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European VLBI Network Newsletter

Number 47 May 2017

ContentsMessagefromtheChairmanoftheEVNBoardofDirectors..............................................................................1

CallfortheEVNProposals..................................................................................................................................3

EVNScienceHighlights:VLBIobservationsoffourradioquasarsatz>4:blazarsornot?..................................8

JIVEUniBoardCorrelator(JUC).........................................................................................................................10

UpcomingMeetings..........................................................................................................................................10

IAUSymposium336AstrophysicalMasers:UnlockingtheMysteriesoftheUniverse.(4-8Sept.2017).....10

47thYoungEuropeanRadioAstronomersConference(YERAC,18-22Sept.2017).....................................11

2017EuropeanRadioInterferometrySchool(ERIS,16-20Oct.2017).........................................................11

_________EditedbyAntonisPolatidis,EVNSecretary(ASTRON,TheNetherlands;[email protected])

MessagefromtheChairmanoftheEVNBoardofDirectors

DearColleaguesintheEuropeanVLBINetwork,DearUsersoftheEVN,

TheEuropeanVLBINetwork(EVN)ConsortiumBoardofDirectors(CBD)meton9and10May2017inTorun(Poland).TherewerediscussionsonreportsfromthePC,theTOG,thecorrelators,JIVE,thestations,andpartnerorganisations.ThePCChairreportedagreaterdiversityinrecentproposalswithregardtothenatureoftheobservingtimerequested.AworkinggroupoftheCBDhasbeenformedtodiscusstailoringthemixofEVNobservingoptions:issuestobeconsideredincludedthebalancebetweeneVLBIandregularsessiontime,andcateringtolarge-scale,orpossiblylong-termproposals.FollowinganinterestingpresentationbyW.Brisken,directoroftheLBO,theworkinggroupmayconsiderfurtheropportunitiesforGlobalVLBI.TheCBDalsodiscussedseveralrotationsinthemembershipoftheEVNPC.InordertoincreasetheutilityoftheinformationintheEVNArchive,theCBDdecidedthattheabstractsofacceptedproposalswillbecomepubliclyavailableoncethefirstdatasetresultingfromaproposalisuploadedintotheEVNArchive;thiswillbeimplementedstartingwithproposalssubmittedfortheOctober2017CallforProposals,andwillbeclearlyannouncedinthatcall.

EVNNewsletter47,May2017

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Figure1:EVNCBDmeetingparticipantsandtheirhostsinfrontofthe32mtelescopeatTorunRadioObservatory

TheCBDalsodiscussedtheTOGreport.ItwasnotedinparticularthataverysubstantialsubsetoftheEVNstationsnowhasthecapabilityfor2Gbpsobserving,anddevelopmentcontinues.TheCBDhasthereforeconfirmeditsaimtobuildupintheshorttermenoughrecordingcapacitytoestablish2Gbpsasthestandardrecordedbitrateforcontinuumprojects.TheTOGhasbeenaskedtoreporttheinvestmentthateachstationwouldhavetomaketorealizethisaim.T.VenturipresentedtheprocessandtimelineforthecreationofanEVNFutureVisiondocument,whichwillbeanoverviewofthescientificstrengthsoftheEVNaswemoveintothenextdecade,andcanalsoservetoguideprioritiesforfurthertechnologysteps(forwhichthereissomuchpotential,e.g.leadingonfromcurrentdevelopmentprojectssupportedthroughRadioNetandJumpingJIVE,whichkickedoffinJanuaryandFebruary).BySeptember2018acompletedraftVisiondocumentwillbereadytobepresentedtotheUsers’Meetingatthe14thEVNSymposium.Refinementstothatdraftwillbemadeintheyearfollowing.AsIamnearingtheendofmytermasCBDChairon1July,itismyprivilegeindeedtoreportthatJohnConwayhasbeenappointedasthenextCBDChair–wealllookforwardtoworkingwithhiminthatrole!IamalsoveryhappytoreportthatRafaelBachillerwillbethenextvice-ChairoftheCBD.Lookingbackonmyterm,IseethatasteadilycontinuingdevelopmentoftheEVN.Dataratesareincreasing,asmentionedalready,bothforeVLBIandrecordedVLBI.Capabilities,andtheflexibilityofobservingandprocessingwerefurtherenhanced,andmanyotherissueshavebeensuccessfullytackledbytheTOG.Ahighlightforme,andIamsureformycolleaguesaswell,wastheentry,inOctober2016,oftheVentspilsInternationalRadioAstronomyCentre(VIRAC)withitsIrbeneobservatoryasanewfullmemberoftheEVN!ManycolleaguesintheEVNhaveprovidedsupportinonewayoranothertomakepossiblethisadditiontoourfamily,whichisfurthermoreatributetothededicationandcompetenceoftheVIRACstaffinaccomplishingatrulymajoroverhauloftheir16-meterand32-meterSoviet-vintageradiotelescopes.ThenewavailabilityoftheKunming40mtelescopeasanaffiliatedstation(advertisedforthefirsttimeinthe1June2017CallforProposals)isanotherverywelcomestep,showingthatthegrowthofthecapabilitiesoftheEVNiscertaintocontinue.OfcoursealloftheseEVNdevelopmentsarecrownedbyseeingthescienceresultscomeout.InrecentCBDmeetingsIhaveaskedthattheEVNPCChairpubliclypresentsthetraditionalupdateonnewsciencehighlights,duringalunchorteatalktowhichallstaffofthehostinstituteareinvited.ThecapabilitiesofVLBIwerealsoshowcasedrecentlyatothermeetingswithabroadaudience,suchastheworkshopon“Nanoradiansonthesky:VLBIacrosstheMediterraneanandbeyond”duringthe2016EuropeanWeekofAstronomyandSpaceScience(EWASS).Ahighlightwasofcoursethepressattentionthatwasattractedby


