Aguirre: The edge-on spiral galaxy UGC10043 is somewhat peculiar as previously published HST and WIYN observations have revealed a number of structurally and kinematically interesting features in this system, including a prolate bulge with orthogonally decoupled components, a minor axis dust lane (implying material with misaligned angular momentum), evidence for distinct inner and outer disk components, and a large-scale galactic wind. These features may be tied to multiple episodes of gas accretion. This picture was tested using deep VLA HI observations, tracing the neutral gas distribution and kinematics of UGC10043, and also allowing a search for associated extraplanar, infalling, or otherwise anomalous HI material.
Romero: The world's next generation radio telescope, the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) is being planned, and in order for it to meet its scientific and budgetary requirements, many innovations will have to be made. One tradeoff it faces is between resolution (antenna separation) and expense and sensitivity to extended emission. It is currently thought that the SKA will need ~1000 km maximum baselines in order to separate (i.e. avoid confusing) the many densely packed sources it will see in any given direction. It is possible, however, to wring sharper resolution out of shorter baselines using deconvolution and deeper observations. Whether there really would be any advantage to making the SKA antenna placement more compact than is currently planned was investigated using simulations of both the deep radio sky and a simple model of the SKA.
Wilkins: Reduced and analyzed a Caltech Submillimeter Observatory survey of massive star forming regions using 1mm lines of three molecules with strong Zeeman coefficients: CN, SO, and CCH. Observations of these molecules with ALMA will allow us to probe for the first time the magnetic field strengths in the very densest (thermal) gas where massive stars form. To date little is known about the distribution and strength of these lines in massive cores. The results of this survey will be an important step in identifying both the best candidates and the best molecule for future ALMA Zeeman studies.