High accuracy (≪ 1%) polarisation measurements with the WSRT

The B3-VLA CSS sample. VII: WSRT Polarisation Observations and the Ambient Faraday Medium Properties Revisited

We present new polarisation observations at 13 cm, acquired using the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT), of 65 sources, from the B3-VLA sample of Compact Steep-Spectrum sources. These new data are combined with our VLA polarisation data, at 3.6, 6 and, 21 cm, presented in a previous paper. Due to the multi-channel frequency capabilities of the WSRT, these new 13 cm observations enable...

The WSRT Virgo Filament Survey

In the last few years the realization has emerged that the universal baryons are almost equally distributed by mass in three components: (1) galactic concentrations, (2) a warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) and (3) a diffuse intergalactic medium. These three components are predicted by hydrodynamical simulations and are probed by QSO absorption lines. To observe the WHIM in neutral hydrogen, ...

High accuracy dual lens transmittance measurements.

We show how to determine the transmittance of short focal length lenses (f approximately 19 mm and f approximately 2 5 mm, in this case) with a combined uncertainty of 3 parts in 10(4) or better by measuring transmittances of lens pairs of a set of three or more lenses with the same nominal focal length. Uncertainties are minimized by optimizing the radiometric design of the setup and the measu...

Stratospheric aerosol measurements by dual polarisation lidar

We present measurements of stratospheric aerosol made at Aberystwyth, UK (52.4 N, 4.06 W) during periods of background aerosol conditions. The measurements were made with a lidar system based on a 532 nm laser and two polarisation channels in the receiver. When stratospheric aerosol amounts are very small, as at present, this method is, potentially, free of a number of systematic errors that be...

High Accuracy Heat Capacity Measurements through the Lambda Transition of Helium with Very High Temperature Resolution