Selective Dynamical Imaging of Interferometric Data
Journal article, 2022

Recent developments in very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) have made it possible for the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) to resolve the innermost accretion flows of the largest supermassive black holes on the sky. The sparse nature of the EHT's (u, v)-coverage presents a challenge when attempting to resolve highly time-variable sources. We demonstrate that the changing (u, v)-coverage of the EHT can contain regions of time over the course of a single observation that facilitate dynamical imaging. These optimal time regions typically have projected baseline distributions that are approximately angularly isotropic and radially homogeneous. We derive a metric of coverage quality based on baseline isotropy and density that is capable of ranking array configurations by their ability to produce accurate dynamical reconstructions. We compare this metric to existing metrics in the literature and investigate their utility by performing dynamical reconstructions on synthetic data from simulated EHT observations of sources with simple orbital variability. We then use these results to make recommendations for imaging the 2017 EHT Sgr A* data set.

Author

Joseph Farah

University of California at Santa Barbara

Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network

Peter Galison

Harvard University

Kazunori Akiyama

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Harvard University

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Katherine L. Bouman

Harvard University

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Geoffrey C. Bower

Academia Sinica

Andrew Chael

Princeton University

NASA Hubble Fellowship Program

Antonio Fuentes

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Jose L. Gomez

Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA)

Mareki Honma

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

University of Tokyo

The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)

Michael D. Johnson

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Harvard University

Yutaro Kofuji

University of Tokyo

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Daniel P. Marrone

University of Arizona

Kotaro Moriyama

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Ramesh Narayan

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Dominic W. Pesce

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Paul Tiede

University of Waterloo

Maciek Wielgus

Max Planck Society

Guang-Yao Zhao

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Antxon Alberdi

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Walter Alef

Max Planck Society

Juan Carlos Algaba

University of Malaya

Richard Anantua

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Keiichi Asada

Academia Sinica

Rebecca Azulay

Max Planck Society

Universitat de Valencia

Anne-Kathrin Baczkovic

Max Planck Society

David Ball

University of Arizona

Mislay Balokovic

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

John Barrett

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Bradford A. Benson

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

University of Chicago

Dan Bintley

East Asian Observatory

Lindy Blackburn

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Harvard University

Raymond Blundell

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Wilfred Boland

Nederlandse Onderzoekschool voor Astronomie (NOVA)

Hope Boyce

McGill University

Michael Bremer

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Christiaan D. Brinkerink

Radboud University

Roger Brissenden

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Silke Britzen

Max Planck Society

Avery E. Broderick

University of Waterloo

Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics

Dominique Broguiere

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Thomas Bronzwaer

Radboud University

Sandra Bustamente

University of Massachusetts

Do-Young Byun

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute

University of Science and Technology (UST)

John E. Carlstrom

University of Chicago

Chi-kwan Chan

University of Arizona

Koushik Chatterjee

University of Amsterdam

Shami Chatterjee

Cornell University

Ming-Tang Chen

Academia Sinica

Yongjun Chen

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Ilje Cho

Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA)

Pierre Christian

Fairfield University

John Conway

Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Onsala Space Observatory

James M. Cordes

Cornell University

Thomas M. Crawford

University of Chicago

Geoffrey B. Crew

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Alejandro Cruz-Osorio

Goethe University Frankfurt

Yuzhu Cui

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)