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thefirstlocalizationofaFastRadioBurst(FFRB),inwhichtheEVNplayedaprominentrole,presentedattheJanuary2017AmericanAstronomicalSociety'smeetinginGrapevine,Texas.ButtomethebestrecentbroadoverviewoftheexcellentstateofEVNsciencewasthe13thEVNSymposium(2016);thanksagaintotheIAAcolleaguesforhostingit!Allthemorereason,therefore,tolookforwardtothedatesnowdecidedforthe14thEVNSymposium,tobeheldinGranada,Spain:October8-11,2018.ThenextmeetingoftheEVNConsortiumBoardofDirectorswillbeheldinNovember2017,inOnsala,Sweden.Meanwhile,the1stJune2017deadlineforCallforProposalsisapproaching.TheEVNProgrammeCommitteewillnextmeetonJune27,2017,inBolognatoreviewtheproposals.Inclosing:weallknowthattheEVNowesitssuccessestoalargeanddedicatedgroupofpeoplewhoarebasedbothattheEVNobservatoriesandatJIVE(itwassatisfyingthatlastyearHuibJanvanLangeveldeandIwereabletosignanSLAonthemanywaysinwhichtheJIV-ERICsupportstheEVN).ButIamsurenobodywillobjectwhenIsingleoutforpersonalthankstheofficersoftheEVN,PCChairMichaelLindqvist,TOGChairPablodeVicente,andEVNSchedulerAlastairGunn,fortheirmanyinteractionswithmeduringmytermasChair,forhavingtodealwithmysometimesdifficultorcumbersomequestions,butmostlyfortheirexcellentandtirelessefforts,whichareabsolutelyrequiredtokeeptheEVNrunning.IamalsogratefultoEVNSecretaryAntonisPolatidisforhissupportinmanyways,includingtheeditingofthisNewsletter.RenéVermeulen,Chairman,EVNConsortiumBoardofDirectors

CallfortheEVNProposalsEuropeanVLBINetwork

CallforProposalsDeadline1stJune2017

Thistextisalsoavailableonthewebat

http://www.chalmers.se/en/centres/oso/radio-astronomy/vlbi/Documents/EVN_CfP.txtObservingproposalsareinvitedfortheEVN,aVLBInetworkofradiotelescopesspreadthroughoutEuropeandbeyond,operatedbyaninternationalconsortiumofinstitutes(http://www.evlbi.org/).Theobservationsmaybeconductedwithdiskrecording(standardEVN)orinreal-time(e-VLBI).TheEVNfacilityisopentoallastronomers.UseoftheNetworkbyastronomersnotspecialisedintheVLBItechniqueisencouraged.TheJointInstituteforVLBIERIC(JIVE)canprovidesupportandadviceonproposalpreparation,scheduling,correlationandanalysis.SeeEVNUserSupportathttp://www.jive.eu.FutureStandardEVNObservingSessions(diskrecording)2017Session3Oct19-Nov0918/21cm,6cm...2018Session1Feb22-Mar1518/21cm,6cm...2018Session2May24-Jun1418/21cm,6cm...


