)


. Jordan Collier (University of Western Sydney) - The history of
supermassive black holes in the Universe, with supervisors Dr Miroslav
Filipovic, Dr Nick Tothill (both University of Western Sydney) and Dr
Ray Norris (CASS)


. Graeme Wong (University of Western Sydney) - Physics and chemistry of
molecular gas in the Milky Way Galaxy, with supervisors Dr Miroslav
Filipovic, Dr Nick Tothill (both University of Western Sydney) and Dr
Shinji Horiuchi and Dr Jimi Green (both CASS).


Congratulations on the award of their PhD and best wishes for their future
career goes to the following students:


. Lina Levin Preston (Swinburne University) - A search for radio
pulsars: from millisecond pulsars to magnetars


. Yanett Contreras (Universidad de Chile) - The nature of filamentary
structures of dense molecular gas in the Galactic plane


. Rajan Chhetri (University of Sydney) - Quasars, radio galaxies and
gravitational lenses in the high radio frequency Universe


. Luke Hindson (University of Hertforshire) - The G305 star forming
complex: A panoramic view of the environment and star formation


. Kate Chow (nÈe Randall) (University of Sydney) - The evolution of
young radio sources and the milliJansky radio source population


. Minnie Mao (University of Sydney) - Cosmic evolution of radio sources
in ATLAS.


Dr Lina Levin Preston is now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of
West Virginia, USA and Dr Yanett Contreras has joined CASS as a
postdoctoral fellow. Dr Luke Hindson recently started at the University of
Victoria in Wellington, New Zealand, and Dr Minnie Mao is now a
postdoctoral fellow at NRAO, USA.


To all students, well done!


A summary of the CASS graduate student program, current and past students,
as well as new application forms can be found on the ATNF website at ATNF
graduate scholars.


Distinguished visitors


Simon Johnston (CASS)





Over the past six months we have enjoyed extended visits from Enno
Middelberg (Bochum University, Germany), Duncan Lorimer and Maura
McLaughlin (both University of West Virginia, USA), Barbara Catinella
(MPIA, Garching, Germany), Luca Cortese (ESO, Garching, Germany), Grazia
Umana and Corrado Trigilio (both INAF, Catania, Italy), Lukasz Stawarz and
Yasayuki Tanaka (both ISAS, Japan). Current visitors include Martin Cohen
(UC Berkeley, USA) and Bill Coles (UC San Diego, USA).


The distinguished visitors program remains a very productive means of
enabling collaborative research projects with CASS staff, adding
substantially to the vitality of the research environment. Visits can be
organised for periods ranging from only a few weeks up to one year.


For more information on the distinguished visitors program see ATNF
distinguished visitors.


Prospective visitors should contact the local staff member with the most
similar interests, or Naomi McClure-Griffiths, Chair of the Distinguished
Visitors Committee.






9,000 hours of the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array


George Hobbs and Dick Manchester (CASS) on behalf of the PPTA team





[pic]


Figure 1: CSIRO's Parkes 64-m radio telescope.





In late 2003 we submitted the proposal that began the Parkes Pulsar Timing
Array (PPTA) project. Now, 9,000 hours of observing time later, we have
reached the stage where the goals of the project are within reach. Our data
sets are the best of their type in the world with high-quality timing data
for 20 millisecond pulsars (MSPs) over a more than six-year data span.
Several major papers reporting on the project and describing progress on
the main scientific objectives have been or soon will be published. True,
we have not yet reached our major goal - the direct detection of
gravitational waves - but we have started to seriously constrain the
current galaxy merger and black-hole formation paradigms and are giving our
Goliathan competitors in the quest for the first detection a run for their
money.


We have made our data sets available to the International Pulsar Timing
Array (IPTA) project and are working with colleagues from other PTAs to
optimally combine the data sets and make further progress toward our goals.
After the usual embargo period, our data sets are also publically available
through the Australian National Data Service. The precision timing data
sets of the PPTA have also been used for a wide variety of applications
including investigations of the interstellar medium, detailed studies of
the properties of individual pulsars and even proposed as a natural global
positioning system for spacecraft navigation. Pulsars are fascinating
objects, highly dynamic, continually pushing the boundaries of physical
theories, and full of surprises. They have wide appeal to the general
public and are a natural topic for outreach programs as testified by our
highly successful 'PULSE@Parkes' project.


The first proposal was written by researchers at CSIRO and the Swinburne
University of Technology. It was led by Dick Manchester who had obtained an
Australian Research Council Federation Fellowship to realise the world's
first pulsar timing array (PTA). Whereas most standard pulsar observing
programs are based on studies of individual pulsars or binary systems such
as the double pulsar, PTA projects are based on the study of correlated
timing signatures in a group of precisely timed pulsars. Foster and Backer
(1990) showed that any identical signal in two or more pulsar data sets
must correspond to terrestrial phenomena such as timing errors in the
observatory instrumentation or irregularities in atomic time standards.
Partially correlated signals with a spatially dipole signature would occur
if there was an error in the Solar System planetary ephemeris used in the
timing analysis and signals with a quadrupolar signature would arise from
gravitational waves (GWs) passing over the Earth.


The main goals of the PPTA were therefore defined in 2003 to be: 1) to
detect the GW background; 2) to improve our knowledge of Solar System
dynamics; and 3) to produce a pulsar-based timescale. It was clear that
these goals could only be achieved by observing a large number of highly
stable millisecond pulsars (MSPs) that provide sub-microsecond timing
precision. These requirements were formalised by Jenet et al. (2005) who
showed that, in order to detect a GW background with 95% confidence, it
would be necessary to observe 20 MSPs over a period of five years with
weekly observations. The rms timing residual for each pulsar over the
entire data span needs to be <100 ns.


These requirements were (and still are) incredibly challenging. Van Straten
et al. (2001) had shown that rms timing residuals <100 ns were possible for
a single pulsar, PSR J0437-4715, but such timing precision had not been
realised for any other pulsar. To begin the project we therefore needed new
hardware, new software and new algorithms. We describe these in the next
section, followed by a section on the astrophysical results that we have
achieved so far and we finish this article by describing current and future
work.


Systems development for the PPTA project


The PPTA project relies on precise measurements of pulse arrival times for
approximately 20 MSPs using CSIRO's Parkes radio telescope (Figure 1).
Throughout we have made observations using a 20-cm receiver (usually the
central beam of the multibeam receiver, but sometimes the H-OH receiver)
and the dual-band 10-cm/50-cm receiver. Initially we recorded the data
using the wideband correlator (WBC) and the Caltech Swinburne Parkes
Recorder 2 (CPSR2). The WBC was not adequate for high-precision
measurements and a set of digital filterbank systems were designed and
commissioned. The first, PDFB1, was commissioned in June 2005, which, along
with CPSR2, provided our first major data set. A second digital filterbank
system, PDFB2, which could process a bandwidth up to ~ 1024 MHz was
commissioned in March 2007. The final filterbanks (PDFB3 and PDFB4) are
based on the same hardware as the Compact Array Broadband (CABB) system and
were commissioned in July 2008.


The digital filterbank systems are not ideal for low-frequency observations
since they employ incoherent summing of frequency-channel data to remove
the pulse sweep resulting from interstellar dispersion which is much larger
at low radio frequencies. Fortunately there is another technique known as
'coherent dedispersion' which overcomes this problem. This technique is
extremely computing intensive and was initially applicable only to
relatively narrow bandwidths as in CPSR2. In 2009, we developed the ATNF
Parkes Swinburne Recorder (APSR) which can provide 1024 MHz of coherently
dedispersed data and in late 2010 we were also making use of a second
coherent dedispersion system developed at Swinburne University, CASPSR, in
parallel with APSR.


It was necessary to develop new software to calibrate and process these
observations. Various updates (for example, van Straten 2004) have been
made to the PSRCHIVE software suite to enable the necessary polarisation
calibration. The resulting pulse arrival times form the basis of the PPTA
project and have been published by Manchester et al. (2012) as two data
sets. The first data set contains data from 2005 to 2011 and is our first
major data release. The second combines Parkes archival data with the first
data release to provide observations of the PPTA pulsars with data spans of
up to 17 years. Figure 2 shows the timing residuals for the extended data
sets, illustrating the high quality and good sampling of our data,
particularly in the PPTA era.


The pulse arrival times are processed using the TEMPO2 software package.
This software was designed to process multiple pulsars simultaneously and
to deal with all known physical phenomena that will affect the timing
residuals at the 1 ns level. In order to achieve the PPTA goals various
algorithms have been implemented into TEMPO2 including global fitting
procedures (Champion et al. 2010), simulation of GW signals (Hobbs et al.
2009), methods to deal with low-frequency noise (Coles et al. 2011) and
routines for optimal interpolation and prediction (Deng et al. 2012).


Astrophysical results from the PPTA project


A GW signal will induce long-term timing variations at the 10-100 ns level
over five years. For most millisecond pulsars the dominant noise source
over these timescales is caused by turbulence in the interstellar medium
that leads to variations in the pulsar dispersion measures. It is therefore
essential that these signals be measured and removed from the timing data.
New techniques for removing the frequency-dependent variations without
affecting any underlying achromatic gravitational-wave signal have been
developed by Keith et al. (2012).


As a bonus, these measurements also provide a wealth of information about
the interstellar medium. In the first study using the PPTA data, You et al.
(2007a) analysed 20 pulsars and showed that the variations in dispersion
measure were mostly consistent with an interstellar medium characterised by
a Kolmogorov turbulence spectrum. However, the analysis for two pulsars,
PSRs J1045-4509 and J1909-3744, provided the first clear evidence of a
damping process in the turbulence spectrum, caused, perhaps, by ion-neutral
collisions.


