New vacuum solar telescope and observations with high resolution

The New Vacuum Solar Telescope （NVST） is a one meter vacuum solar telescope that aims to observe fine structures on the Sun. The main goals of NVST are high resolution imaging and spectral observations, including measurements of the solar magnetic field. NVST is the primary ground-based facility used by the Chinese solar research community in this solar cycle. It is located by Fuxian Lake in southwest China, where the seeing is good enough to perform high resolution observations. We first introduce the general conditions at the Fuxian Solar Observatory and the primary science cases of NVST. Then, the basic structures of this telescope and instruments are described in detail. Finally, some typical high resolution data of the solar photosphere and chromosphere are also shown.

A low-cost and high-performance technique for adaptive optics static wavefront correction

Non-Common Path Error(NCPE) is one of the factors that limit an Adaptive Optics(AO)system from delivering ultra-high performance. To correct the NCPE associated static aberration, we propose a simple but robust and high-performance pupil-plane based wavefront measurement and correction technique, which can copy a single-mode fiber generated perfect wavefront to the AO system via an iteration optimization process, and the NCPE can be effectively corrected by directly commanding the Deformable Mirror(DM) of the AO system. Compared with the previous focal-plane based approach that uses focal plane based Point Spread Function(PSF) for correction evaluation, the pupil-plane based approach can be reliably and rapidly converged to a global optimization result and provides better performance, in particular for an AO system with a large initial static wavefront error. This technique we proposed can be implemented in astronomical AO systems where extremely high performance is required.

A super-high angular resolution principle for coded-mask X-ray imaging beyond the diffraction limit of a single pinhole

High angular resolution X-ray imaging is always useful in astrophysics and solar physics. In principle, it can be performed by using coded-mask imaging with a very long mask-detector distance. Previously, the diffraction-interference effect was thought to degrade coded-mask imaging performance dramatically at the low energy end with its very long mask-detector distance. The diffraction-interference effect is described with numerical calculations, and the diffraction-interference cross correlation reconstruction method （DICC） is developed in order to overcome the imaging performance degradation. Based on the DICC, a super-high angular resolution principle （SHARP） for coded-mask X-ray imaging is proposed. The feasibility of coded mask imaging beyond the diffraction limit of a single pinhole is demonstrated with simulations. With the specification that the mask element size is 50 × 50 μm^2 and the mask-detector distance is 50 m, the achieved angular resolution is 0.32arcsec above about 10keV and 0.36arcsec at 1.24keV （λ = 1 nm）, where diffraction cannot be neglected. The on-axis source location accuracy is better than 0.02 arcsec. Potential applications for solar observations and wide-field X-ray monitors are also briefly discussed.

Noise reduction methods in the analysis of near infrared lunar occultation light curves for high angular resolution measurements

A lunar occultation （LO） technique in the near-infrared （NIR） provides angular resolution down to milliarcseconds for an occulted source, even with ground- based 1 m class telescopes. LO observations are limited to brighter objects because they require a high signal-to-noise ratio （S/N ~40） for proper extraction of angular diameter values. Hence, methods to improve the S/N ratio by reducing noise using Fourier and wavelet transforms have been explored in this study. A sample of 54 NIR LO light curves observed with the IR camera at Mt Abu Observatory has been used. It is seen that both Fourier and wavelet methods have shown an improvement in S/N compared to the original data. However, the application of wavelet transforms causes a slight smoothing of the fringes and results in a higher value for angular diameter. Fourier transforms which reduce discrete noise frequencies do not distort the fringe. The Fourier transform method seems to be effective in improving the S/N, as well as improving the model fit, particularly in the fainter regime of our sample. These methods also provide a better model fit for brighter sources in some cases, though there may not be a significant imorovement in S/N.

