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Earth and Space Sciences
Annual Report 2013
Gunnar Elgered,
Head of Department
Dear Reader,
In Memoriam
Let us look at the year 2013 and all the activities in our department. First of all the year was
full of birthdays. This is kind of obvious if you think about it. For some reason some birthdays
are celebrated more than others. One such important birthday is to become a teenager. This
was the case for the chair in Global Environmental Measurement Techniques – it was installed
in 2000. It is also important, at least in Sweden, to reach the age of 20. The original 16 station
reference network of GPS/GNSS receivers, SWEPOS, designed and built by the department, in
collaboration with Lantmäteriet (the Swedish National Land Survey), started to operate in 1993.
Mietek Lisak passed away on March 26, 2013. He was born in Szczecin, Poland on June 20, 1947, and
came to Sweden in 1969. He studied at the School of Electrical Engineering at Chalmers University of
Technology and received his PhD degree in 1976 with the dissertation “Wave Propagation in Uniform
and Non-Uniform Media. Effects of Absorption and Strong Dispersion”. He continued his research and
teaching at Chalmers and already in 1979 he was awarded the “Docent” title in Electromagnetic Field
Theory and Plasma Physics. Mietek was promoted to professor and full professor at Chalmers in 1996
and 2001, respectively.
It was 30 years ago since our resigning director for the national facility defended his PhD
thesis – thank you Hans for spending eight years of your life taking on the responsibility of the
observatory. The first microwave detection of the CH molecule in space was made by Chalmers
researchers in 1973 (and I got my driving license), and 50 years ago the construction of the 25 m
telescope at the observatory started (although the inauguration was the year after, in November
1964). If we go back 100 years, Heike Kamerlingh Onnes received the Nobel Prize in physics in
1913. He discovered superconductivity, a phenomenon of importance for the sensitive receivers
that are developed in our department.
He had a long and successful academic career while working at Chalmers for almost 40 years.
However, he was not only a prominent and creative scientist, but also an open and spontaneous
person who made friends in the most diverse situations. His international network was impressive and
he authored and co-authored about 300 refereed papers in international scientific journals, and was
frequently invited to speak at scientific conferences and symposia. More than twenty graduate students
were successfully supervised by Mietek.
Coming back to 2013, we congratulate our staff members for the following achievements during
the year:
• Rüdiger Haas was appointed professor in Space Geodesy on the 1st of January;
• Arto Heikkilä, was appointed head of the three-year Electrical Engineering
programme on the 1st of March;
• Peter Forkman was given the competence of associate professor (docent) in Global
Environmental Measurements and Modelling on the 15th of March;
• Lubomir Gradinarsky was appointed adjunct associate professor in Industrial
Measurement Techniques on the 1st of June —Lubomir’s main employer is
AstraZeneca;
• Johan Mellqvist was appointed professor in Optical Remote Sensing on the 23rd of
August;
• Susanne Aalto was appointed full professor in Radio Astronomy on the 1st of
November;
• John Conway was appointed Director of the Onsala Space Observatory for the next
five year period, starting on the 1st of December.
I am afraid there is also sad news to report: we lost a much appreciated colleague, Mietek Lisak.
In the area of Earth sciences we had a remarkable situation. Two of our research groups
were deeply involved in two of the candidates for the seventh Earth Explorer mission of the
European Space Agency (ESA): BIOMASS and PREMIER. In May, ESA selected BIOMASS.
This satellite will use the measurement technique of synthetic aperture radar to carry out global
monitoring of forest biomass. Its launch is scheduled for 2020. Our research group in radar
remote sensing has been active in this research area since the nineties and is also behind the
original proposal submitted to ESA in 2005.
The other candidate satellite, PREMIER, was proposed to carry the Swedish instrument
STEAMR (Stratosphere-Troposphere Exchange And climate Monitor Radiometer). The main
goal of this is to provide accurate measurements of the global distributions of key elements, e.g.
water vapour and ozone, in the region of the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. In spite
of ESA’s selection, we hope that the STEAMR instrument development will continue, since the
Swedish National Space Board has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Canada to find
a way to fly STEAMR together with one or more Canadian instruments.
We are looking forward to many more interesting research projects, and while you are waiting
for these results to be reported perhaps you can find some joy in reading selected parts of this
annual report?
Production: Dept. of Earth &
Space Sciences, Chalmers
Printed by Chalmers
Reproservice, 2014. Copies:
1,500
He had a large number of professional commitments over the years. For example, during the time
period 1999-2005, he headed the Swedish Fusion Research Unit, was responsible for the whole Swedish
fusion research effort, served as a member of the EFDA Steering Committee, and was the Swedish
representative in the EU Consultative Committee for the Euratom Fusion Research Programme.
In March 2012, he received the Doctor of Honoris Causa at the West Pomeranian University of
Technology in Szczecin, Poland. A distinction he was very happy about. Unfortunately his illness
prevented him from visiting Poland to receive it in person later that year. It would have been
well deserved. His death is a sad blow to all his colleagues and friends around the world. Mietek
will be greatly missed and remembered with joy and appreciation, not only for his great scientific
achievements, but also for his friendly personality.
The Cover
The star nearest to the Sun is its twin α Centauri in the southern
hemisphere. Deep in its interior, energy is generated by thermo­
nuclear fusion reactions, converting hydrogen into helium.
It takes millions of years for this energy to slowly flow from the
hot central regions to the star’s cooler surface, where the radiation
can finally escape into space. For both the Sun and α Cen, surface
temperatures are nearly 6000 K, but during solar eclipses, the
corona becomes visible, where temperatures reach millions of
degrees. The physics of the heating of the corona has remained
enigmatic, but the processes responsible start to operate at what is
known as the temperature minimum. This is a region a few
100 km above the visible photosphere and there, temperatures are
lower which can be detected at far-IR and submm wavelengths.
α Cen is the first star other than the Sun, where such a
temperature minimum has been observed. This provides a longsought synergy between solar and stellar physics, including their
planets. The correct interpretation of the temperature minimum
on other stars might lead to the discovery of planetary systems
similar in architecture to our own, where the accompanying dust
belts are too faint to be seen with conventional methods.
Contents
First Degree & Master’s Studies.........
......................... 4
Bachelor´s Thesis Reports................
............................. 5
Master’s Thesis Reports.......................
.......................... 5
Master´s Programmes.......................
.............................. 6
Doctoral Programme...........................
............................ 8
Doctoral Dissertations......................
.............................. 8
Licentiates.............................................
............................ 9
Advanced Receiver Development..
............................10
Global Environmental Measuremen
ts and
Modelling...............................................
..........................11
Optical Remote Sensing.......................
.......................12
Plasma Physics and Fusion Energy.
..........................13
Radar Remote Sensing......................
..........................14
Space Geodesy and Geodynamics
..........................15
Radio Astronomy and Astrophysic
s..........................16
Onsala Space Observatory...............
..........................18
Publications............................................
.........................21
Public Outreach/Press Clippings.....
.........................24
Facts and Figures..............................
............................25
Organisation............................................
........................26
©ESA — High res image:
http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2013/02/Cool_layer_in_a_Sun-like_star
References: Liseau et al. 2013, A&A, 549, L 7 and Wiegert et al. 2014, A&A, 563, A102
2
3
First Degree
and Master’s Studies
Magnus Thomasson,
Vice Head of Department
and responsible for the
undergraduate teaching
Arto Heikkilä,
Contact person for the
Master’s Programmes
The department is active at several levels of
teaching: we give courses for students at
Chalmers’ Foundation Year, the three-year
engineering programme in Electrical Engineering
and five-year master of engineering programmes
in Electrical Engineering, Automation and
Mechatronics Engineering, and Engineering
Physics. Most of our courses are at the master’s
level, and many of them are also open for students
at University of Gothenburg.
In 2013, the department was responsible for
more than 20 courses at Chalmers, plus thesis
projects on bachelor’s and master’s level. Our
teachers also participated in courses given by
other departments. The subjects range from basic
electrical engineering to courses closely related to
our research in, e.g., astrophysics, remote sensing,
receiver development, and plasma physics. An
important subject is measurement techniques. We
have our own laboratory, which is used exclusively
for teaching and where students get hands-on
experience with measurement instruments. Also
the instruments at Onsala Space Observatory
are used in several courses. One example is the
small radio telescope SALSA, which astronomy
students use to observe atomic hydrogen gas in
the Milky Way.
Two new course were developed and given for the
first time in 2013: Electric circuits and electric
power and Engineering measurements, both in
the Automation and Mechatronics Engineering
programme. They replace previous courses in
similar subjects.
The department is involved in two master’s
programmes: Physics and Astronomy (together
with the Department of Fundamental Physics)
and Wireless, Photonics and Space Engineering
(together with the Department of Microtehnology
and Nanoscience).
One of the department’s teachers, Arto
Heikkilä, was appointed Head of Programme for
the three-year Electrical Engineering programme
in 2013. He has for many years given courses on
electrical engineering and telecommunications,
and is now responsible for the whole programme.
The result of Universitetskanslersämbetet’s
(The Swedish Higher Education Authority,
previously The Swedish National Agency for
Higher Education) evaluation of Swedish
education programmes in engineering was
presented in the autumn of 2013. All educational
programmes in which we give courses were given
the assessment high quality or very high quality.
