Marko Krčo

Bio: Marko Krčo is an academic researcher from Chinese Academy of Sciences. The author has contributed to research in topics: Molecular cloud & Radio telescope. The author has an hindex of 9, co-authored 22 publications receiving 521 citations. Previous affiliations of Marko Krčo include Colgate University.

The fundamental performance of FAST with 19-beam receiver at L band

Abstract: The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) passed national acceptance and is taking pilot cycle of 'Shared-Risk' observations. The 19-beam receiver covering 1.05-1.45 GHz was used for most of these observations. The electronics gain fluctuation of the system is better than 1\% over 3.5 hours, enabling enough stability for observations. Pointing accuracy, aperture efficiency and system temperature are three key parameters of FAST. The measured standard deviation of pointing accuracy is 7.9$''$, which satisfies the initial design of FAST. When zenith angle is less than 26.4$^\circ$, the aperture efficiency and system temperature around 1.4 GHz are $\sim$ 0.63 and less than 24 K for central beam, respectively. The measured value of these two parameters are better than designed value of 0.6 and 25 K, respectively. The sensitivity and stability of the 19-beam backend are confirmed to satisfy expectation by spectral HI observations toward N672 and polarization observations toward 3C286. The performance allows FAST to take sensitive observations in various scientific goals, from studies of pulsar to galaxy evolution.

Considerations for a Multi-beam Multi-purpose Survey with FAST

Abstract: Having achieved 'first-light' right before the opening ceremony on September 25, 2016, the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) is being busily commissioned Its innovative design requires ~1000 points to be measured and driven instead of just the two axes of motion, eg Azimuth and Elevation for most of the conventional antennae, to realize pointing and tracking We have devised a survey plan to utilized the full sensitivity of FAST, while minimizing the complexities in operation the system The 19-beam L band focal plan array will be rotated to specific angles and taking continuous data streams while the surface shape and the focal cabin stay fixed Such a survey will cover the northern sky in about 220 full days Our aim is to obtain data for pulsar search, HI (neutral hydrogen) galaxies, HI imaging, and radio transients, simultaneously, through multiple backends These data sets could be a significant contribution to all related fields in radio astronomy and remain relevant for decades

The Small-Scale Structure of the Magellanic Stream

Abstract: We have mapped two regions at the northern tip of the Magellanic Stream in neutral hydrogen 21 cm emission, using the Arecibo telescope. The new data are used to study the morphology and properties of the Stream far away from the Magellanic Clouds, as well as to provide indirect constraints on the properties of the Galactic halo. We investigate confinement mechanisms for the Stream clouds and conclude that these clouds cannot be gravitationally confined or in free expansion. The most likely mechanism for cloud confinement is pressure support from the hot Galactic halo gas. This allows us to place an upper limit on the halo density: nh(15 kpc) = 10-3 cm-3 and/or nh (45 kpc) = 3 × 10-4 cm-3, depending on the distance. These values are significantly higher than predicted for an isothermal stratified halo.

The Transition from Atomic to Molecular Hydrogen in Interstellar Clouds: 21cm Signature of the Evolution of Cold Atomic Hydrogen in Dense Clouds

Abstract: We have investigated the time scale for formation of molecular clouds by examining the conversion of HI to H2 using a time-dependent model. H2 formation on dust grains and cosmic ray and photo destruction are included in one-dimensional model slab clouds which incorporate time-independent density and temperature distributions. We calculate 21cm spectral line profiles seen in absorption against a background provided by general Galactic HI emission, and compare the model spectra with HI Narrow Self-Absorption, or HINSA, profiles absorbed in a number of nearby molecular clouds. The time evolution of the HI and H2 densities is dramatic, with the atomic hydrogen disappearing in a wave propagating from the central, denser regions which have a shorter H2 formation time scale, to the edges, where the density is lower and the time scale for H2 formation longer. The model 21cm spectra are characterized by very strong absorption at early times, when the HI column density through the model clouds is extremely large. The minimum time required for a cloud to have evolved to its observed configuration, based on the model spectra, is set by the requirement that most of the HI in the outer portions of the cloud, which otherwise overwhelms the narrow absorption, be removed. The characteristic time that has elapsed since cloud compression and initiation of the HI to H2 conversion is a few x 10^{14} s or ~ 10^7 yr. This sets a minimum time for the age of these molecular clouds and thus for the star formation that may take place within them.