Jordy Davelaar

Flatiron Institute

Columbia University

Radboud University

Mariafelicia De Laurentis

University of Naples Federico II

National Institute for Nuclear Physics

Goethe University Frankfurt

Roger Deane

Rhodes University

University of Witwatersrand

University of Pretoria

Jessica Dempsey

East Asian Observatory

Gregory Desvignes

Paris Descartes University

Sheperd S. Doeleman

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Ralph P. Eatough

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Max Planck Society

Heino Falcke

Radboud University

Vincent L. Fish

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Ed Fomalont

National Radio Astronomy Observatory

H. Alyson Ford

University of Arizona

Raquel Fraga-Encinas

Radboud University

Per Friberg

East Asian Observatory

Christian M. Fromm

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Goethe University Frankfurt

Harvard University

Charles F. Gammie

University of Illinois

Roberto Garc'a

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Olivier Gentaz

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Ciriaco Goddi

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

Radboud University

Roman Gold

Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics

University of Southern Denmark

Gomez-Ruiz

National Council for Science and Technology Mexico

National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics

Minfeng Gu

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Mark Gurwell

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Kazuhiro Hada

The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Daryl Haggard

McGill University

Michael H. Hecht

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Ronald Hesper

University of Groningen

Luis C. Ho

Beijing University of Technology

Paul Ho

Academia Sinica

Chih-Wei L. Huang

Academia Sinica

Lei Huang

Chinese Academy of Sciences

David H. Hughes

National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics

Shiro Ikeda

The Institute of Statistical Mathematics

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

University of Tokyo

The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)

Makoto Inoue

Academia Sinica

Sara Issaoun

Radboud University

David J. James

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Harvard University

Buell T. Jannuzi

University of Arizona

Michael Janssen

Max Planck Society

Britton Jeter

University of Waterloo

Wu Jiang

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Alejandra Jimenez-Rosales

Radboud University

Svetlana Jorstad

Boston University

Taehyun Jung

University of Science and Technology (UST)

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute

Mansour Karami

University of Waterloo

Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics

Ramesh Karuppusamy

Max Planck Society

Tomohisa Kawashima

University of Tokyo

Garrett K. Keating

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Mark Kettenis

Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)

Dong-Jin Kim

Max Planck Society

Jae-Young Kim

Max Planck Society

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute

Jongsoo Kim

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute

Junhan Kim

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

University of Arizona

Motoki Kino

Kogakuin University of Technology and Engineering

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Jun Yi Koay

Academia Sinica

Patrick M. Koch

Academia Sinica

Shoko Koyama

Academia Sinica

Carsten Kramer

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Michael Kramer

Max Planck Society

Thomas P. Krichbaum

Max Planck Society

Cheng-Yu Kuo

National Sun Yat-Sen University

Academia Sinica

Tod R. Lauer

National Optical Astronomy Observatory

Sang-Sung Lee

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute

Aviad Levis

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Yan-Rong Li

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Zhiyuan Li

Nanjing University

Rocco Lico

Max Planck Society

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Greg Lindahl

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Michael Lindqvist

Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Onsala Space Observatory

Jun Liu

Max Planck Society

Kuo Liu

Max Planck Society

Elisabetta Liuzzo

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

Wen-Ping Lo

Academia Sinica

National Taiwan University

Andrei P. Lobanov

Max Planck Society

Laurent Loinard

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Colin Lonsdale

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Ru-Sen Lu

Max Planck Society

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nicholas R. MacDonald

Max Planck Society

Jirong Mao

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nicola Marchili

Max Planck Society

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

Sera Markoff

University of Amsterdam

Alan P. Marscher

Boston University

Ivan Marti-Vidal

Universitat de Valencia

Satoki Matsushita

Academia Sinica

Lynn D. Matthews

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Lia Medeiros

University of Arizona

Institute for Advanced Study

Karl M. Menten

Max Planck Society

Izumi Mizuno

East Asian Observatory

Yosuke Mizuno

Goethe University Frankfurt

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

James M. Moran

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Monika Moscibrodzka

Radboud University

Cornelia Muller

Max Planck Society

Radboud University

Alejandro Mus Mejas

Universitat de Valencia

Gibwa Musoke

Radboud University

University of Amsterdam

Hiroshi Nagai

The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Neil M. Nagar

University of Concepcion

Masanori Nakamura

National Institute of Technology, Hachinohe College

Academia Sinica

Gopal Narayanan

University of Massachusetts

Iniyan Natarajan

University of Witwatersrand

Rhodes University

South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO)

