Summer Intern | Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) | Jun 2023 - Jul 2023
Mentor: Mr Ashish Mhaske, Scientific and Technical Officer
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Led a student team to measure 21-cm neutral hydrogen emission across different Galactic longitudes using a conical horn antenna.
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Acquired spectral power measurements of the 21-cm neutral hydrogen line across Galactic longitudes, including corresponding ground and sky calibration data. After standard preprocessing, each spectrum was fitted with a Gaussian profile to determine the line-of-sight velocity corresponding to the most redshifted HI emission.
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Derived the Milky Way rotation curve by converting the measured line-of-sight velocities to Galactocentric rotation velocities.
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Gained hands-on experience with radiometer operation, backend electronics, and HI line fundamentals.
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Designed and implemented a Python data-analysis pipeline to process source and calibration data.
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In summary, measured 21-cm HI emission to derive the Milky Way rotation curve from Doppler-shifted velocities.
Results:
The plot illustrates the deviations between the theoretical rotation curve and the observed Milky Way rotation curve.