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2018Session3Oct18-Nov0818/21cm,6cm...

Proposalsreceivedby1stJune2017willbeconsideredforschedulinginSession3,2017orlater.Finalisationoftheplannedobservingwavelengthswilldependonproposalpressure.

Futuree-VLBIObservingSessions(real-timecorrelation)

2017Sep19-Sep20(startat13UTC)18/21cm,6cm,5cmor1.3cm2017Oct10-Oct11(startat13UTC)18/21cm,6cm,5cmor1.3cm2017Nov14-Nov15(startat13UTC)18/21cm,6cm,5cmor1.3cm2017Dec14-Dec15(startat13UTC)18/21cm,6cm,5cmor1.3cm

Pleaseconsultthee-VLBIwebpageathttp://www.evlbi.org/evlbi/e-vlbi_status.htmltocheckforpossibleupdates,andfortheavailablearray.Successfulproposalswithane-VLBIcomponentsubmittedbytheFebruary1deadlinewillbeconsideredforschedulingintheabovee-VLBIsessionsstartingfromSeptember19,2017.

Notethatonlyonewavelengthwillberunineache-VLBIsession,selectedbasedonproposalpriorities.

Seehttp://www.jive.eu/jivewiki/doku.php?id=evn:guidelinesfordetailsconcerningthee-VLBIobservationclassesandobservingmodes.NewFeaturesfortheNextStandardEVNande-VLBISessionsTheKunming40mtelescopeisanaffiliatedEVNstationsituatedonPhoenixMountain,about10kmeastofthecityofKunming,China.ThetelescopemayberequestedonabesteffortsbasisforEVNdiskrecordingobservationsat13,6,5and3.6cmwavelengths.e-VLBIat2Gbpsisavailableat6cmand1.3cmatasubsetoftheEVNtelescopes.Theremainingtelescopeswillobserveat1Gbps(mixedmodeobservation).Thecurrentstatusisgivenhere:

http://www.evlbi.org/evlbi/e-vlbi_status.html

Diskrecordingat2Gbpsisavailableat6cm,3.6cm,1.3cmand0.7cmatasubsetoftheEVNtelescopes.Theremainingtelescopeswillrecordat1Gbps(mixedmodeobservation).Thecurrentstatusisgivenhere:

https://deki.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/Working_Groups/EVN_TOG/2Gbps

Useofthisdatarateshouldbeclearlyjustifiedandlimitedtoprojectsthatreallyneedit.

Pleaseconsulthttp://www.evlbi.org/evlbi/e-vlbi_status.htmlandtheEVNUserGuidehttp://www.evlbi.org/user_guide/user_guide.htmlforupdatesonthecurrentEVNande-VLBIarray,availabilityofdifferentstationsperobservingbandandforthedatesofthee-VLBIobservingsessions.GlobalVLBIProposals

Globalproposalscanbeproposedupto2GbpsincludingVLBA,GBTandtheJVLA.


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Somemodesmayrequiredifferentbandwidthchannelsatdifferenttelescopes;correlationatJIVEcanhandlethis.

JIVEsupportstaffwillworkwithSocorrotoassistyouduringtheschedulingprocessofsuchobservations.

GlobalobservationswillbecorrelatedattheSFXCcorrelatoratJIVE(default)orattheDiFXcorrelatorinBonnorattheDiFXcorrelatorinSocorro(ifappropriatejustificationisgivenintheproposal).RadioAstronObservationsProposalsrequestingtheEVNasgroundarraysupportorcorrelationatJIVEforRadioAstronAO5observationsintheperiod:19October2017to30June2018,maybesubmittedatthisdeadline.LargeEVNProjects

Mostproposalsrequest12-48hrsobservingtime.TheEVNProgramCommittee(PC)alsoencourageslargerprojects(>48hrs);thesewillbesubjecttomoredetailedscrutiny,andtheEVNPCmay,insomecases,attachconditionsonthereleaseofthedata.AvailabilityofEVNAntennasTheSRTwillbeofflineforatleasttheentire2017andVLBIoperationsareexpectedtorestartatsometimein2018.Exactdatewillbecommunicatedatalaterstagewhenclosertoresumeoperations.