Chalmers stands out in the evaluation, with better
results than all other Swedish universities.
Bachelor’s Thesis Reports
Mikael Alping, Mathias Hansson, Daniel
Martinsson, Joakim Sundberg
Är det is eller vatten? – en studie i att bestämma
vattnets fas med hjälp av simulationer och
flervägsreflekterade GPS-signaler
(Supervisors: Rüdiger Haas & Johan Löfgren)
Mattias Bermell Rudfelt, Daniel Hermansson,
Annika Johansson, Otto Torgnyson
Havsnivåmätningar med hjälp av f lervägsref lekterade GPS- och GLONASS-signaler
(Supervisors: Johan Löfgren & Rüdiger Haas)
Master’s Thesis Reports
Shriniwas Agashe
Polarimetric Decomposition of SAR Data for
Forest Structure Assessment
(Examiner/Supervisor: Lars Ulander,
Supervisor: Maciej Soja)
Syed Zohaib Ali
Simulations of a Satellite System for Co-Location
in Space
(Examiner/Supervisor: Rüdiger Haas)
Mohsin Hyder
Design of Quad-Ridge Flare Horn for use in L- to
S band
(Examiner: John Conway, Supervisors: Jian Yang,
Miroslav Pantaleev, Per-Simon Kildal)
Sascha Krause
NbN ultra-thin films for HEB-based THz systems
(Examiner/Supervisor: Vincent Desmaris)
Daniel Nilsson
Further development, implementation and testing
of scanning mini-DOAS instruments for use on
high latitude volcanoes and volcanic gas emission
monitoring at volcano Telica, Nicaragua
(Examiner: Magnus Thomasson,
Supervisor: Bo Galle)
Caroline Schönberger
Simulations of VLBI observations with the
Onsala Twin Telescope
(Examiner/Supervisor: Rüdiger Haas,
Supervisor: Johannes Böhm, Vienna University of
Technology, Austria)
Sarrvesh Seethapuram Sridhar
Modelling the Gravitationally Lensed Quasar
PKS 1830-211
(Examiner/Supervisor: Cathy Horellou,
Supervisor: Sébastien Muller)
Chalmers courses given during 2013
(NB: many of the master’s courses were also open to students at the University of Gothenburg)
A Foundation Year
Physics, part B
Physics project (parts of the course)
Engineering programmes
Electrical engineering
Telecommunication
Degree project in Earth and Space Sciences
Master of Engineering programmes, year 1–3
Bachelor’s thesis in Earth and Space Sciences
Electric circuits and electric power (part of the
course)
Engineering measurements (for Automation and
Mechatronics Engineering)
Engineering measurements (for Electrical
Engineering)
Environmental measurement techniques
High frequency electromagnetic waves
Planetary sciences
4
Master’s courses and equivalent
Astrophysical dynamics
Electromagnetic waves and components
Experimental physics: spectroscopic methods
(parts of the course)
Image processing
Galaxies and observational cosmology
Master’s thesis in Earth and Space Sciences
Microwave engineering (parts of the course)
Millimetre wave and THz technology
Modern astrophysics
Plasma physics with applications
Remote sensing
Radar systems and applications
Radioastronomical techniques and
interferometry
Satellite positioning
Satellite communications
Space science and techniques
The interstellar medium and star formation
The Council of European Geodetic Surveyors have
a yearly student paper contest. The winner 2013, in
the category “Geodesy, Topography”, was Caroline
Schönberger, an Erasmus student from Vienna, Austria.
She wrote the paper, under the supervision of Rüdiger
Haas, at the department of Earth and Space Sciences.
5
me given
Master’s program
artment
by us and the Dep
hysics.
of Fundamental P
6
me given
Master’s program
artment
by us and the Dep
and
of Microtechnology
Nanoscience.
7
Doctoral Programme
Donal Murtagh, Deputy
Head of Department
and responsible for the
doctoral programme.
The doctoral programme is organised as three possible specialisations within the subject area of Radio
and Space Science. These specialisations are Astronomy, Environmental Science, and Electrical Engi­
neering, reflecting the diversity of the research carried out at the department. The school strives to give
the students a thorough understanding of the research area they have chosen and in depth studies in a
particular subject with the aim of achieving Chalmers’ goals for post-graduate education.
There are currently about 34 research students in the programme – most of whom are employed by
the department, although a handful have positions in industry or at other institutes.
During the past year five PhD degrees and six licentiate degrees have been awarded, while four
new post-graduate students were recruited.
Doctoral Dissertations
Gustaf Sandberg
Bhushan Billade
Mixer, multiplier and passive
components for low noise THz
receivers
Estimation of forest biomass and
Faraday rotation using ultra high
frequency synthetic aperture
radar
June
November
Supervisor: Victor Belitsky
Supervisor: Lars Ulander
Gisela Karina Carvajal
Fast particle driven instabilities in
tokamak plasmas
Retrieval of ocean surface winds
and currents using satellite
synthetic aperture radar and
infrared radiometry
September
November
Supervisor: Mietek Lisak
Supervisor: Lars Ulander
Robert Nyqvist
PhD student Maciej Soja is studying forest
canopy structure in Remningstorp, a forest
test site located in south-west Sweden.
Per-Anders Olsson
On modelling of postglacial
gravity change
October
Supervisor:
Hans-Georg Scherneck
Licentiates
Ole Martin Christensen
Time series of mesospheric
species measured using groundbased microwave spectrometry:
Retrieval and error estimation
John Johansson
January
August
Supervisor: Patrick Eriksson
Supervisor: Johan Mellqvist
Jan Torgrimsson
Hawal Marouf Rashid
Factorized geometrical autofocus
for synthetic aperture radar
processing
Improved components for 2SB
THz receivers with enhanced
sideband rejection performance
February
October
Supervisor: Lars Ulander
Supervisor: Victor Belitsky
Optical remote sensing of
industrial gas emission fluxes
Santiago Arellano
Studies of volcanic plumes with
spectroscopic remote sensing
techniques – DOAS and FTIR
observations at Karymsky,
Nyiragongo, Popocatépetl and
Tungurahua
8
Sofia Wallström
Molecules at stellar death: from
the winds of massive evolved
stars to supernova remnants
June
December
Supervisor: Bo Galle
Supervisor: John Black
Our postdoc Malin Johansson participated in the deployment of a sea ice drift buoy from the
research vessel Lance in the Fram Strait on September 6. The fieldwork was conducted in
collaboration with the Norwegian Polar Institute.
9
Advanced Receiver
Development
Research group leader
Victor Belitsky
The Group for Advanced Receiver Development (GARD) is a research and
engineering group working on Terahertz instrumentation. GARD research focuses on
superconducting electronics, material science and thin-film processing. The results and
experience from the research activities facilitate development and building of state-ofthe-art instruments used in radio astronomy and environmental science.
The ALMA Band 5 full production project
Staff
Victor Belitsky
Vincent Desmaris
Andrey Ermakov (May-)
Sven-Erik Ferm
Mathias Fredrixon
Igor Lapkin
Denis Meledin
Alexey Pavolotsky
Magnus Strandberg
Erik Sundin
Mark Whale
Doctoral students
Parisa Aghdam
Bhushan Billade (-Jun)
Sascha Krause (Sep-)
Hawal Marouf Rashid
At the beginning of 2013, GARD was awarded
with the Contract to build the Band 5 receivers for
the entire Atacama Large Millimeter/submillim­
eter Array (ALMA). The project aims to produce
67 ALMA Band 5 receiver cartridges in collabora­
tion with the Nederlandse Onderzoekschool Voor
Astronomie (NOVA), NL, and is funded by Euro­
pean Southern Observatory at the level of about
13 millions Euros for 5 years. The decision about
full production of the ALMA Band 5 receiver is
the result of the earlier EC FP6 funded project
for development and pre-production of ALMA
Band 5 receivers which was successfully completed
by GARD in 2012. The European consortium for
the full production of ALMA Band 5 collaborates
with the National Radio Astronomy Observa­
tory (NRAO), USA, which is responsible for the
local oscillator system and the warm cartridge
assembly. The ALMA Band 5 covers the frequency
range 163–211 GHz. The para-H2O(313-220) line
at 183 GHz lies in the middle of Band 5. It is one
of a few H2O lines that can be observed from the
Earth’s surface, due to the excellent atmosphere at
the ALMA site, where the transmission can be as
high as 50 % at the line centre.
Research group leader
Donal Murtagh
The Global Environmental Measurements and Modelling group focuses on the
production and interpretation of global data-sets. To a large extent these originate
from the Swedish led Odin satellite project, where we are the main data processing
centre for the Sub-mm radiometer instrument providing the atmospheric community
with quality assessed data. On the scientific side we have continued with studies
of the chemical and dynamical processes affecting the atmosphere. As in earlier
annual reports, we chose to highlight one or two aspects of this research each year.
