No Arabic abstract
We report simultaneous multi-frequency observing performance at 22 and 43 GHz of the 21-m shaped-Cassegrain radio telescopes of the Korean VLBI Network (KVN). KVN is the first millimeter-dedicated VLBI network in Korea having a maximum baseline length of 480 km. It currently operates at 22 and 43 GHz and planed to operate in four frequency bands, 22, 43, 86, and 129 GHz. The unique quasioptics of KVN enable simultaneous multi-frequency observations based on efficient beam filtering and accuarate antenna-beam alignment at 22 and 43 GHz. We found that the offset of the beams is within <5 arcseconds over all pointing directions of antenna. The dual polarization, cooled HEMT receivers at 22 and 43 GHz result in receiver noise temperatures less than 40 K at 21.25-23.25 GHz and 80 K at 42.11-44.11 GHz. The pointing accuracies have been measured to be 3 arcseconds in azimuth and elevation for all antennas. The measured aperture efficiencies are 65%(K)/67%(Q), 62%(K)/59%(Q), and 66%(K)/60%(Q) for the three KVN antennas, KVNYS, KVNUS, and KVNTN, respectively. The main-beam efficiencies are measured to be 50%(K)/52%(Q), 48%(K)/50%(Q), and 50%(K)/47%(Q) for KVNYS, KVNUS, and KVNTN, respectively. The estimated Moon efficiencies are 77%(K)/90%(Q), 74%(K)/79%(Q), and 80%(K)/86%(Q) for KVNYS, KVNUS, KVNTN, respectively. The elevation dependence of the aperture efficiencies is quite flat for elevations > 20 degrees.
The study of the linear and circular polarization in AGN allows one to gain detailed information about the properties of the magnetic fields in these objects. However, especially the observation of circular polarization (CP) with single-dish radio-telescopes is usually difficult because of the weak signals to be expected. Normally CP is derived as the (small) difference of two large numbers (LHC and RHC); hence an accurate calibration is absolutely necessary. Our aim is to improve the calibration accuracy to include the Stokes parameter V in the common single-dish polarimetric measurements, allowing a full Stokes study of the source under examination. A detailed study, up to the 2nd order, of the Mueller matrix elements in terms of cross-talk components allows us to reach the accuracy necessary to study circular polarization. The new calibration method has been applied to data taken at the 100-m Effelsberg radio-telescope during regular test observations of extragalactic sources at 2.8, 3.6, 6 and 11 cm. The D-terms in phase and amplitude appear very stable with time and the few known values of circular polarization have been confirmed. It is shown that, whenever a classical receiver and a multiplying polarimeter are available, the proposed calibration scheme allows one to include Stokes V in standard single-dish polarimetric observations as difference of two native circular outputs.
Oxygen-rich Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars can be intense emitters of SiO ($v$=1 and 2, J=1$rightarrow$0) and H$_2$O maser lines at 43 and 22 GHz, respectively. VLBI observations of the maser emission provide a unique tool to probe the innermost layers of the circumstellar envelopes in AGB stars. Nevertheless, the difficulties in achieving astrometrically aligned water and $v$=1 and $v$=2 SiO maser maps have traditionally limited the physical constraints that can be placed on the SiO maser pumping mechanism. We present phase referenced simultaneous spectral-line VLBI images for the SiO $v$=1 and $v$=2, J=1$rightarrow$0, and H$_2$O maser emission around the AGB star R,LMi, obtained from the Korean VLBI Network (KVN). The simultaneous multi-channel receivers of the KVN offer great possibilities for astrometry in the frequency domain. With this facility we have produced images with bona-fide absolute astrometric registration between high frequency maser transitions of different species to provide the positions of the water maser emission, and the centre of the SiO maser emission, and hence reducing the uncertainty in the proper motion for R,LMi by an order of magnitude over that from Hipparcos. This is the first successful demonstration of source frequency phase referencing for mm-VLBI spectral-line observations and also where the ratio between the frequencies is not an integer.
The detection of mJy/sub-mJy point sources is a significant challenge for single-dish radio telescopes. Detection or upper limits on the faint afterglow from GRBs or other sources at cosmological distances are important means of constraining the source modeling. Using the Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT), we compare the sensitivity and robustness of three methods applied to the detection of faint radio sources from raster maps around a known source position: the smart quick-look method, the source extraction method (typical of high-energy astronomy), and the fit with a 2-D Gaussian. We developed a Python code specific for the analysis of point-like radio sources applied to the SRT C-band (6.9 GHz) observations of both undetected sources (GRB afterglows of 181201A and 190114C) and the detected Galactic X-ray binary GRS 1915+105. Our comparative analysis of the different detection methods made extensive use of simulations as a useful complement to actual radio observations. The best method for the SRT data analysis is the fit with a 2-D Gaussian, as it pushes down the sensitivity limits of single-dish observations -- with respect to more traditional techniques -- to ~ 1.8 mJy, improving by ~ 40 % compared with the initial value. This analysis shows that -- especially for faint sources -- good maps of the scanned region pre- or post-outburst are essential.
We report results of the performance evaluation of a new hardware correlator in Korea, the Daejeon correlator, developed by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). We conducted Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations at 22~GHz with the Korean VLBI Network (KVN) in Korea and the VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry (VERA) in Japan, and correlated the aquired data with the Daejeon correlator. For evaluating the performance of the new hardware correlator, we compared the correlation outputs from the Daejeon correlator for KVN observations with those from a software correlator, the Distributed FX (DiFX). We investigated the correlated flux densities and brightness distributions of extragalactic compact radio sources. The comparison of the two correlator outputs show that they are consistent with each other within $<8%$, which is comparable with the amplitude calibration uncertainties of KVN observations at 22~GHz. We also found that the 8% difference in flux density is caused mainly by (a) the difference in the way of fringe phase tracking between the DiFX software correlator and the Daejeon hardware correlator, and (b) an unusual pattern (a double-layer pattern) of the amplitude correlation output from the Daejeon correlator. The visibility amplitude loss by the double-layer pattern is as small as 3%. We conclude that the new hardware correlator produces reasonable correlation outputs for continuum observations, which are consistent with the outputs from the DiFX software correlator.
We report on a plan to construct a 50-m-class single-dish telescope, the Large Submillimeter Telescope (LST). The conceptual design and key science behind the LST are presented, together with its tentative specifications. This telescope is optimized for wide-area imaging and spectroscopic surveys in the 70--420 GHz frequency range, which spans the main atmospheric windows at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths for good observation sites such as the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) site in Chile. We also target observations at higher frequencies of up to 1 THz, using an inner high-precision surface. Active surface control is required in order to correct gravitational and thermal deformations of the surface, and will be useful for correction of the wind-load deformation. The LST will facilitate new discovery spaces such as wide-field imaging with both continuum and spectral lines, along with new developments for time-domain science. Through exploitation of its synergy with ALMA and other telescopes, the LST will contribute to research on a wide range of topics in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics, e.g., astrochemistry, star formation in our Galaxy and galaxies, the evolution of galaxy clusters via the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect, the search for transients such as $gamma$-ray burst reverse shocks produced during the epoch of re-ionization, electromagnetic follow up of detected gravitational wave sources, and examination of general relativity in the vicinity of super massive black holes via submillimeter very-long-baseline interferometry.