Long-term Speckle Interferometric Monitoring of Binary Systems:2007–2023Positional Measurements and Orbits of Seven Objects

The results of seventeen years of speckle interferometric monitoring of seven objects(Chara 122Aa,GJ 3010,HIP1987,GJ 3076,HIP 11253,HIP 11352,and HIP 14929)are presented.Observational data were obtained at the 6 m Big Telescope Alt-azimuthal Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Science(BTA SAO RAS)from 2007 to the present.Analysis of previously published and new measurements made it possible to construct completely new orbits for Chara 122Aa,HIP 11253,and HIP 14929.The orbit of GJ 3076 cannot be constructed accurately due to the large influence of the weights assigned to the measurements.The resulting orbital solutions are classified based on a grading scheme suggested by W.I.Hartkopf,B.D.Mason and C.E.Worley;most orbits are“definitive”(Grade 1).The mass sums and masses of components calculated by two independent methods using Hipparcos and Gaia DR2 and DR3 parallaxes were compared for the objects under study.

Mechanism and microstructure of Eu(Ⅲ) interaction with γ-MnOOH by a combination of batch and high resolution EXAFS investigation

In this paper, the macroscopic interaction method and high resolution EXAFS technique with a bent crystal analyzer were combined to study Eu（III） interaction mechanism and microstructure with y-MnOOH as a function of pH. The results indicated that Eu（III） interaction with y-MnOOH was apparently dependent on pH but independent of ionic strength, suggesting the for- mation of inner-sphere surface complexation for Eu（III） onto y-MnOOH. Results of EXAFS analysis indicated that Eu was surrounded by -9.00 atoms in first coordination shell at REu-O =2.40A, and second shell of Mn atoms at REu-Mn ≈ 3.60 was observed for the three adsorption samples. These findings suggested formation of a bidentate surface complex with Eu（III） bonding by edge sharing to MnO6-octahedron on y-MnOOH surface. Both the macroscopic interaction data and the molecular level evidence of Eu（III） microstructure at the 3,-MnOOH-water interface should be factored into better understanding the fate and mobility of Eu（III） and related radionuclides in the natural soil and water environment.

The spiral structure of the Milky Way

The morphology and kinematics of the spiral structure of the Milky Way are long-standing problems in astrophysics.In this review we firstly summarize various methods with different tracers used to solve this puzzle.The astrometry of Galactic sources is gradually alleviating this difficult situation caused mainly by large distance uncertainties, as we can currently obtain accurate parallaxes(a few μas) and proper motions(≈1 km s-1) by using Very Long Baseline Interferometry(VLBI).On the other hand, the Gaia mission is providing the largest, uniform sample of parallaxes for O-type stars in the entire Milky Way.Based upon the VLBI maser and Gaia O-star parallax measurements, nearby spiral structures of the Perseus, Local, Sagittarius and Scutum Arms are determined in unprecedented detail.Meanwhile, we estimate fundamental Galactic parameters of the distance to the Galactic center,R0, to be 8.35 ± 0.18 kpc, and circular rotation speed at the Sun, Θ0, to be 240±10 km s-1.We found kinematic differences between O stars and interstellar masers: the O stars, on average, rotate faster,>8 km s-1than maser-traced high-mass star forming regions.

A novel hybrid algorithm for lucky imaging

Lucky imaging is a high-resolution astronomical image recovery technique with two classic implementation algorithms,i.e.image selecting,shifting and adding in image space,and data selecting and image synthesizing in Fourier space.This paper proposes a novel lucky imaging algorithm where with space-domain and frequency-domain selection rates as a link,the two classic algorithms are combined successfully,making each algorithm a proper subset of the novel hybrid algorithm.Experimental results show that with the same experiment dataset and platform,the high-resolution image obtained by the proposed algorithm is superior to that obtained by the two classic algorithms.This paper also proposes a new lucky image selection and storage scheme,which can greatly save computer memory and enable lucky imaging algorithm to be implemented in a common desktop or laptop with small memory and to process astronomical images with more frames and larger size.In addition,through simulation analysis,this paper discusses the binary star detection limits of the novel lucky imaging algorithm and traditional ones under different atmospheric conditions.

Research on Bayesian Method of Direction Finding

In this paper, Bayesian technique of direction finding based on two different priorities is described. Some useful formulas are deduced. The performance of the method and the influence of the priors on direction finding are demonstrated by computer simulations.

