86-GHz Blazar Imaging on ARISE-VLBA Baselines VLBA Scientific Memo No. 19

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86-GHz Blazar Imaging on ARISE-VLBA Baselines
VLBA Scientific Memo No. 19

Jim Ulvestad

January 29, 1999

Abstract:

The detection threshold between ARISE and a single VLBA telescope is expected to be tex2html_wrap_inline344 mJy at 86 GHz, given nominal mission parameters of a 25-meter orbiting telescope with 8% aperture efficiency and a data rate of 8 Gbit sectex2html_wrap_inline346. This detection threshold corresponds to the inverse Compton limit of tex2html_wrap_inline348 K for a baseline length of 50,000 km, and at least 200 sources should be detectable on such a baseline. The number of detectable sources will drop somewhat below 100 for a data rate of 2 Gbit sectex2html_wrap_inline346, or for a typical brightness temperature of tex2html_wrap_inline352 K. For a baseline length of 100,000 km, the observed brightness temperature would need to be tex2html_wrap_inline354 K for a detection using a VLBA antenna; very few sources would then be detected on an ARISE-VLBA baseline unless the ARISE aperture efficiency is near 30%. Assuming the successful launch of GLAST in 2005, the nominal ARISE mission, working with the VLBA, will be able to image at least 60 gamma-ray blazars with resolution better than 100 light days, or tex2html_wrap_inline356 blazars if a large ground telescope is used to anchor the array.



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