In this fifth paper of the series, we examine the spectroscopy and morphology of four southern Galactic planetary nebulae Hen 2-141, NGC 5307, IC 2553, and PB 6 using new integral field spectroscopy data. The morphologies and ionisation structures of the sample are given as a set of emission-line maps. In addition, the physical conditions, chemical compositions, and kinematical characteristics of these objects are derived. The results show that PB 6 and Hen 2-141 are of very high excitation classes and IC 2553 and NGC 5307 are mid to high excitation objects. The elemental abundances reveal that PB 6 is of Type I, Hen 2-141 and IC 2553 are of Type IIa, and NGC 5307 is of Type IIb/III. The observations unveil the presence of well-defined low-ionisation structures or ‘knots’ in all objects. The diagnostic diagrams reveal that the excitation mechanism of these knots is probably by photoionisation of dense material by the nebular central stars. The physical analysis of six of these knots show no significant differences with their surrounding nebular gas, except their lower electron densities. In spite of the enhancement of the low-ionisation emission lines of these knots, their chemical abundances are nearly comparable to their surrounding nebulae, with the exception of perhaps slightly higher nitrogen abundances in the NGC 5307 knots. The integrated spectrum of IC 2553 reveals that nearly all key lines that have led researchers to characterise its central star as a weak-emission line star type are in fact of nebular origin.

Large surveys of the local Universe have shown that galaxies with different intrinsic properties such as colour, luminosity and morphological type display a range of clustering amplitudes. Galaxies are therefore not faithful tracers of the underlying matter distribution. This modulation of galaxy clustering, called bias, contains information about the physics behind galaxy formation. It is also a systematic to be overcome before the large-scale structure of the Universe can be used as a cosmological probe. Two types of approaches have been developed to model the clustering of galaxies. The first class is empirical and filters or weights the distribution of dark matter to reproduce the measured clustering. In the second approach, an attempt is made to model the physics which governs the fate of baryons in order to predict the number of galaxies in dark matter haloes. I will review the development of both approaches and summarise what we have learnt about galaxy bias.

We present results from a Mopra 7 mm-wavelength survey that targeted the dense gas-tracing CS(1-0) transition towards the young γ-ray-bright supernova remnant, RX J1713.7–3946 (SNR G 347.3−0.5). In a hadronic γ-ray emission scenario, where cosmic ray (CR) protons interact with gas to produce the observed γ-ray emission, the mass of potential CR target material is an important factor. We summarise newly discovered dense gas components, towards Cores G and L, and Clumps N1, N2, N3, and T1, which have masses of 1 – 104 M⊙. We argue that these components are not likely to contribute significantly to γ-ray emission in a hadronic γ-ray emission scenario. This would be the case if RX J1713.7–3946 were at either the currently favoured distance of ~1 kpc or an alternate distance (as suggested in some previous studies) of ~6 kpc.

This survey also targeted the shock-tracing SiO molecule. Although no SiO emission corresponding to the RX J1713.7–3946 shock was observed, vibrationally excited SiO(1-0) maser emission was discovered towards what may be an evolved star. Observations taken 1 yr apart confirmed a transient nature, since the intensity, line-width, and central velocity of SiO(J = 1-0,v = 1,2) emission varied significantly.

It is quite likely that self-gravity will play an important role in the evolution of accretion discs, in particular, those around young stars, and those around supermassive black holes. We summarise, here, our current understanding of the evolution of such discs, focussing more on discs in young stellar system, than on discs in active galactic nuclei. We consider the conditions under which such discs may fragment to form bound objects, and when they might, instead, be expected to settle into a quasi-steady, self-regulated state. We also discuss how this understanding may depend on the mass of the disc relative to the mass of the central object, and how it might depend on the presence of external irradiation. Additionally, we consider whether or not fragmentation might be stochastic, where we might expect it to occur in an actual protostellar disc, and if there is any evidence for fragmentation actually playing a role in the formation of planetary-mass bodies. Although there are still a number of outstanding issue, such as the convergence of simulations of self-gravitating discs, whether or not there is more than one mode of fragmentation, and quite what role self-gravitating discs may play in the planet-formation process, our general understanding of these systems seems quite robust.