Antonios Nathanail

Goethe University Frankfurt

Joey Neilsen

Villanova University

Roberto Neri

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Chunchong Ni

University of Waterloo

Aristeidis Noutsos

Max Planck Society

Michael A. Nowak

Washington University in St. Louis

Hiroki Okino

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

University of Tokyo

Hector Olivares

Radboud University

Gisela N. Ortiz-Leon

Max Planck Society

Tomoaki Oyama

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Feryal Zel

University of Arizona

Daniel C. M. Palumbo

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Harvard University

Jongho Park

Academia Sinica

Nimesh Patel

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Ue-Li Pen

Canadian Institute for Advanced Research

University of Toronto

Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics

Vincent Pietu

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Richard Plambeck

University of California at Berkeley

Aleksandar PopStefanija

University of Massachusetts

Oliver Porth

University of Amsterdam

Goethe University Frankfurt

Felix M. Potzl

Max Planck Society

Ben Prather

University of Illinois

Jorge A. Preciado-Lopez

Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics

Dimitrios Psaltis

University of Arizona

Hung-Yi Pu

Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics

Academia Sinica

National Taiwan Normal University

Venkatessh Ramakrishnan

University of Concepcion

Ramprasad Rao

Academia Sinica

Mark G. Rawlings

East Asian Observatory

Alexander W. Raymond

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Harvard University

Luciano Rezzolla

Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies

Trinity College Dublin

Goethe University Frankfurt

Bart Ripperda

Princeton University

Flatiron Institute

Freek Roelofs

Radboud University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Alan Rogers

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Eduardo Ros

Max Planck Society

Mel Rose

University of Arizona

Arash Roshanineshat

University of Arizona

Helge Rottmann

Max Planck Society

Alan L. Roy

Max Planck Society

Chet Ruszczyk

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Kazi L. J. Rygl

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

Salvador Sanchez

Trinity College Dublin

David Sanchez-Arguelles

National Council for Science and Technology Mexico

National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics

Mahito Sasada

Hiroshima University

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Tuomas Savolainen

Aalto University

Max Planck Society

F. Peter Schloerb

University of Massachusetts

Karl-Friedrich Schuster

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Lijing Shao

Max Planck Society

Beijing University of Technology

Zhiqiang Shen

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Des Small

Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)

Bong Won Sohn

Yonsei University

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute

University of Science and Technology (UST)

Jason SooHoo

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

He Sun

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Fumie Tazaki

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Alexandra J. Tetarenko

East Asian Observatory

Remo P. J. Tilanus

Leiden University

University of Arizona

Radboud University

Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)

Michael Titus

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Kenji Toma

Tohoku University

Pablo Torne

Instituto de Radioastronomía Milimétrica

Max Planck Society

Efthalia Traianou

Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA)

Max Planck Society

Tyler Trent

University of Arizona

Sascha Trippe

Seoul National University

Ilse van Bemmel

Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)

Huib Jan van Langevelde

Leiden University

Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)

Daniel R. van Rossum

Radboud University

Jan Wagner

Max Planck Society

Derek Ward-Thompson

University of Central Lancashire

John Wardle

Brandeis University

Jonathan Weintroub

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Norbert Wex

Max Planck Society

Robert Wharton

Max Planck Society

Kaj Wiik

University of Turku

George N. Wong

University of Illinois

Qingwen Wu

Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Doosoo Yoon

University of Amsterdam

Andre Young

Radboud University

Ken Young

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Ziri Younsi

University College London (UCL)

Goethe University Frankfurt

Feng Yuan

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Ye-Fei Yuan

University of Science and Technology of China

J. Anton Zensus

Max Planck Society

Shan-Shan Zhao

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Astrophysical Journal Letters

2041-8205 (ISSN) 2041-8213 (eISSN)

Vol. 930 2 L18

Subject Categories

Medical Laboratory and Measurements Technologies

Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology

Geosciences, Multidisciplinary

DOI

10.3847/2041-8213/ac6615

More information

Latest update

9/15/2023