Science at Very High Angular Resolution with the Square Kilometre Array

L. E. H. Godfrey; H. Bignall; S. Tingay; L. Harvey-Smith; M. Kramer; S. Burke-Spolaor; J. C. A. Miller-Jones; M. Johnston-Hollitt; R. Ekers; S. Gulyaev

doi:10.1071/AS11050

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Science at Very High Angular Resolution with the Square Kilometre Array

L. E. H. Godfrey ^A ^H , H. Bignall ^A , S. Tingay ^A , L. Harvey-Smith ^B , M. Kramer ^C ^D , S. Burke-Spolaor ^B ^E , J. C. A. Miller-Jones ^A , M. Johnston-Hollitt ^F , R. Ekers ^A ^B and S. Gulyaev ^G

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia

^B CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, Australia Telescope National Facility, PO Box 76, Epping, NSW 2121, Australia

^C Max-Planck-Institut fur Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hugel 69, D-53121 Bonn, Germany

^D Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK

^E Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA

^F School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, 6140, New Zealand

^G Institute for Radio Astronomy and Space Research, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

^H Corresponding author. Email: L.Godfrey@curtin.edu.au

Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia 29(1) 42-53 https://doi.org/10.1071/AS11050
Submitted: 14 September 2011 Accepted: 24 November 2011 Published: 16 December 2011

Journal Compilation © Astronomical Society of Australia JYEAR

Abstract

Preliminary specifications for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) call for 25% of the total collecting area of the dish array to be located at distances greater than 180 km from the core, with a maximum baseline of at least 3000 km. The array will provide angular resolution θ ⪅ 40–2 mas at 0.5–10 GHz with image sensitivity reaching ⪅50 nJy beam^–1 in an 8-hour integration with 500-MHz bandwidth. Given these specifications, the high-angular-resolution component of the SKA will be capable of detecting brightness temperatures ⪅200 K with milliarcsecond-scale angular resolution. The aim of this article is to bring together in one place a discussion of the broad range of new and important high-angular-resolution science that will be enabled by the SKA, and in doing so, address the merits of long baselines as part of the SKA. We highlight the fact that high angular resolution requiring baselines greater than 1000 km provides a rich science case with projects from many areas of astrophysics, including important contributions to key SKA science.

Keyword: telescopes

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