Towards the Event Horizon: High Resolution VLBI Imaging of Nuclei of Active Galaxies
Abstract
Very Long Baseline Interferometry at millimetre wavelengths (mm-VLBI) allows to image compact galactic and extragalactic radio sources with microarcsecond resolution, unreachable by other astronomical observing techniques. Future global VLBI at millimetre wavelengths therefore should allow to map,with a spatial resolution of only a few to a few ten gravitational radii, the direct vicinity of the Super Massive Black Holes (SMBH) located in the centres of nearby galaxies. With the reduced intrinsic self-absorption at short wavelengths, mm- VLBI opens a direct view onto the often jet-producing "central engine".
- Publication:
-
Exploring the Cosmic Frontier: Astrophysical Instruments for the 21st Century
- Pub Date:
- 2007
- DOI:
- 10.1007/978-3-540-39756-4_53
- arXiv:
- arXiv:astro-ph/0607077
- Bibcode:
- 2007ecf..book..189K
- Keywords:
-
- Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- To appear in the conference proceedings "Exploring the Cosmic Frontier: Astrophysical Instruments for the 21st Century", held in Berlin, Germany, May 17 - 21, 2004, ESO Astrophysical Symposia Series, in press. Paper contains 2 pages, 1 figure