Zooming towards the event horizon - mm-VLBI today and tomorrow

Thomas P. Krichbaum, A. Roy, J. Wagner, H. Rottmann, J. A. Hodgson, A. Bertarini, W. Alef, J. A. Zensus, A. P. Marscher, S. G. Jorstad, R. Freund, D. Marrone, P. Strittmatter, L. Ziurys, R. Blundell, J. Weintroub, K. Young, V. Fish, S. Doeleman, M. BremerS. Sanchez, L. Fuhrmann, E. Angelakis, V. Karamanavis

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Global VLBI imaging at millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelengths overcomes the opacity barrier of synchrotron self-absorption in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and opens the direct view into sub-pc scale regions not accessible before. Since AGN variability is more pronounced at short millimeter wavelength, mm-VLBI can reveal structural changes in very early stages after outbursts. When combined with observations at longer wavelength, global 3 mm and 1 mm VLBI adds very detailed information on the source structure. This helps to determine fundamental physical properties at the jet base, and in the vicinity of super-massive black holes at the center of AGN. Here we present new results from multi-frequency mm-VLBI imaging of OJ 287 during a major outburst. We also report on a successful 1.3 mm VLBI experiment with the APEX telescope in Chile. This observation sets a new world record in angular resolution. It also opens the path towards future mm-VLBI with ALMA, which aims at the mapping of the black hole event horizon in nearby galaxies, and the study of the roots of jets in AGN.

Original languageEnglish
JournalProceedings of Science
Volume2012-October
StatePublished - 2012
Event11th European VLBI Network Symposium and Users Meeting, EVN Symposium 2012 - Bordeaux, France
Duration: 9 Oct 201212 Oct 2012

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright owned by the author(s) under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Licence.

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Zooming towards the event horizon - mm-VLBI today and tomorrow'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this