Related papers: Extremely long baseline interferometry with Origin…
(abridged) Very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations at 86$\,$GHz (wavelength, $\lambda = 3\,$mm) reach a resolution of about 50 $\mu$as, probing the collimation and acceleration regions of relativistic outflows in active…
We demonstrate that the G140L segment B channel of the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) recently installed on the {\it Hubble Space Telescope (HST)} has an effective area consistent with $\sim$ 10 cm$^2$ in the bandpass between the Lyman…
General relativity predicts that images of optically thin accretion flows around black holes should generically have a ``photon ring,'' composed of a series of increasingly sharp subrings that correspond to increasingly strongly lensed…
Finding a suitable very long baseline (VLBI) interferometer geometry is a key task in planning observations, especially imaging sessions. The main characteristic of the quality of VLBI imaging data is the (u, v)-coverage. In the case when…
The Energetic X-ray Imaging Survey Telescope (EXIST) is under study for the proposed Black Hole Finder Probe, one of the three Einstein Probe missions in NASA's proposed Beyond Einstein Program. EXIST would have unique capabilities: it…
Ultraluminous X-Ray Objects are off-nucleus point sources with $L_X=10^{39}$-$10^{41}$ erg/s and are among the most poorly understood X-ray sources. To help understand their nature, we are trying to identify their optical counterparts by…
Black hole imaging challenges the 3rd generation space VLBI, the Very Long Baseline Interferometry, to operate on a 500 GHz band. The coherent integration time needed here is 450 s though the available space oscillators cannot offer more…
We summarize the present status of VLBI experiments at 3 mm (86 GHz), 2 mm (129-150 GHz) and 1.3 mm (215-230 GHz). We present and discuss a new 3 mm VLBI map of M87 (Virgo A), which has a spatial resolution of only approx. 20 Schwarzschild…
We present the design and implementation of an automated data calibration and reduction pipeline for very-long-baseline interferometric (VLBI) observations taken at millimeter wavelengths. These short radio-wavelengths provide the best…
The Black Hole Explorer (BHEX) is a next-generation space very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) mission concept that will extend the ground-based millimeter/submillimeter arrays into space. The mission, closely aligned with the science…
This thesis reports on the application of new wide-field Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) imaging techniques using real data for the first time. These techniques are used to target three specific science areas: (i) a…
I describe the capabilities of the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, scheduled for May 2009 installation on the Hubble Space Telescope. With a factor-of-ten increase in far-UV throughput for moderate resolution spectroscopy, COS will enable a…
The detection of three black hole binary coalescence events by Advanced LIGO allows the science benefits of future detectors to be evaluated. In this paper we report the science benefits of one or two 8km arm length detectors based on the…
The origin of observed extremely high energy cosmic rays remains an astrophysical enigma. We show that a single evaporating primordial black hole should produce 8.5*10^14 particles over a 10^20 eV threshold. This emission results from…
There are at least four well known Very Long Baseline Interferometer (VLBI) networks that provide open access to astronomers around the world. These include the EVN, VLBA, CMVA and APT/LBA. In this paper I have chosen to focus on a sub-set…
In this paper we describe a new approach for mm-VLBI calibration that provides bona-fide astrometric alignment of the mm-wavelength images from a single source, for the measurement of frequency dependent effects, such as `core-shifts' near…
X-ray astronomy is closely related to the study of black hole sources. The discovery that some unseen objects, more massive than any degenerate star, emit huge amounts of X-rays helped accept the concept that back holes are present in X-ray…
Space-based observatories at the second Sun-Earth Lagrange Point (L2) offer a unique opportunity to efficiently determine the orbits of distant solar system objects by taking advantage of the parallax effect that arises from nearly…
Intensity interferometry is a technique developed many decades ago, that has recently enjoyed a renaissance thanks in part to advances in photodetector technology. We investigate the potential for long-baseline optical intensity…
Recent advances in VLBI have led to astrometric accuracy exceeding that of the Gaia mission goals. This chapter describes some important astrophysical problems that can be addressed with sub-milliarcsecond imaging and micro-arcsecond…