The solar wind also leads to variations in pulsar dispersion measures as
Earth orbits around the Sun. In August each year, the line of sight to PSR
J1022+1001 passes within 0.1 degrees of the Sun. High precision
observations of this pulsar therefore provide a unique opportunity for
studying the solar corona. Our results have been published in You et al.
(2007b) who demonstrated how observations from the Wilcox Solar Observatory
could be used to predict the effect of the solar wind and in You et al.
(2012) who used PPTA observations to measure the electron density and
magnetic field of the solar wind.


One of the major PPTA goals is to use pulsar timing data to detect
imperfections in the planetary ephemeris that we use to correct site
arrival times to the Solar System barycentre. These imperfections could
come from either errors in the assumed masses of the planets or asteroids
included in the ephemeris, or from other Solar System objects not currently
included either because their mass is unknown or because their very
existence is unknown. We currently use the Jet Propulsion Laboratory DE421
ephemeris for the barycentre corrections. Any planetary mass error, for
example, will induce sinusoidal timing residuals at the orbital period of
the planet and with amplitude dependent on the mass error and the ecliptic
latitude of the pulsar. In our first analysis of this type, Champion et al.
(2010) searched for errors in the masses of the known planets. Our results
were consistent with, but less precise than, spacecraft measurements for
all the planetary systems except for the Jovian system. Our derived mass of
the Jovian system was consistent with the value assumed in DE421 (Folkner
et al. 2009) to within 2â10-10 M?, a higher precision than the published
result obtained from observations of the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft and
consistent with the value obtained from Galileo. We are now continuing this
research in the hope of discovering an unknown object in our Solar System.


In 2012 we achieved another of our goals: developing a timescale based on
the rotational phase of the PPTA pulsars (Hobbs et al. 2012). This Ensemble
Pulsar Scale (EPS) is analogous to the free atomic timescale, èchelle
Atomique Libre (EAL), and can be used to detect fluctuations in atomic
timescales, therefore leading to a new realisation of Terrestrial Time, TT.
Our new realisation, TT(PPTA11), successfully follows known irregularities
in the International Atomic Timescale (TAI) and has marginally significant
deviations from the world's best atomic timescale TT(BIPM11). We have
embarked on an IPTA project to combine our results with those from other
PTAs which may confirm these deviations, thereby establishing the world's
most stable timescale.


The primary aim of the PPTA project is to detect GWs. The PPTA is sensitive
to GWs with periods longer than our typical sampling (approximately 3
weeks) and less than the total time span of our data (approximately 15
years for the extended data set). It is still not clear exactly what signal
we should be searching for. Predictions have been made for isotropic
stochastic GW backgrounds caused by oscillations of cosmic strings,
fluctuations in the inflationary era and coalescing supermassive black
holes in the cores of distant galaxies. It is also possible that individual
supermassive black hole binary systems will lead to detectable GW radiation
coming from a specific direction. The coalescence of such a system will
lead to a 'GW memory event' that will be characterised in the residuals as
a correlated glitch event. We have therefore developed algorithms to search
for all of these possible signals.


Jenet et al. (2006) published the first upper bound on the GW background
using the PPTA data sets. This work has now been cited more than 150 times
on topics relating to inflationary models of the Universe, limiting
possible cosmic-string models, close galaxy pairs, searching for dark
matter halo substructure and primordial black holes. We are now preparing
to publish a new limit based on the extended PPTA data set (Shannon et al.
2012) that is almost an order of magnitude lower than the 2006 result and
three times better than recent limits from the other PTAs (van Haasteren et
al. 2011, Demorest et al. 2012). Our results for the first time place
significant constraints on current models for galaxy mergers and black hole
coalescence in their cores (for example, Sesana et al. 2008).


Yardley et al. (2010) used PPTA data to present the first sensitivity curve
of a PTA to individual sources of GW emission. This work provided a sky-
averaged constraint on the merger rate of nearby (z < 0.6) black hole
binaries in the early phases of coalescence with a chirp mass of 1010 M? of
less than one merger every seven years. More recently, we have attempted to
detect individual sources of GW emission, but, so far, no detection has
been made.


The PPTA data sets are also being used for a diverse range of projects
including studies of the polarisation properties of millisecond pulsars,
studying low-frequency timing irregularities and even how millisecond
pulsars may, in the near future, be used to help navigate spacecraft
through the Solar System.


Any project that combines pulsars, space-time, black holes and galaxies
attracts public interest. We have used such interest to develop the
'PULSE@Parkes' outreach project in which high school students from
Australia and around the world are able to carry out research-quality
pulsar observations using the Parkes telescope (Figure 3). It is hoped that
some of these students will be inspired to continue their studies of
physics, engineering and/or astronomy and may, one day, be amongst the
first gravitational wave astronomers.


Future plans


With the release of our first data sets, the PPTA project is now entering a
new era. Our first goal is to combine our data sets with those from the two
other major PTA projects, the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) and the
North American NANOGrav project. Together these will form the IPTA with a
larger number of pulsars, increased sampling of pulsars common to two or
more of the PTAs and, for some pulsars, longer data spans. All of these
factors will increase our sensitivity to gravitational waves and the other
PTA goals.


We also need to continue our efforts to improve the precision and accuracy
of our timing measurements. Currently, the dominant noise source for most
of our pulsars is from fluctuations in interstellar dispersion. Currently
we require long observations with both the 20-cm receiver and the 10-cm/50-
cm dual-band receiver to correct these fluctuations and, even with that,
uncertainties in these corrections are a limiting factor in the precision
of our pulse times of arrival. To help overcome this limitation, we are
proposing an ultra-wide bandwidth receiver covering the band from 700 MHz
to 4 GHz and an associated graphics processing unit-based signal processing
system. This would not only give us more accurate dispersion corrections,
but it would do so in a single observation of each pulsar, saving valuable
observing time. The development of this system would also fit in well with
the plans to streamline operations at Parkes, since essentially all (non-
multibeam) pulsar observations could be done with this one receiver. It
would also benefit other observational programs such as polarisation and
Faraday rotation studies of the Galactic background.


It is likely that the next low-frequency noise process that we will need to
deal with is intrinsic period fluctuations. This was previously thought to
be random and uncorrectable. However, recent work has suggested the
possibility that timing noise is related to a two-state magnetospheric
process in which the pulsar flips between well-defined states with
different slow-down rates (Lyne et al. 2010). This leads to the exciting
possibility that at least some of the intrinsic timing noise can be
corrected - we are currently advertising for a postdoctoral researcher to
work on this project.


One of the most effective means to improve the sensitivity of PTAs is to
increase the number of high-quality MSPs that are being monitored. Ongoing
searches (for example, Keith et al. 2010, Crawford et al. 2012) are finding
such pulsars and several have already been added to existing PTA projects.
Further into the future, large new radio telescopes such as the Chinese
Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) and the Square
Kilometre Array will enable more sensitive surveys and precision timing of
a large number of MSPs that are currently too weak for effective timing.
With these developments we can confidently predict that low-frequency
gravitational waves will be detected by PTAs in the next five to ten years
and that, in the SKA era, detailed studies of the signal and source
properties of these waves will be possible, opening up a new window on the
Universe.


References


Champion et al. (2010), ApJ, 720, 201


Coles et al. (2011), MNRAS, 418, 561


Crawford et al. (2012), ApJ, 757, 90


Demorest et al. (2012), arXiv, 1201, 6641


Deng et al. (2012), MNRAS, 424, 244


Folkner et al. (2009), http://tmo.jpl.nasa.gov/progress_report/42-
178/178C.pdf


Foster and Backer (1990), ApJ, 361, 300


Hobbs et al. (2009), MNRAS, 394, 1945


Hobbs et al. (2012), accepted by MNRAS, arXiV, 1208, 3560


Jenet et al. (2005), ApJ, 625, 123


Keith et al. (2010), MNRAS, 409, 619


Keith et al. (2012a), submitted to MNRAS


Lyne et al. (2010), Science, 329, 408


Manchester et al. (2012), submitted to PASA


Sesana et al. (2008), MNRAS, 390, 192


Shannon et al. (2012), in preparation


Van Haasteren et al. (2011), MNRAS, 414, 3117


Van Straten et al. (2001), Nature, 412, 158


Van Straten (2004), ApJS, 152, 129


Yardley et al. (2010), MNRAS, 407, 669


You et al. (2007a), MNRAS, 378, 493


You et al. (2007b), ApJ, 671, 907


You et al. (2012), MNRAS, 422, 1160









[pic]


Figure 2: Timing residuals for the extended PPTA data set (Manchester et
al. 2012).


[pic]


Figure 3: Students at work with PULSE@Parkes. Credit: David Crosling.









PKS B2152-699 reveals details of its large-scale jet


Diana M. Worrall and Mark Birkinshaw (University of Bristol)





PKS B2152-699, the first radio source mapped with the Australia Telescope
Compact Array (ATCA) during construction (Norris et al. 1990), has revealed
fascinating jet structures in new ATCA maps.


The radio source has been known for many years as double-lobed, extending
almost 100 kpc in projection on the sky, and hosted by a bright elliptical
galaxy 120 Mpc away (for example, Fosbury et al. 1998). Now the brightest
of the two radio jets that feed the lobes has been mapped over much of its
extent (Figure 1). This development has been possible thanks to the Compact
Array Broadband Backend (CABB, Wilson et al. 2011), and an ATCA observation
made as part of a comprehensive multiwavelength study of the system, for
which initial results are published in Worrall et al. (2012).


