用于扩展事件视界望远镜的南非候选台址评估
Evaluation of South African Candidate Sites for an Expanded Event Horizon Telescope
AI总结：
本研究针对事件视界望远镜（EHT）全球扩展需求，评估南非三处候选毫米波段台址，发现至少两处潜力台址，其性能多数时段优于现有EHT台站，将助力下一代EHT黑洞成像研究。
摘要：
事件视界望远镜（Event Horizon Telescope, EHT）的全球扩展将在新地理位置战略性增设天线，大幅提升波长λ~1毫米的EHT阵列的灵敏度和成像保真度。拟建的南非EHT台站可依托显著的地理优势、本地基础设施与射电天文专业技术，还能与纳米比亚的非洲毫米望远镜（Africa Millimetre Telescope）形成强协同效应。我们利用气候模拟与天线灵敏度估算，对南非三个候选毫米波段台址开展评估，发现至少两处具备潜力。在EHT典型的4月观测窗口内，这些台址的性能与部分现有EHT台站相当；而在一年中大部分时段，尤其是南半球冬季，其表现更优于现有台站。结果表明，选址合理的南非EHT台站将对下一代EHT目标及相关黑洞成像科学产生重大积极影响。
英文摘要：
Global expansion of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) will see the strategic addition of antennas at new geographical locations, transforming the sensitivity and imaging fidelity of the $λ\sim 1$\,mm EHT array. A possible South African EHT station would leverage a strong geographical advantage, local infrastructure, and radio astronomy expertise, and have strong synergies with the Africa Millimetre Telescope in Namibia. We assessed three South African candidate millimetre sites using climatological simulations and antenna sensitivity estimates, and found at least two promising sites. These sites are comparable to some existing EHT stations during the typical April EHT observing window and outperform them during most of the year, especially the southern hemisphere winter. The results suggest that a strategically placed South African EHT station will have a sizable, positive impact on next-generation EHT objectives and the resulting black hole imaging science.
机构、总结、中文摘要均由AI分析而来，可能存在错误，请以论文正文为准。