The Murchison Widefield Array, and its recently developed Voltage Capture System, facilitates extending the low-frequency range of pulsar observations at high-time and -frequency resolution in the Southern Hemisphere, providing further information about pulsars and the ISM. We present the results of an initial time-resolved census of known pulsars using the Murchison Widefield Array. To significantly reduce the processing load, we incoherently sum the detected powers from the 128 Murchison Widefield Array tiles, which yields ~10% of the attainable sensitivity of the coherent sum. This preserves the large field-of-view (~450 deg2 at 185 MHz), allowing multiple pulsars to be observed simultaneously. We developed a WIde-field Pulsar Pipeline that processes the data from each observation and automatically folds every known pulsar located within the beam. We have detected 50 pulsars to date, 6 of which are millisecond pulsars. This is consistent with our expectation, given the telescope sensitivity and the sky coverage of the processed data (~17 000 deg2). For 10 pulsars, we present the lowest frequency detections published. For a subset of the pulsars, we present multi-frequency pulse profiles by combining our data with published profiles from other telescopes. Since the Murchison Widefield Array is a low-frequency precursor to the Square Kilometre Array, we use our census results to forecast that a survey using the low-frequency component of the Square Kilometre Array Phase 1 can potentially detect around 9 400 pulsars.

Black hole mass is a key factor in determining how a black hole interacts with its environment. However, the determination of black hole masses at high redshifts depends on secondary mass estimators, which are based on empirical relationships and broad approximations. A dynamical disk wind broad line region model (BLR) of active galactic nuclei is built in order to test the impact of different BLR geometries and inclination angles on the black hole mass estimation. Monte Carlo simulations of two disk wind models are constructed to recover the virial scale factor, f, at various inclination angles. The resulting f values strongly correlate with inclination angle, with large f values associated with small inclination angles (close to face-on) and small f values with large inclination angles (close to edge-on). The recovered f factors are consistent with previously determined f values, found from empirical relationships. Setting f as a constant may introduce a bias into virial black hole mass estimates for a large sample of active galactic nuclei. However, the extent of the bias depends on the line width characterisation (e.g. full width at half maximum or line dispersion). Masses estimated using $f_{\text{FWHM}}$ tend to be biased towards larger masses, but this can generally be corrected by calibrating for the width or shape of the emission line.

Since the advent of the 80 MHz radioheliograph, precise position and polarization measurements have become available on several moving type IV bursts. Two of the more puzzling characteristics of these bursts are : (1) they exhibit strong circular polarization in parts or all of the source region ; (2) after moving outward to as much as 3 R⊙ with relatively constant intensity, they rapidly fade away. In this paper we discuss the polarization and intensity of synchrotron radiation from mildly relativistic electrons and suggest betatron deceleration as a mechanism to explain the rapid fade-out of the moving type IV sources. The results are applied to two examples of moving type IV bursts.

We apply a new, expanded compilation of extragalactic source Faraday rotation measures (RM) to investigate the broad underlying magnetic structure of the Galactic disk at latitudes ∣b∣ ≲15° over all longitudes l, where our total number of RMs is comparable to those in the combined Canadian Galactic Plane Survey (CGPS) at ∣b∣ < 4° and the Southern Galactic Plane (SGPS) ∣b∣<1.5°. We report newly revealed, remarkably coherent patterns of RM at ∣b∣≲15° from l∼270° to ∼90° and RM(l) features of unprecedented clarity that replicate in l with opposite sign on opposite sides of the Galactic center. They confirm a highly patterned bisymmetric field structure toward the inner disc, an axisymmetic pattern toward the outer disc, and a very close coupling between the CGPS/SGPS RMs at ∣b∣≲3° (‘mid-plane’) and our new RMs up to ∣b∣∼15° (‘near-plane’). Our analysis also shows the vertical height of the coherent component of the disc field above the Galactic disc's mid-plane—to be ∼1.5 kpc out to ∼6 kpc from the Sun. This identifies the approximate height of a transition layer to the halo field structure. We find no RM sign change across the plane within ∣b∣∼15° in any longitude range. The prevailing disc field pattern and its striking degree of large-scale ordering confirm that our side of the Milky Way has a very organized underlying magnetic structure, for which the inward spiral pitch angle is 5.5°±1° at all ∣b∣ up to ∼12° in the inner semicircle of Galactic longitudes. It decreases to ∼0° toward the anticentre.

