Observation of HⅠaround three Satellite Galaxies of M31 with FAST:AndromedaⅡ,NGC 205,and NGC 185

With the exceptional sensitivity of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope,we conducted observations of the neutral hydrogen(HⅠ)in the circumgalactic medium of Andromeda’s(M31)satellite galaxies,specifically AndromedaⅡ,NGC 205,and NGC 185.Initially,three drift scans were executed for these satellites,with a detection limit of 4×10^(18)cm^(-2)(approximately 1.88×10^(3)M_Θof HⅠmass),followed by a more in-depth scan of a specific region.We discovered a C-shaped HⅠarc structure sharing a position and line-of-sight velocity similar to a stellar ring structure around AndromedaⅡ,hinting at a potential connection with AndromedaⅡ.In the context of NGC 205,we identified two mass concentrations in the northeast direction,which could be indicative of tidal streams resulting from the interaction between this galaxy and M31.These new lumps discovered could be very helpful in solving the missing interstellar medium problem for NGC 205.Observations regarding NGC 185are consistent with previous studies,and we did not detect any additional HⅠmaterial around this galaxy.These observational results enhance our understanding of the evolution of these satellite galaxies and provide insight into their historical interactions with the galaxy M31.

HiFAST:An HI Data Calibration and Imaging Pipeline for FAST.Ⅱ.Flux Density Calibration

Accurate flux density calibration is essential for precise analysis and interpretation of observations across different observation modes and instruments.In this research,we first introduce the flux calibration model that incorporated in Hi FAST pipeline,and designed for processing HⅠ21 cm spectra.Furthermore,we investigate different calibration techniques and assess the dependence of the gain parameter on the time and environmental factors.A comparison is carried out in various observation modes(e.g.,tracking and scanning modes)to determine the flux density gain(G),revealing insignificant discrepancies in G among different methods.Long-term monitoring data shows a linear correlation between G and atmospheric temperature.After subtracting the G-Temperature dependence,the dispersion of G is reduced to<3%over a one-year timescale.The stability of the receiver response of Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope(FAST)is considered sufficient to facilitate HⅠobservations that can accommodate a moderate error in flux calibration(e.g.,>~5%)when utilizing a constant G for calibration purposes.Our study will serve as a useful addition to the results provided by Jiang et al.Detailed measurement of G for the 19 beams of FAST,covering the frequency range 1000-1500 MHz,can be found on the Hi FAST homepage:https://hifast.readthedocs.io/fluxgain.

HiFAST:An HIdata calibration and imaging pipeline for FAST

The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope(FAST)has the largest aperture and a 19-beam L-band receiver,making it powerful for investigating the neutral hydrogen atomic gas(HI)in the universe.We present HiFAST(https://hifast.readthedocs.io),a dedicated,modular,and self-contained calibration and imaging pipeline for processing the H?data of FAST.The pipeline consists of frequency-dependent noise diode calibration,baseline fitting,standing wave removal using an FFT-based method,flux density calibration,stray radiation correction,and gridding to produce data cubes.These modules can be combined as needed to process the data from most FAST observation modes:tracking,drift scanning,On-The-Fly mapping,and most of their variants.With HiFAST,the root-mean-square(RMS)noises of the calibrated spectra from all 19 beams were only slightly(~5%)higher than the theoretical expectation.The results for the extended source M33 and the point sources are consistent with the results from Arecibo.The moment maps(0,1 and 2)of M33 agree well with the results from the Arecibo Galaxy Environment Survey(AGES)with a fractional difference of less than 10%.For a common sample of 221 sources with signal-to-noise ratio S/N>10 from the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA(ALFALFA)survey,the mean value of fractional difference in the integrated flux density,Sint,between the two datasets is approximately 0.005%,with a dispersion of 15.4%.Further checks on the integrated flux density of 23 sources with seven observations indicate that the variance in the flux density of the source with luminous objects(Sint>2.5 Jy km s-1)is less than 5%.Our tests suggest that the FAST telescope,with the efficient,precise,and user-friendly pipeline HiFAST,will yield numerous significant scientific findings in the investigation of the H?in the universe.