PKS B2152-699 is of particular interest as a nearby example of the
population of sources that must dominate radio-mode 'feedback'. Feedback is
needed to regulate the growth of super-massive black holes (SMBHs) and
their host galaxies in the Universe, so that they scale with one another,
and so that galaxies have the correct mass distribution. The basic idea is
that a radio source provides energy and momentum to the surrounding gas,
slowing star formation. The radio source is regulated by accretion onto the
SMBH in the galaxy's centre, and for feedback to work a connection must
exist between heating on large scales and accretion on small scales. It is
hoped that through detailed study of jet-gas interactions, the mechanisms
underlying feedback will be understood.


Most radio sources for which gas heating has been studied to date are of
relatively low radio power. While results have shown that radio power is a
good proxy for the kinetic power responsible for boring large-scale
cavities in surrounding gas (for example, Cavagnolo et al. 2010), the
sources that dominate radio feedback overall must be of higher power than
those studied so far, while not being of such high power that they are
rare. PKS B2152-699 falls in the critical power range. Our key result, that
most of its power goes into heating and moving of shocked gas that is
measured in X-rays with the Chandra satellite, instead of into the
excavation of cavities, is therefore particularly important (Worrall et al.
2012).


Our new ATCA observations were made at 18 GHz to give an angular resolution
well matched to that of Chandra. Our measurements of the contrast between
the northern and southern jets have helped us to constrain the orientation
of the source and the speed of plasma flow in the jet, after taking the
effects of Special Relativity into account. PKS B2152-699 is a particularly
good case to study because we can compare the power in the jet with the
power integrated over the lifetime of the source, as measured from the lobe-
shocked gas. We find the powers to be comparable, providing some confidence
that our understanding of the source is correct.


Particularly remarkable are the jet knots and wiggles revealed in the new
ATCA observations. One of these wiggles causes the jet to pass just to the
west of a region which is peculiarly bright in optical emission lines,
referred to as a High Ionization Cloud (HIC; Fosbury et al. 1998). The
HIC's scar-like appearance in Hubble Space Telescope images is quite
remarkable, as is the appearance of a second bright optical filament lying
adjacent to another of the jet wiggles, this time closer to the nucleus
(Figure 2). We have mapped the jet termination regions (the northern and
southern hotspots) in intensity and polarisation in exquisite detail from
the ATCA data, revealing a fascinating spiral pattern in the south, and
interesting radio/optical/X-ray offsets in the north, thus providing
insight into the mechanisms at play where jet plasma undergoes catastrophic
deceleration. Our work continues by observing and modelling the HIC in
detail, to study how jets within the important power range for feedback
interact with, and are shaped by, their immediate surroundings, as they
carry power to large scales. Stay tuned for updates!




Acknowledgements


We thank staff at Narrabri for help and advice before and during the ATCA
observations, and the Science and Technology Facilities Council for travel
support.


References


Cavagnolo, K.W., McNamara, B.R., Nulsen, P.E.J., Carilli, C.L., Jones, C.,
Birzan, L. 2010, ApJ, 720, 1066


Fosbury, R.A.E., Morganti, R., Wilson, W., Ekers, R.D., de Serego
Alighieri, S., Tadhunter, C.N. 1998, MNRAS, 296, 701


Norris, R.P. et al. 1990, Proc ASA, 8, 252


Wilson, W.E., et al. 2011, MNRAS, 416, 832


Worrall, D.M., Birkinshaw, M., Young, A.J., Momtahan, K., Fosbury, R.A.E.,
Morganti, R., Tadhunter, C.N., Verdoes Kleijn, G. 2012, MNRAS, 424, 1346





[pic]


Figure 1: Left: 4.74-GHz ATCA map from the data of Fosbury et al. (1998)
with 2.35 arcsec restoring beam.


[pic]


Figure 2: Left: Details of the inner northern jet from Figure 1 (right),
showing significant wiggles.












Signatures of grain growth in protoplanetary discs


Catarina Ubach (Swinburne University/CASS), Sarah Maddison (Swinburne
University), Chris Wright (UNSW/ADFA), David Wilner (Harvard-Smithsonian
Center for Astrophysics), Dave Lommen (Raffles Institution) and BÄrbel
Koribalski (CASS)


Planet formation takes place in the dusty protoplanetary discs surrounding
young stars. Multiwavelength studies of protoplanetary discs are conducted
to observe the first stages of the multi-step process of planet formation
as tiny grains grow in size via low-speed collisions. As submicron grains
grow to millimetre and centimetre size, the grains become decoupled from
the gas and settle towards the mid-plane of the discs.


Observational signatures of grain growth are probed in both the infrared
and millimetre wavelengths. The infrared regime explores the hot inner
upper surface of the disc (sub-micron and micron-sized grains), whereas the
millimetre regime probes the cooler outer regions and mid-plane of the disc
where the bulk of the dust resides (millimetre and larger grains). These
wavelengths directly probe the first stages of planet formation, as tiny
grains grow in size to become planetary building blocks.


The spectral slope from 1-3 mm (?1-3mm), where the flux F ? ?? and ? is the
frequency, can be used to estimate the dust opacity index ?, where dust
opacity ?? ? ??. Assuming the continuum emission from protoplanetary discs
at 1-3 mm arises from optically thin thermal dust emission, the dust
opacity index can be written as ? ~ ?-2, where ? ˜ 1 indicates grain growth
up to the size of the observing wavelength, that is, millimetre sizes
(Draine 2006).


The dust opacity index relationship can be extended to 7 mm wavelengths.
However, the emission observed at 7 mm wavelengths and beyond can result
from a range of physical processes present in these young stellar objects,
including thermal emission from dust, free-free emission from an ionised
wind, and non-thermal chromospheric emission (for example, Dullemon et al.
2007; Millan-Gabet et al. 2007). A constant spectral slope up to 7 mm and
beyond indicates that thermal dust emission dominates the emission and that
centimetre-sized pebbles may be present. A change in the spectral slope,
combined with temporal flux variability, can be used to determine the
dominant emission mechanism at centimetre wavelengths.


Utilising the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) with the new Compact
Array Broadband Backend (CABB), we conducted a survey of 20 T Tauri stars
at 3 and 7 mm in the Chamaeleon and Lupus southern star forming regions,
with the aim of identifying protoplanetary discs with signs of grain
growth. Through temporal monitoring at 7, 15 mm and 3+6 cm, we also
determined the emission mechanisms present in a smaller subset of sources
in Chamaeleon. These observations reached a sensitivity of ~ 0.1 mJy beam-
1, which allowed us to detect 90% of the sources at better than 5? at 3 and
7 mm, 4/6 sources at 15 mm and 1/3 sources at 3+6 cm.


We found that 50% of the sources have dominant thermal dust emission up to
7 mm. Half of these have a dust opacity index ? < 1, suggesting grain
growth up to at least millimetre sizes, see Figure 1 for a histogram of ?1-
3mm of the detected sources. The dust disc masses range from 10-5 to 10-3
M?, with eight sources having a total disc mass (gas plus dust, assuming a
gas-to-dust ratio of 100) above the minimum mass solar nebula of 0.01 M?
(Weidenschilling 1977).


The Chamaeleon sources observed at 15 mm and beyond show the presence of
excess emission from an ionised wind and/or chromospheric emission (Figure
2). Temporal monitoring on yearly timescales at 7 mm suggests that
centimetre-sized pebbles are present in at least four sources, and temporal
monitoring on hourly to daily timescales at 15 mm indicates the excess
emission observed in the spectral energy distribution is from thermal free-
free emission.


These results suggest that grain growth up to centimetre-sized pebbles are
common around young discs, that excess emission at 15 mm and beyond is also
common in these systems, and that temporal monitoring is required to
disentangle emission mechanisms.


Further results and analysis of this work, including a comparison of the
signatures of grain growth in the infrared to the millimetre wavelengths,
are presented in Ubach et al. (2012).


References


Draine B. T. 2006, ApJ, 636, 1114


Dullemon C. P., Hollenbach D., Kamp I., D'Alessio P. 2007, Protostars and
Planets V. Univ. Arizona Press, Tucson, p. 555


Millan-Gabet R., Malbet F., Akeson R., Leinert C., Monnier J., Waters R.
2007, Protostars and Planets V. Univ. Arizona Press, Tucson, p. 539


Ubach C., Maddison S. T., Wright C. M., Wilner D. J., Lommen D.J.P.,
Koribalski B. 2012, MNRAS, 425, 3137


Weidenschilling S. J. 1977, MNRAS, 180, 57





[pic]


Figure 1: Histogram of the ?1-3mm of the detected sources, indicating that
approximately 50% have an ?1-3mm < 3, thus a ? < 1. Original figure
presented in Ubach et al. (2012).


[pic]


Figure 4: Sample results of millimetre flux versus wavelength for
Chamaeleon sources.






Gas and star formation in the Circinus galaxy


Bi-Qing For (ICRAR/UWA), BÄrbel Koribalski (CASS) and Tom Jarrett
(SSC/California Institute of Technology)


Introduction


The Circinus galaxy is a nearby, highly obscured spiral galaxy which was
discovered by Freeman et al. (1977). It is located behind the Galactic
plane, hidden by dust and high star density. It is an Sb to Sd type galaxy
with a Holmberg radius of ~17' and a distance of about 4 Mpc (Freeman et
al. 1977).


