Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia 

About: Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia is an academic journal published by Cambridge University Press. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Galaxy & Stars. It has an ISSN identifier of 1323-3580. Over the lifetime, 2719 publications have been published receiving 45219 citations. The journal is also known as: Publications.

The Murchison widefield array: The square kilometre array precursor at low radio frequencies

Abstract: The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is one of three Square Kilometre Array Precursor telescopes and is located at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in the Murchison Shire of the mid-west of Western Australia, a location chosen for its extremely low levels of radio frequency interference. The MWA operates at low radio frequencies, 80-300 MHz, with a processed bandwidth of 30.72 MHz for both linear polarisations, and consists of 128 aperture arrays (known as tiles) distributed over a ∼3-km diameter area. Novel hybrid hardware/software correlation and a real-time imaging and calibration systems comprise the MWA signal processing backend. In this paper, the as-built MWA is described both at a system and sub-system level, the expected performance of the array is presented, and the science goals of the instrument are summarised. © 2013 Astronomical Society of Australia.

PSRCHIVE and PSRFITS: An Open Approach to Radio Pulsar Data Storage and Analysis

Abstract: A new set of software applications and libraries for use in the archival and analysis of pulsar astronomical data is introduced. Known collectively as the psrchive scheme, the code was developed in parallel with a new data storage format called psrfits, which is based on the Flexible Image Transport System (FITS). Both of these projects utilise a modular, object-oriented design philosophy. psrchive is an open source development environment that incorporates an extensive range of c++ object classes and pre-built command line and graphical utilities. These deal transparently and simultaneously with multiple data storage formats, thereby enhancing data portability and facilitating the adoption of the psrfits file format. Here, data are stored in a series of modular header-data units that provide flexibility and scope for future expansion. As it is based on FITS, various standard libraries and applications may be used for data input, output, and visualisation. Both psrchive and psrfits are made publicly available to the academic community in the hope that this will promote their widespread use and acceptance.

SPLASH: An interactive visualisation tool for smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations

Abstract: This paper presents splash, a publicly available interactive visualisation tool for Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations. Visualisation of SPH data is more complicated than for grid-based codes because the data are defined on a set of irregular points and therefore requires a mapping procedure to a two dimensional pixel array. This means that, in practise, many authors simply produce particle plots which offer a rather crude representation of the simulation output. Here we describe the techniques and algorithms which are utilised in splash in order to provide the user with a fast, interactive and meaningful visualisation of one, two and three dimensional SPH results.

A concise reference to (projected) Sersic R^{1/n} quantities, including Concentration, Profile Slopes, Petrosian indices, and Kron Magnitudes

Abstract: Given the growing use of Sersic's (1963, 1968) R 1/n model for describing the stellar distributions in galaxies, and the lack of any single reference that provides the various associated mathematical expressions, we have endeavoured to compile such a resource here. We present the standard intensity profile, and its various guises such as the luminosity, surface-brightness, and aperture-magnitude profile. Expressions to transform the effective surface brightness into the mean effective and central surface brightness are also given, as is the expression to transform between effective radii and exponential scale-lengths. We additionally provide expressions for deriving the 'concentration' of an R 1/n profile, and two useful equations for the logarithmic slope of the light-profile are given. Petrosian radii and fluxes are also derived for a range of Sersic profiles and compared with the effective radii and total flux. Similarly, expressions to obtain Kron radii and fluxes are presented as a function of the Sersic index n and the number of effective radii sampled. Illustrative figures are provided throughout. Finally, the core-Sersic model, consisting of an inner power-law and an outer Sersic function, is presented.

Binary Population and Spectral Synthesis Version 2.1: construction, observational verification and new results

Abstract: The Binary Population and Spectral Synthesis suite of binary stellar evolution models and synthetic stellar populations provides a framework for the physically motivated analysis of both the integrated light from distant stellar populations and the detailed properties of those nearby. We present a new version 2.1 data release of these models, detailing the methodology by which Binary Population and Spectral Synthesis incorporates binary mass transfer and its effect on stellar evolution pathways, as well as the construction of simple stellar populations. We demonstrate key tests of the latest Binary Population and Spectral Synthesis model suite demonstrating its ability to reproduce the colours and derived properties of resolved stellar populations, including well-constrained eclipsing binaries. We consider observational constraints on the ratio of massive star types and the distribution of stellar remnant masses. We describe the identification of supernova progenitors in our models, and demonstrate a good agreement to the properties of observed progenitors. We also test our models against photometric and spectroscopic observations of unresolved stellar populations, both in the local and distant Universe, finding that binary models provide a self-consistent explanation for observed galaxy properties across a broad redshift range. Finally, we carefully describe the limitations of our models, and areas where we expect to see significant improvement in future versions.