TIME : Friday, 09th May 2011 at 04:00 pm
PLACE : CSO Conference Room
SPEAKER : Nicole Czakon (Caltech)
TITLE : The
Multiwavelength Submillimeter Inductance Camera (MUSIC): A New Facility
Instrument at the CSO
ABSTRACT:
An insatiable appetite for large-format, kilo-pixel arrays in the
millimeter/submillimeter astrophysics community has motivated
the development of a novel detecting element--the millimeter-wave
kinetic inductance detector (MKID). Our team is in the final stages
of constructing an MKID camera called MUSIC. The camera will
have 576 spatial pixels, each simultaneously sensitive to four
wavelengths: .87, 1.0, 1.3, and 2.0 mm. An MKID uses a low
gap-energy superconducting film to provide the inductive contribution
to a resonant LC circuit. As the superconductor absorbs photons, its
kinetic inductance changes, and detection occurs by monitoring the
resulting shift in resonant frequency. By tuning each detector to a
different frequency, hundreds of MKIDs can be coupled to a single
microwave transmission line. Readout complexity is thus transferred
to room temperature, where we have developed an FPGA-based readout,
thanks, in part, to hardware and software from the CASPER-ROACH
collaboration. Commissioning at the CSO is expected to begin in
Winter
2011/2012. I will review the principles of MKID theory and design, how
we read them out, and give an update on the current status of the
instrument.
TIME : Monday, 16th May 2011 at 03:00 pm
PLACE : CSO Conference Room
SPEAKER : Dr. Fumitaka Nakamura (National Astronomical Observatory of
Japan)
TITLE : Protostellar
Outflows and Clustered Star Formation:
The Case of Serpens South
ABSTRACT:
I will briefly present some recent results of our numerical simulations
of
cluster formation including protostellar outflow feedback, discussing
the
importance of outflow feedback in clustered star formation. Then, as an
example, I will present some recent results of our CO J = 3 － 2 observations
toward a nearby embedded cluster, Serpens South, newly discovered by
Spitzer legacy survey as an infrared dark cloud. Our CO J = 3 － 2 map
reveals that many outflows are crowded in the dense cluster-forming
clump.
I will discuss how the outflow feedback influences the dynamics of the
cluster-forming region.
TIME : Thursday, 09th June 2011 at 04:00 pm
PLACE : CSO Conference Room
SPEAKER : Dr. Thomas Nikola (Cornell University)
TITLE : ZEUS-2: A Grating
Spectrometer Optimized For Observations of High-Z Galaxies and Warm
Molecular Gas In Nearby Galaxies
ABSTRACT:
Observation of far-infrared line emission that is redshifted into the
submillimeter regime provides a unique glimpse at the star-formation
and nuclear activity of high-z galaxies. For example, the [CII] 158
micron and [OI] emission probe the properties of gas heated by recent
star formation, while the [OIII] 88 micron and [NII] lines trace
ionized
gas that is excited either by star formation or nuclear
activity. These
observations require the most sensitive and
state-of-the-art instruments.
Warm molecular gas is intimately linked to kinematic and radiative
processes in galaxies, like shock excitation in cloud-cloud collisions,
star formation, or nuclear activity. These processes also drive galaxy
evolution. Since each of the mechanisms (e.g. PDR, XDR, shocks) that
heat the molecular gas imprints a distinct signature on the mid- and
high-J CO transitions these lines are excellent tools to study the
interplay
between global and local galactic properties, hence the
evolution of galaxies.
ZEUS-2 is a submillimeter grating spectrometer optimized for these
observations. It can observe multiple lines simultaneously and also
provides spatial information in extended objects. In this presentation
I will give an overview of the instrument, its current status, and the
science cases that drive the requirements of ZEUS-2.
last updated on 2011/05/11 by hs