The APEX project
GARD was working on the new generation Hot
Electron Bolometer (HEB) mixer of the APEX T2
receiver channel, and on the upgrade of the Swedish
Heterodyne Facility Instrument (SHeFI) cryogenic
low-noise IF amplifier. As part of the former
activity, GARD has developed technology for
deposition of ultra-thin NbN superconducting films
with record high critical temperature. The mixer
make use of a micromachined waveguide block,
balanced layout, and the built-in superconducting IF
circuitry. Preparations for a maintenance mission to
Chile is planned for the beginning of 2014 have also
been carried out.
A New Two-Channel mm-Wave Receiver for the
20 m Telescope in Onsala
GARD has designed and built the new 2-channel
receiver to be installed at 20 m. The receiver covers
two bands, the 4 mm band, which will use state-ofthe-art amplifiers from NRAO. The 3 mm band will
use sideband-separating (2SB) SupercunductingInsulating-Superconducting (SIS) mixers from the
Institute Radioastronomique (IRAM). The receiver
has a very compact design suitable for tight space
of the antenna cabin. We have made a completely
new optical design for the receiver front end, with
built-in calibration for both channels and with an
innovative on/off source switch. The receiver will first
be equipped with 3 mm channel and installed in the
antenna in the beginning of 2014.
Staff from GARD in front of the APEX telescope at Llano
de Chajnantor, in the Atacama desert, Chile (at a height
of 5,104 m above sea level). They were on a service
mission for the Swedish Heterodyne Facility Instrument.
The photo was taken in the spring of 2012 (although
the site is unchanged since 2013). From the left: Victor
Belitsky, Denis Meledin and Sven-Erik Ferm.
10
Global Environmental
Measurements and
Modelling
Unprecedently strong nitric oxide descent in
the Arctic middle atmosphere in early 2013
The Odin/SMR limb emission sounder witness­
ed an outstanding situation during last winter.
Measurements showed that the middle atmos­
phere had been affected by an exceptionally strong
stratospheric sudden warming (SSW) event in the
Arctic. SSW is a phenomenon that takes its name
from a rapid temperature increase, triggered by
planetary waves breaking in the stratosphere.
In early January 2013, such an event occurred,
leading to a breakdown of the polar vortex. It was
followed by the reformation of a powerful upper
stratospheric vortex, associated with very efficient
descent of air.
Nitric oxide (NO) is formed in the polar
mesosphere / lower thermosphere (MLT, around
100 km), when energetic electrons trapped into
the magnetosphere reach the atmosphere during
geomagnetic perturbations. The downward trans­
port of this species in winter is called the energetic
particle precipitation indirect effect (EPP IE).
It is controlled both by space weather and
meteorology. In early 2013, all the elements were
gathered for an unusually strong EPP IE. This
event was the result of the combination between
high geomagnetic activity, which led to high NO
production in the MLT, and particularly high
dynamical activity, which led to efficient downward
transport of this species. Unprecedented large
amounts of NO could thus enter the polar
stratosphere, where it could affect the ozone
balance. SMR measured mixing ratios up to 20
times higher than the average in February 2013.
EPP IE is an important solar-terrestrial
coupling mechanism which is still barely
understood. Addressing the case of the Arctic
winter 2012/2013 is a good opportunity to
study the impact of EPP on climate, through
stratospheric chemical and dynamical processes.
Evaluation of climate models
A main weather phenomenon in the tropics
is deep convection. It is the main source of
precipitation, and the only manner humidity,
aerosols and pollutants can be transported to
the upper troposphere. Despite having these
important influences on the climate, deep
convection is still poorly handled by atmospheric
models. In order to improve the schemes used in
models to represent convection, new approaches
for evaluation are required. Satellite microwave
data are particularly suited for the task, but
these observations are so far only found on polar
orbiting satellites and a deep convective system is
probably just observed once during its lifetime.
However, by combining data from thousands
overpasses of deep convection events, the
mean evolution both in time and space can be
determined. One such composite technique
has been refined by us, and we also applied the
methodology on data from several climate models.
By comparing satellite and model averages,
several problematic points in the climate models’
treatment of deep convection could be identified.
Upper stratosphere / mesosphere pressure-time section
of zonal mean NO volume mixing ratios measured by
Odin/SMR poleward of 70 °N during the Arctic winter
2012/2013.
11
Staff
Patrick Eriksson
Peter Forkman
Michael Kahnert
(adj. prof.)
Donal Murtagh
Kristell Perot
Joel Rasch (Jul-)
David Simpson
(adj. prof.)
Joachim Urban
Doctoral students
Emma Andersson
Ole Martin Christensen
Marston Johnston
Maryam Khosravi
Kazutoshi Sagi
Optical Remote Sensing
Research group leader
Bo Galle
The optical remote sensing group is working with development and application of groundbased optical remote sensing methods for atmospheric measurements. In specific we
are focusing on tailoring instruments and measurement strategies to address specific
measurement problems related to environmental research and monitoring needs. The work
is very international and field oriented, and spans a large variety of disciplines.
Volcanic gas measurements
Staff
Pontus Andersson (-Sep)
Johan Ekholm
Bo Galle
Johan Mellqvist
Kent Salo (-Jul)
Doctoral students
Santiago Arellano
Jörg Beecken
Vladimir Conde
John Johansson
Since 2001 we are strongly involved in developing
methods to quantify gas emission from active
volcanoes. The EU-project NOVAC (Network
for Observation of Volcanic and Atmospheric
Change), coordinated by Chalmers, was initiated
in fall 2005. This project aims at establishing a
network of instruments for gas measurements and
today comprises 27 of the most active volcanoes
in the world. In 2013 a new project DECADE
(Deep Earth Carbon Degassing) was initiated.
This project aims at improving the knowledge on
CO2 emission from volcanoes as part of a large
scale international effort DCO, Deep Carbon
Observatory, aiming at a better understanding
of the reservoirs and
fluxes of carbon in the
Earth system. During
2013 fieldwork has been
carried out on volcanoes
in Iceland, Nicaragua,
Costa Rica, D.R. Congo
and Alaska.
Industrial hydrocarbon
emissions
Emissions of hydro­
carbons from oil related
industrial activities
constitute an important
environmental problem.
We have developed
optical methods for quantification of emissions
of hydrocarbons, NO2 , SO2 and. During 2013 we
participated in the NASA Discover AQ project
in Houston. The aim with this campaign was to
compare our measurements with similar ones
carried out from airplanes and ground sites.
Emissions from ships
A method, for remote airborne measurements of
fluegas emissions from ships is presently being
developed. The aim with this system is to be able
to control whether ships obey new environmental
regulation within EU and the international
maritime organization, IMO. During 2013 the
system has been rebuilt into a small Piper aircraft
and presently a EASA certification procedure
is pending. Another system is operated from an
island in the inlet of Gothenburg and presently
more than 2000 ships have been measured.
Stratospheric ozone depletion and satellite
validation
Plasma Physics and
Fusion Energy
The main focus of the group is to provide theoretical support to the worldwide fusion
effort for the realization of thermonuclear fusion as a clean, safe and sustainable
energy source. The main areas of our research are plasma turbulence and transport,
energetic particle physics of burning fusion plasmas, and magnetohydrodynamic
(MHD) stability. The research is strongly integrated in the international research
activities, in particular the EU and the ITER program.
Energetic particle physics
Turbulent transport
One of the main objectives of the next generation
tokamak ITER is the study of alpha particle
production, confinement and consequent heating
of the main plasma during deuterium-tritium
discharges. Energetic ions constitute the only
heating alternative beyond the Ohmic regime, and
are further known to play a decisive role for the
plasma stability. Fast particles are prone to excite
wave instabilities, e.g. of Alfvénic type, with
the potential to subsequently degrade the alpha
particle confinement and heating. Within this
field of research, our activity is mainly focused
on the nonlinear interaction between Alfvénic
eigenmodes and energetic ions. Such modeling
provides opportunities to extract information
on the equilibrium plasma and fast particles via
experimental measurements, and is highly desired
in order to assess the potential implications of
Alfvénic activity on burning plasma scenarios.
The strong gradients in temperature and density
present in tokamak fusion plasmas provide a
source of free energy that couples to the confining
magnetic field and feeds instabilities over a wide
range of sizes and frequencies.
These small scale instabilities in turn drive
turbulence. Turbulent motion in the plasma
results in large transport of heat, main fuel ions,
impurities and momentum across the confining
magnetic field and crucially affects the size and
performance of a fusion device. Our current work
is focused on realistic large scale gyrokinetic
turbulence simulations, mainly of Joint European
Torus (JET) experiments and ITER-like
scenarios. The research also aims at establishing
a predictive capability of temperature, density
and momentum profiles in tokamaks, using
a computationally efficient fluid model for
turbulent transport developed at Chalmers.
Since 1994 we are operating a high resolution
FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy)
for Solar spectroscopy at Harestua in southern
Norway. The instrument is part of NDACC
(Network for the Detection of Atmospheric
Composition Change), and its main purpose is
to study the composition of the atmosphere in
relation to climate gases and to gases that induce
stratospheric ozone loss. Regular measurements
have been carried out, financed by Swedish
environmental protection agency.
12
Staff
Dan Andersson (prof.
emeritus)
Luis Fazendeiro
Adrian Jackson (-Aug)
Mietek Lisak (-Mar)
Yueqiang Liu
(adj. prof.)
