Shared-optical-path VLBI frequency phase transfer from 86 to 258 GHz on an 8600 km baseline: Demonstrated with the APEX and IRAM 30 m telescopes

Fuente: arXiv
Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Zhao, G. -Y., Roy, A. L., Wagner, J. F., Donoso, E., Torne, P., Ros, E., Lindqvist, M., Lobanov, A. P., Ramakrishnan, V., Krichbaum, T. P., Rottmann, H., Zensus, J. A., Pérez-Beaupuits, J. P., Klein, B., Menten, K. M., Reyes, N., Sánchez, S., Ruiz, I., Durán, C., John, D., Santaren, J. L., Sánchez-Portal, M., Bremer, M., Kramer, C., Schuster, K. F., Rioja, M. J., Dodson, R.
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
_version_ 1866908542335713280
author Zhao, G. -Y.
Roy, A. L.
Wagner, J. F.
Donoso, E.
Torne, P.
Ros, E.
Lindqvist, M.
Lobanov, A. P.
Ramakrishnan, V.
Krichbaum, T. P.
Rottmann, H.
Zensus, J. A.
Pérez-Beaupuits, J. P.
Klein, B.
Menten, K. M.
Reyes, N.
Sánchez, S.
Ruiz, I.
Durán, C.
John, D.
Santaren, J. L.
Sánchez-Portal, M.
Bremer, M.
Kramer, C.
Schuster, K. F.
Rioja, M. J.
Dodson, R.
author_facet Zhao, G. -Y.
Roy, A. L.
Wagner, J. F.
Donoso, E.
Torne, P.
Ros, E.
Lindqvist, M.
Lobanov, A. P.
Ramakrishnan, V.
Krichbaum, T. P.
Rottmann, H.
Zensus, J. A.
Pérez-Beaupuits, J. P.
Klein, B.
Menten, K. M.
Reyes, N.
Sánchez, S.
Ruiz, I.
Durán, C.
John, D.
Santaren, J. L.
Sánchez-Portal, M.
Bremer, M.
Kramer, C.
Schuster, K. F.
Rioja, M. J.
Dodson, R.
contents The receiver N3AR operating at a frequency range between 67 and 116 GHz has been commissioned at the APEX telescope in October 2024. This adds a new low-frequency band for APEX, with the capability of simultaneous dual-frequency observations using a dichroic beamsplitter. The 3 mm receiver also allows APEX to join the existing 3 mm global VLBI network. One of our commissioning goals was to perform simultaneous dual-band VLBI observations at 86 and 258 GHz using receivers with shared-optical-paths (SOP) to correct the atmospheric phase fluctuations using the frequency phase transfer (FPT) technique. This was possible together with the IRAM 30 m telescope, which has already developed such a capability. We aimed to verify the expected phase coherence and sensitivity improvement at the higher frequency achievable by applying FPT. With the dual-band, single baseline data, we applied the FPT method, which uses the lower frequency data to correct the simultaneously observed higher-frequency data. We evaluate the improvement compared to the conventional single-band observing mode by analyzing the coherence factor in the higher frequency data. Our results show that the phase fluctuations at the two bands are well correlated. After applying FPT, the interferometric phases at the higher frequency vary much slower and the coherence factor is significantly improved. Our analysis confirms the feasibility of applying FPT to frequencies above 250 GHz with SOP receivers. Future observations in this mode could dramatically improve the sensitivity and imaging fidelity of high-frequency VLBI.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_10190
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Shared-optical-path VLBI frequency phase transfer from 86 to 258 GHz on an 8600 km baseline: Demonstrated with the APEX and IRAM 30 m telescopes
Zhao, G. -Y.
Roy, A. L.
Wagner, J. F.
Donoso, E.
Torne, P.
Ros, E.
Lindqvist, M.
Lobanov, A. P.
Ramakrishnan, V.
Krichbaum, T. P.
Rottmann, H.
Zensus, J. A.
Pérez-Beaupuits, J. P.
Klein, B.
Menten, K. M.
Reyes, N.
Sánchez, S.
Ruiz, I.
Durán, C.
John, D.
Santaren, J. L.
Sánchez-Portal, M.
Bremer, M.
Kramer, C.
Schuster, K. F.
Rioja, M. J.
Dodson, R.
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
The receiver N3AR operating at a frequency range between 67 and 116 GHz has been commissioned at the APEX telescope in October 2024. This adds a new low-frequency band for APEX, with the capability of simultaneous dual-frequency observations using a dichroic beamsplitter. The 3 mm receiver also allows APEX to join the existing 3 mm global VLBI network. One of our commissioning goals was to perform simultaneous dual-band VLBI observations at 86 and 258 GHz using receivers with shared-optical-paths (SOP) to correct the atmospheric phase fluctuations using the frequency phase transfer (FPT) technique. This was possible together with the IRAM 30 m telescope, which has already developed such a capability. We aimed to verify the expected phase coherence and sensitivity improvement at the higher frequency achievable by applying FPT. With the dual-band, single baseline data, we applied the FPT method, which uses the lower frequency data to correct the simultaneously observed higher-frequency data. We evaluate the improvement compared to the conventional single-band observing mode by analyzing the coherence factor in the higher frequency data. Our results show that the phase fluctuations at the two bands are well correlated. After applying FPT, the interferometric phases at the higher frequency vary much slower and the coherence factor is significantly improved. Our analysis confirms the feasibility of applying FPT to frequencies above 250 GHz with SOP receivers. Future observations in this mode could dramatically improve the sensitivity and imaging fidelity of high-frequency VLBI.
title Shared-optical-path VLBI frequency phase transfer from 86 to 258 GHz on an 8600 km baseline: Demonstrated with the APEX and IRAM 30 m telescopes
topic Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.10190