학술논문

Reference Array and Design Consideration for the Next-Generation Event Horizon Telescope
Document Type
article
Source
Galaxies, Vol 11, Iss 5, p 107 (2023)
Subject
black holes
supermassive black holes
general relativity
interferometry
accretion
relativistic jets
Astronomy
QB1-991
Language
English
ISSN
2075-4434
Abstract
We describe the process to design, architect, and implement a transformative enhancement of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). This program—the next-generation Event Horizon Telescope (ngEHT)—will form a networked global array of radio dishes capable of making high-fidelity real-time movies of supermassive black holes (SMBH) and their emanating jets. This builds upon the EHT principally by deploying additional modest-diameter dishes to optimized geographic locations to enhance the current global mm/submm wavelength Very Long Baseline Interferometric (VLBI) array, which has, to date, utilized mostly pre-existing radio telescopes. The ngEHT program further focuses on observing at three frequencies simultaneously for increased sensitivity and Fourier spatial frequency coverage. Here, the concept, science goals, design considerations, station siting, and instrument prototyping are discussed, and a preliminary reference array to be implemented in phases is described.