Hans Nordman
Robert Nyqvist (Oct-)
Eva Palmberg (lecturer
emeritus)
Joel Rasch (-Jun)
Pär Strand
Dimitriy Yadykin (-May)
Doctoral students
Frida Håkansson
Robert Nyqvist (-Sep)
Andreas Skyman
Daniel Tegnered
NOVAC gas monitoring instrument installed
downwind Hekla Volcano on Iceland.
PhD student Santiago Arellano
measuring the gas emission from
Nyiragongo Volcano, D.R. Congo,
using Solar FTIR spectroscopy.
Research group leader
Hans Nordman
A cross-section of a flux tube simulation domain of a
tokamak, showing the fluctuation of the electrostatic
potential. Data from nonlinear simulations of fully
developed Trapped Electron Mode turbulence, using
the code GENE.
Top. Experimental spectrogram showing pulsed
excitation and hooked frequency shift of toroidal Alfvén
eigenmodes (TAEs) on the spherical tokamak MAST.
Bottom. Simulated spectrum for a continuously
destabilized TAE. The spectrum was calculated by
means of the HAGIS code.
13
Radar Remote Sensing
Research group leader
Leif Eriksson
Research in the Radar Remote Sensing Group is based on understanding of
radar systems and electromagnetic scattering. Main applications studied are
forestry, oceanography and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) processing. Accurate,
large-scale forest mapping is required for understanding of the global carbon
cycle. Wind fields, ocean currents, and sea ice are other important elements of
the climate system. For SAR processing, our interest is development of signal
processing algorithms.
Forest monitoring
Staff
Jan Askne (prof. emeritus)
Erik Blomberg (Nov-)
Gisela Carvajal (Dec-)
Leif Eriksson
Malin Johansson
Lars Ulander (adj. prof.)
Doctoral students
Anders Berg
Gisela Carvajal (-Nov)
Gustaf Sandberg (-Nov)
Maciej Soja
Jan Torgrimsson
The group has been involved in several research
projects over the past years to develop the
Biomass satellite concept for global forest
monitoring and improved understanding of
the global carbon cycle. The group has mainly
been involved in developing and evaluating
algorithms for estimation of forest variables
(biomass, biomass change, and height). It was
therefore a special moment when the European
Space Agency in May 2013 decided to fund
Biomass as the 7th Earth Explorer satellite
to be launched in 2020. The Biomass payload
consists of a polarimetric SAR operating in the
432–438 MHz band with interferometric and
tomographic capabilities. The satellite will carry
a 12-m diameter deployable reflector antenna
and observe the Earth with a resolution of 50 m
x 50 m. The operating frequency has been chosen
to be the lowest possible in order to penetrate
into dense forests and with improved sensitivity
to the larger forest structural elements. A main
objective is to monitor tropical rain forests,
which are threatened by large-scale deforestation
and degradation. The group is also involved
in the German TanDEM-X mission for highresolution forest height measurement. Two SAR
satellites operate at 9.65 GHz and in a bistatic
interferometric configuration to produce digital
elevation models of the Earth’s surface. Modelbased algorithms have been used to estimate
forest height and biomass in areas where digital
terrain models of the ground surface elevation are
available.
Ocean monitoring
In 2013 the group continued the evaluation of
methods to estimate ocean surface currents from
satellite data. The study includes methods for
fine spatial resolution with TanDEM-X SAR
data and large areal coverage with AVHRR
infrared radiometer data. Results were presented
from a comparison between surface currents
in the Baltic Sea derived from satellite data
and from the HIROMB model that is used by
the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological
Institute (SMHI). Another study focused on
how sea surface winds in the Amundsen Sea
affect one of the warm deep water currents that
are believed to melt parts of the glacier ice shelf
around Antarctica. The wind fields were derived
with SAR data and were correlated with current
measurements from a mooring operated by
the University of Gothenburg. Activities in the
Arctic included deployment of a drift buoy from
R/V Lance during an annual cruise in the Fram
Strait organized by Norwegian Polar Institute.
The buoy was placed on an ice floe and transmits
information via GPS about its position and the
surrounding temperature. Using this in-situ
information we can validate the sea ice drift
algorithm developed within the group.
SAR processing
The group is developing and evaluating a
new autofocus algorithm FGA (Factorized
Geometrical Autofocus) for airborne SAR.
The algorithm is based on a unique ability to
correct space-variant range cell migration which
is particularly a challenge in ultra-wideband SAR.
A new method has been developed which can be
used to determine the sensitivity to image focus
parameters.
This example shows the agreement between the surface
currents from satellite infrared radiometer (left) and from the
HIROMB model (right) in the Baltic Sea.
14
Space Geodesy and
Geodynamics
Our main interests are geodynamic phenomena and atmospheric processes. We study
e.g. the deformation of the Earth’s crust due to mass redistribution, inter- and intra-plate
tectonics, loading effects, and variations in the Earth’s orientation and rotation. We also
study spatial and temporal variations of water vapour in the atmosphere. We address these
research topics using a variety of observational techniques together with theoretical work.
Gravity-Live
Since January 2013 the superconducting gravim­
eter in the gravity laboratory at the Onsala Space
Observatory communicates one-second data to
the world. The instantaneous measurements are
presented on the webpage http://holt.oso.chalm­
ers.se/hgs/SCG/monitor-plot.html
The presented values are reduced for air pres­
sure and astronomical tides and shown in the larg­
est diagram. A summary of the last 30 days and
a spectrogram of the short-period noise are also
shown. A link makes numeric data available for
download with a latency of less than two minutes,
other links allow to identify seismic events and
the cause of microseismic noises (mostly remote
action due to high waves in specific areas of the
North Atlantic region).
Figure 1. Sea level
“fingerprinting”:
Presented are the
expected sea level change
caused by melting of
100 Gt ice per year in
Greenland (top), West
Antarctica (middle),
and glaciers elsewhere
(bottom). Values lower
than -0.8 mm/yr have
been blanked out. Note
the sea level fall in the
near range around the
melting regions. Note also
that recent annual rates of
melting (2008-2012) have
almost been fourfold.
Research group leader
Rüdiger Haas
sea level equations. Another aspect of the papers
included in the thesis was an investigation of sim­
plified empirical rules to predict gravity change
from vertical displacement of the crust, the latter
being more accessible to accurate measurement
using GNSS and Precise Levelling. His work is an
important contribution as it includes the physics
of the solid earth and oceans, a key qualifier for
future issues of NKG Land Uplift models, which
hitherto have solely been based on empirical data,
namely precise levelling.
BIFROST 2.0
The project BIFROST (Baseline Inferences
for Fennoscandian Rebound Observations Sea
Level and Tectonics) was started in 1993. The
first primary goal was to establish a new and
useful three-dimensional measurement of the
movements in the earth crust based on GNSS
observations, able to constrain models of the
GIA (glacial isostatic adjustment) process in
Fennoscandia. In 2013 a new BIFROST GNSS
solution was produced including GNSS data from
1993 to 2013. This solution is the most accurate
BIFROST solution ever produced, and uses e.g. a
consistent reference frame, models for “absolute”
calibration of antenna phase centre variations
(PCV), and higher order ionosphere effects.
Staff
Gunnar Elgered
Lubomir Gradinarsky
(adj. assoc. prof. May-)
Rüdiger Haas
Jan Johansson
(adj. prof.)
Tong Ning
Hans-Georg Scherneck
Doctoral students
Susana García Espada
(industrial student)
Johan Löfgren
Niko Petteri Kareinen
(Aug- )
Per-Anders Olsson
(industrial student) (-Oct)
Figure 2. BIFROST
2.0: Three-dimensional
station motion derived
from the analysis of 20
years of Nordic GNSS
data. Horizontal station
motions are presented
as vectors with error
ellipses, and vertical
motions as vertical bars.
Sea level “fingerprinting”
Per-Anders Olsson investigated in his PhD thesis
the effect of ice mass changes on the gravity
field. Relevant processes that affect gravity are
mass redistribution and earth deformation as
consequences of Pleistocene ice sheet history,
deglaciation in the Holocene and contemporary
melting. An intricate problem in this respect is
the change of the sea level, which implies gravity
and earth deformation effects that in turn again
affect the sea level. Per-Anders has participated
in a benchmarking group within COST project
ES0701 comparing computer codes that solve the
15
Radio Astronomy
and Astrophysics
Research group leader
Susanne Aalto
Staff
Susanne Aalto
Arnold van Ardenne
(adj. prof.)