NGC 5128, identified with the radio source Centaurus A by Bolton et al. (1949), is a remarkable galaxy which appears to consist of an elliptical or SO galaxy crossed by a strong dust lane. The early idea that this represented a pair of colliding galaxies (Baade and Minkowski 1954) powering the extended double radio source fell out of favour but has recently been revived (Malin et al. 1983) in the light of extensive kinematic evidence. However, the interpretation of the data is not yet complete, and it has also been suggested recently that NGC 5128 is really a spiral galaxy with a spectacularly large bulge (Marcelin et al. 1982).

The graphics processing unit has become an integral part of astronomical instrumentation, enabling high-performance online data reduction and accelerated online signal processing. In this paper, we describe a wide-band reconfigurable spectrometer built using an off-the-shelf graphics processing unit card. This spectrometer, when configured as a polyphase filter bank, supports a dual-polarisation bandwidth of up to 1.1 GHz (or a single-polarisation bandwidth of up to 2.2 GHz) on the latest generation of graphics processing units. On the other hand, when configured as a direct fast Fourier transform, the spectrometer supports a dual-polarisation bandwidth of up to 1.4 GHz (or a single-polarisation bandwidth of up to 2.8 GHz).

In this special issue article, I review some of the accomplishments of the chiral mean field (CMF) model, which contains nucleon, hyperon, and quark degrees of freedom, and its applications to proto-neutron and neutron stars. I also present a set of equation of state and particle population tables built using the CMF model subject to physical constraints necessary to reproduce different environments, such as those present in cold neutron stars, core-collapse supernova explosions, and different stages of compact star mergers.

We estimate 34 sets of Galactic model parameters for three intermediate-latitude fields with Galactic longitudes l = 60°, l = 90°, and l = 180°, and we discussed their dependence on the volume. Also, we confirm the variation of these parameters with absolute magnitude and Galactic longitude. The star samples in two fields are restricted with bright and unit absolute-magnitude intervals, 4 < Mg ≤ 5, and 5 < Mg ≤ 6, whereas for the third field (l = 60°) a larger absolute-magnitude interval is adopted, 4 < Mg ≤ 10. The limiting apparent magnitudes of the star samples are g0 = 15 and g0 = 22.5 mag, which provide space densities within distances in the line of sight of ∼0.9 and 25 kpc.

The Galactic model parameters for the thin disc are not volume dependent. However, the ones for the thick disc and halo do show spectacular trends in their variation with volume, except for the scalelength of the thick disc. The local space density of the thick disc increases, whereas the scaleheight of the same Galactic component decreases monotonically. However, both model parameters approach asymptotic values at large distances.

The relative local space density of the halo estimated by fitting the density laws to the space densities evaluated for all volumes is constant, except for the small ones. However it is absolute-magnitude and Galactic longitude dependent. The axial ratio of the halo increases abruptly for the volumes where a thick disc is dominant, whereas it approaches an asymptotic value gradually for larger volumes, indicating a continuous transition from a disc-like structure to a spherical one at the outermost region of the Galaxy. The variation of the Galactic model parameters with absolute magnitude can be explained by their dependence on the stellar luminosity, whereas the variation with volume and Galactic longitude at short distances is a bias in analysis.