TheIrbene32mtelescopeisanewEVNstationlocated30kmnorthofVentspils,Latvia.ThetelescopemayberequestedforEVNdiskrecordingobservationsat18(singlepol.,RCP,uncooledreceiver),6,5and3.6cmwavelengths.

TheWSRTwillbeparticipatingwithasingletelescope,equippedwithdualcircularpolarizationreceivers.Thefrequencycoveragewillremainthesame.ProposerswhowishtousetheEVNCalculator,shouldselect"W1"insteadof"Wb".

Tm65isthe65mtelescopeatTianma,about6kmawayfromthe25mSeshantelescope(Sh).The2-letterabbreviationforTm65telescopeisT6.Bothofthesetelescopescanobserveat18,13,6,5,3.6,and3.6/13cm.Tm65canalsoobserveat21cm.Tm65isthedefaulttelescope;ShwillbeusediftheTm65isnotavailableforsomereason.Ifyouselectboth,youshouldalsodiscussthemotivationfortheveryshortbaselineintheproposal.Integrationofe-MERLINTelescopesintotheEVNIntegrationofe-MERLINoutstationantennasintotheEVNisnowpossiblefollowingrecentsoftwareupgradesonthee-MERLINcorrelatoratJodrellBankonasharedriskbasis.EVNexperimentscannowincludemultiplee-MERLINoutstationantennasinadditiontoanantennaatJodrellBank.Thetotalrecordedbandwidthfortheoutstationswillbelimitedto1Gbpsbutcanbedividedbetween1,2or4e-MERLINantennas.PIsofproposalsshouldindicateinthescientificjustificationwhiche-MERLINantennastheywishtorecord.ThesedatawillthenbeavailableforcorrelationwithallotherEVNstationsinmixedmode,


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providingafullyintegratedadditionalsetofshortspacingEVNdataforthefirsttime.Forexample,withine-MERLIN,thebaselinecoveragefromJb+Da,Kn,De,andCmwouldspanseparationsof11to220km.

Proposerscanalternativelystillrequestafullbandwidthe-MERLINobservationforhighsensitivitylowersurfacebrightnessimagingwherethee-MERLINtelescopesarecorrelatedatJBO.Thiscontemporaneousmodewillbeofferedasafallbacktosimultaneousobservations

Foranytechnicalqueriescontact:[email protected]

TheKoreanVLBINetwork(KVN)isanAssociateMemberoftheEVN.KVNtelescopesmayberequestedforEVNobservationsat1.3cmand7mmwavelengths.FormoredetailsregardingtheKVN,see:http://radio.kasi.re.kr/kvn/main_kvn.phpUseofAustralianVLBINetworkAntennasSomeAustralianLongBaselineArray(LBA)timewillbemadeavailableforsimultaneousschedulingwiththeEVN,thusenablingthepossibilityofjointLBA/EVNobservations.TheeasternmoststationsoftheEVNareinasimilarlongituderangetotheLBAtelescopes,andforsourcesinequatorialregions,baselinestowesternEuropeanstationsarealsoachievable.JointLBAtimeislikelytobeheavilyoversubscribed,andauthorsarerequestedtonotewhethertheyarepreparedtoacceptschedulingwithoutLBAantennasbeingpresent.

AnyproposalsforjointEVN+LBAobservationssubmittedtotheEVNbyits1June2017deadlineshouldalsobesubmittedtotheLBAbytheir(provisional)15December2017deadlineandwillfirstbeeligibleforschedulinginEVNSession1/2018.

FormoredetailsregardingproposingtimeontheLBA,see:http://www.atnf.csiro.au/observers/apply/avail.html&http://www.atnf.csiro.au/vlbi/index.html

EVN+LBAobservationsshouldbepossibleatallprincipalEVNwavebandsfrom21cmto1.3cm.:See:(http://www.evlbi.org/user_guide/freq_cov.html)andhttp://www.evlbi.org/user_guide/EVNstatus.txt.OutofSessionObservingOut-of-Sessionobservingtime(uptoamaximumof144hours/year)isnowavailabletoallproposals(diskrecordingore-VLBI).