Per Bjerkeli
John Black
Roy Booth (prof. emeritus)
Guillaume Drouart (Oct-)
Lulu Fan (Oct-)
Arto Heikkilä
Åke Hjalmarson
(prof. emeritus)
Cathy Horellou
Kay Justtanont
Kirsten Kraiberg Knudsen
René Liseau
Hans Olofsson (Dec-)
Carina Persson
Glenn Persson
Alessandro Romeo
Gustaf Rydbeck
(prof. emeritus)
Daniel Tafoya (-Jul)
Magnus Thomasson
Karl Torstensson
Wouter Vlemmings
Anders Winnberg
(prof. emeritus)
Eva Wirström
Doctoral students
Fabien Batejat
Taïssa Danilovich
Niklas Falstad
Judith Fogasy (Sep-)
Mitra Hajigholi
Lukas Lindroos
Eskil Varenius
Sofia Wallström
Joachim Wiegert
Our research covers a wide range of topics from planetary atmospheres, through the
early evolution of stars and planets, to late stages of stellar evolution, the physics and
chemistry of interstellar and intergalactic matter, the structure and evolution of galaxies,
and cosmology. We carry out observations both at radio frequencies and in other parts of
the spectrum. We do theoretical research and develop numerical simulations and models
of complex systems like galaxies and gas clouds and help to develop future telescopes
on the ground and in space. Although our work both drives and benefits from state-of
the-art sensors, our principal motivation is fundamental curiosity about our universe.
Starting in our own Solar system we have worked
on new theoretical models that reveal how hydro­
gen molecules regulate the photochemistry of the
ionosphere of Saturn.
Closest to our Sun is a stellar system with its
twin alpha Centauri. Despite the fact that the
distance is merely 4 light years, the star remains
a point to observers. Using the space-based
Herschel telescope we have used a technique
that allowed us to probe the surface of the star.
There, we directly detected for the first time
on a star other than the Sun the phenomenon
of temperature minimum, i.e. we were seeing
the bottom of the inversion layer in the stellar
atmosphere. Furthermore, using the telescope to
study evolved Sun-like stars, we observed isotopes
of carbon and oxygen in a number of these
objects. The isotopic ratios, together with stellar
nuleosynthesis lead us to conclude that these stars
are at least 5 times the mass of our Sun. They
are currently losing mass at a prodigious rate,
enriching the interstellar medium with carbon,
oxygen and other heavy elements that one day
will form stars and planets.
Dying and exploding stars
Energetic and magnetic jets are commonly found
originating from compact objects or young stars.
We have now discovered such a jet around an old
star about to become a planetary nebula. The
jet appears responsible for forming the bipolar
structure around the star, supporting the idea
that magnetic fields are responsible for creating
bipolar planetary nebulae. Twenty-six years of
VLA-monitoring (Very Large Array) of another
planetary nebula, CRL 618, has revealed the
onset of ionization and hence the true start of the
planetary nebula phase to have occurred only
42 years ago.
Evidence of active chemistry in the reverse
shock of the young supernova remnant Cassiopeia
A has been found through Herschel observations
of carbon monoxide.
16
shocks while only a small fraction (1%) of the
ISM is exposed to higher velocity shocks. This
implies that the gas is rapidly losing its highly
turbulent motions despite the incomplete stage of
the merger.
The stability of a large sample of spirals
from The HI Nearby Galaxy Survey (THINGS)
have been analysed treating stars, HI and H 2
as three distinct components. The analysis
shows that H 2 plays a significant role in disc (in)
stability even at distances as large as half the
optical radius. We have also shown that HI plays
a negligible role up to the edge of the optical
disc; and that the stability level of THINGS
spirals is, on average, remarkably flat and well
above unity. For the analysis a new more realistic
Q stability parameter (several stellar and/or
gaseous components and disc thickness) has been
developed.
During the first cycle of ALMA observations,
the combination of high sensitivity and angular
resolution has, for example, shown that some of
the brightest, distant starburst galaxies are in fact
not one, but two or more galaxies. This is one of
the major results from one of our international
collaboration. Furthermore ATCA (Australian
Telescope Compact Array) absorption
spectroscopy of a distant galaxy has been used
to measure precisely the temperature of the
cosmic background radiation and thus to test the
standard Big Bang theory.
The synchrotron radio continuum jet of IRAS 154455449 (contours) overlaid on a mid-infrared VLT image
(color scale). The magnetic jet is seen shaping the dusty
circumstellar envelope into a bipolar nebula, with water
masers (small symbols) excited at the red-shifted tip of
the outflow.
Galaxy nuclei
APEX observations of para-H 2CO at 218 GHz
were used to determine kinetic temperatures (T k)
of the dense gas in the central molecular zone
(CMZ) of our Galaxy. Temperatures range from
50 K to T k >100 K. The high temperatures of
molecular clouds on large scales in the CMZ may
be driven by turbulent energy dissipation and/or
cosmic-rays instead of photons. Such a thermal
state of the molecular gas may provide a template
for the more distant vigorous starbursts found in
LIRGs.
We have observed the nucleus of the nearby
LIRG NGC 4418 with subarcsec resolution at
1300, 1000, 860 and 450 μm for the first time to
characterize its hidden power source. A 20 pc
(0.” 1) hot (100–300 K), Compton thick dusty core
was found – which is responsible for the global
infrared emission of the whole galaxy. Combining
Merlin 1.4 and 5 GHz observations with CO 2-1
show evidence of inflowing gas towards the nucleus.
Vibrational lines of HNC are detected for the first
time in an external galaxy.
A 400 pc molecular ring is discovered in the
center of the galaxy merger NGC1614. The ring is
connected to a minor axis dust lane which feeds
it along gaseous “umbilical cords”. Numerous
Giant Molecular Cloud Associations (GMAs) in
the ring suggest an orbit crowding phenomenon
– where the large clouds form out of the
coalescence of smaller structures being funneled
toward the center. The GMAs enable the intense
star formation rate in the ring.
Galaxies and high-z
We have studied our nearest galaxies, the Small
Magellanic Cloud, and have for the first time
detected the simplest carbon-chain molecules C 2
and C 3 (at visible wavelengths).
We have used the APEX telescope to detect
molecular gas in five nearby dwarf galaxies.
The [C II]/CO ratios are high >10 000 and our
results confirm the notion that CO suffers
from significant selective photodissociation in
low-metallicity dwarf galaxies and that the CO
emission arises from small clumps with a low
filling factor. The Galactic CO to H 2 conversion
factor severely underestimates the molecular mass
of dwarf galaxies.
Our Herschel SPIRE FTS spectral scan of the
luminous infrared galaxy (LIRG) merger NGC
6240 detect 20 lines including CO 4–3 to 13–12,
six H 2O rotational lines, and [C I] and [N II] finestructure lines. We deduce that most of the gas is
currently moderately stirred up by slow (10 km/s)
Molecular gas feeding a “ring of fire” in a colliding galaxy
Left: Hubble Space Telescope (HST) optical image of the merging/colliding galaxy NGC 1614. Gas and dust have been
stolen from the devoured companion galaxy and is now flowing towards the center of the galaxy along prominent dust
lanes (seen as dark foreground structures in the image). Right: Radio (mm wave) emission from molecular gas feeding
the starburst activity. The gas has streamed from the northern dust lane and collected into its final resting place: a ring
consisting of giant molecular clouds.
17
Onsala Space Observatory
Director
Hans Olofsson (-Nov)
Onsala Space Observatory (OSO) is the Swedish National Facility for Radio Astronomy.
In Onsala, the observatory operates two parabolic radio telescopes, a 25 m diameter
cm-wave dish and a 20 m diameter mm-wave dish, and the Swedish LOFAR (Low
Frequency Array) station. The observatory is also one of three partners in the Atacama
Pathfinder Experiment (APEX), a 12 m diameter submillimetre-wave telescope in Chile,
and provides the channel through which Sweden is involved in large international radio
astronomy projects, such as EVN (European VLBI Network), LOFAR, ALMA (Atacama
Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array), and SKA (Square Kilometre Array).
In addition to radio astronomy, geoscience activities are an official part of the
mission of the observatory. The geoscience equipment consists of receivers for GNSS
(Global Navigation Satellite Systems) including a GNSS tide-gauge, a superconducting
gravimeter, a seismograph (owned by Uppsala University), and radiometers for
aeronomy. The 20 m telescope is partly used for geodetic VLBI (Very Long Baseline
Interferometry). The observatory also contributes to establishing the official Swedish
time, by hosting two hydrogen maser clocks and one cesium clock.
Director
John Conway (Dec-)
New director
On 1 December 2013, John Conway took over the
position as director of Onsala Space Observatory
after Hans Olofsson. John Conway is, since 2010,
professor in observational radio astronomy at
Chalmers. His research is focused on networks of
radio telescopes and the physics of active galactic
nuclei and starburst galaxies. Hans Olofsson will
continue as a professor at Chalmers, with research
on late stellar evolution.
