Moving Toward Polarimetry with the Event Horizon Telescope
Abstract
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project aims to develop millimeter and submillimeter VLBI to achieve angular resolution of tens of microarcseconds, comparable to the event horizons of nearby supermassive black holes. A major challenge for polarimetry at these scales is instrumental cross-talk, which introduces spurious linear polarization that can easily overwhelm the intrinsic signal. We demonstrate a new method for correcting the instrumental response, based on Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulations and other non-linear fitting methods. We will present preliminary polarimetric results on several EHT targets. Future EHT observations will provide a new window into the rich magnetic structures of their innermost cores.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #223
- Pub Date:
- January 2014
- Bibcode:
- 2014AAS...22344306K