Circinus is full of interesting features. It hosts an active galactic
nucleus (AGN) (Ghosh et al. 1992), superluminous H2O masers (Gardner and
Whiteoak 1982; Whiteoak and Gardner 1986), a recent supernova (Bauer et al.
2001), a star-forming nuclear ring (Marconi et al. 1994), a spectacular
pair of radio lobes (Elmouttie et al. 1998; Wilson et al. 2011) and a
gigantic hydrogen disk (Mebold et al. 1976; Freeman et al. 1977; Koribalski
et al. 2004). Despite the richness of interesting features in the Circinus
galaxy, most studies have been limited to its nuclear region. While the
2MASS Large Galaxy Atlas (Jarrett et al. 2003) has provided an extensive
view of the stellar content of Circinus, the formidable dust opacity at 2
?m and the dense stellar foreground prevent a detailed investigation of its
large scale and low surface brightness disk.


The mid-infrared (MIR) window is ideal to unveil both the old stellar disk
population of the obscured Circinus galaxy as well as the interstellar
emission from the newborn stars in the outer disk. The high angular
resolution, sensitivity and dynamic range of the IRAC and MIPS instruments
on board the Spitzer Space Telescope are suitable for this task. The IRAC
3.6 ?m and 4.5 ?m bands primarily trace the old stellar population in a
galaxy and the 5.8 ?m and 8.0 ?m bands reveal polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbon (PAH) emission from the heated interstellar dust via UV photons
radiating from massive young stars. The MIPS 24 ?m band is dominated by
thermal emission from warm (T > 120 K) dust inhabiting the molecular and
neutral medium phases of the interstellar medium (ISM), while 70 ?m band
traces cold (T < 50 K) emitting dust.


Observations


I. Spitzer observations


The MIR imaging observations of the Circinus galaxy were carried out with
the IRAC (3.6, 4.5, 5.8 and 8.0 ?m) and MIPS (24 and 70 ?m) bands of the
Spitzer telescope. The total field coverage is 50' x 50', which is large
enough to cover the entire HI disk of Circinus. Two epochs of observations
were carried out to improve the sensitivity and to mitigate data artefacts.
The achieved 1? sensitivity in surface brightness is 0.059, 0.045, 0.073,
0.086, 0.058 and 1.46


MJy/sr for the 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, 8.0, 24, and 70 ?m bands, respectively.


II. ATCA HI observations


High-resolution HI single-pointing observations of the Circinus galaxy were
carried out with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) using the
375, 750A and 1.5 array configurations (Jones et al. 1999). The data were
used to analyse the large-scale HI distribution and kinematics of Circinus.
For the purpose of studying the full HI extent of Circinus, which is much
larger than the 33' ATCA primary beam, HI mosaic observations were obtained
in the 375 m array (Curran, Koribalski and Bain 2008).


For this work, we used the ATCA HI data to create: (1) Galactic HI maps for
removing the Galactic foreground ISM, and (2) high-resolution HI maps of
the inner disk of the Circinus galaxy for comparison with Spitzer MIR data.
Galactic HI emission is prominent at radial velocities between about -250
km/s and +50 km/s. As for the HI emission from Circinus, it is observed
between +240 km/s and +640 km/s.


Highlights


I. Galactic ISM subtraction


It is crucial to separate Galactic from extragalactic (Circinus galaxy)
infrared emission, which is not a trivial task. The foreground ISM
contribution is negligible at the shorter wavelength bands of IRAC. Thus,
we only subtracted the Galactic ISM from the IRAC 8 ?m and MIPS 24 ?m
images. To achieve this, we processed the images in two steps: (1) removing
large-scale Galactic foreground; and (2) removing small-scale filamentary
structure.


To remove large-scale Galactic foreground, a correlation analysis was
performed by comparing the spatial distribution of dust emission derived
from Spitzer MIR maps to that of HI gas. Both single-pointing and mosaic HI
data, as well as Parkes HI maps from the Galactic All-Sky Survey (McClure-
Griffiths et al. 2009; Kalberla et al. 2010), were employed. We adopted the
non-linear method for combining the interferometer (ATCA) and single-dish
(Parkes) data (Stanimirovic 2002) with velocities ranging -88 km/s to +124
km/s. Scaled integrated Galactic HI emission maps were then subtracted from
the Spitzer images.


To remove the small-scale filamentary structure that is intersecting the
southwestern disk of the Circinus galaxy, we re-analysed the single-
pointing ATCA data over a velocity range from -220 km/s to +220 km/s and at
a range of angular resolutions. At an angular resolution of ~35", we were
able to identify the spur-like filamentary structure. The bulk of the
structure has a mean velocity of -45 km/s and is strongly correlated to the
8 ?m PAH emission. Once we subtracted that particular small-scale
structure, a much improved view of the star-forming regions in the inner
spiral arms of the Circinus galaxy was achieved.


II. Physical properties of the Circinus galaxy


We performed surface photometry and source characterisation for the
Circinus galaxy. A visual extinction of 2.1 mag was determined with the
spectral energy distribution method due to inaccurate measurement of
infrared dust emission in high extinction regions (Schlegel, Finkbeiner and
Davis 1998). We also derived the total stellar mass of 9.5 x 1010 M? using
the IRAC 3.6 and 4.5 ?m bands and total gas mass of 9 x 109 M? using the HI
map and the Swedish-ESO Submillimeter Telescope (SEST) CO(1-0) map (Curran,
Koribalski and Bains 2008).


III. Star formation


Star formation mostly occurs in the nuclear region and inner spiral arms of
galaxies. Some star formation also occurs in their outer disks (for
example, M 83; Thilker et al. 2005) and interaction zones between galaxies
(for example, NGC 1512/1510 pair; Koribalski and Lopez-Sanchez 2009). The
star formation activities are particularly prominent in regions of high gas
density.


We used a range of star formation rate (SFR) relations to estimate the
obscured global SFR of the Circinus galaxy. We note that the PAH emission
in the nuclear region is not related to the AGN, as claimed in the near-
infrared polarimetry study of the Circinus nucleus (Alexander, Ruiz and
Hough 1999). Thus, we conclude that the obscured global SFR of the Circinus
galaxy is approximately 3-8 M? per year.


We also identified 12 distinct/resolved individual star forming regions in
the Circinus galaxy by using HI gas as a tracer. Multiwavelength composite
images provide a powerful way to reveal the locations of star formation
within the gaseous disk of Circinus. In Figures 1 and 2, we show
multiwavelength colour composite images of the Circinus galaxy. The first
figure shows the composite image of IRAC 3.6 ?m (blue) + 4.5 ?m (green) +
8.0 ?m (red), without stellar foreground subtraction. The second figure
shows IRAC 8.0 ?m (red) + 3.6 ?m (green) + high-resolution ATCA HI map
(blue). Spectacular spiral arms are revealed in these composite images. In
Figure 3, we overlay the high-resolution ATCA HI map in contours onto the
IRAC 8.0 ?m. The contours are plotted at HI gas column densities of 1.23
(thick solid), 2.45 (dotted) and 3.19 (thin solid) x 1021 cm-2. The same
contours are overlaid onto the MIPS 24 ?m image near the central region in
Figure 4.


An additional contour of the CO (1-0) map is also shown (dashed). Ten
individual star forming regions have been identified in the IRAC 8.0 ?m
image that are clearly associated with the high-density HI gas. Two
additional resolved star forming regions are shown near the central region
of the MIPS 24 ?m image. They are labelled according to their relative
position to the centre of the Circinus galaxy.


Summary and conclusions


We present a detailed study of the Circinus galaxy, investigating its star
formation, dust and gas properties both in the inner and outer disk. We
utilised the high-resolution Spitzer infrared images taken with the IRAC
and MIPS instruments, ATCA and Parkes HI radio data, as well as a SEST CO
map. Due to the location of Circinus behind the Galactic plane, we
demonstrate that careful removal of Galactic emission from the MIR images
was necessary prior to further analysis. A correlation method and structure
matching based on HI gas in different velocity ranges successfully removed
both large and small-scale foreground structure from the IRAC 8.0 ?m and 24
?m images. We derive a visual extinction of 2.1 mag from the spectral
energy distribution of Circinus, and the total stellar and gas masses are
9.5 x 1010 M? and 9 x 109 M?, respectively. Using various wavelength SFR
relations, we find the obscured global star formation rates to be 3-8 M?
per year. Star forming regions in the inner spiral arms of Circinus are
unveiled in the Spitzer 8 ?m image and rich in HI gas.


References


Freeman K.C. et al. 1977, A&A, 55, 445


Ghosh S.K. et al. 1992, ApJ, 391, 111


Gardner F.F. and Whiteoak J.B. 1982, MNRAS, 201, 13P


Whiteoak J.B. and Gardner F.F. 1986, MNRAS, 222, 513


Baeur F.E. et al. 2001, AJ, 122, 182


Marconi A. et al. 1994, The Messenger, 78, 20


Elmouttie M. et al. 1998, MNRAS, 297, 49


Wilson W.E. et al. 2011, MNRAS, 416, 832


Mebold U. et al. 1976, PASA, 3, 72


Koribalski B.S. et al. 2004, AJ, 128, 16


Jarrett T.H. et al. 2003, AJ, 125, 525


Jones K.L. et al. 1999, MNRAS, 302, 649


Curran S.J. et al. 2008, MNRAS, 389, 63


McClure-Griffiths N.M. et al. 2009, ApJS, 181, 398


Karberla P.M.W. et al. 2010, A&A, 521, 17


Stanimirovic S. 2002, in Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference
Series, Vol. 278, p375-396


Schlegel D.J. et al. 1998, ApJ, 500, 525


Thilker D.A. et al. 2005, ApJL, 619, L79


Koribalski B.S. and Lopez-Sanchez A.R. 2009, MNRAS, 400, 1749


Alexander D.M. et al. 1999, in ESA Special Publication, Vol. 435, p. 1





[pic]


Figure 1: A multiwavelength colour composite image of the Circinus galaxy
showing IRAC 3.6 ?m (blue) + 4.5 ?m (green) + 8.0 ?m (red), without stellar
foreground subtraction.


