First high-resolution image from the LOFAR radio telescope array
Both, the Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (Bonn) and the Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik (Garching), run stations of the International LOFAR telescope (ILT), coordinated by ASTRON, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy. By connecting the German LOFAR stations with the central stations in the Netherlands, an international group of scientists led by Olaf Wucknitz from the Argelander Institute of Astronomy (AIfA) at Bonn University has now produced the first high-resolution image of a distant quasar at meter radio wavelengths. This wavelength range has not been accessible to such detailed observations before, as the telescopes have to be spaced far apart. The first image showing fine details of the quasar 3C 196 observed at wavelengths between 4 and 10 m was achieved by using just a small fraction of the final LOFAR array that will cover large parts of Europe.
After first tests of the individual antennas, the observations now bring together eight stations of the "LOw Frequency ARray" (LOFAR). Five stations in the Netherlands were connected with three stations in Germany: Effelsberg near Bonn, Tautenburg near Jena and Unterweilenbach near Munich. All antennas were targeted at the quasar 3C 196, a strong radio source at a distance of several billions of light years. "We chose this object for the first tests, because we know its structure very well from observations at shorter wavelengths", explains Olaf Wucknitz (AIfA). "The goal was not to find something new but to see the same or similar structures also at very long wavelengths to confirm that the new instrument really works. Without the German stations, we only saw a fuzzy blob, no sub-structure. Once we included the long baselines, all the details showed up."
Figure 1: Radio images of the quasar 3C 196 at 4 - 10 m wavelength (30 - 80 MHz frequency). Left: Data from LOFAR stations in the Netherlands only. The resolution is not sufficient to identify any substructure. Right: Blow-up produced with data from the German stations included. The resolution of this image is about ten times better and allows for the first time to distinguish fine details in this wavelength range. The colours are chosen to resemble what the human eye would see if it were sensitive to radiation at a wavelength ten million times larger than visible light. Image: Olaf Wucknitz, Bonn University.
Observations at wavelengths covered by LOFAR are not new. In fact, the pioneers of radio astronomy started their work in the same range. However, they were only able to produce very rough maps of the sky and to measure just the positions and intensities of objects. "We are now returning to this long neglected wavelength range", says Michael Garrett, general director of ASTRON (The Netherlands), the research institute in charge of the international LOFAR project. "But this time we are able to see much fainter objects and, even more important, to image very fine details. This offers entirely new opportunities for astrophysical research."
"The high resolution and sensitivity of LOFAR mean that we are really entering uncharted territory, and the analysis of the data was correspondingly intricate", adds Olaf Wucknitz. "We had to develop completely new techniques. Nevertheless, producing the images went surprisingly smoothly in the end. The quality of the data is stunning." The next step for Wucknitz is to use LOFAR to study so-called gravitational lenses, where the light from distant objects is distorted by large mass concentrations. High resolution is required to see the interesting structures of these objects. This research would be impossible without the international stations.
The resolution of an array of radio telescopes, i.e. the size of the smallest structures that it can resolve and distinguish, depends directly on the separation between the telescopes. The larger these baselines are relative to the observed wavelength, the better the achieved resolution. Currently the German stations provide the first long baselines of the array and improve the resolution by a factor of ten over just using the Dutch stations.
"We want to use LOFAR to search for signals from very early epochs of the Universe", says Benedetta Ciardi from the Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik (MPA) in Garching. "Having a completely theoretical background myself, I never had thought that I would get excited over a radio image, but this result is really fascinating."
Further improvement should come very soon with observations at slightly shorter wavelengths, which will increase the resolution by another factor of four. In addition, the imaging quality will improve significantly with more stations coming online soon. The image of quasar 3C 196 therefore is just the first but very important step.
"The image quality of the final array depends crucially on the uniformity with which large areas are covered with stations", says Anton Zensus, director at Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIfR) and in charge of the VLBI research group at the institute. "The German stations are already an indispensable contribution to the international array. What we are still lacking, however, is a station in northern Germany to close the gap between our stations and the ones of our Dutch friends. This would increase the image quality a lot."
Figure 2: The three German LOFAR stations contributing to this result: Left: First German station (MPIfR, Bonn) next to the 100m radio telescope at Effelsberg; Center: Details of antennas at the station near Unterweilenbach (MPA, Garching); Right: Tautenburg station on the site of the Tautenburg Observatory (TLS) with the dome of the largest optical telescope in Germany. Another station in Bornim near Potsdam is waiting for its network connection, one near Jülich will be constructed soon. Fotos: MPIfR (J. Anderson), MPA (T. Krieg), TLS
Notes:
The International LOFAR telescope (ILT) is being primarily built by ASTRON, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, in collaboration with a number of international partners. The LOFAR station at Effelsberg is operated by MPIfR, the one in Unterweilenbach by MPA and the Tautenburg station by Thüringer Landessternwarte. The German LOFAR partners form GLOW, the German LOng Wavelength consortium.
In its final stages, the international LOFAR array will consist of at least 36 stations in the Netherlands and eight stations in Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Sweden. Currently 22 stations are operational and more are being set up in Bornim near Potsdam (Germany), Chilbolton (UK), Onsala (Sweden) and Nançay (France). Each station consists of hundreds of dipole antennas that are connected electronically to form a huge radio telescope that will cover half of Europe. With the novel techniques introduced by LOFAR, it is no longer necessary to point the radio antennas at specific objects of interest. Instead it will be possible to observe several regions of the sky simultaneously.
The data from all LOFAR stations are transfered via powerful fibre optic cables in research networks to the computing centre in Groningen in the north of the Netherlands. There they are combined and preprocessed for the final analysis which can be performed either there or at any of the participating institutes, in this case at the Argelander-Institute for Astronomy in Bonn.
Further Information:
Argelander-Institut für Astronomie (AIfA), Bonn.
Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie. (MPIfR).
Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik (MPA), Garching.
German LOng Wavelength (GLOW).
LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR), International Web site.
LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR), German Web site.
Earlier LOFAR Press Releases:
LOFAR maps the radio sky at Effelsberg, Press Release PRI (MPIfR) 12/2009 (4), December 17, 2009. First high-band image of the world's most modern radio telescope, taken with the Effelsberg LOFAR station.
LOFAR observes across borders, Press Release ASTRON, September 23, 2009. Astronomers have succeeded in the first joint observations between the LOFAR stations in Exloo (The Netherlands) and Effelsberg (Germany).
LOFAR picks up speed, Press Release PRI (MPIfR) 12/2007 (4), December 11, 2007. First international LOFAR station in Effelsberg starts observations.
First high quality wide field LOFAR image, Press Release ASTRON, April 25, 2007. First deep wide field image made with the first LOFAR stations in the Netherlands at a frequency of about 50 MHz.
Contact:
Dr. Olaf Wucknitz,
Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, Universität Bonn.
Phone: +49-228-73-1772
E-mail: wucknitz@astro.uni-bonn.de
Dr. James Anderson,
LOFAR Station Manager Effelsberg,
Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn.
Phone: +49-228-525-356
E-mail: anderson@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
Dr. Norbert Junkes,
Public Outreach,
Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn.
Phone: +49-228-525-399
E-mail: njunkes@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
