First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. III. Data Processing and Calibration

We present the calibration and reduction of Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) 1.3 mm radio wavelength observations of the supermassive black hole candidate at the center of the radio galaxy M87 and the quasar 3C 279, taken during the 2017 April 5-11 observing campaign. These global very long baseline interferometric observations include for the first time the highly sensitive Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA); reaching an angular resolution of 25 mu as, with characteristic sensitivity limits of similar to 1 mJy on baselines to ALMA and similar to 10 mJy on other baselines. The observations present challenges for existing data processing tools, arising from the rapid atmospheric phase fluctuations, wide recording bandwidth, and highly heterogeneous array. In response, we developed three independent pipelines for phase calibration and fringe detection, each tailored to the specific needs of the EHT. The final data products include calibrated total intensity amplitude and phase information. They are validated through a series of quality assurance tests that show consistency across pipelines and set limits on baseline systematic errors of 2% in amplitude and 1 degrees in phase. The M87 data reveal the presence of two nulls in correlated flux density at similar to 3.4 and similar to 8.3 G lambda and temporal evolution in closure quantities, indicating intrinsic variability of compact structure on a. timescale of days, or several light-crossing times for a. few billion solar-mass black hole. These measurements provide the first opportunity to image horizon-scale structure in M87.Academy of Finland [274477, 284495, 312496]; European Commission Framework Programme Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation action [731016]; Black Hole Initiative at Harvard University through John Templeton Foundation [60477]; Comision Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica (CONICYT, Chile) [PIA ACT172033, Fondecyt 1171506, BASAL AFB-170002, ALMA-conicyt 31140007]; Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACYT, Mexico) [104497, 275201, 279006, 281692]; Direccion General de Asuntos del Personal Academico-Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (DGAPA-UNAM) [IN112417]; European Research Council Synergy Grant "BlackHoleCam: Imaging the Event Horizon of Black Holes" [610058]; Generalitat Valenciana postdoctoral grant [APOSTD/2018/177]; Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation [GBMF 947, GBMF-3561, GBMF-5278]; Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho: MEXT) Scholarship; Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) [JP17J08829]; JSPS Overseas Research Fellowships; Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) [QYZDJ-SSW-SLH057, QYZDJ-SSW-SYS008]; Leverhulme Trust Early Career Research Fellowship; MEXT/JSPS KAKENHI [18KK0090, JP18K13594, JP18K03656, JP18H03721, 18K03709, 18H01245, 25120007]; MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) Funds; Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of Taiwan [105-2112-M-001-025-MY3, 106-2112-M-001-011, 106-2119-M-001-027, 107-2119-M-001-017, 107-2119-M-001-020, 107-2119-M-110-005]; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) [80NSSC17K0649]; National Key Research and Development Program of China [2016YFA0400704, 2016YFA0 400702]; National Science Foundation (NSF) [AST-0096454, AST-0352953, AST-0521233, AST-0705062, AST-0905844, AST-0922984, AST-1126433, AST-1140030, DGE-1144085, AST-1207704, AST-1207730]; Natural Science Foundation of China [11573051, 11633006, 11650110427, 10625314, 11721303, 11725312, 11873028, 11873073, U1531245, 11473010]; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC); National Research Foundation of Korea [2015-R1D1A1A01056807, NRF-2015H1A2A1033752, NRF-2015H1D3A1066561]; Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) VICI award [639.043.513]; Spinoza Prize [SPI 78-409]; Swedish Research Council [2017-00648]; Government of Canada through the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada; Province of Ontario through the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade; Russian Science Foundation [17-12-01029]; Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad [AYA2015-63939-C2-1-P, AYA2016-80889-P]; US Department of Energy (USDOE) through the Los Alamos National Laboratory [89233218CNA000001]; Italian Ministero dell'Istruzione Universita e Ricerca through the grant Progetti Premiali 2012-iALMA [CUP C52I13000140001]; ALMA North America Development Fund; NSF [ACI-1548562, DBI-0735191, DBI-1265383, DBI-1743442]; Smithsonian Institution; Academia Sinica; National Key R&D Program of China [2017YFA0402700]; Science and Technologies Facility Council (UK); CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France); MPG(Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Germany); IGN (Instituto Geografico Nacional, Spain); State of Arizona; NSF Physics Frontier Center award [PHY-0114422]; Kavli Foundation; National Science Foundation [PLR-1248097]; NSF Physics Frontier Center [PHY-1125897]; Jansky Fellowship program of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO); South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), which is a facility of the National Research Foundation (NRF), an agency of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) of South Africa; State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU through the "Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa" award [SEV-2017-0709]; European Union' s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme [730562 RadioNet]; GBMF [GBMF-947]; Compute Ontario; Calcul Quebec; Compute Canada; NSF; CyVerse; [Chandra TM6-17006X]; [AST-1207752]; [MRI-1228509]; [OPP-1248097]; [AST-1310896]; [AST-1312651]; [AST-1337663]; [AST-1440254]; [AST-1555365]; [AST-1715061]; [AST-1615796]; [AST-1716327]; [OISE-1743747]; [AST-1816420]; [AST-1614868]This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