ProposalsrequestingOut-of-Sessionobservingtimemustprovidefullscientific(andtechnicalifappropriate)justificationastowhyobservationsmustbemadeoutsidestandardsessions.

Out-of-Sessionobservingblocksshouldbenolessthan12hoursinduration(althoughindividualobservationscanbeshorter),andoccurnomorethan10timesperyear.

Proposalsshouldspecifywhichdates/GSTrangesarebeingrequestedandindicatetheminimumrequirementintermsofnumbersoftelescopes(andanyparticulartelescopes).


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ProposalswillonlybeconsideredfordatesoccurringaftertheregularEVNsessionthatfollowsEVNproposalreview.

Observationsrequiringmuchshorterleadtimesshouldbesubmittedas"Target-of-Opportunity"(ToO)proposals.Jointobservationswithotherfacilities

Forjointobservationswithotherfacilities,e.g.,EVN+XMM,separateproposalsshouldbesubmittedtotheEVNandtotheotherfacility.SuchproposalswillbeconsideredbytheEVNPConacase-by-casebasis.

HowtoSubmitAllEVNandGlobalproposals(exceptToOandshort-observationproposals,seehttp://www.jive.eu/jivewiki/doku.php?id=evn:guidelines)mustbesubmittedusingtheNorthStaron-lineproposalsubmissiontool.GlobalproposalswillbeforwardedtoNRAOautomaticallyandshouldnotbesubmittedtoNRAOseparately.

Newproposersshouldregisterathttp://proposal.jive.eu.

Proposalsmustincludethefollowingsections:1.Science&technicaljustification2.Figures,tablesandreferences(optional)

ThesesectionsshallbesubmittedasasinglePDFdocument.Thetotallengthofthisdocumentislimitedto4pages(A4orUSLetterformat),withafontsizenosmallerthan11points.Proposersarefreetoadjustthelengthofthevariousproposalsectionswithinthisoveralllengthlimit.

Thestronglyrecommendedbreakdownis2pagesfortheScience&technicaljustificationand2pagesforFigures,tablesandreferences.

Figuresandtablesmaybeinterleavedwiththesciencejustification,sothate.g.figuresappearclosetothelocationinthetextwherereferencesaremadetothem.

WhenspecifyingrequestedantennasfromtheLBA,pleasespecify'LBA'underthe"other"rowinthetelescope-selectionbox-thisselectsallthatareavailableforjointobservations.

Thedeadlineforsubmissionis23:59:59UTCon1stJune2017.AdditionalinformationFurtherinformationonEVN,EVN+MERLIN,GlobalVLBIande-VLBIobservations,andguidelinesforproposalsubmissionareavailableat:http://www.jive.eu/jivewiki/doku.php?id=evn:guidelinesTheEVNUserGuide(http://www.evlbi.org/user_guide/user_guide.html)describesthenetworkandprovidesgeneralinformationonitscapabilities.


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Thecurrentantennacapabilitiescanbefoundinthestatustables.ForthestandardEVNseehttp://www.evlbi.org/user_guide/EVNstatus.txt

Forthee-EVNarrayseehttp://www.evlbi.org/evlbi/e-vlbi_status.html

TheOn-lineVLBIcatalogue(http://db.ira.inaf.it/evn)listssourcesobservedbytheEVNandGlobalVLBI.

Aselectionofrecenthighlightsispresentedhere:http://www.jive.eu/jivewiki/doku.php?id=evn:evn_science

AselectionofrecentrefereedEVNpublicationsispresentedhere:http://www.jive.eu/jivewiki/doku.php?id=evn:evn_publications

MichaelLindqvist,OnsalaSpaceObservatory,EVNPCChairman

EVNScienceHighlights:VLBIobservationsoffourradioquasarsatz>4:blazarsornot?Blazarsareactivegalacticnuclei(AGN)whoserelativisticjetspointnearlytothelineofsight.Theircompactradiostructurecanbeimagedwithverylongbaselineinterferometry(VLBI)onparsecscales.BlazarsatextremelyhighredshiftsprovideauniqueinsightintotheAGNphenomenaintheearlyUniverse.Fourradiosourcesatredshiftz>4wereobservedwiththeEuropeanVLBINetwork(EVN)ine-VLBImodeat1.7and5GHzin2015and2016(projectcode:EC054).ThetargetswerepreviouslyclassifiedasblazarcandidatesbasedonX-rayobservations.VLBIimagingwasusedtoconfirmtheblazarnatureofthesesources.Theresultswerepartlyexpected-andpartlysurprising.Dual-frequencyEVNdatashowthatthesourceJ2134-0419(z=4.35)hasacompactone-sidedcore-jetstructureextendedto~10-masangularscale.Thecorebrightnesstemperatureindicatesarelativisticallybeamedjet,asexpectedfromablazar.