[pic]


Figure 2: A second multiwavelength colour composite image of the Circinus
galaxy showing IRAC 8.0 ?m (red) + 3.6 ?m (green) + high-resolution ATCA HI
map (blue).





[pic]


Figure 3: An overlay of the high-resolution ATCA HI map contours onto the
IRAC 8.0 ?m.





[pic]


Figure 4: The high-resolution ATCA HI map contours overlaid onto the MIPS
24 ?m image near the central region.






Education and outreach


Rob Hollow (CASS)


Education and outreach activities


The Cairns - Port Douglas region will be the centre of attention for
astronomers across the globe when it experiences a total solar eclipse in
November 2012. In preparation for this, CASS Education Officer Rob Hollow
ran a two-day astronomy workshop for teachers from across far north
Queensland in Cairns in late April. The workshop, supported by Education
Queensland, prepared teachers for educational activities and safe viewing
of the eclipse (as well as the Transit of Venus that took place in June).
Rob also visited three schools and talked to hundreds of students about the
upcoming events.


The annual three-day 'Astronomy from the Ground Up' teacher workshop was
held at Parkes Observatory in May, attracting teachers from three states.
Several CASS staff and other presenters talked about their research and a
variety of astronomy topics. Participants also learnt solar observation
techniques, how to run a viewing night and had a close-up tour of 'The
Dish'. Rob also presented several workshop sessions at science teacher
conferences in Canberra and in Sydney.


CASS co-sponsors the annual Southern Cross Astronomy Conference. This
year's event took place in the Hunter Valley and coincided with the Transit
of Venus. The 100 assembled astronomers, from around the world, were
fortunately able to view the event between clouds and rain with a number of
telescopes operated by CASS staff.


Rob participated in the Mid West Youth Science Forum in Geraldton and gave
an on-air lesson at the Meekatharra School of the Air as part of CASS
engagement in the Mid West region of Western Australia.


Numerous CASS staff have also presented a wide range of talks to Australian
audiences over recent months. This includes Ray Norris, who delivered
popular talks on Aboriginal astronomy at the Western Australian Museum in
Geraldton and the Australian Museum in Sydney.


PULSE@Parkes


PULSE@Parkes sessions for schools were held in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth
duringthe current telescope observing semester. The sessions, held in
collaboration with the Victorian Space Science Education Centre in
Melbourne and SPICE in Perth, allowed several schools to participate for
the first time in this exciting program.


The International Pulsar Timing Array Winter School for graduate students
was held at the University of Sydney in June. Students from around the
globe took part in a PULSE@Parkes observing session as part of the school.
For some it was their first chance to actually observe with a radio
telescope. The modified session ran as a masterclass with a collection of
some of the finest pulsar astronomers in the world describing the nuances
of pulsar observing with the participants. This was the first time we have
run such a session but all involved agreed that it was a useful event and
an instructional tool worth repeating in the future.


In addition, coordinator Rob Hollow presented a talk about the project at
the Astronomical Society of the Pacific's education and outreach conference
in Tucson, USA in August.


PULSE@Parkes has also been awarded a grant from the Australia-Japan
Foundation that will see the team tour Japan in the first half of 2013 to
run observing sessions for Japanese students, help train teachers and give
talks about pulsar astronomy to Japanese colleagues.


With the new Science Operations Centre due to commence operations in coming
months (see page 33 for more information), we look forward to adapting our
Marsfield-based school sessions to utilise the new facilities and provide
an even better experience for students.


Operations


Douglas Bock, Phil Edwards, Erik Lensson and Dave McConnell (CASS)


Over the past several years the operations team has been preparing for
ASKAP to join the ATNF. The recent ASKAP opening signalled the next phase.
Barry Turner's team based in Geraldton, Western Australia, will move to
ATNF Operations in November as the focus for their day-to-day activities
changes. At the same time, the ASKAP and existing ATNF Operations science
computing teams will be merged. The Geraldton office will grow from the
current 10 staff to approximately 15 staff over the next year. We will
introduce you to the new faces in the next ATNF News.


Parkes


The Parkes maser hut has been replaced by a new environmentally controlled
(temperature, vibration, humidity) enclosure. In addition to a stable
environment, the new maser provides for energy efficiencies, improved
monitoring and fibre connectivity for the timing chain to the tower. This
work on the enclosure was led by Tim Wilson. Meanwhile, Christoph Brem led
a team that reconfigured the timing signal distribution, including new line
amplifiers and change from the disturbance-prone daisy chain distribution
to a buffered star configuration. Work also continued on the installation
of high voltage infrastructure at Parkes, with the new 750 kVA transformer
kiosk and switchgear now installed near the power house.


As mentioned earlier in this newsletter (see page 12), Parkes provided
support for NASA during the entry, descent and landing of the Mars Science
Laboratory. Everything went smoothly on the day, thanks to the preparatory
efforts of engineering and operations staff in the months leading up to the
track. This included Mark Bowen, Suzy Jackson and Alex Dunning's work on re-
designing the cavity-back feed and new low noise amplifiers to retune the
receiver from 430 MHz to 401.58 MHz. Stacy Mader provided assistance during
the test installation in the focus cabin in early June, which proved to be
very useful in characterising the radio frequency environment at these
frequencies. A particularly strong signal was observed on occasions at the
uncomfortably close frequency of 401.58 MHz and following some detective
work, the source was narrowed down to the telemetry beacons carried by
Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) radiosonde on-board high-altitude weather
balloons. Following discussions between Erik Lensson (Engineering
Operations) and Paul Hettrick (BoM), meteorological operations staff kindly
agreed to a temporary radiosonde frequency change to assist the Parkes
tracking efforts.


There was no possibility of the spacecraft switching on its 401.5 MHz
beacon prior to its arrival at Mars, but NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
realised that the same band is used by the existing rovers on the surface
of Mars to communicate with the various satellites orbiting the planet. The
rover team agreed to switch on the beacon on one of the rovers for 10
minutes the week before the landing to test out the Parkes system, which
reassuringly resulted in a clear detection. One minor mystery remained
however, in that one polarisation was found to be noticeably noisier than
the other. After much head scratching, Ettore Carretti realised the noise
level was changing as Brett Preisig moved around in the focus cabin. and
was minimised when Brett stood in front of a particular rack of equipment!
Some extra shielding was promptly installed to fix the problem.


The track itself was supported by local staff, with John Reynolds, Shaun
Amy and Suzy Jackson also on site to lend a hand if required. Suzy had the
foresight to buy all the Mars bars in stock at the Dish cafÈ and a
celebratory chocolate was enjoyed by all present after the successful
conclusion of the track!


There have been several staff changes at Parkes in recent months. Our new
industrial electrician, Bob Kaletch, will be joined by electrician Alan
Pieroz this month. Brett Armstrong has moved from Parkes to a new role in
Geraldton supporting ASKAP.


Remote observing with Parkes


The Remote Access to the Parkes Telescope (RAPT) project team continues to
work towards providing remote access to the Parkes telescope. Ultimately,
this will allow completely unattended operation with observers accessing
the telescope from the Science Operations Centre at Marsfield or from their
home institution. The remote observing procedures will be similar to those
already in use for the Compact Array and Mopra, and the RAPT project has
been adapting and developing software to enable this to take place. In
addition, there are special requirements for the protection of the
telescope's safety - a custom-designed telescope protection system (TPS) is
being built to detect adverse operating conditions. At this stage, most of
the software and computing changes have been completed and are under test.
The TPS, including a specialised vibration monitor, is under construction
and is expected to be ready for installation and commissioning in late
November or early December. At that point remote observations can commence;
during the first few weeks of remote access, while trust in the TPS is
established, human presence in the telescope tower will be maintained as a
precaution.


Australia Telescope Compact Array


It has been a busy six months at the Compact Array, with the first two
'production' 4-cm receivers (upgraded 6-cm/3-cm receivers, which provide a
band from 4 to ~10.8 GHz) joining the prototype receiver on the array.
Tests have also been done with a re-designed feed for the 4-cm receivers to
improve the performance above 10.8 GHz to at least 12 GHz. There has also
been good progress with CABB, with the multi-zoom 64 MHz mode becoming
available in September.


A trainee, Liza-Jane McPherson, started working in May to provide
assistance to the administration group at Narrabri. Aaron Sanders has also
moved from Marsfield to Narrabri for an extended visit to help with, and
learn from, the engineering group on site. As described elsewhere in this
issue (see page 14), the CASS Radio School was held at Narrabri this year,
with local staff ensuring all preparations were in place for the event to
run smoothly.


Mopra


Funding has been secured to operate the Mopra telescope for three years,
commencing in October 2012. Mopra operations will initially be funded by
the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, the University of New South
Wales, and the University of Adelaide. A majority of the observing time
will be provided to the funding organisations. A portion of the time will
be made available to ATNF users under the agreement. In the first year of
operation under this new model, the ATNF time will be used primarily for
Long Baseline Array (VLBI) observations and for the completion of current,
large, Time Assignment Committee-approved projects.


