493 research outputs found
Solving the polarization problem in ALMA-VLBI observations
The Atacama Large mm-submm Array (ALMA) is, by far, the most sensitive
mm/submm telescope in the World. The ALMA Phasing Project (APP) will allow us
to phase-up all the ALMA antennas and use them as one single VLBI station. This
will be a key component of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), a Global VLBI
array at millimeter wavelengths. A problem in the APP is the calibration and
conversion of the polarization channels. Most VLBI stations record their
signals in a circular basis, but the ALMA receivers record in a linear basis.
The strategy that will be followed in the phased-ALMA VLBI observations will be
to correlate in "mixed" basis (i.e., linear versus circular) and convert the
visibilities to a pure circular basis after the correlation. We have developed
an algorithm to perform such a polarization conversion of the VLBI
visibilities. In these proceedings, we present the basics of the PolConvert
algorithm and discuss on the polarization conversion in the general case were
single dishes (besides phased arrays) record with linear receivers in VLBI
observations. We show some results of PolConvert applied to realistic
simulations, as well as a test with real VLBI observations at 86\,GHz between
the Onsala radiotelescope (recording in linear basis) and the Effelsberg
radiotelescope (recording in circular basis).Comment: To appear in the Proceedings of the 12th European VLBI Network
Symposium (7-10 Oct 2014, Cagliary, Italy
Searching for low mass objects around nearby dMe radio stars
Nearby M-dwarfs are best suited for searches of low mass companions. VLBI
phase-referencing observations with sensitive telescopes are able to detect
radio star flux-densities of tenths of mJy as well as to position the star on
the sky with submilliarcsecond precision. We have initiated a long-term
observational program, using EVN telescopes in combination with NASA DSN
dishes, to revisit the kinematics of nearby, single M dwarfs. The precision of
the astrometry allows us to search for possible companions with masses down to
1 Jupiter mass. In this contribution we report preliminary results of the first
observation epochs, in which we could detect some of the radio stars included
in our program.Comment: Proceedings of the 6th European VLBI Network Symposium, Ros E.,
Porcas R.W., Lobanov A.P., & Zensus J.A. (eds.), MPIfR, Bonn, Germany, p.
255-258 (2002). 4 pages, 3 figures, needs evn2002.cl
Spectral Properties of the Core and the VLBI-Jets of Cygnus A
We present a detailed VLBI study of the spectral properties of the inner core
region of the radio galaxy Cygnus A at 5 GHz, 15 GHz, 22 GHz, 43 GHz and 86
GHz. Our observations include an epoch using phase-referencing at 15 GHz and 22
GHz and the first successful VLBI observations of Cygnus A at 86 GHz. We find a
pronounced two-sided jet structure, with a steep spectrum along the jet and an
inverted spectrum towards the counter-jet. The inverted spectrum and the
frequency-dependent jet-to-counter-jet ratio suggest that the inner counter-jet
is covered by a circum-nuclear absorber as it is proposed by the unified
scheme.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings of the 7th EVN Symposium held in
Toledo, Spain in October 2004, needs evn2004.cl
Millimetre-VLBI Monitoring of AGN with Sub-milliarcsecond Resolution
Global millimetre VLBI allows detailed studies of the most central jet
regions of AGN with unprecedent spatial resolution of a few 100-1000
Schwartzschild radii to be made. Study of these regions will help to answer the
question how the highly relativistic AGN jets are launched and collimated.
Since the early 1990s, bright mm-sources have been observed with global 3 mm
VLBI. Here we present new images from an ongoing systematic analysis of the
available observations. In particular, we focus on the structure and structural
evolution of the best observed AGN jets, taking 3C 454.3 as a characteristic
example. This core-dominated and highly variable quasar shows a complex
morphology with individual jet components accelerating superluminally towards
the outer structure. We briefly discuss the X-ray properties of 3C 454.3 and
present its radio- to X-ray large-scale brightness distribution.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, Proceedings of the 7th EVN Symposium held in
Toledo, Spain in October 2004, needs evn2004.cl
870 micron observations of nearby 3CRR radio galaxies
We present submillimeter continuum observations at 870 microns of the cores
of low redshift 3CRR radio galaxies, observed at the Heinrich Hertz
Submillimeter Telescope. The cores are nearly flat spectrum between the radio
and submillimeter which implies that the submillimeter continuum is likely to
be synchrotron emission and not thermal emission from dust. The emitted power
from nuclei detected at optical wavelengths and in the X-rays is similar in the
submillimeter, optical and X-rays. The submillimeter to optical and X-ray power
ratios suggest that most of these sources resemble misdirected BL Lac type
objects with synchrotron emission peaking at low energies. However we find
three exceptions, the FR I galaxy 3C264 and the FR II galaxies 3C390.3 and
3C338 with high X-ray to submillimeter luminosity ratios. These three objects
are candidate high or intermediate energy peaked BL Lac type objects. With
additional infrared observations and from archival data, we compile spectral
energy distributions (SEDs) for a subset of these objects. The steep dips
observed near the optical wavelengths in many of these objects suggest that
extinction inhibits the detection and reduces the flux of optical continuum
core counterparts. High resolution near or mid-infrared imaging may provide
better measurements of the underlying synchrotron emission peak.Comment: accepted for publication in A
On the Calibration of Full-polarization 86GHz Global VLBI Observations
We report the development of a semi-automatic pipeline for the calibration of
86 GHz full-polarization observations performed with the Global Millimeter-VLBI
array (GMVA) and describe the calibration strategy followed in the data
reduction. Our calibration pipeline involves non-standard procedures, since
VLBI polarimetry at frequencies above 43 GHz is not yet well established. We
also present, for the first time, a full-polarization global-VLBI image at 86
GHz (source 3C 345), as an example of the final product of our calibration
pipeline, and discuss the effect of instrumental limitations on the fidelity of
the polarization images. Our calibration strategy is not exclusive for the
GMVA, and could be applied on other VLBI arrays at millimeter wavelengths. The
use of this pipeline will allow GMVA observers to get fully-calibrated datasets
shortly after the data correlation.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
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