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  1. Abstract

    Including millimeter-wave data in multiwavelength studies of the variability of active galactic nuclei (AGN) can provide insights into AGN physics that are not easily accessible at other wavelengths. We demonstrate in this work the potential of cosmic microwave background (CMB) telescopes to provide long-term, high-cadence millimeter-wave AGN monitoring over large fractions of sky. We report on a pilot study using data from the SPTpol instrument on the South Pole Telescope (SPT), which was designed to observe the CMB at arcminute and larger angular scales. Between 2013 and 2016, SPTpol was used primarily to observe a single 500 deg2field, covering the entire field several times per day with detectors sensitive to radiation in bands centered at 95 and 150 GHz. We use SPT 150 GHz observations to create AGN light curves, and we compare these millimeter-wave light curves to those at other wavelengths, in particularγ-ray and optical. In this Letter, we focus on a single source, PKS 2326-502, which has extensive, day-timescale monitoring data in gamma-ray, optical, and now millimeter-wave between 2013 and 2016. We find PKS 2326-502 to be in a flaring state in the first 2 yr of this monitoring, and we present a search for evidence of correlated variability between millimeter-wave, opticalR-band, andγ-ray observations. This pilot study is paving the way for AGN monitoring with current and upcoming CMB experiments such as SPT-3G, Simons Observatory, and CMB-S4, including multiwavelength studies with facilities such as Vera C. Rubin Observatories Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.

     
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  2. Abstract

    We present the first measurements of asteroids in millimeter wavelength data from the South Pole Telescope (SPT), which is used primarily to study the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We analyze maps of two ∼270 deg2sky regions near the ecliptic plane, each observed with the SPTpol camera ∼100 times over 1 month. We subtract the mean of all maps of a given field, removing static sky signal, and then average the mean-subtracted maps at known asteroid locations. We detect three asteroids—(324) Bamberga, (13) Egeria, and (22) Kalliope—with signal-to-noise ratios (S/N) of 11.2, 10.4, and 6.1, respectively, at 2.0 mm (150 GHz); we also detect (324) Bamberga with an S/N of 4.1 at 3.2 mm (95 GHz). We place constraints on these asteroids’ effective emissivities, brightness temperatures, and light-curve modulation amplitude. Our flux density measurements of (324) Bamberga and (13) Egeria roughly agree with predictions, while our measurements of (22) Kalliope suggest lower flux, corresponding to effective emissivities of 0.64 ± 0.11 at 2.0 and < 0.47 at 3.2 mm. We predict the asteroids detectable in other SPT data sets and find good agreement with detections of (772) Tanete and (1093) Freda in recent data from the SPT-3G camera, which has ∼10× the mapping speed of SPTpol. This work is the first focused analysis of asteroids in data from CMB surveys, and it demonstrates we can repurpose historic and future data sets for asteroid studies. Future SPT measurements can help constrain the distribution of surface properties over a larger asteroid population.

     
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  3. Abstract

    Due to small body size, an immature musculoskeletal system, and other growth‐related limits on performance, juvenile mammals frequently experience a greater risk of predation than their adult counterparts. As a result, behaviorally precocious juveniles are hypothesized to exhibit musculoskeletal advantages that permit them to accelerate rapidly and evade predation. This hypothesis was tested through detailed quantitative evaluation of muscle growth in wild Eastern cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus). Cottontail rabbits experience high rates of mortality during the first year of life, suggesting that selection might act to improve performance in growing juveniles. Therefore, it was predicted that muscle properties associated with force and power capacity should be enhanced in juvenile rabbits to facilitate enhanced locomotor performance. We quantified muscle architecture from 24 paravertebral and hindlimb muscles across ontogeny in a sample of n = 29 rabbits and evaluated the body mass scaling of muscle mass (MM), physiological cross‐sectional area (PCSA), isometric force (Fmax), and instantaneous power (Pinst), along with several dimensionless architectural indices. In contrast to our hypothesis,MMandPCSAfor most muscles change with positive allometry during growth by scaling atand, respectively, whereasFmaxandPinstgenerally scale indistinguishably from isometry, as do the architectural indices tested. However, scaling patterns indicate that the digital flexors and ankle extensors of juvenileS. floridanushave greater capacities for force and power, respectively, than those in adults, suggesting these muscle properties may be a part of several compensatory features that promote enhanced acceleration performance in young rabbits. Overall, our study implies that body size constraints place larger, more mature rabbits at a disadvantage during acceleration, and that adults must develop hypertrophied muscles in order to maintain mechanical similarity in force and power capacities across development. These findings challenge the accepted understanding that juvenile animals are at a performance detriment relative to adults. Instead, for prey–predator interactions necessitating short intervals of high force and power generation relative to body mass, as demonstrated by rapid acceleration of cottontail rabbits fleeing predators, it may be the adults that struggle to keep pace with juveniles.

     
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  4. Abstract

    SPT-3G is the third survey receiver operating on the South Pole Telescope dedicated to high-resolution observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Sensitive measurements of the temperature and polarization anisotropies of the CMB provide a powerful data set for constraining cosmology. Additionally, CMB surveys with arcminute-scale resolution are capable of detecting galaxy clusters, millimeter-wave bright galaxies, and a variety of transient phenomena. The SPT-3G instrument provides a significant improvement in mapping speed over its predecessors, SPT-SZ and SPTpol. The broadband optics design of the instrument achieves a 430 mm diameter image plane across observing bands of 95, 150, and 220 GHz, with 1.2′ FWHM beam response at 150 GHz. In the receiver, this image plane is populated with 2690 dual-polarization, trichroic pixels (∼16,000 detectors) read out using a 68× digital frequency-domain multiplexing readout system. In 2018, SPT-3G began a multiyear survey of 1500 deg2of the southern sky. We summarize the unique optical, cryogenic, detector, and readout technologies employed in SPT-3G, and we report on the integrated performance of the instrument.

     
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