In the past few decades, radio surveys have provided us with unique insights into many areas of astrophysics such as star formation, supernovae, active galactic nuclei, pulsars, cosmology and much more. A key aspect of these surveys is the technique of Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) which can provide some of the highest resolutions possible in astronomy. This method has been crucial in understanding the inner workings of galaxies such as AGN-star-formation feedback, dark-matter substructures in gravitational lenses, and providing the first two direct images of a black hole shadow. VLBI has been typically limited where the largest surveys require many years of observations to build up an extensive sample. However, computational improvements have enabled us to map multiple sources within a single VLBI survey and push into the lower frequency regime through the International LOFAR telescope. In this talk, I will talk about the scientific and technical discoveries arising from such surveys and focus on the bright future of VLBI surveys. This includes the transition from the current modus operandi of a small number of surveys of a few 'famous' deep fields to a ubiquitous VLBI survey instrument. I will conclude the talk by talking about the upcoming developments in VLBI, such as the incorporation of SKA and MeerKAT, ultra-wideband receivers, and GPU-accelerated correlation and calibration.
16/02/2024
Speaker: Jack Radcliffe (University of Pretoria & University of Manchester)
Friday 16 February 2024, 14:00 CET.
The European VLBI Network (EVN) is pleased to announce a 3rd series of online seminars "The sharpest view of the Universe". Speakers will cover different science topics, and the talks will occur roughly every seven weeks over the 2024 year, culminating with the 16th EVN Symposium & User’s Meeting that will gather us in Bonn in September. These talks will illustrate how Very Long Baseline Interferometry can improve our understanding of many astronomical phenomena, from stars to galaxies, and the talks are aimed at a broad astronomical audience.
Full information about the webinars, which will be run using Zoom and YouTube, can be found at evlbi.org/evn-seminars.
The seminars will be 35-40 min long, followed by a Q&A and discussion session. Attendants can join via Zoom following this link (Meeting ID: 820 3105 9495). The talk will also be streamed in real time via YouTube in the JIVE and EVN channel.
Find attached the iCalendar invitation or this link for Google Calendar.