The regular or chaotic dynamics of an analytical realistic three dimensional model composed of a spherically symmetric central nucleus, a bar and a flat disk is investigated. For describing the properties of the bar, we introduce a new simple dynamical model and we explore the influence on the character of orbits of all the involved parameters of it, such as the mass and the scale length of the bar, the major semi-axis and the angular velocity of the bar, as well as the energy. Regions of phase space with ordered and chaotic motion are identified in dependence on these parameters and for breaking the rotational symmetry. First, we study in detail the dynamics in the invariant plane z = pz = 0 using the Poincaré map as a basic tool and then study the full three-dimensional case using the Smaller Alignment index method as principal tool for distinguishing between order and chaos. We also present strong evidence obtained through the numerical simulations that our new bar model can realistically describe the formation and the evolution of the observed twin spiral structure in barred galaxies.

Surface abundance observations of halo stars hint at the occurrence of r-process nucleosynthesis at low metallicity ([Fe/H] < -3), possibly within the first 108 yr after the formation of the first stars. Possible loci of early-Universe r-process nucleosynthesis are the ejecta of either black hole–neutron star or neutron star–neutron star binary mergers. Here, we study the effect of the inclination–eccentricity oscillations raised by a tertiary (e.g. a star) on the coalescence time-scale of the inner compact object binaries. Our results are highly sensitive to the assumed initial distribution of the inner binary semi-major axes. Distributions with mostly wide compact object binaries are most affected by the third object, resulting in a strong increase (by more than a factor of 2) in the fraction of fast coalescences. If instead the distribution preferentially populates very close compact binaries, general relativistic precession prevents the third body from increasing the inner binary eccentricity to very high values. In this last case, the fraction of coalescing binaries is increased much less by tertiaries, but the fraction of binaries that would coalesce within 108 yr even without a third object is already high. Our results provide additional support to the compact-binary merger scenario for r-process nucleosynthesis.

PSR B1259 – 63 is a 47 ms radio pulsar with a high spin-down luminosity which is in a close, highly eccentric 3·5 yr orbit about a bright stellar companion. The binary system may be a detectable source of hard ã γ-rays produced by inverse Compton scattering of photons from the B2e star SS2883 by electrons and positrons in the pulsar wind. The star provides an enormous density of optical photons in the vicinity of the pulsar, particularly at epochs near periastron. We calculate the emission from the unshocked region of the pulsar wind, assuming that it terminates at a shock where it attains pressure balance with the companion’s wind. The spectra and light curves for the inverse Compton emission from the shock-terminated wind are compared with those for an unterminated wind. If the pulsar’s wind is weaker than that from the companion star, the termination of the wind decreases the inverse Compton flux, particularly near periastron. The termination shock geometry has the effect of decreasing the asymmetry of the γ-ray light curve around periastron, which arises because of the asymmetrical variation of the scattering angle.

Polarimetric studies of pulsars at low radio frequencies provide important observational insights into the pulsar emission mechanism and beam models, and probe the properties of the magneto-ionic interstellar medium (ISM). Aperture arrays are the main form of next-generation low-frequency telescopes, including the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). These require a distinctly different approach to data processing (e.g. calibration and beamforming) compared to traditional dish antennas. As the second paper of this series, we present a verification of the MWA’s pulsar polarimetry capability, using two bright southern pulsars, PSRs J0742–2822 and J1752–2806. Our observations simultaneously cover multiple frequencies (76–313 MHz) and were taken at multiple zenith angles (ZA) during a single night for each pulsar. We show that the MWA can be reliably calibrated for ZA ≲45° and frequencies ≲270 MHz. We present the polarimetric profiles for PSRs J0742–2822 and J1752–2806 at frequencies lower than 300 MHz for the first time, along with an analysis of the linear polarisation degree and pulse profile evolution with frequency. For PSR J0742–2822, the measured degree of linear polarisation shows a rapid decrease at low frequencies, in contrast with the generally expected trend, which can be attributed to depolarisation effects from small-scale, turbulent, magneto-ionic ISM components. This effect has not been widely explored for pulsars in general and will be further investigated in future work.