The Mopra schedule for the month of October 2012 has been released (see
ATNF observing schedules); more details are given in the accompanying
release notes.


In the 2013 April semester, some Mopra single-dish time will be available
in the LST range 2200 to 1100. The process for requesting this time will be
documented in the November proposal call for the semester. The time will be
available for conducting larger projects with limited support requirements.
In future semesters we anticipate offering ATNF time in all LST ranges.


Science Operations Centre


Over the past few months, the new Science Operations Centre has been taking
shape at Marsfield. The SOC runs the length of F-wing, on the ground floor
of the site, behind the lecture theatre. The SOC comprises four control
rooms that can be linked to the four telescopes - ASKAP, Compact Array,
Mopra and Parkes. The existing remote observing stations in Room 23
(currently used for remote observing with Mopra and the Compact Array) will
be relocated and a similar set-up established for Parkes. ASKAP
commissioning will initially use one of the larger observing rooms, with a
smart board linked to a similar unit at the MRO site to ensure there is a
single source of current information available to engineers and
commissioning teams. The two larger rooms can be joined into one large
space for group observing sessions such as LBA observing, ASKAP
commissioning and 'PULSE@Parkes'.


Next to the observing rooms is an open space to encourage interactions
between observers and other visitors and local staff, with comfortable
seating, current periodicals, white boards and tables for discussions and
small informal meetings. The area immediately behind the lecture theatre
will be used for workspaces for visitors, and the librarians' desk will
also be located here. The office for the Visitors Services Group is now
located at the end closest to the main reception area, in an area much
easier for visitors to the site to find. Finally, in the old compactus area
of the library there will be a quiet reading area and shelving
accommodating the collection of theses and other reference material.


October 2012 time assignment


The Time Assignment Committee (TAC) met at Marsfield on 24 and 25 July to
consider the 152 proposals submitted for the 2012 October semester for
observations with the Compact Array, Parkes, Tidbinbilla and Long Baseline
Array.


Several cautionary tales emerged from the meeting for future proposers. For
example, one team inadvertently attached the justification for one of their
other projects to a proposal. The TAC was surprised to see the same
justification twice, but naturally could not assess the merits of the
proposal with the wrong justification. OPAL has an option to preview the
complete proposal (cover sheets, observations table and justification)
before submission, and it is recommended all proposers make use of this
feature.


Another team completed their observations table in equatorial coordinates
(right ascension and declination) but checked the box for galactic
coordinates, resulting in the wrong positions being automatically
transferred to the scheduling software. This was caught before the
scheduling process commenced, but required some effort to undo the
proposers' error.


This TAC meeting was the last for Helen Johnston, Martin Meier, and Willem
van Straten, whose collective knowledge and wisdom has been greatly
appreciated.









Publications


The following list of publications includes published refereed papers that
use ATNF data or are by CASS authors; the list has been compiled following
publication of the April 2012 issue of ATNF News. Papers that include CASS
authors are indicated by an asterisk. Please email any updates or
corrections to this list to Julie.Tesoriero@csiro.au.


Publication lists for papers that include ATNF data or CASS authors are
also available on the ATNF website at ATNF research publications.


*Ackermann, M.; Ajello, J.; Ballet, G.; Barbiellini, D.; Bastieri, A.;
Belfiore; Bellazzini, B.; Berenji, R.D. and 57 coauthors. "Periodic
emission from the Gamma-Ray Binary 1FGL J1018.6-5856". Science, 335, 189-
193 (2012).


*Ainsworth, R.E.; Scaife, A.M.M.; Ray, T.P.; Buckle, J.V.; Davies, M.;
Franzen, T.M.O.; Grainge, K.J.B.; Hobson, M.P.; Shimwell, T. and 12
coauthors. "AMI radio continuum observations of young stellar objects
with known outflows". MNRAS, 423, 1089-1108 (2012).


*Allison, J.R.; Curran, S.J.; Emonts, B H.C.; GerÈb, K.; Mahony, E.K.;
Reeves, S.; Sadler, E.M.; Tanna, A.; Whiting, M.T.; Zwaan, M.A. "A search
for 21 cm HI absorption in AT20G compact radio galaxies". MNRAS, 423,
2601-2616 (2012).


*Alves, M.I.R.; Davies, R.D.; Dickinson, C.; Calabretta, M.; Davis, R.;
Staveley-Smith, L. "A derivation of the free-free emission on the
Galactic plane between l= 20œ and 44œ". MNRAS, 422, 2429-2443 (2012).


*Anderson, G.E.; Gaensler, B.M.; Slane, P.O.; Rea, N.; Kaplan, D.L.;
Posselt, B.; Levin, L.; Johnston, S.; Murray, S.S.; Brogan, C.L. and 22
coauthors. "Multi-wavelength observations of the radio magnetar PSR J1622-
4950 and discovery of its possibly associated supernova remnant". ApJ,
751, 53 (2012).


*Argo, M.; Hollow, R. "Astronomy Outreach in the Remote Mid West Region of
Western Australia". CAPJ, 12, 16 (2012).


*Batejat, F.; Conway, J.E.; Rushton, A.; Parra, R.; Diamond, P.J.;
Lonsdale, C.J.; Lonsdale, C.J. "Rapid variability of the compact radio
sources in Arp220. Evidence for a population of microblazars?" A&A, 542,
L24 (2012).


*BÈthermin, M.; Le Floc'h, E.; Ilbert, O.; Conley, A.; Lagache, G.;
Amblard, A.; Arumugam, V.; Aussel, H.; Berta, S.; Seymour, N. and 51
coauthors. "HerMES: deep number counts at 250 µm, 350 µm and 500 µm in
the COSMOS and GOODS-N fields and the build-up of the cosmic infrared
background". A&A, 542, 58 (2012).


Beutler, F.; Blake, C.; Colless, M.; Jones, D.H.; Staveley-Smith, L.;
Poole, G.B.; Campbell, L.; Parker, Q.; Saunders, W.; Watson, F. "The 6dF
Galaxy Survey: z ~ 0 measurements of the growth rate and ?8". MNRAS, 423,
3430-3444 (2012).


Bhat, N.D.R. "Searches for radio transients". BASI, 39, 353-373 (2012).


Bozzetto, L.M.; Filipovic, M.D.; Crawford, E.J.; De Horta, A.Y.; Stupar, M.
"Multifrequency radio observations of SNR J0536-6735 (N 59B) with
associated pulsar". Serb.Astron., 184, 69-76 (2012).


*Braun, R. "Cosmological Evolution of Atomic Gas and Implications for 21 cm
HI Absorption". ApJ, 749, 87 (2012).


*Breen, S.L.; Ellingsen, S.P.; Caswell, J.L.; Green, J.A.; Voronkov, M.A.;
Fuller, G.A.; Quinn, L.J.; Avison, A. "12.2-GHz methanol maser MMB follow-
up catalogue - I. Longitude range 330œ to 10œ". MNRAS, 421, 1703-1735
(2012).


*Burke-Spolaor, S.; Johnston, S.; Bailes, M.; Bates, S.D.; Bhat, N.D.R.;
Burgay, M.; Champion, D.J.; D'Amico, N.; Keith, M.J.; Kramer, M. and 5
coauthors. "The High Time Resolution Universe Pulsar Survey - V. Single-
pulse energetics and modulation properties of 315 pulsars". MNRAS, 423,
1351-1367 (2012).


*Camilo, F.; Kerr, M.; Ray, P.S.; Ransom, S. M.; Johnston, S.; Romani,
R.W.; Parent, D.; DeCesar, M.E.; Harding, A.K.; Donato, D. and 7
coauthors. "PSR J2030+3641: Radio discovery and gamma-ray study of a
middle-aged pulsar in the now identified fermi-LAT source 1FGL
J2030.0+3641". ApJ, 746, 39 (2012).


Chen, D.; Zhu, X.-Z. Wang, N. "Research on Ensemble Pulsar Time Based on
Observed Data". ChA&A, 36, 187-197 (2012).


*Chhetri, R.; Ekers, R D.; Mahony, E.K.; Jones, P.A.; Massardi, M.; Ricci,
R.; Sadler, E.M. "Spectral properties and the effect on redshift cut-off
of compact active galactic nuclei from the AT20G survey" MNRAS, 422, 2274-
2281 (2012).


*Chung, A.; Bureau, M.; van Gorkom, J.H.; Koribalski, B. "The HI
environment of counter-rotating gas hosts: gas accretion from cold gas
blobs". MNRAS, 422, 1083-1091 (2012).


*Cordes, J.M.; Shannon, R.M. "Minimum requirements for detecting a
stochastic gravitational wave background using pulsars". ApJ, 750, 89
(2012).


*Cseh, D.; Corbel, S.; Kaaret, P.; Lang, C.; GrisÈ, F.; Paragi, Z.;
Tzioumis, A.; Tudose, V.; Feng, H. "Black hole powered nebulae and a case
study of the ultraluminous x-Ray source IC 342 X-1". ApJ, 749, 17 (2012).


de Horta, A.Y.; Filipovic, M.D.; Bozzetto, L. M.; Maggi, P.; Haberl, F.;
Crawford, E.J.; Sasaki, M.; Uro?evic, D.; Pietsch, W.; Gruendl, R. and 5
coauthors. "Multi-frequency study of supernova remnants in the Large
Magellanic Cloud. The case of LMC SNR J0530-7007". A&A, 540, 25 (2012).