Geoscience infrastructure
Staff
Per Bergman
Bhushan Billade (Jun-)
Per Björklund
Tobia Carozzi
Simon Casey
John Conway
Robert Cumming
Daniel Dahlin (-Apr)
Lars Eriksson
Roger Hammargren
Leif Helldner
Christer Hermansson
Karl-Åke Johansson
Jan Karaskuru
Ulf Kylenfall
Mikael Lerner
Michael Lindqvist
Ivan Marti-Vidal
Sebastien Muller
Michael Olberg
Henrik Olofsson
Hans Olofsson (-Nov)
Miroslav Pantaleev
Lars Pettersson
Lars Wennerbäck
Ronny Wingdén
Since January 2013 the superconducting
gravimeter at the observatory communicates
one-second data to the world. The instantaneous
measurements are presented on the webpage
http://holt.oso.chalmers.se/hgs/SCG/monitorplot.html together with a summary of the last
30 days, and a spectrogram of the short-period
noise. A link makes numeric data available for
download with a latency of less than two minutes,
other links allow to identify seismic events and
Figure 1. An example of real-time data from the
superconducting gravimeter. The black curve
shows the gravimeter measurements of the
most recent hour, after removing effects due
to tides (red line) and air pressure (dark blue
line). The yellow line inside the black is the
low-pass filtered equivalent, useful to identify
seismic waves from earthquakes, while the
1 s data is dominated by the microseismic
background. The latter is an effect due to
oceanic surface waves in situations of high
wind speed, at times surprisingly far away, like
the Irish shelf of the Bay of Biscay. The gray
curve presents the most recent 10 minutes of
1 s gravity data, offset by -200 nm/s2. (The
light-blue line shows a band-passed timederivative of pressure, mainly as a diagnostic
tool for barometer data.)
18
the cause of microseismic noises. An example of a
real-time plot is shown in Figure 1.
LOFAR
The first round of user projects on the
international LOFAR metre wave telescope
were observed in 2013. A project successfully
led by Swedish astronomers was the imaging
of the starburst galaxy M82 at low frequency
at subarcsecond resolution using the longest
baselines of LOFAR. The resulting image
(see Figure 2) shows a population of compact
Supernova Remnants embedded in diffuse
emission. This image is the first of a weak
extended object to be made by the full European
wide network of LOFAR stations including
Onsala. Additionally, in 2013 the Onsala LOFAR
station was used for the first time in “standalone”
mode to observe pulsars and to search for low
frequency transients.
Other activities in Onsala
The 20 m telescope in Onsala was used for
a number astronomical single-dish projects
(studying the interstellar medium, star formation
processes, late stellar evolution, and comets),
and for VLBI observations by both the
astronomical and geodetical communities. Also
the 25 m telescope was used for astronomical
VLBI observations. The outreach activities have
continued, with, e.g., school classes and other
groups visiting the observatory, as described
elsewhere in this report.
Square Kilometre Array Project
The next large step in global centimetre and
metre wave radio astronomy is the Square
Kilometre Array (SKA) project, which will be
an enormous array of antennas spread over the
two host sites in Australia and South Africa,
eventually encompassing a total collecting area of
one square kilometre. The project currently has
eleven countries as members including Sweden,
which is represented on the project board by
OSO/Chalmers. The final design phase will span
2014-2016 with construction of phase 1 of the
project starting in 2017. Chalmers is part of
two consortia that during 2013 successfully bid
for SKA design work; one of these consortia,
on ultra-wideband receivers, will be led by
Chalmers. Within Chalmers, the SKA technical
contributions are led by OSO but the work also
involves the departments of “Microtechnology and
Nanoscience” and “Signals and Systems”.
ALMA
Results from ALMA early science observations
have been published in an increasing rate, with
several publications including astronomers from
OSO. Of particular interest was the unique
observations of the gravitationally lensed galaxy
PKS 1830-211, where due to a luck of scheduling,
the group was able to observe a flare of the
relativistic jet caused by the infall of a huge
mass on the central black hole. The observations
revealed for the first time a connection between
gamma ray and submillimeter radio wave activity,
showing that the activity originates at the very
base of the jet from the supermassive black hole.
The ALMA Cycle 2 Call for Proposals
resulted in 1382 proposals, a healthy increase
from previous cycles. The majority of the
proposals come from Europe, and the Nordic
region contributed almost 10% of those. The
Nordic ALMA Regional Centre (ARC) node
at OSO organized several tutorial sessions at
various institutes throughout Sweden, Denmark
and Finland, which led to a sharp increase of
Nordic astronomers involved in ALMA projects.
The Nordic ARC node further organized the
very well received and attended “Nordic Science
Figure 2. LOFAR image of the starburst galaxy M82 with
resolution 0.4 arcseconds using the international baselines
of the LOFAR array (including the Onsala station) at
2 metre wavelength. The point sources found mark the
sites of steep spectrum Supernova Remnants from the
explosion of massive stars.
with ALMA” meeting, highlighting the exciting
ALMA science that is being pursued in the
Nordic countries.
The project of designing and building of
67 ALMA “band 5” receivers (163-211 GHz)
has started within the ALMA Development
Programme. OSO’s Group for Advanced
Receiver Development (GARD) plays a key role
in the project.
APEX
A new bolometer camera, ArTeMiS, was
successfully installed and commissioned at APEX
in the summer of 2013. The current version of the
camera, built by a French group from CEA Saclay
operates at a wavelength of 350 micrometers.
Some of the first science observations with this
instrument took place on Swedish time. It is
expected that ArTeMiS will be able to image the
dust content in our Galaxy, and in more distant
galaxies, with a much better efficiency than was
previously possible.
About 55 single-dish projects were observed
at APEX during Swedish time in 2013. Most of
the projects used the SHFI heterodyne receiver
but also the bolometer cameras LABOCA and
ArTeMiS (which this year replaced SABOCA).
The projects covered a wide range of topics,
e.g., comets, star formation and chemistry in the
interstellar medium, AGB stars and planetary
nebulae, dwarf galaxies and active galaxies.
Following up on the success from last year,
1.3 mm VLBI observations as part of the “Event
Horizon Telescope” project were performed using
APEX as one of the stations. This project aims
at imaging the surroundings of the supermassive
black hole in the centre of our Galaxy.
19
Staff shared with
research groups
Gunnar Elgered
Peter Forkman
Rüdiger Haas
Tong Ning
Hans Olofsson (Dec-)
Hans-Georg Scherneck
Magnus Thomasson
Karl Torstensson
Wouter Vlemmings
Eva Wirström
A majority of the Group
for Advanced Receiver
Development (p. 10)
is also part of the
observatory.
Publications
Stähli, O.; Murk, A.; Kämpfer, N.; … ; Eriksson,
P. et al. (2013). Microwave radiometer to retrieve
temperature profiles from the surface to the
stratopause. Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 2477–2494.
The list contains peer reviewed journal publications that was actually published during 2013. The
publications are presented for each research group and in alphabetical order based on the first
author´s last name. A few publications with authors from more than one research group are listed
in each group. In order to have a list of a reasonable size, we have chosen to only include peer
reviewed journal publications on these pages. PhD and licentiate theses are presented on pages
8 and 9. A complete list for 2013, and in most cases also links to the full papers, can be found at:
publications.lib.chalmers.se/cpl/lists/publications/departments.
Sutton, M.A.; Reis, S.; Riddick, S.N.; … ; Simpson, D.
et al. (2013). Towards a climate-dependent paradigm of
ammonia emission and deposition. Philos. T. R. Soc.
B., 368.
Advanced Receiver Development
Billade, B.; Pavolotsky, A.; Belitsky, V. (2013). An
SIS Mixer With 2hf/k DSB Noise Temperature at
163–211 GHz Band. IEEE Trans. THz Sci. Technol., 3,
416– 421.
Global Environmental
Measurements and Modelling
Baron, P.; Murtagh, D.P.; Urban, J.; … ; Sagi, K. et al.
(2013). Observation of horizontal winds in the middleatmosphere between 30 degrees S and 55 degrees N
during the northern winter 2009–2010. Atmos. Chem.
Phys., 13. 6049– 6064.
Christensen, O.M.; Eriksson, P. (2013). Time series
inversion of spectra from ground-based radiometers.
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 1597–1609.
Eliasson, S.; Holl, G.; Buehler, S.; … ; Johnston, M.
et al. (2013). Systematic and random errors between
collocated satellite ice water path observations. J.
Geophys. Res-Atmos., 118, 2629–2642.
Kahnert, M. (2013). T-matrix computations for particles
with high-order finite symmetries. J. Quant. Spectrosc.
Ra., 123, 79–91.
Kahnert, M. (2013). The T-matrix code Tsym
for homogeneous dielectric particles with finite
symmetries. J. Quant. Spectrosc. Ra., 123, 62–78.
Kahnert, M.; Nousiainen, T.; Lindqvist, H. (2013).
Models for integrated and differential scattering optical
properties of encapsulated light absorbing carbon
aggregates. Opt. Express., 21, 7974–7993.
Kasai, Y.; Sagawa, H.; Kreyling, D.; … ; Urban, J.;
Murtagh, D.P.; et al. (2013). Validation of stratospheric
and mesospheric ozone observed by SMILES from
International Space Station. Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6,
2311–2338.
Khosravi, M.; Baron, P.; Urban, J.; ... ; Murtagh,
D.P.; et al. (2013). Diurnal variation of stratospheric
and lower mesospheric HOCl, ClO and HO2 at the
equator: comparison of 1-D model calculations with
measurements by satellite instruments. Atmos. Chem.
Phys., 13, 7587–7606.
Flechard, C.; Massad, R.; Loubet, B.; … ; Simpson, D.;
et al. (2013). Advances in understanding, models and
parameterizations of biosphere-atmosphere ammonia
exchange. Biogeosciences, 10, 5183–5225.
Khosrawi, F.; Muller, R.; Urban, J.; … ; Murtagh, D.P.
et al. (2013). Assessment of the interannual variability
and influence of the QBO and upwelling on tracertracer distributions of N2O and O3 in the tropical lower
stratosphere. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 3619–3641.
