A Submillimeter VLBI Array

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

Scientific paper

A VLBI array operating at 1.3 mm and 0.8 mm wavelengths is being built using existing submillimeter telescopes as ad-hoc stations. Initial three station 1.3 mm observations of SgrA* and other AGN have produced remarkable results reported by Doeleman et al. in Nature (Vol 445, p 78) and also at this meeting. For SgrA*, the intrinsic size (angular diameter) is found to be 37 microarcseconds, or less than four Schwartzschild radii.
Future observations are planned with an enhanced array which has longer baselines, more stations, and greater sensitivity. At 0.8 mm and on the long baselines, the array will have a 20 microarcsecond angular resolution which equals the diameter of the event horizon of the massive black hole in SgrA*. Candidate single dish facilities include the Arizona Radio Observatory Submillimeter Telescope (ARO/SMT) in Arizona, the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO) and the James Clerk Maxwell telescope (JCMT) in Hawaii, the Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT) in Mexico, ASTE and APEX in Chile, and the IRAM 30 m in Spain; interferometers include the Submillimeter Array (SMA) in Hawaii, the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA) in California, IRAM PdB Interferometer in France, and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile.
We will discuss the challenges of converting existing submillimeter telescopes to act as VLBI stations at these short wavelengths. We will also describe techniques to improve the sensitivity of the array, which is crucial to discern the detailed structure of the source. In particular, we have developed a processor for phasing local interferometric arrays to contribute to VLBI observations with their full collecting area.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

A Submillimeter VLBI Array does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with A Submillimeter VLBI Array, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and A Submillimeter VLBI Array will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1701814

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.