MeerKAT

Abstract:

We present polarization data for 32 mainly southern pulsars at 8.4 GHz. The observations show that the polarization fraction is low in most pulsars at this frequency except for the young, energetic pulsars which continue to show polarization fractions in excess of 60 per cent. All the pulsars in the sample show evidence for conal emission with only one-third also showing core emission. Many profiles are asymmetric, with either the leading or the trailing part of the cone not detectable. Somewhat surprisingly, the asymmetric profiles tend to be more polarized than the symmetrical profiles. Little or no pulse narrowing is seen between 1 and 8.4 GHz. The spectral behaviour of the orthogonal polarization modes and radius to frequency mapping can likely account for much of the observational phenomenology. Highly polarized components may originate from higher in the magnetosphere than unpolarized components. © 2006 RAS.

Abstract:

The Faulkes Telescope Project is the educational arm of the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGT). It currently has two 2-metre robotic telescopes, located at Haleakala on Maui (FT North) and Siding Spring in Australia (FT South). It is planned to increase this to six 2-metre telescopes in the future, complemented by a network of 30-40 smaller (0.4 - 1 metre) telescopes providing 24 hour coverage of both northern and southern hemispheres. We are undertaking a monitoring project of 10 low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) using FT North to study the optical continuum behaviour of X-ray transients in quiescence. The introduction of FT South in September 2006 allows us to extend this monitoring to include 17 southern hemisphere LMXBs. With new instrumentation, we also intend to expand this monitoring to include both infrared wavelengths and spectroscopy.

Abstract:

We present two-degree field spectroscopic observations of a sample of 96 A-type stars selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 3 (SDSS DR3). Our aim is to identify blue horizontal branch (BHB) stars in order to measure the kinematic properties of the tidal tails of the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy. We confine our attention to the 44 classifiable stars with spectra of signal-to-noise ratio > 15 Å-1. Classification produces a sample of 29 BHB stars at distances of 5-47 kpc from the Sun. We split our sample into three bins based on their distance. We find 10 of the 12 stars at 14-25 kpc appear to have coherent, smoothly varying radial velocities which are plausibly associated with old debris in the Sagittarius tidal stream. Further observations along the orbit and at greater distances are required to trace the full extent of this structure on the sky. Three of our BHB stars in the direction of the globular cluster Palomar (Pal) 5 appear to be in an overdensity but are in the foreground of Pal 5. More observations are required around this overdensity to establish any relation to Pal 5 and/or the Sgr stream. We emphasize observations of BHB stars have unlimited potential for providing accurate velocity and distance information in old distant halo streams and globular clusters alike. The next-generation multi-object spectrographs provide an excellent opportunity to accurately trace the full extent of such structures. © 2006 RAS.