Machine Learning for Improving Stellar Image-based Alignment in Wide-field Telescopes

Stellar images will deteriorate dramatically when the sensitive elements of wide-field survey telescopes are misaligned during an observation, and active alignment is the key technology to maintain the high resolution of wide-field sky survey telescopes. Instead of traditional active alignment based on field-dependent wave front errors, this work proposes a machine learning alignment metrology based on stellar images of the scientific camera,which is more convenient and higher speed. We first theoretically confirm that the pattern of the point-spread function over the field is closely related to the misalignment status, and then the relationships are learned by twostep neural networks. After two-step active alignment, the position errors of misalignment parameters are less than5 μm for decenter and less than 5″ for tip-tilt in more than 90% of the cases. The precise alignment results indicate that this metrology provides a low-cost and high-speed solution to maintain the image quality of wide-field sky survey telescopes during observation, thus implying important significance and broad application prospects.

Distributed Control Software for the Active Surface System of Tian-ma Radio Telescope

The Tian-ma Radio Telescope(TMRT) applies an Active Surface System(ASFS), which corrects for large-scale deformations due to gravity and thermal on the primary reflector. The centralized and automated management of the ASFS using software has become a challenge, for which we have developed the TMRT Active Surface System Control Software(TASCS). This paper describes the design and implementation of TASCS for device control,status monitoring, human-computer interaction, and data management functionalities. TASCS adopts the opensource Tango Controls framework and distributes middleware technology to realize real-time automated adjustment of the primary reflector through remote centralized control of a large number of actuators. At present, it has been successfully deployed on the TMRT and has played an important role in Event Horizon Telescope observations.

Research on the HIP 18856 binary system

The results of a study on the binary HIP 18856 and construction of its orbit are presented.New observational data were obtained at the BTA of SAO RAS in 2007-2019.Earlier,Cvetkovic et al.constructed the orbit for this system.However,it is based on six measurements,which cover a small part of the orbit.The positional parameters of the ESA astrometric satellite Hipparcos published speckle interferometric data(Mason et al.,Balega et al.,Horch et al.)and new ones were used in this study.Based on the new orbital parameters,the mass sum was calculated and the physical parameters of the components were found.The obtained orbital and fundamental parameters were compared with the data from the study by Cvetkovic et al..The comparison shows that the new orbital solution is better than the old one,since it fits new observational data accurately.Also based on a qualitative evaluation performed by Worley&Heintz,the new orbit was classified as"reliable",which means data cover more than half of the orbit with sufficient quantities of residuals of measurements.

Near-infrared imaging survey of faint companions around young dwarfs in the Pleiades cluster

We conducted a near-infrared imaging survey of 11 young dwarfs in the Pleiades cluster using the Subaru Telescope and the near-infrared coronagraph imager. We found ten faint point sources,with magnitudes as faint as 20 mag in the K-band,with around seven dwarfs.Comparison with the Spitzer archive images revealed that a pair of the faint sources around V 1171 Tau is very red in infrared wavelengths,which indicates very low-mass young stellar objects.However,the results of our follow-up proper motion measurements implied that the central star and the faint sources do not share common proper motions,suggesting that they are not physically associated.

Rapid discovery and identification of 68 compounds in the active fraction from Xiao-Xu-Ming decoction(XXMD) by HPLC-HRMS and MTSF technique

Xiao-Xu-Ming decoction（XXMD） was a traditional Chinese prescription and first recorded in ＂Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang＂.It has been widely used to treat theoplegia and the sequel of theoplegia in China.In the present work,high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high resolution mass spectrometry（HPLC-HRMS） combined with the mass spectral tree similarity filter technique（MTSF）was used to rapidly discover and identify the compounds of the active fraction of XXMD.A total of 3362 compounds were automatically detected by HPLC-HRMS,and final 68 compounds were identified in the active fraction of XXMD.including 14 templated compounds（reference compounds）,50 related compounds fished by MTSF technique,and 4 unrelated compounds identified by manual method.This study successfully applied MTSF technology for the first time to discover and identify the components of Chinese prescription.The results demonstrated that MTSF technique should be useful to the discovery and identification of compounds in Chinese prescription.This study also proved that MTSF can be applied to the targeted phytochemical separation.