The Galaxy in Context: Structural, Kinematic, and Integrated Properties

Abstract: Our Galaxy, the Milky Way, is a benchmark for understanding disk galaxies. It is the only galaxy whose formation history can be studied using the full distribution of stars from faint dwarfs to supergiants. The oldest components provide us with unique insight into how galaxies form and evolve over billions of years. The Galaxy is a luminous (L⋆) barred spiral with a central box/peanut bulge, a dominant disk, and a diffuse stellar halo. Based on global properties, it falls in the sparsely populated “green valley” region of the galaxy color-magnitude diagram. Here we review the key integrated, structural and kinematic parameters of the Galaxy, and point to uncertainties as well as directions for future progress. Galactic studies will continue to play a fundamental role far into the future because there are measurements that can only be made in the near field and much of contemporary astrophysics depends on such observations.

THE YARKOVSKY AND YORP EFFECTS: Implications for Asteroid Dynamics

Abstract: The Yarkovsky and YORP (Yarkovsky-O’Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack) effects are thermal radiation forces and torques that cause small objects to undergo semimajor axis drift and spin vector modifications, respectively, as a function of their spin, orbit, and material properties. These mechanisms help to (a) deliver asteroids (and meteoroids) with diameter D < 40 km from their source locations in the main belt to chaotic resonance zones capable of transporting this material to Earth-crossing orbits; (b) disperse asteroid families, with drifting bodies jumping or becoming trapped in mean-motion and secular resonances within the main belt; (c) modify the rotation rates and obliquities of D < 40 km asteroids; and (d ) allow asteroids to enter into spin-orbit resonances, which affect the evolution of their spin vectors and feedback into the Yarkovsky-driven semimajor axis evolution. Accordingly, we suggest that nongravitational forces should now be considered as important as collisions and gravitational perturbations to our overall understanding of asteroid evolution.

Highly Ionized High-Velocity Gas in the Vicinity of the Galaxy

Abstract: We report the results of a FUSE study of high-velocity O VI absorption along complete sight lines through the Galactic halo in directions toward 100 extragalactic objects and two halo stars. The high-velocity O VI traces a variety of phenomena, including tidal interactions with the Magellanic Clouds, accretion of gas, outflowing material from the Galactic disk, warm/hot gas interactions in a highly extended Galactic corona, and intergalactic gas in the Local Group. We identify 84 high-velocity O VI features at ≥3 σ confidence at velocities of -500 106 K), low-density (n 10-4-10-5 cm-3) Galactic corona or Local Group medium. The existence of a hot, highly extended Galactic corona or Local Group medium and the prevalence of high-velocity O VI are consistent with predictions of current galaxy formation scenarios. Distinguishing between the various phenomena producing high-velocity O VI in and near the Galaxy will require continuing studies of the distances, kinematics, elemental abundances, and physical states of the different types of high-velocity O VI found in this study. Descriptions of galaxy evolution will need to account for the highly ionized gas, and future X-ray studies of hot gas in the Local Group will need to consider carefully the relationship of the X-ray absorption/emission to the complex high-velocity absorption observed in O VI.

The Progenitors of Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies

Abstract: The gas-deficient dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies present an evolutionary puzzle that we explore in 40 early-type and late-type dwarfs in the Local Group and nearby field. Although dSph’s experienced star formation over extended time spans in their youths, today all but one are completely free of detectable interstellar material, even in the Fornax dSph, where stars formed in the last 100 Myr. Combining photometric and spectroscopic stellar metallicity estimates for red giant branches with high-sensitivity H i 21 cm line data from the literature, we show that the well-established offset in luminosity-metallicity relationships for dSph’s and dwarf irregular (dIrr) galaxies exists also when confining the comparison to their old stellar populations: dSph’s have higher mean stellar metallicities for a fixed optical luminosity. Evidently star formation in younger dSph’s was more vigorous than in the youthful dIrr’s, leading to more efficient enrichment. Dwarf galaxies, whose locus in the luminosity-metallicity diagram is consistent with that of dSph’s, even when baryonic luminosities are considered, are the ‘‘ transition-type dwarfs ’’ Phoenix, DDO 210, LGS 3, Antlia, and KKR 25. These dwarfs have mixed dIrr/dSph morphologies, low stellar masses, low angular momentum, and H i contents of at most a few 10 6 M� . Unlike dIrr’s many transition-type dwarfs would closely resemble dSph’s if their gas were removed, as required to become a dSph; they are likely dSph progenitors. As gas removal is the key factor for such a transition, we consider the empirical evidence in favor and against various gas removal processes. We suggest that internal gas removal mechanisms are inadequate and favor ram-pressure stripping to clean the bulk of interstellar matter from galaxies to make dSph’s. A combination of initial conditions and environment seems to support the formation of dSph’s: nearby dSph’s appear to form from small galaxies with active early star formation, whose evolution halts due to externally induced gas loss. Transition-type dwarfs, then, are dSph’s that kept their interstellar medium and therefore should replace dSph’s in isolated locations where stripping is ineffective.