118380187
The photometric classification server for Pan-STARRS1
The Pan-STARRS1 survey is obtaining multi-epoch imaging in five bands (g{sub P1} r{sub P1} i{sub P1} z{sub P1} y{sub P1}) over the entire sky north of declination -30 deg. We describe here the implementation of the Photometric Classification Server (PCS) for Pan-STARRS1. PCS will allow the automatic classification of objects into star/galaxy/quasar classes based on colors and the measurement of photometric redshifts for extragalactic objects, and will constrain stellar parameters for stellar objects, working at the catalog level. We present tests of the system based on high signal-to-noise photometry derived from the Medium-Deep Fields of Pan-STARRS1, using available spectroscopic surveys as training and/or verification sets. We show that the Pan-STARRS1 photometry delivers classifications and photometric redshifts as good as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) photometry to the same magnitude limits. In particular, our preliminary results, based on this relatively limited data set down to the SDSS spectroscopic limits, and therefore potentially improvable, show that stars are correctly classified as such in 85% of cases, galaxies in 97%, and QSOs in 84%. False positives are less than 1% for galaxies, Almost-Equal-To 19% for stars, and Almost-Equal-To 28% for QSOs. Moreover, photometric redshifts for 1000 luminous red galaxies up to redshiftmore » 0.5 are determined to 2.4% precision (defined as 1.48 Multiplication-Sign Median|z{sub phot} - z{sub spec}|/(1 + z)) with just 0.4% catastrophic outliers and small (-0.5%) residual bias. For bluer galaxies up to the same redshift, the residual bias (on average -0.5%) trend, percentage of catastrophic failures (1.2%), and precision (4.2%) are higher, but still interestingly small for many science applications. Good photometric redshifts (to 5%) can be obtained for at most 60% of the QSOs of the sample. PCS will create a value-added catalog with classifications and photometric redshifts for eventually many millions of sources.« less
119266289
THE Pan-STARRS1 PHOTOMETRIC SYSTEM
The Pan-STARRS1 survey is collecting multi-epoch, multi-color observations of the sky north of declination –30° to unprecedented depths. These data are being photometrically and astrometrically calibrated and will serve as a reference for many other purposes. In this paper, we present our determination of the Pan-STARRS1 photometric system: g P1, r P1, i P1, z P1, y P1, and w P1. The Pan-STARRS1 photometric system is fundamentally based on the Hubble Space Telescope Calspec spectrophotometric observations, which in turn are fundamentally based on models of white dwarf atmospheres. We define the Pan-STARRS1 magnitude system and describe in detail our measurement of the system passbands, including both the instrumental sensitivity and atmospheric transmission functions. By-products, including transformations to other photometric systems, Galactic extinction, and stellar locus, are also provided. We close with a discussion of remaining systematic errors.
9863216
OBSERVATIONAL AND DYNAMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF MAIN-BELT COMET P/2010 R2 (La Sagra)
We present observations of the recently discovered comet-like main-belt object P/2010 R2 (La Sagra) obtained by Pan-STARRS1 and the Faulkes Telescope-North on Haleakala in Hawaii, the University of Hawaii 2.2 m, Gemini-North, and Keck I telescopes on Mauna Kea, the Danish 1.54 m telescope (operated by the MiNDSTEp consortium) at La Silla, and the Isaac Newton Telescope on La Palma. An antisolar dust tail is observed to be present from 2010 August through 2011 February, while a dust trail aligned with the object's orbit plane is also observed from 2010 December through 2011 August. Assuming typical phase darkening behavior, P/La Sagra is seen to increase in brightness by >1 mag between 2010 August and December, suggesting that dust production is ongoing over this period. These results strongly suggest that the observed activity is cometary in nature (i.e., driven by the sublimation of volatile material), and that P/La Sagra is therefore the most recent main-belt comet to be discovered. We find an approximate absolute magnitude for the nucleus of HR = 17.9 ± 0.2 mag, corresponding to a nucleus radius of ~0.7 km, assuming an albedo of p = 0.05. Comparing the observed scattering surface areas of the dust coma to that of the nucleus when P/La Sagra was active, we find dust-to-nucleus area ratios of Ad /AN = 30-60, comparable to those computed for fellow main-belt comets 238P/Read and P/2008 R1 (Garradd), and one to two orders of magnitude larger than for two other main-belt comets (133P/Elst-Pizarro and 176P/LINEAR). Using optical spectroscopy to search for CN emission, we do not detect any conclusive evidence of sublimation products (i.e., gas emission), finding an upper limit CN production rate of Q CN 100 Myr, suggesting that it is likely native to its current location and that its composition is likely representative of other objects in the same region of the main belt, though the relatively close proximity of the 13:6 mean-motion resonance with Jupiter and the (3,–2,–1) three-body mean-motion resonance with Jupiter and Saturn mean that dynamical instability on larger timescales cannot be ruled out.