Galligani, V.; Prigent, C.; Defer, E.; … ; Eriksson, P.
et al. (2013). The impact of the melting layer on the
passive microwave cloud scattering signal observed
from satellites: A study using TRMM microwave
passive and active measurements. J. Geophys. ResAtmos ., 118, 5667–5678.
Kirkwood, S.; Belova, E.; Dalin, P.; … ; Murtagh, D.P.;
et al. (2013). Response of polar mesosphere summer
echoes to geomagnetic disturbances in the Southern
and Northern Hemispheres: the importance of nitric
oxide. Ann. Geophys., 31, 333–347.
Genberg, J.; Denier van der Gon, H.A.C.; Simpson,
D.; et al. (2013). Light-absorbing carbon in Europe measurement and modelling, with a focus on residential
wood combustion emissions. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13,
8719– 8738.
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water vapor climatologies from international satellite
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Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission
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terrestrial atmosphere during an Earth flyby of the
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NO densities in the mesosphere – lower thermosphere
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Johnston, M.; Eliasson, S.; Eriksson, P.; et al. (2013).
Diagnosing the average spatio-temporal impact
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evaluating climate models. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13,
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Sofieva, V.; Rahpoe, N.; Tamminen, J.; … ; Urban,
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of ozone profiles from satellite limb and occultation
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20
Takano, Y.; Liou, K.N.; Kahnert, M.; et al. (2013). The
single-scattering properties of black carbon aggregates
determined from the geometric-optics surface-wave
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international satellite limb sounders. J. Geophys. ResAtmos., 118, 12,229–12,247.
Thomas, M.A.; Devasthale, A.; Kahnert, M. (2013).
Exploiting the favourable alignment of CALIPSO’s
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Toohey, M.; Hegglin, M.; Tegtmeier, S.; … ; Brohede,
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biases in the trace gas climatologies of the SPARC Data
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by a cube: Accuracy limits of the discrete dipole
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Optical Remote Sensing
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N.; Beecken, J.; et al. (2013). Measurements of air
pollution emission factors for marine transportation in
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Rivera, C.; Barrera, H.; Grutter, M.; ... ; Galle, B.;
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Plasma Physics and Fusion Energy
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High frequency geodesic acoustic modes in electron
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Radar Remote Sensing
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Carvajal, G.; Wåhlin, A.; Eriksson, L.E.B.; Ulander,
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Radio Astronomy and
Astrophysics and the Swedish
National Facility for Radio
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Justtanont, K.; ... ; Olofsson, H.; ... ; Schöier, F.; et
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21
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Karlsson, R.; Sandqvist, Aa.; Hjalmarson, Å.;
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22
towards the Sgr A complex: VLA, Odin and SEST
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Karska, A.; Herczeg, G.J.; van Dishoeck, E.F.; ... ;
Liseau, R.; et al. (2013). Water in star-forming regions
with Herschel (WISH) III. Far-infrared cooling lines in
low-mass young stellar objects. Astron. Astrophys., 552.
Konig, S.; Aalto, S.; Muller, S.; et al. (2013). The NGC
1614 interacting galaxy Molecular gas feeding a “ring of
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Kramer, C.; Abreu-Vicente, J.; Garcia-Burillo, S.; ...
; Aalto, S.; et al. (2013). Gas and dust cooling along
the major axis of M33 (HerM33es) ISO/LWS C II
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Krivov, A.V.; Eiroa, C.; Lohne, T.; ... ; Liseau, R.; et
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Astrophys. J., 772, 12013.
Lammer, H.; Blanc, M.; Benz, W.; … ; Liseau, R.; et al.
(2013). The Science of Exoplanets and Their Systems.
Astrobiology, 13, 793– 813.
Leal-Ferreira, M.L.; Vlemmings, W.; Kemball, A.; et
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observations of H2O maser polarization. Astron.
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Liseau, R.; Montesinos, B.; Olofsson, G.; … ; Wiegert,
J.; et al. (2013). α Centauri A in the far infrared - First
measurement of the temperature minimum of a star
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Marshall, J.P.; Krivov, A.V.; del Burgo, C.; ... ; Liseau,
R.; et al. (2013). Herschel observations of the debris
disc around HIP 92043. Astron. Astrophys., 557.
Marti-Vidal, I.; Muller, S.; Combes, F.; Aalto, S.; … ;
Horellou, C.; et al. (2013). Probing the jet base of the
blazar PKS 1830-211 from the chromatic variability of
its lensed images. Serendipitous ALMA observations of
a strong gamma-ray flare. Astron. Astrophys., 558, 123.
Meijerink, R.; Kristensen, L.; Weiss, A.; ... ; Aalto, S.;
et al. (2013). Evidence for CO Shock Excitation in NGC
6240 from Herschel SPIRE Spectroscopy. Astrophys. J.
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Mezcua, M.; Lobanov, A.; Marti-Vidal, I. (2013).
The resolved structure of the extragalactic supernova
remnant SNR 4449-1. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc., 436,
2454–2460.
Micheva, G.; Östlin, G.; Zackrisson, E.; … ; Cumming,
R.; et al. (2013). Deep multiband surface photometry
on a sample of 24 blue compact galaxies. Astron.
Astrophys., 556, 10.
Moullet, A.; Lellouch, E.; Moreno, R.; ... ; Black, J.H.;
et al. (2013). Exploring Io’s Atmospheric Composition
with Apex: First Measurement of (SO2)-S-34 and
Tentative Detection of KCl. Astrophys. J., 776, 32.
Muller, S.; Beelen, A.; Black, J.H.; … ; Horellou,
C.; Aalto, S.; et al. (2013). A precise and accurate
determination of the cosmic microwave background
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1–13.
Nagy, Z.; van der Tak, F.F.S.; Ossenkopf, V.; ... ;
Black, J.H.; et al. (2013). The chemistry of ions in the
Orion Bar I. - CH+, SH+, and CF+ The effect of high
electron density and vibrationally excited H-2 in a warm
PDR surface. Astron. Astrophys., 550, A96.
Nisini, B.; Santangelo, G.; Antoniucci, S.; ... ; Liseau,
R.; … ; Bjerkeli, P.; et al. (2013). Mapping water in
protostellar outflows with Herschel PACS and HIFI
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Offringa, A.; de Bruyn, A.; Zaroubi, S.; … ; Conway,
J.; … ; van Ardenne, A.; et al. (2013). The LOFAR
radio environment. Astron. Astrophys., 549.
Peng, T-C.; Humphreys, E.M.L.; Testi, L.; ...
; Vlemmings, W.; et al. (2013). Silicon isotopic
abundance toward evolved stars and its application for
presolar grains. Astron. Astrophys., 559, 8–14.
Vlemmings, W.; Maercker, M.; Lindqvist, M.; ... ;
Olofsson, H.; et al. (2013). ALMA observations of the
variable 12CO/13CO ratio around the asymptotic giant
branch star R Sculptoris. Astron. Astrophys., 556, L1.
Perez-Sanchez, A.F.; Vlemmings, W. (2013). Linear
polarization of submillimetre masers. Tracing magnetic
fields with ALMA. Astron. Astrophys., 551.
Wallström, S.; Biscaro, C.; Salgado, F.; Black, J.H.; ...
; Muller, S.; et al. (2013). CO rotational line emission
from a dense knot in Cassiopeia A: Evidence for active
post-reverse-shock chemistry. Astron. Astrophys., 558,
L22013.
Perez-Sanchez, A.F.; Vlemmings, W.; Tafoya
Martinez.; et al. (2013). A synchrotron jet from a postasymptotic giant branch star. Mon. Not. R. Astron.
Soc., 436, L79–L83.
Pirogov, L.; Ojha, D.; Thomasson, M.; et al. (2013).
Molecular-line and continuum study of the W40 cloud.
Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc., 436, 3186–3199.
Raza, H.; Yang, J.; Pantaleev, M. (2013). Integration of
ultra-wideband planar baluns into the Eleven feed. IET
Microw. Antenna. P., 8, 22–28.
Romeo, A.; Falstad, N. (2013). A simple and accurate
approximation for the Q stability parameter in
multicomponent and realistically thick discs. Mon. Not.
R. Astron. Soc., 433, 1389–1397.
Rottgering, H.; van Weeren, R.; Bruggen, M.;
… ; Conway, J.; et al. (2013). The “Sausage” and
“Toothbrush” clusters of galaxies and the prospects of
LOFAR observations of clusters of galaxies. Astron.
Nachr. 334, 333–337.
Sacuto, S.; Ramstedt, S.; Hofner, S.; Olofsson, H.;
et al. (2013). The wind of the M-type AGB star RT
Virginis probed by VLTI/MIDI. Astron. Astrophys.,
551.
Sahai, R.; Vlemmings, W.; Huggins, P.; et al. (2013).
Alma Observations of the Coldest Place in the
Universe: The Boomerang Nebula. Astrophys. J., 777,
11.
Sakamoto, K.; Aalto, S.; Costagliola, F.; et al. (2013).
