The radio environment of the 21 Centimeter Array:RFI detection and mitigation

Detection and mitigation of radio frequency interference （RFI） is the first and also the key step for data processing in radio observations, especially for ongoing low frequency radio experiments towards the detection of the cosmic dawn and epoch of reionization （EoR）. In this paper we demonstrate the tech- nique and efficiency of RFI identification and mitigation for the 21 Centimeter Array （21CMA）, a radio interferometer dedicated to the statistical measurement of EoR. For terrestrial, man-made RFI, we concen- trate mainly on a statistical approach by identifying and then excising non-Gaussian signatures, in the sense that the extremely weak cosmic signal is actually buried under thermal and therefore Gaussian noise. We also introduce the so-called visibility correlation coefficient instead of conventional visibility, which allows a further suppression of rapidly time-varying RFI. Finally, we briefly discuss removals of the sky RFI, the leakage of sidelobes from off-field strong radio sources with time-invariant power and a featureless spec- trum. It turns out that state of the art technique should allow us to detect and mitigate RFI to a satisfactory level in present low frequency interferometer observations such as those acquired with the 21CMA, and the accuracy and efficiency can be greatly improved with the employment of low-cost, high-speed computing facilities for data acquisition and processing.

Central gas entropy excess as direct evidence for AGN feedback in galaxy groups and clusters

By analyzing Chandra X-ray data of a sample of 21 galaxy groups and 19 galaxy clusters, we find that in 31 sample systems there exists a significant central （R ≤ 10 h^-171 kpc） gas entropy excess （AK0）, which corresponds to = 0.1 - 0.5 keV per gas particle, beyond the power-law model that best fits the radial entropy profile of the outer regions. We also find a distinct correlation between the central entropy excess △K0 and K-band luminosity LK of the central dominating galaxies （CDGs）, which is scaled as △K0 ∝ L K 1.6±04, where LK is tightly associated with the mass of the supermassive black hole hosted in the CDG. In fact, if an effective mass-to-energy conversionefficiency of 0.02 is assumed for the accretion process, the cumulative AGN feedback E AGN feedack=ηMBHc2 yields an extra heating of = 0.5 - 17.0keV per particle, which feedback is sufficient to explain the central entropy excess. In most cases, the AGN contribution can compensate the radiative loss of the X-ray gas within the cooling radius （= 0.002 - 2.2 keV per particle）, and apparently exceeds the energy required to cause the scaling relations to deviate from the self-similar predictions （=0.2 - 1.0 keV per particle）. In contrast to the AGN feedback, the extra heating provided by supernova explosions accounts for = 0.01 - 0.08 keV per particle in groups and is almost negligible in clusters. Therefore, the observed correlation between △K0 and Lx can be considered as direct evidence for AGN feedback in galaxy groups and clusters.

Clumpy metal concentrations in elliptical galaxies NGC 4374 and NGC 4636

We present a high spatial resolution study of metal distributions in the nearby, gas-rich elliptical galaxies NGC 4374 and NGC 4636 with the Chandra ACIS archive data. We define the hardness ratio HRFeL as the ratio of the emission in 0.65- 1.4 keV to that in 0.3-0.6 keV and 1.4-3.5 keV （after the magnesium and silicon lines are excluded）, and HRcont as the ratio of the emission in 1.4-3.5keV to that in 0.3- 0.6 keV, so that the HRFeL and HRcont maps can be used to trace the iron abundance and gas temperature distributions, respectively. By applying the a Trous wavelet algorithm to the obtained emission hardness ratio maps, we reveal that the HRFeL distributions are highly irregular, exhibiting strong spatial variations on 0.1-1 Re scales, which do not follow the HRcont distributions. Since the effect of temperature variation is small, we conclude that most of the high-HRFeL regions are very likely to possess higher abundances than the ambient gas. We also find that these high-HRFeL substructures are not associated with either the LMXB or globular cluster populations, thus their origins should be related to AGN activity or mergers.

Metal enrichment via ram pressure stripping in the IGM of the compact galaxy group RGH 80

By creating and analyzing two dimensional gas temperature and abundance maps of the RGH 80 compact galaxy group with high-quality Chandra data,we detect a high-abundance （ 0.7 Z⊙） arc,where the metal abundance is significantly higher than the surrounding regions by 0.3Z⊙.This structure shows tight spatial correlations with the member galaxy PGC 046529,as well as with the arm-like feature identified on the X-ray image in the previous work of Randall et al.（2009）.Since no apparent signature of AGN activity is found to be associated with PGC 046529 in multi-band observations,and the gas temperature,metallicity,and mass of the high-abundance arc resemble those of the ISM of typical early-type galaxies,we conclude that this high-abundance structure is the remnant of the ISM of PGC 046529,which was stripped out of the galaxy by ram pressure stripping due to the motion of PGC 046529 in RGH 80.This novel case shows that ram pressure stripping can work as efficiently in the metal enrichment process in galaxy groups as it can in galaxy clusters.