*Deller, A.T.; Camilo, F.; Reynolds, J.E.; Halpern, J.P. "The Proper Motion
of PSR J1550-5418 Measured with VLBI: A Second Magnetar Velocity
Measurement". ApJ, 748, L1 (2012).


*Deng, X.P.; Coles, W.; Hobbs, G.; Keith, M.J.; Manchester, R.N.; Shannon,
R.M.; Zheng, J.H. "Optimal interpolation and prediction in pulsar
timing". MNRAS, 424, 244-251 (2012).


Duffy, A.R.; Moss, A.; Staveley-Smith, L. "Cosmological Surveys with the
Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder". PASA, 29, 202-211 (2012).


*Emonts, B.H.C.; Burnett, C.; Morganti, R.; Struve, C. "Classical radio
source propagating into outer HI disc in NGC 3801". MNRAS, 421, 1421-1430
(2012).


*Ferraro, F.R.; Mignani, R.P.; Pallanca, C.; Dalessandro, E.; Lanzoni, B.;
Pellizzoni, A.; Possenti, A.; Burgay, M.; Camilo, F.; D'Amico, N.; Lyne,
A.G.; Kramer, M.; Manchester, R.N. "Constraining the optical emission
from the double pulsar system J0737-3039". ApJ, 749, 84 (2012).


Fontani, F.; Giannetti, A.; BeltrÀn, M.T.; Dodson, R.; Rioja, M.; Brand,
J.; Caselli, P.; Cesaroni, R. "High CO depletion in southern infrared
dark clouds". MNRAS, 423, 2342-2358 (2012).


*For, B.-Q.; Koribalski, B.S.; Jarrett, T.H. "Gas and star formation in the
Circinus galaxy". MNRAS, 425, 1934-1950 (2012).


Galvin, T.J.; Filipovic, M.D.; Crawford, E.J.; Wong, G.; Payne, J.L.; De
Horta, A.; White, G.L.; Tothill, N.; Dra?kovic, D.; Pannuti, T.G. and 4
coauthors. "Radio-continuum study of the nearby sculptor group galaxies.
Part 1: NGC 300 at lambda=20 cm". Ap&SS, 340, 133-142 (2012).


*Godfrey, L.E.H.; Bicknell, G.V.; Lovell, J.E.J.; Jauncey, D.L.; Gelbord,
J.; Schwartz, D A.; Perlman, E.S.; Marshall, H.L.; Birkinshaw, M.;
Worrall, D.M. and 2 coauthors. "A Multi-wavelength Study of the Jet,
Lobes, and Core of the Quasar PKS 2101-490". ApJ, 755, 174 (2012).


*Green, J.A.; Caswell, J L.; Voronkov, M.A.; McClure-Griffiths, N.M.
"Variability monitoring of the hydroxyl maser emission in G12.889+0.489".
MNRAS, 425, 1504-1510 (2012).


*Guillemot, L.; Freire, P. C. C.; Cognard, I.; Johnson, T. J.; Takahashi,
Y.; Kataoka, J.; Desvignes, G.; Camilo, F.; Ferrara, E. C.; Harding, A.
K.; Keith, M. and 10 coauthors. "Discovery of the millisecond pulsar PSR
J2043+1711 in a Fermi source with the NanÃay Radio Telescope". MNRAS,
422, 1294-1305 (2012).


*GuzmÀn, A.E.; Garay, G.; Brooks, K.J.; Voronkov, M.A. "Search for Ionized
Jets toward High-mass Young Stellar Objects". ApJ, 753, 51 (2012).


Haberl, F.; Filipovic, M.D.; Bozzetto, L.M.; Crawford, E.J.; Points, S D.;
Pietsch, W.; De Horta, A.Y.; Tothill, N.; Payne, J.L.; Sasaki, M. "Multi-
frequency observations of SNR J0453-6829 in the LMC. A composite
supernova remnant with a pulsar wind nebula". A&A, 543, 154 (2012).


*Hales, C A.; Gaensler, B.M.; Norris, R.P.; Middelberg, E. "Analytic
detection thresholds for measurements of linearly polarized intensity
using rotation measure synthesis". MNRAS, 424, 2160-2172 (2012).


Hancock, P.J.; Murphy, T.; Gaensler, B.M.; Hopkins, A.; Curran, J.R.
"Compact continuum source finding for next generation radio surveys".
MNRAS, 422, 1812-1824 (2012).


*Hayashida, M.; Madejski, G.M.; Nalewajko, K.; Sikora, M.; Wehrle, A. E.;
Ogle, P.; Collmar, W.; Larsson, S.; Fukazawa, Y.; Boch, D.C.J. and 82
coauthors. "The Structure and Emission Model of the Relativistic Jet in
the Quasar 3C 279 Inferred from Radio to High-energy gamma-Ray
Observations in 2008-2010". ApJ, 754, 114 (2012).


*Hindson, L.; Thompson, M.A.; Urquhart, J.S.; Faimali, A.; Clark, J.S.;
Davies, B. "The G305 star-forming complex: a wide-area radio survey of
ultracompact HII regions". MNRAS, 421, 3418-3430 (2012).


*Jarrett, T. H.; Masci, F.; Tsai, C. W.; Petty, S.; Cluver, M.; Assef,
Roberto J.; Benford, D.; Blain, A.; Bridge, C.; Donoso, E.; Koribalski,
B. and 8 coauthors. "Constructing a WISE High Resolution Galaxy Atlas".
AJ, 144, 68 (2012).


Johansson, D.; Horellou, C.; Lopez-Cruz, O.; Muller, S.; Birkinshaw, M.;
Black, J.H.; Bremer, M.N.; Wall, W.F.; Bertoldi, F.; Castillo, E.; Ibarra-
Medel, H.J. "Molecular gas and dust in the highly magnified z ~ 2.8
galaxy behind the Bullet Cluster". A&A, 543, 62 (2012).


*Kataoka, J.; Saito, T.; Yoshino, M.; Mizoma, H.; Nakamori, T.; Yatsu, Y.;
Ishikawa, Y.; Matsunaga, Y.; Tajima, H.; Kokubun, M.; Edwards, P.G.
"Expected radiation damage of reverse-type APDs for the Astro-H mission".
JInst., 7, 6001 (2012).


Keane, E.F.; Stappers, B.W.; Kramer, M.; Lyne, A.G. "On the origin of a
highly dispersed coherent radio burst". MNRAS, 425, L71-L75 (2012).


Lakicevic, M.; Zanardo, G.; van Loon, J. Th.; Staveley-Smith, L.; Potter,
T.; Ng, C.-Y.; Gaensler, B. M. "The remnant of supernova 1987A resolved
at 3-mm wavelength". A&A 541 L2 (2012).


*Levin, L.; Bailes, M.; Bates, S.D.; Bhat, N.D.R.; Burgay, M.; Burke-
Spolaor, S.; D'Amico, N.; Johnston, S.; Keith, M.J.; Kramer, M.; Milia,
S.; Possenti, A.; Stappers, B.; van Straten, W. "Radio emission
evolution, polarimetry and multifrequency single pulse analysis of the
radio magnetar PSR J1622-4950". MNRAS, 422, 2489-2500 (2012).


*Lo, K K.; Bray, J.D.; Hobbs, G.; Murphy, T.; Gaensler, B.M.; Melrose, D.;
Ravi, V.; Manchester, R.N.; Keith, M.J. "Observations and modelling of
pulsed radio emission from CU Virginis". MNRAS, 421, 3316-3324 (2012).


*Macquart, J.-P.; Ekers, R.D.; Feain, I.; Johnston-Hollitt, M. "On the
Reliability of Polarization Estimation Using Rotation Measure Synthesis".
ApJ, 750, 139 (2012).


*Mahony, E.K.; Sadler, E.M.; Croom, S.M.; Ekers, R.D.; Feain, I.J.; Murphy,
T. "Is the observed high-frequency radio luminosity distribution of QSOs
bimodal?". ApJ, 754, 12 (2012).


*Mauduit, J.-C.; Lacy, M.; Farrah, D.; Surace, J.A.; Jarvis, M.; Oliver,
S.; Maraston, C.; Vaccari, M.; Marchetti, L.; Zeimann, G.; Norris, R.P.;
Seymour, N. and 72 coauthors. "The Spitzer Extragalactic Representative
Volume Survey (SERVS): Survey Definition and Goals". PASP, 124, 714-736
(2012).


Maxted, N.I.; Rowell, G.P.; Dawson, B.R.; Burton, M.G.; Nicholas, B.P.;
Fukui, Y.; Walsh, A.J.; Kawamura, A.; Horachi, H.; Sano, H. "3 to 12
millimetre studies of dense gas towards the western rim of supernova
remnant RX J1713.7-3946". MNRAS, 422, 2230-2245 (2012).


*McClure-Griffiths, N.M. "New results from Galactic ISM surveys: The frothy
ISM". Astron. Nachr., 333, 497-504 (2012).


*McConnell, D.; Sadler, E.M.; Murphy, T.; Ekers, R.D. "ATPMN: accurate
positions and flux densities at 5 and 8 GHz for 8385 sources from the PMN
survey". MNRAS, 422, 1527-1545 (2012).