Figure2:Dual-frequencyEVNimagesofJ2134-0419,agenuineblazarwithaone-sidedjetandaDoppler-boostedcompactcore(C).ThecolourscaleindicatestheintensityinmJy/beam.


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Anothertarget,J0839+5112(z=4.39)hasacompactradiostructuretypicalofquasars.Thereisevidenceforfluxdensityvariabilityanditsradiocorehasaflatspectrum.However,thelessextremebrightnesstemperaturederivedfromtheEVNdatasuggestthatitsemissionisnotDoppler-boosted.Therealsurprisecamefromtheremainingtwotargets,J1420+1205(z=4.03)andJ2220+0025(z=4.21).BothofthemshowradiopropertiestotallyunexpectedfromradioAGNwithsmall-inclinationjet.TheirradioemissionextendstoarcsecscalesandtheDopplerfactorsofthecentralcomponentsarewellbelowunity.Theirweaknuclearradioemissionisincompatiblewiththeblazarscenario.Thesetwosourcesratherresembledouble-lobedradioAGNwithlargeinclinationwithrespecttothelineofsight.Thisisincontrastwiththeblazar-typemodelingoftheirmultibandspectralenergydistribution(SED).

Figure3:Theleftpanelshowsthe1.4-GHzVLAA-configurationimageofJ2220+0025(Hodgeetal.2011,AJ,142,3).ThetwocrossesindicatethepositionsofourweakEVN-detectedcomponentsat1.7GHz.Thecentralcomponent(labeledasC)isalsoseenat5GHzwiththeEVN(thetaperedimageisontheright)andiscoincidentwiththeopticalquasarposition.ThecolourscaleindicatestheintensityinmJy/beam.

ItispossiblethatotherX-rayemitting,highlyradio-loudAGNalsomimicthetypicalblazarproperties,yettheybelongtodifferenttypesofsources.ThismaycontributetotheapparentlylargerfractionofblazarsfoundintheearlyUniverse.Sensitiveimagingatintermediateresolutionwithe-MERLINhasrecentlybeenproposedtomaptheextendedstructureinJ1420+1205,J2220+0025,andanothersimilarradiosourceknownfromtheliterature,topossiblyrevealbothofthesymmetriclobesandthelarge-scalejets.TheseEVNresultscallfortherefinementofthebroad-bandSEDmodeling,poseaninterestingquestionaboutthephysicaloriginofthehigh-energyemissioninJ1420+1205andJ2220+0025,anddrawtheattentiontotheimportanceofVLBIimagingobservationsforreliablyclassifyingblazarsathighredshifts.Publishedat:Hong-MinCao,SándorFrey,KrisztinaÉ.Gabányi,ZsoltParagi,JunYang,DávidCseh,Xiao-YuHong,TaoAn:VLBIobservationsoffourradioquasarsatz>4:blazarsornot?(2017,MNRAS,467,950)http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx160

SandorFrey,KonkolyObservatory,HungarianAcademyofSciences


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JIVEUniBoardCorrelator(JUC)TheJIVEUniboardCorrelator(JUC)isanFPGA-basedcorrelatorthatcancorrelatetwopolarizationsoffoursubbandswithabandwidthofupto64MHzfor32stationsonasingleboard.Thecorrelationengineisnowwell-testedandcommissioningisprogressing.

TheUniboardcorrelator'slowpowerconsumptionandhighdatathroughputmakesitaveryattractivecandidateforeVLBIoperationsamongothermodes.Testsofthisfunctionalityareunderway.Asingle2.5-minscanofJ1955+5131fromarecentEVNobservationat6cmwithsevenstations:Effelsberg,Medicina,Noto,Onsala,Tianma,Zelenchukskaya,andBadarywascorrelatedwithboththeproductionSFXCsoftwarecorrelatorandtheJUCFPGAcorrelator,witheightsubbandsof1024channelseach.Theoutputsignalsaftercorrelationagreewithin1%(Figure4).