A Chandra study of the massive, distant galaxy cluster SDSS J0150–1005

We present a study of a fossil cluster,SDSS J0150–1005（z 0.364）,with high spatial resolution based on the imaging spectroscopic analysis of Chandra observations.The Chandra X-ray image shows a relaxed and symmetric morphology,which indicates that SDSS J0150–1005 is a well-developed galaxy cluster with no sign of a recent merger.According to the isothermal model,its global gas temperature is 5.73±0.80 keV,and the virial mass is 6.23±1.34×1014M⊙.Compared with the polytropic temperature model,the mass calculated based on the isothermal model is overestimated by 49%±11.The central gas entropy,S0.1 r200=143.9±18.3 keV cm2,is significantly lower than the average value of normal galaxy clusters with similar temperatures.Our results indicate that SDSS J0150–1005 formed during an early epoch.

Group-scale asymmetric abundance structures in the NGC 533 group

By performing a two dimensional spectral analysis on the galaxy group NGC 533 with high-quality Chandra data, we find that the metal abundance distribution in this group is anisotropic. In the area around 2.5′ from the center, we find two concentrations of high abundance structures, in which the abundances are significantly higher than their surrounding regions at the 90% confidence level. We find that the total iron mass in these two regions agrees with the iron mass synthesized in the central dominant galaxy in n 19＋0.08 Gyr. The double-sided configuration of the high abun- 0.03 dance structure, together with the point-like radio emission in the center suggests that the abundance structures could have been transported from the center to their present positions by active galactic nucleus （AGN） activity. We further calculate the energy required for transport, and find that it could have been supplied during an AGN period. However, considering that this group is reported to have experienced a recent merger, the possibility that this merger is responsible for the abundance structures still cannot be excluded.

Modified Zhibai Dihuang pill,a traditional Chinese medicine formula,on steroid withdrawal in systemic lupus erythematosus:A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Zhibai Dihuang pill(ZBDH),a Chinese herbal formula,has been widely used as an adjunctive therapy to help reduce the patient’s steroid dose and maintain low disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE).Objective:This systematic review evaluates the therapeutic effect of modified ZBDH in reducing steroid use in patients with SLE.Search strategy:A systematic literature search was carried out using seven databases,including PubMed,Embase,Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials,Chinese Biomedical Literature Database,Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure,Chinese VIP Information and Wanfang Database,from their inception to June 1 st,2019.The search terms included‘‘systemic lupus erythematosus,"‘‘Chinese medicine"and‘‘clinical trial,"and their synonyms.Subject headings matching the above terms were also used.Inclusion criteria:This meta-analysis included randomized controlled trials that evaluated the reduction of steroid dose in patients with SLE.Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)formulas in experimental group should be prescribed based on ZBDH and used as adjunctive therapy and the comparator should contain steroids.Data extraction and analysis:Two authors independently conducted database search,study selection,data extraction and quality assessment.The extracted information contained study design,sample size,recruitment mode,diagnostic criteria,inclusion and exclusion criteria,participant characteristics,TCM patterns,TCM formulas and treatment outcomes.The primary outcome was the change of steroid dose.Secondary outcomes included SLE Disease Activity Index(SLEDAI),biomarkers of disease activity and clinical response rate.STATA 15.0 was used to analyze the pooled effects reported as weighted mean difference(WMD)or odds ratio,with a 95%confidence interval(CI).Results:In total,20 trials involving 1470 SLE patients were included.The pooled result showed that modified ZBDH taken in combination with standard care led to a larger reduction in steroid dose,compared to standard care alone(WMD:3.79;95%CI:2.58–5.01;P<0.001).Favorable outcomes were also seen in secondary outcome criteria,such as SLEDAI and complement 3.The modified ZBDH treatments were well tolerated without increasing adverse effects.Conclusion:The systematic review provided preliminary evidence supporting the use of ZBDH as a cotherapy to aid steroid dose reduction in patients with SLE.However,more rigorous studies should be conducted to validate these findings,and explore the mechanisms of ZBDH’s relevant bioactive constituents.