Submillimeter Interferometry of the Luminous
Infrared Galaxy NGC 4418: A Hidden Hot Nucleus
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Wang, R.; Wagg, J.; Carilli, C.L.; ... ; Knudsen, K.K.;
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Quasar Host Galaxies at z ~ 6: New Insights from
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Welty, D.E.; Howk, J.C.; Lehner, N.; Black, J.H.
(2013). Detection of interstellar C2 and C3 in the Small
Magellanic Cloud. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc., 428,
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Yatawatta, S.; de Bruyn, A.; Brentjens, M.; … ;
Batejat, F.; … ; Conway, J.; et al. (2013). Initial deep
LOFAR observations of epoch of reionization windows
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Yildiz, U.; Acharyya, K.; Goldsmith, P.; ... ; Liseau,
R.; et al. (2013). Deep observations of O-2 toward
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Astrophys., 558.
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Space Geodesy and Geodynamics
Emardson, T.; Jarlemark, P.; Johansson, J.; et al.
(2013). Spatial variability in the ionosphere measured
with GNSS networks. Radio Sci., 48, 646– 652.
Larson, K.; Löfgren, J.; Haas, R. (2013). Coastal Sea
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Santangelo, G.; Nisini, B.; Antoniucci, S.; ... ; Liseau,
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Lösler, M.; Haas, R.; Eschelbach, C. (2013).
Automated and continual determination of radio
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Schöier, F.L.; Ramstedt, S.; Olofsson, H.; Lindqvist,
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Mantovani, M.; Scherneck, H. (2013). DInSAR
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23
Public Outreach
In all 2,130 people visited the observatory in
Onsala, its telescopes and exhibition during 2013.
They came on 73 guided tours led by staff and
students, and as part of two public open days,
during the Gothenburg Science Festival and on
the Mothers’ day in May.
During the Gothenburg Science Festival
in April, we set up at mobile telescope control
room in the Nordstan shopping centre in central
Gothenburg. A steady stream of members of
the public met scientists, asked questions, and
tried out remote observations with our remotely
controlled small SALSA antenna at Onsala.
Can we control our climate? Also at the
Science Festival, Ole Martin Christensen and
Marston Johnston appeared on stage to talk about
geoengineering, and Ole Martin competed in the
festival’s Science Slam competition. In October
he and Emma Andersson were guests at Science
Café Lysekil under the same title.
On Sweden’s Day and Night of Astronomy on
28 September, we organized the star party Onsala
stjärnträff. 13 enthusiasts from the general public
carried out radio observations and learned from
both each other and from invited speakers.
A program of comet observations, intended
to be both of scientific and public interest, was
carried out during spring and winter of 2013. This
led to coverage on national radio and culminated
in a series of reports on the Chalmers science blog
‘Forskning pågår’ (‘Science in progress’) during
observations of the comet C 2012/1 (ISON) at
APEX and with the 20 m telescope in Onsala
during its close approach to the sun in November.
Our SALSA radio telescopes were booked
for an average of 76 hours every week by high
school students and classes from Sweden and
abroad. Of the 57 users most were Swedish but
some connected remotely from as far away as
Bangladesh and Honduras to study interstellar
gas in the Milky Way.
Press releases covered the detection of the
potential parent bodies of free-floating planets,
the best measurement of the temperature of the
cosmic microwave background in the past; the
location of the coolest layer of the nearby star
Alpha Centauri, ALMA observations of a blazar
jet, the discovery of a magnetic jet in a planetary
nebula, and Sweden’s membership of the SKA.
Facts and Figures
Income (SEK 1,000)
2013201220112010
90,298
86,816
88,868
80,359
79,908
Research, faculty funding
38,099
37,561
35,195
30,032
30,530
First degree & master’s studies
6,602
5,980
6,394
8,154
7,162
Other
4,0033,5314,0402,816 1,754
Chalmers foundation
Total
Used grants (SEK 1,000)
–
125
524
–
2013201220112010
74,06868,504 67,284 61,82162,432
Internal overhead, IT, etc.
17,41018,14417,49215,64014,612
Fees (APEX, JIVE, etc.)
9,274
Premises
9,3228,6568,7768,925 8,155
Other
9,580
7,680
10,831
14,27912,68519,95913,46216,973
6,1746,4725,130 4,1483,561
Travel
4,0863,8184,500 4,1643,937
Total
Swedish Research Council
134,613127,859130,821118,991117,570
European Community
y,
demise
from German
astronomers
at
h
ing
w
av
h
is
r
s
te
hi
T
n believe, af
e
d
e
w
S
d
of
Australia an
the process
star that is in
ng
yi
d
a
.
d
d
foun
smic clou
beautiful co
becoming a
mb e r
GP – Septe
2009
41,801
39,214
12,885
12,378
16,391
18,798
12,621
10,898
10,862
11,518
Other
10,735 7,4138,3455,497 4,718
VINNOVA (Swedish Govt.
Agency for Innovation Systems)
Total
––
1,982––
7,404
2,391
1,548
4,168
2,977
–––
830–
4,553
4,112
4,537
810
2,683
92,36588,42990,34280,35979,908
2013
2012201120102009
14121112 9
Adjunct professors
76555
Associate professors/
University lecturers
810101012
Assistant professors
33433
Researchers
22511
12
Post doc
108145
Research engineers
2421212016
Technical staff
12
Administrative staff
Doctoral students
Ammanuens
Total
24
50,654
6,238
Professors
Mystery of the ro
gue planet s solve
d
‘Orphan’ planets
develop without a
sun
thanks to tiny dust
clouds – and ther
e could
be 200 million in
our galax y alone.
ww w.dailymail.co
.uk /sciencetech October
49,007
17,429
Personnel (Dec 31)
ws
’s meado
uction
e lapwing
th
n
o
the constr
s
e
ts
p
n
o
ve
c
s
re
le
p
)
te
s
No
at the
vanellu
to be built
(Vanellus
s
g
e
in
p
o
w
c
p
s
la
le
T he
radio te
e two new
of one of th
nsala .
O
ervatory in
June
s p ac e ob s
, Metro –
alland, GP
H
io
d
a
R
SvD ,
46,006
Swedish National Space Board
Swedish Energy Agency
From Nordstan
to the Milk y Way
The control room
at the space obse
rvatory in Onsala
moved to the shop
ping mall Nordstan
for one day as pa
of the yearly Scien
rt
ce Festival in Got
he
nburg.
GP – April
7,900
Investments
Foreign universities
autiful
2009
Personnel
Intl. Org. – ESA, ESO, CNES
ards a be
moving tow
The Sun is
234
139,002136,025135,021121,361119,588
External funding (SEK 1,000) 2013201220112010
Press Clippings
2009
Research grants
16
13
12
10
77875
3031363336
–2–––
117118114117113
25
Organisation
Teaching Staff
The teaching staff has approximately 30 members.
Johan Mellqvist and Arto Heikkilä are Chairman and
Vice Chairman respectively. The group has an advisory
function on research and educational issues and meets
4–5 times per year.
Management Group
The management group handles strategic as well
as operational matters for the department as
a whole. It meets every third week. The group
consists of: the Head of Department, the Deputy
Head, the Vice Head, a Secretary, the Head
of Administration and Finance, the Personnel
Officer, the Director of the Onsala Space
Observatory and our seven research group leaders.
Administration and Finance
The group works with organisational and financial planning and follow-up, accounting, study administration,
HR administration, purchasing, web and other communication, as well as any other services needed by the
research and teaching staff.
Departmental Advisory Team
The advisory team’s task is to identify and take a stand­
point on overall strategic issues that are of relevance to
the long-term development of the department, and to
support the department’s steering group in other matters
that may arise. The team met three times during 2013.
External representatives 2013
•Göran Netzler, Chairman
•Erik Kollberg, Chalmers’ President’s representative
•Thomas Lewin, Ericsson Research
•Sven Grahn, Swedish Space Corporation
•Marie Rådbo, University of Gothenburg
26
Internal representatives 2013
•Gunnar Elgered, Head of Department
•Camilla Andersson, Secretary
•Bo Galle, Staff’s representative
•Ulf Kylenfall, Staff’s representative
•Pär Strand, Staff’s representative
•Ole Martin Christensen, Doctoral students’
representative
•Axel Andalen, Students’ representative
•Ingrid Jakobson
Head of Administration and Finance
•Katarina Norheim
Financial Officer
•Katarina Kaudern
Communications Officer
• Camilla Andersson
Administrator
•Jessica Peterson
Communications Officer, on parental leave
•Paula Rosell
Administrator
•Maria Karlsson
Department Financial Officer
•Marita Nelin
Administrator, temporary
Local Collaboration Group
The Local Collaboration Group is a forum for discussing all issues concerning the management of the
department: appointment of staff members, matters related to the premises and general working conditions,
including the work environment (physical as well as psychosocial) and gender equality.
The group consist of the Head of Department, the Head of Administration and Finance, the Personnel
Officer, three representatives from our unions, a work environment ombudsman and an equality ombudsman,
and meets every sixth week.
27
Department of Earth and Space Sciences
Chalmers University of Technology
SE-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
Telephone: +46 31-772 10 00
Internet: www.chalmers.se/rss
28