A VLBI receiving system for the South Pole Telescope

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is a very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) experiment that aims to observe supermassive black holes with an angular resolution that is comparable to the event horizon scale. The South Pole occupies an important position in the array, greatly increasing its north-south extent and therefore its resolution. The South Pole Telescope (SPT) is a 10-meter diameter, millimeter-wavelength telescope equipped for bolometric observations of the cosmic microwave background. To enable VLBI observations with the SPT we have constructed a coherent signal chain suitable for the South Pole environment. The dual-frequency receiver incorporates state-of-the-art SIS mixers and is installed in the SPT receiver cabin. The VLBI signal chain also includes a recording system and reference frequency generator tied to a hydrogen maser. Here we describe the SPT VLBI system design in detail and present both the lab measurements and on-sky results.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of the SPIE (SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2018; Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy IX

Stellenwert von patientenberichteten Endpunkten (PRO) im HTA - Eine empirische Analyse anhand von zwei Beispielindikationen

A concentrating solar power system is presented which uses hillside mounted heliostats to direct sunlight into a volumetric absorption molten salt receiver with integral storage. The concentrated sunlight penetrates and is absorbed by molten salt in the receiver through a depth of 4–5 m, making the system insensitive to the passage of clouds. The receiver volume also acts as the thermal storage volume eliminating the need for secondary hot and cold salt storage tanks. A small aperture and refractory-lined domed roof reduce losses to the environment and reflect thermal radiation back into the pond. Hot salt is pumped from the top of the tank through a steam generator and then returned to the bottom of the tank. An insulated barrier plate is positioned within the tank to provide a physical and thermal barrier between the thermally stratified layers, maintaining hot and cold salt volumes required for continuous operation. As a result, high temperature thermal energy can be provided 24/7 or at any desired time. The amount of storage required depends on local needs and economic conditions. About 2500 m[superscript 3] of nitrate salt is needed to operate a 4 MW[subscript e] steam turbine 24/7 (7 h sunshine, 17 h storage), and with modest heliostat field oversizing to accumulate energy, the system could operate for an additional 24 h (1 cloudy day). Alternatively, this same storage volume can supply a 50 MWe turbine for 3.25 h without additional solar input. Cosine effect losses associated with hillside heliostats beaming light downwards to the receiver are offset by the elimination of a tower and separate hot and cold storage tanks and their associated pumping systems. Reduced system complexity also reduces variable costs. Using the NREL Solar Advisor program, the system is estimated to realize cost-competitive levelized production costs of electricity.Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Fellowship)Chesonis Family Foundation (Fellowship

A novel high channel-count system for acute multi-site neuronal recordings

Multisite recording represents a suitable condition to study microphysiology and network, interactions in the central nervous system and; therefore, to understand brain functions. Several different materials and array configurations have been proposed for the development of new probes utilized to record brain activity from experimental animal models. We describe new multisite silicon probes that broaden the currently available application base for neuroscientists. The array arrangement of the probes recording sites was extended to increase their spatial resolution. Probes were integrated with a newly developed electronic hardware and novel software for advanced real-time processing and analysis. The new system, based on 32- and 64-electrode silicon probes, proved very valuable to record field potentials and single unit activity from the olfactory-limbic cortex of the in vitro isolated guinea-pig brain preparation and to acutely record unit activity at multiple sites from the cerebellar cortex in vivo. The potential advantages of the new system in comparison to the currently available technology are discussed

A VLBI receiving system for the South Pole Telescope

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is a very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) experiment that aims to observe supermassive black holes with an angular resolution that is comparable to the event horizon scale. The South Pole occupies an important position in the array, greatly increasing its north-south extent and therefore its resolution. The South Pole Telescope (SPT) is a 10-meter diameter, millimeter-wavelength telescope equipped for bolometric observations of the cosmic microwave background. To enable VLBI observations with the SPT we have constructed a coherent signal chain suitable for the South Pole environment. The dual-frequency receiver incorporates state-of-the-art SIS mixers and is installed in the SPT receiver cabin. The VLBI signal chain also includes a recording system and reference frequency generator tied to a hydrogen maser. Here we describe the SPT VLBI system design in detail and present both the lab measurements and on-sky results.NSF [AST-1207752, AST-1440254]; National Science Foundation [PLR-1248097]; NSF Physics Frontier Center [PHY-0114422]; Kavli Foundation; Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation [947]This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]