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-...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy IX
Main Authors: Kim, Junhan, Marrone, Daniel P., Beaudoin, Christopher, Carlstrom, John E., Doeleman, Sheperd S., Folkers, Thomas W., Forbes, David, Greer, Christopher H., Lauria, Eugene F., Massingill, Kyle D., Mayer, Evan, Nguyen, Chi H., Reiland, George, SooHoo, Jason, Vertatschitsch, Laura, Weintroub, Jonathan, Young, Andre, Stark, Antony A.
Other Authors: Univ Arizona, Steward Observ, Univ Arizona, Dept Astron
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: SPIE-INT SOC OPTICAL ENGINEERING 2018
Subjects:
EHT
SIS receiver
SPT
submillimeter
VLBI
Kavli
South Pole
South pole
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10150/632284
https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2301005
Description
Summary: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 repository@u.library.arizona.edu.

Similar Items