0000000000133217

AUTHOR

M. I. Ratner

Discovery of shell-like radio-structure in SN1993J

The radio-luminous supernova SN 1993J in M81 offers an unprecedented opportunity to study with high linear resolution the details of the growth of a supernova radio structure by means of the VLBI technique.

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High precision astrometry with closure constraints: The triplet 1803+784/1928+738/2007+777

Abstract Improvements in the technique of high precision differential astrometry in VLBI based on the use of triangles of radio sources are reported. Such geometry provides new constraints by taking advantage of “closure”. Results on the relative separations (ranging from 4.6 to 6.8°) of the sources in the triangle 1803+784/1928+738/2007+777 from ionosphere-free delays are shown and “sky closure” verified. A comparison with previous results on the pair 1928+738/2007+777 is also presented.

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High Precision Astrometry Over Large Angular Scales with Closure Constraints: The Triplet 1803+784/1928+738/2007+777

The technique of differential astrometry using the phase-delay VLBI observable promises fractional precisions of ~2 × 10−9 in the determination of the separation of sources 5° or 6° apart on the sky (Guirado et al. 1995a; Lara et al. 1996). In our present research we seek further improvement in this technique through using triplets of radio sources, which provide a closure constraint in the determination of relative angular positions. This constraint not only eases the resolution of the phase-cycle ambiguities (a major problem in the least-squares approach to astrometry with phase delays), but it also strongly constrains the space of allowable parameter values.

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