Millimeter Wave Interferometry

Abstract

Millimeter interferometers give high-resolution (few arc sec) information on cool (100–1000 K) matter, which cannot be easily studied by other techniques. The objects include regions of high extinction (A_V ~ 10–200 mag), planetary atmospheres, outflows from forming stars, mass loss from stellar envelopes and molecular clouds in galaxies. The advantages which mm arrays have over cm arrays are the greater number of molecular spectral lines and the larger linewidths, which allow a higher sensitivity for the same angular resolution and system performance. In the continuum mm arrays can observe solar system objects, stellar winds, compact HII regions, galaxies and quasars in thermal and synchrotron emission, and thermal radiation from dust in dense clouds. The main technical challenges are (1) sensitivity, which limits the longest usable antenna spacing, (2) small field of view, and (3) atmospheric effects, which introduce phase noise. For the next 5–10 years, the main arrays will be those of the Berkeley-Illinois-Maryland collaboration, Cal Tech, Nobeyama and IRAM. There are proposals to add more antennas to existing arrays, to build new ones, and to extend their cover to higher frequencies.