119201613
PAndromeda—First results from the high-cadence monitoring of M31 with Pan-STARRS 1
The Pan-STARRS 1 (PS1) survey of M31 (PAndromeda) is designed to identify gravitational microlensing events, caused by bulge and disk stars (self-lensing) and by compact matter in the halos of M31 and the Milky Way (halo lensing or lensing by massive compact halo objects). With the 7 deg{sup 2} field of view (FOV) of PS1, the entire disk of M31 can be imaged with one single pointing. Our aim is to monitor M31 with this wide FOV with daily sampling (20 minutes day{sup -1}). In the 2010 season, we acquired in total 91 nights toward M31, with 90 nights in the r{sub P1} and 66 nights in the i{sub P1}. The total integration time in r{sub P1} and i{sub P1} are 70,740 s and 36,180 s, respectively. As a preliminary analysis, we study a 40' Multiplication-Sign 40' sub-field in the central region of M31, a 20' Multiplication-Sign 20' sub-field in the disk of M31, and a 20' Multiplication-Sign 20' sub-field for the investigation of astrometric precision. We demonstrate that the point-spread function is good enough to detect microlensing events. We present light curves for six candidate microlensing events. This is a competitive rate compared with previous M31 microlensing surveys. Finally,more » we also present one example light curve for Cepheids, novae, and eclipsing binaries in these sub-fields.« less
119252361
First Results from Pan-STARRS1: Faint, High Proper Motion White Dwarfs in the Medium-Deep Fields
The Pan-STARRS1 survey has obtained multi-epoch imaging in five bands (Pan-STARRS1 g P1, r P1, i P1, z P1, and y P1) on 12 "Medium-Deep fields," each of which spans a 33 circle. For the period between 2009 April and 2011 April these fields were observed 50-200 times. Using a reduced proper motion diagram, we have extracted a list of 47 white dwarf (WD) candidates whose Pan-STARRS1 astrometry indicates a non-zero proper motion at the 6σ level, with a typical 1σ proper motion uncertainty of 10 mas yr–1. We also used astrometry from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (when available) and USNO-B to assess our proper motion fits. None of the WD candidates exhibits evidence of statistically significant parallaxes, with a typical 1σ uncertainty of 8 mas. Twelve of these candidates are known WDs, including the high proper motion (17 yr–1) WD LHS 291. We confirm seven more objects as WDs through optical spectroscopy. Based on the Pan-STARRS1 colors, ten of the stars are likely to be cool WDs with 4170 K <T eff < 5000 K and cooling ages ≈ 8 Gyr. Based on their kinematics, these objects are likely thick disk WDs, but a subset may belong to the halo. Our current sample represents only a small fraction of the Pan-STARRS1 data. With continued coverage from the Medium-Deep Field Survey and the 3π survey, Pan-STARRS1 should find many more high proper motion WDs that are part of the old thick disk and halo.
119121470
FOUR NEW T DWARFS IDENTIFIED IN Pan-STARRS 1 COMMISSIONING DATA
A complete well-defined sample of ultracool dwarfs is one of the key science programs of the Pan-STARRS 1 optical survey telescope (PS1). Here we combine PS1 commissioning data with the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) to conduct a proper motion search (01-20 yr–1) for nearby T dwarfs, using optical+near-IR colors to select objects for spectroscopic follow-up. The addition of sensitive far-red optical imaging from PS1 enables discovery of nearby ultracool dwarfs that cannot be identified from 2MASS data alone. We have searched 3700 deg2 of PS1 y-band (0.95-1.03 μm) data to y 19.5 mag (AB) and J 16.5 mag (Vega) and discovered four previously unknown bright T dwarfs. Three of the objects (with spectral types T1.5, T2, and T3.5) have photometric distances within 25 pc and were missed by previous 2MASS searches due to more restrictive color selection criteria. The fourth object (spectral type T4.5) is more distant than 25 pc and is only a single-band detection in 2MASS. We also examine the potential for completing the census of nearby ultracool objects with the PS1 3π survey.