While automatic detection of point sources in astronomical images has experienced a great degree of success, less effort has been directed towards the detection of extended and low-surface-brightness features. At present, existing telescopes still rely on human expertise to reduce the raw data to usable images and then to analyse the images for non-pointlike objects. However, the next generation of radio telescopes will generate unprecedented volumes of data making manual data reduction and object extraction infeasible. Without developing new methods of automatic detection for extended and diffuse objects such as supernova remnants, bent-tailed galaxies, radio relics and halos, a wealth of scientifically important results will not be uncovered. In this paper we explore the response of the Circle Hough Transform to a representative sample of different extended circular or arc-like astronomical objects. We also examine the response of the Circle Hough Transform to input images containing noise alone and inputs including point sources.

The outburst and storm of more than four hours’ duration that accompanied the importance 2 flare beginning at 0h25m U.T. on 9 June 1968 were observed at 80 MHz with the Culgoora radioheliograph. More than 104 heliograms in both senses of circular polarization were recorded at one-second intervals both as cathode-ray-tube photographs and as digital characters on magnetic tape. It is the purpose of this preliminary account to summarize these observations and bring attention to a new phenomenon observed before the start of the flare.

It has generally been accepted that moving type IV bursts are generated as synchrotron radiation from energetic electrons high in the solar corona (Boischot and Denisse 1957). At 80 MHz the peak brightness temperature is usually ~ 108 K and the radiation becomes highly circularly polarized as the burst decays. This has led several authors (Kai 1969; Dulk 1970, 1973; Schmahl 1972; Robinson 1974, 1977; Nelson 1977) to the conclusion that the radiation comes from mildly relativistic (~ 100 keV) electrons and occurs at low harmonics of the gyro-frequency (gyro-synchrotron radiation). We present evidence of moving type IV bursts at 43, 80 and 160 MHz with brightness temperatures of ~ 109 K, and one at 43 MHz as high as 1010 K. The number (~ 1033) of energetic (≥ 1 MeV) electrons which is required in order to explain such high brightness temperatures by incoherent gyro-synchrotron emission is very large and near the upper limit for the number of fast electrons accelerated in the second phase of a solar flare. If amplification takes place a smaller number of electrons with energies ~ 100 keV would be required.

We detect and characterise extended, diffuse radio emission from galaxy clusters at 168 MHz within the Epoch of Reionization 0-h field: a $45^{\circ} \times 45^{\circ}$ region of the southern sky centred on R. A.${}= 0^{\circ}$, decl.${}=-27^{\circ}$. We detect 29 sources of interest; a newly detected halo in Abell 0141; a newly detected relic in Abell 2751; 4 new halo candidates and a further 4 new relic candidates; and a new phoenix candidate in Abell 2556. Additionally, we find nine clusters with unclassifiable, diffuse steep-spectrum emission as well as a candidate double relic system associated with RXC J2351.0-1934. We present measured source properties such as their integrated flux densities, spectral indices ($\alpha$, where $S_\nu \propto \nu^\alpha$), and sizes where possible. We find several of the diffuse sources to have ultra-steep spectra including the halo in Abell 0141, if confirmed, showing $\alpha \leq -2.1 \pm 0.1$ with the present data making it one of the steepest-spectrum haloes known. Finally, we compare our sample of haloes with previously detected haloes and revisit established scaling relations of the radio halo power ($P_{1.4}$) with the cluster X-ray luminosity ($L_{\textrm{X}}$) and mass ($M_{500}$). We find that the newly detected haloes and candidate haloes are consistent with the $P_{1.4}$–$L_{\textrm{X}}$ and $P_{1.4}$–$M_{500}$ relations and see an increase in scatter in the previously found relations with increasing sample size likely caused by inhomogeneous determination of $P_{1.4}$ across the full halo sample. We show that the MWA is capable of detecting haloes and relics within most of the galaxy clusters within the Planck catalogue of Sunyaev–Zel’dovich sources depending on exact halo or relic properties.