Abstract

Contributed Talk - Splinter FutureRadio

Monday, 09 September 2024, 15:15   (S26)

Space VLBI: past and future

Yuri Kovalev
MPIfR

The German community has been a pivotal participant in both successful Space VLBI missions, VSOP and RadioAstron. This involvement stems from a strong scientific interest in high angular resolution radio astronomy, supported by one of the most sensitive ground-based radio telescopes, Effelsberg, as well as advanced correlation capabilities used for the space data. Future centimeter-wavelength Space VLBI experiments will enable scientists to delve deeper into the scattering properties of the interstellar medium, investigate the nature of cosmic objects with extreme brightness, and study plasma instabilities in AGN jets. The phased SKA-mid will serve as a unique ground-based component of such future missions, significantly enhancing the sensitivity of ground-to-space interferometry. Millimeter Space VLBI, currently being developed under the BHEX project, will facilitate the study of photon rings and allow precise measurements of fundamental black hole parameters, black hole demographics, and the formation and collimation of AGN jets. This presentation will explore the lessons learned from past Space VLBI missions and the exciting new opportunities that lie ahead.