107773393
Proposed Magnet Alignment Changes for AP-1
AP-1 was built to connect the Antiproton Source with the Main Ring accelerator. The beamline was designed to support modes of operation at both 8 GeV and 120 GeV kinetic energy. During the days of Main Ring operation, 120 GeV beam was extracted through the field region of a Lambertson at F-17 and transported approximately 174 meters to the production target. This 'pbar production' mode required a lattice that would focus the proton beam to a small spot size on the target to maximize antiproton yield. The AP-1 line would also be reconfigured to operate at 8 GeV to support antiproton transfers and tuning cycles with protons. The AP-1 line is also connected to the Accumulator via AP-3, so the lattices of these beamlines needed to be compatible. After the Main Injector was built to replace the Main Ring, a beamline was required to connect it with the Antiproton Source. Designers chose to combine beam transfers of 150 GeV protons to the Tevatron, 120 GeV protons to AP-1, 120 GeV protons to Switchyard and 8 GeV proton tune-up or antiproton transfers via AP-1 into the P1 and P2 lines. The P2 line resides in the Main Ring tunnel enclosure betweenmore » F-0 and F-17 and utilizes original Main Ring magnets. The lattice was designed to duplicate the Twiss parameters of the old Main Ring at F-17, including the large horizontal beta and dispersion functions. The addition of the P1 and P2 lines add almost an additional 1,000 meters and an extra Lambertson magnet (at F0) to beam transfers to and from the Main Injector versus the Main Ring. Although Lambertson magnets are still used to extract beam from the Main Injector, the Lambertson at F-17 was no longer required. Unfortunately, the limited aperture C-magnets at F-17 remained, necessitated by the P3 line which is intended to provide beam to Switchyard for future 'Meson 120' operation. The C-magnets are one of the limiting horizontal apertures in the AP-1 line due to the combination of small physical aperture and the large horizontal beta and dispersion functions. Most of the AP-1 magnets were originally used in Switchyard. Apertures of these magnets are adequate for high energy operation, but have apertures that are smaller than magnets traditionally used in other 8 GeV transfer lines. This makes the AP-1 line unusually sensitive to alignment and steering errors. In addition, the lattice constraints imposed by the beamlines attached to AP-1 does not allow much freedom in suppressing the lattice functions at key locations to reduce the beam size.« less
95194327
Stress relaxation of natural rubber during irradiation
Abstract The site of chain scission and crosslinking in vulcanized natural rubber irradiated with 4 MeV electrons has been determined by analysis of stress relaxation data. Sulfur and peroxide vulcanizates of different crosslink densities were prepared and the crosslink densities determined from stress—strain measurements. Stress relaxation was measured during irradiation using modified commercial relaxometers. The specimens were maintained in an atmosphere of nitrogen to minimize oxidative side effects. Scission is deduced to take place in the vicinity of crosslinks, since the rate of continuous stress relaxation is independent of crosslink density. Scission may be associated both with crosslinks initially present and with those subsequently introduced by irradiation. Crosslinking by radiation is largely a random process. However, there is a crosslinking reaction dependent to a slight extent on crosslink density as well as a small contribution from random scission reactions. G values for the random react...
118522497
Visual Observability of the Cassiopeia A Supernova
It is generally believed that the explosion which gave birth to the Cassiopeia A supernova remmant resulted from core collapse of a hydrogen-deficient star. A progenitor that has lost all its hydrogen envelope and part of its helium envelope would lead to an explosion with the optical properties of a Type Ic supernova. There is evidence, if not general agreement, that Flamsteed observed the Cas A supernova as a sixth magnitude object in August, 1680. If an explosion with a typical SNIc light curve at the position and distance of Cas A attained maximum luminosity during the winter of 1679-1680, it would at that time have been poorly situated for visual observation, as its upper culmination would have taken place during daylight, while in August, between 170-200 days after peak luminosity, it would have been a sixth magnitude star.
135541324
Irradiation damage studies of some epoxy resin systems of reduced viscosity.
Post irradiation mechanical propert ies are given for a number of epoxY materials, inoluding some glyci~l amine resin systems having reduced vi soosities. Chemical Technology Group Rutherford High Energy Laboratory Chilton Didcot Berkshire
135204518
EPOXY RESINS FOR SUPERCONDUCTING MAGNET ENCAPSULATION.