Figure4:Thefinalimagesobtainedfromthisscanwiththetwocorrelations.Itcanbeclearlyseenthatbothimagesareidentical,showingacompactsourcewithapeakbrightnessof5.16mJy/beamandanoisermslevelof0.39mJy/beam.Thesynthesizedbeamis3.9x0.86mas,andcontoursstartat3timesthenoiselevelwithincrementsofsquarerootof2

ArpadSzomoru,JointInstituteforVLBIERIC

UpcomingMeetings

IAUSymposium336AstrophysicalMasers:UnlockingtheMysteriesoftheUniverse.(4-8Sept.2017)RegistrationisstillopenfortheInternationalAstronomicalUnionSymposium336onAstrophysicalMaserswhichwillbeheldonSeptember4-8,2017inCagliari(Sardinia),Italy.


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Onthepastfiveyearstherehasbeenanexplosionofworkonmasers,especiallyrelatedtothecosmicdistancescale,thestructureoftheMilkyWay,andthemassesof(AGN)blackholes.Specifictopicsforthissymposiumwillinclude:-TheStructureoftheMilkyWay-LocalGroupCosmology-TheCosmicDistanceScaleandtheHubbleConstant-GalaxyKinematicsandBlackHoleMasses-TheFormationofMassiveStars-PulsationandOutflowsinEvolvedStars-Theoryofmasersandmasersources

Detailsareavailableontheconferencewebsite:http://iaus336.oa-cagliari.inaf.it

47thYoungEuropeanRadioAstronomersConference(YERAC,18-22Sept.2017)TheYoungEuropeanRadioAstronomersConference(YERAC)for2017,willbehostedbytheIstitutodiRadioastronomiainBolognaonSeptember18-22,2017.TheIstitutodiRadioastronomiahostedtheYERACthreetimesinthepast:in1972,1980and1996.

YERAChasbeenheldalmosteveryyearsince1968,hostedbythevariousEuropeanRadioAstronomicalInstitutes.ThepurposeofYERACisforundergraduate,graduateandyoungpost-doctoralstudentsinradioastronomyfromalloverEuropetomeeteachotherandpresenttheirwork.'Europe'includesanycountryfromRussiaintheEasttoPortugalinthewest,plusaffiliatesoftheEuropeanVLBINetwork,RadioNetorothercurrentbodies.Duetoitsnature,YERACcoversallaspectsofradioastronomy,fromtheSunouttothecosmicmicrowavebackground,fromstarsandplanetstothemostdistantgalaxies,usingsingledishandinterferometrictechniques,modelsandtheoreticalwork.

ParticipationinYERACisbynominationonly.Amaximumofabout50participantswillbeaccepted.DirectorsofradioastronomicalinstitutesandUniversityDepartmentsareinvitedtosendonestudentandinformtheorganizationoftheYERACassoonaspossible.

Furtherinformationcanisgivenattheschool’swebsite:http://indico.ira.inaf.it/event/4/.

M.Bondi&T.Venturi,IRAfortheYERAC2017organisingcommittee

2017EuropeanRadioInterferometrySchool(ERIS,16-20Oct.2017)

TheSeventhEuropeanRadioInterferometrySchool(ERIS)willtakeplaceinDwingeloo(TheNetherlands)duringtheweekof16-20October2017.


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ERISwillprovideaweekoflecturesandtutorialsonhowtoachievescientificresultsfromradiointerferometry.Thetopicscoveredbythelectures/tutorialswillinclude:

•Calibrationandimagingofcontinuum,spectralline,andpolarisationdata;•Low-freq.(LOFARdomain),high-freq.(ALMA/IRAMdomain),andVLBI-interferometry;•Extractinginformationfromthedataandinterpretingtheresults;•Choosingthemostsuitablearrayandobservingplanforyourproject.

Participantsareexpectedtobringtheirownlaptops,equippedwithAIPSandCASApre-installed.Exampleswillbedrawnfromm-,cm-andmm-waveinstrumentssuchasLOFAR,JVLA,EVN,e-MERLINandALMA.Furtherinformationcanbefoundattheschoolwebsite,www.astron.nl/eris2017FortheERIS2017SOC:J.McKean(RuG/ASTRON)&H.J.vanLangevelde(JointInstituteforVLBIERIC)