Michalowski, M.J.; Kamble, A.; Hjorth, J.; Malesani, D.; Reinfrank, R.F.;
Bonavera, L.; Castro CerÑn, J.M.; Ibar, E.; Dunlop, J.S.; Fynbo, J.P.U.
and 12 coauthors. "The Optically Unbiased GRB Host (TOUGH) Survey. VI.
Radio Observations at z <~ 1 and Consistency with Typical Star-forming
Galaxies". ApJ, 755, 85 (2012).


*Middelberg, E.; Deller, A.T.; Brisken, W.F.; Morgan, J.S.; Norris, R.P. "A
wider audience: Turning VLBI into a survey instrument". Astron. Nachr.,
333, 447-452 (2012).


Morales Ortiz, J.L.; Olmi, L.; Burton, M.; De Luca, M.; Elia, D.; Giannini,
T.; Lorenzetti, D.; Massi, F.; Strafella, F. "A spectral line survey of
the starless and proto-stellar cores detected by BLAST toward the Vela-D
molecular cloud". A&A, 543, A65 (2012).


*Moss, V.A.; McClure-Griffiths, N.M.; Braun, R.; Hill, A.S.; Madsen, G.J.
"GSH 006-15+7: a local Galactic supershell featuring transition from HI
emission to absorption". MNRAS, 421, 3159-3169 (2012).


*Norris, R.P.; Lenc, E.; Roy, A.L.; Spoon, H. "The radio core of the
ultraluminous infrared galaxy F00183-7111: watching the birth of a
quasar". MNRAS, 422, 1453-1459 (2012).


*Noutsos, A.; Kramer, M.; Carr, P.; Johnston, S. "Pulsar spin-velocity
alignment: further results and discussion". MNRAS, 423, 2736-2752 (2012).


*O'Sullivan, S.P.; Brown, S.; Robishaw, T.; Schnitzeler, D.H.F.M.; McClure-
Griffiths, N.M.; Feain, I.J.; Taylor, A.R.; Gaensler, B.M.; Landecker,
T.L.; Harvey-Smith, L.; Carretti, E. "Complex Faraday depth structure of
active galactic nuclei as revealed by broad-band radio polarimetry".
MNRAS, 421, 3300-3315 (2012).


*Ogle, P.; Davies, J.E.; Appleton, P.N.; Bertincourt, B.; Seymour, N.;
Helou, G. "Ultraluminous Star-forming Galaxies and Extremely Luminous
Warm Molecular Hydrogen Emission at z = 2.16 in the PKS 1138-26 Radio
Galaxy Protocluster". ApJ, 751, 13 (2012).


*Oppermann, N.; Junklewitz, H.; Robbers, G.; Bell, M.R.; Enúlin, T. A.;
Bonafede, A.; Braun, R.; Brown, J.C.; Clarke, T. E.; Feain, I. J. and 21
coauthors. "An improved map of the Galactic Faraday sky". A&A, 542, 93
(2012).


*Page, M.J.; Symeonidis, M.; Vieira, J.D.; Altieri, B.; Amblard, A.;
Arumugam, V.; Aussel, H.; Babbedge, T.; Blain, A.; Bock, J.; Seymour, N.
and 67 coauthors. "The suppression of star formation by powerful active
galactic nuclei". Nature, 485, 213-216 (2012).


*Posselt, B.; Pavlov, G.G.; Manchester, R.N.; Kargaltsev, O.; Garmire, G.P.
"Chandra observations of the Old Pulsar PSR B1451-68". ApJ, 749, 146
(2012).


Prinz, T.; Becker, W. "Exploring the supernova remnant G308.4-1.4". A&A,
544, 7 (2012).


*Raccanelli, A.; Zhao, G-B.; Bacon, D.J.; Jarvis, M.J.; Percival, W.J.;
Norris, R.P.; RÆttgering, H.; Abdalla, F.B.; Cress, C.M.; Kubwimana, J-C.
and 4 coauthors. "Cosmological measurements with forthcoming radio
continuum surveys". MNRAS, 424, 801-819 (2012).


Rahoui, F.; Coriat, M.; Corbel, S.; Cadolle Bel, M.; Tomsick, J.A.; Lee,
J.C.; Rodriguez, J.; Russell, D M.; Migliari, S. "Optical and near-
infrared spectroscopy of the black hole GX 339-4 - I. A focus on the
continuum in the low/hard and high/soft states". MNRAS, 422, 2202-2212
(2012).


*Riemer-SÜrensen, S.; Blake, C.; Parkinson, D.; Davis, T.M.; Brough, S.;
Colless, M.; Contreras, C.; Couch, W.; Croom, S.; Croton, D.; Jurek, R.J.
and 17 coauthors. "WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey: Cosmological neutrino mass
constraint from blue high-redshift galaxies". PhRvD, 85, 1101 (2012).


Robbins, W.J.; Gaensler, B.M.; Murphy, T.; Reeves, S.; Green, A.J. "A
multiwavelength study of the radio source G296.7-0.9: confirmation as a
Galactic supernova remnant". MNRAS, 419, 2623-2632 (2012).


Sanhueza, P.; Jackson, J.M.; Foster, J.B.; Garay, G.; Silva, A.; Finn, S.C.
"Chemistry in infrared dark cloud clumps: a molecular line survey at 3
mm". ApJ, 756, 60 (2012).


*Saripalli, L.; Subrahmanyan, R.; Thorat, K.; Ekers, R D.; Hunstead, R.W.;
Johnston, H.M.; Sadler, E.M. "ATLBS Extended Source Sample: The Evolution
in Radio Source Morphology with Flux Density". ApJS, 199, 27 (2012).


*Scaife, A.M.M.; Buckle, J.V.; Ainsworth, R.E.; Davies, M.; Franzen,
T.M.O.; Grainge, K.J.B.; Hobson, M.P.; Hurley-Walker, N.; Lasenby, A.N.
and 12 coauthors. "Radio continuum observations of Class I protostellar
discs in Taurus: constraining the greybody tail at centimetre
wavelengths". MNRAS, 420, 3334-3343 (2012).


Seale, J.P.; Looney, L.W.; Wong, T.; Ott, J.; Klein, U.; Pineda, J.L. "The
life and death of dense molecular clumps in the Large Magellanic Cloud".
ApJ, 751, 42 (2012).


Slane, P.; Hughes, J.P.; Temim, T.; Rousseau, R.; Castro, D.; Foight, D.;
Gaensler, B.M.; Funk, S.; Lemoine-Goumard, M.; Gelfand, J.D. and 3
coauthors. "A Broadband Study of the Emission from the Composite
Supernova Remnant MSH 11-62" ApJ, 749, 131 (2012).


Tomsick, J.A.; Bodaghee, A.; Rodriguez, J.; Chaty, S.; Camilo, F.;
Fornasini, F.; Rahoui, F. "Is IGR J11014-6103 a Pulsar with the Highest
Known Kick Velocity?". ApJ, 750, L39 (2012).


*Vollmer, B.; Wong, O.I.; Braine, J.; Chung, A.; Kenney, J.D.P. "The
influence of the cluster environment on the star formation efficiency of
12 Virgo spiral galaxies". A&A, 543, 33 (2012).


*Webb, N.; Cseh, D.; Lenc, E.; Godet, O.; Barret, D.; Corbel, S.; Farrell,
S.; Fender, R.; Gehrels, N.; Hetwood, I. "Radio detections during two
state transitions of the intermediate-mass black hole HLX-1". Sci., 337,
554-556 (2012).


*Weltevrede, P.; Wright, G.; Johnston, S. "Phase-locked modulation delay
between the poles of pulsar B1055-52". MNRAS, 424, 843-854 (2012).


*Williams, C.L.; Hewitt, J.N.; Levine, A.M.; de Oliveira-Costa, A.; Bowman,
J.D.; Briggs, F.H.; Gaensler, B.M.; Hernquist, L.L.; Mitchell, D.A.;
Bunton, J.D. and 45 coauthors. "Low-frequency Imaging of Fields at High
Galactic Latitude with the Murchison Widefield Array 32 Element
Prototype". ApJ, 755, 47 (2012).


Worrall, D.M.; Birkinshaw, M.; Young, A.J.; Momtahan, K.; Fosbury, R.A.E.;
Morganti, R.; Tadhunter, C.N.; Verdoes Kleijn, G. "The jet-cloud
interacting radio galaxy PKS B2152-699 - I. Structures revealed in new
deep radio and X-ray observations". MNRAS, 424, 1346-1362 (2012).


*Xilouris, E.M.; Tabatabaei, F.S.; Boquien, M.; Kramer, C.; Buchbender, C.;
Bertoldi, F.; Anderl, S.; Braine, J.; Verley, S.; Relaßo, M.; Koribalski,
B. and 16 coauthors. "Cool and warm dust emission from M 33 (HerM33es)".
A&A, 543, A74 (2012).


*You, X.P.; Coles, W.A.; Hobbs, G.B.; Manchester, R.N. "Measurement of the
electron density and magnetic field of the solar wind using millisecond
pulsars". MNRAS, 422, 1160-1165 (2012).


*Yuen, R.; Manchester, R.N.; Burgay, M.; Camilo, F.; Kramer, M.; Melrose,
D.B.; Stairs, I.H. "Changes in polarization position angle across the
eclipse in the double pulsar system". ApJ, 752, L32 (2012).


*Zinn, P.-C.; Middelberg, E.; Norris, R.P.; Hales, C.A.; Mao, M.Y.;
Randall, K.E. "The Australia Telescope Large Area Survey: 2.3 GHz
observations of ELAIS-S1 and CDF-S. Spectral index properties of the
faint radio sky". A&A, 544, 38 (2012).







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