Synonyms
VLBI
Definition
Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). correlation interferometry of celestial objects with separately operating radio antennas equipped with frequency standards, off-line data reduction remotely by a digital correlator.
e-VLBI. VLBI with transmission of data by a high-speed network instead of storage media.
Introduction
Very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) is a radio-astronomical technique to achieve high spatial resolution in astronomical imaging (of the order of milliarcseconds), involving antennas separated by thousands of kilometers (a “VLBI network”). Because the reconstruction of the image depends on the precise knowledge of the vector (hereafter: baseline) connecting the two antennas of a station pair, the a priori knowledge of the image can be used to determine the baseline vector by inverting the measurement equation, with a precision corresponding to a fraction of the wavelength. Such an a priori knowledge is naturally given if the...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Bare, C., Clark, B. G., Kellermann, K. I., Cohen, M. H., and Jauncey, D. L., 1967. Interferometer Experiment with Independent Local Oscillators. Science, 157, 189–191.
Carter, W. E., Robertson, D. S., and Mackay, J. R., 1985. Geodetic radio interferometric surveying: Applications and results. Journal of Geophysical Research, 90, 4577–4587.
Charlot, P., 2009. Space VLBI and the radio reference frame. In Hagiwara, Y., et al. (eds.), Approaching micro-arcsecond resolution with VSOP-2: Astrophysics and technologies. ASP Conference Series, Vol. 402, pp. 480–485.
Fomalont, E., Kopeikin, S., Jones, D., Honma, M., and Titov, O., 2010. Recent VLBA/VERA/IVS tests of general relativity. In Klioner, S. A., Seidelmann, P. K., and Soffel, M. H. (eds.), Relativity in Fundamental Astronomy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 291–295.
Garrett, M. A., Porcas, R. W., Pedlar, A., Muxlow, T. W. B., and Garrington, S. T., 1999. Wide-field VLBI imaging. New Astronomy Reviews, 43, 519–522.
Heinkelmann, R., and Schuh, H., 2010. Very long baseline interferometry: accuracy and relativistic tests. In Klioner, S. A., Seidelmann, P. K., and Soffel, M. H. (eds.), Relativity in Fundamental Astronomy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 286–290.
Herring, T. A., Shapiro, I. I., Clark, T. A., Ma, C., and Ryan, C., 1986. Geodesy by radio interferometry: Evidence for contemporary plate motion. Journal of Geophysical Research, 91, 8341–8347.
Högbom, J. A., 1974. Aperture synthesis with a non-regular distribution of interferometer baselines. Astronomy & Astrophysics Supplement, 15, 417–426.
Klioner, S. A., Gerlach, E., and Soffel, M. H., 2010. Relativistic aspects of rotational motion of celestial bodies. In Klioner, S. A., Seidelmann, P. K., and Soffel, M. H. (eds.), Relativity in Fundamental Astronomy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 112–123.
Kondo, T., Heki, K., and Takahashi, Y., 1987. Pacific plate motion detected by the VLBI experiments conducted in 1984-1985. Radio Research Laboratories Journal, 34, 1–14.
Ma, C., Arias, F., Bianco, G., Boboltz, D., Bolotin, S., Charlot, P., Engelhardt, G., Fey, A., Gaume, R., Gontier, A.-M., Heinkelmann, R., Jacobs, C., Kurdubov, S., Lambert, S., Malkin, Z., Nothnagel, A., Petrov, L., Skurikhina, E., Sokolova, J., Souchay, J., Sovers, O., Tesmer, V., Titov, O., Wang, G., Zharov, V., Böckmann, S., Collioud, A., Gipson, J., Gordon, D., Lytvyn, S., MacMillan, D., and Ojha, R., 2009. The Second Realization of the International Celestial Reference Frame by Very Long Baseline Interferometry (IERS Technical Note 35). Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Verlag des Bundesamtes für Kartographie und Geodäsie.
Ma, C., et al., 1998. The International Celestial Reference Frame as realized by very long baseline interferometry. Astronomical Journal, 116, 516–546.
Readhead, A. C. S., Walker, R. C., Pearson, T. J., and Cohen, M. H., 1980. Mapping radio sources with uncalibrated visibility data. Nature, 295, 137–140.
Ryle, M., and Vonberg, D. D., 1946. Solar radiation at 175 Mc/s. Nature, 158, 339–340.
Schlüter, W., and Behrend, B., 2007. The International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS): current capabilities and future prospects. Journal of Geodesy, 81, 397–387.
Schwab, F. R., and Cotton, W. D., 1983. Global fringe search techniques for VLBI. Astronomical Journal, 88, 688–694.
Sudarshan, E. C. G., 1963. Equivalence of semiclassical and quantum mechanical descriptions of statistical light beams. Physical Review Letters, 10, 277–279.
Tornatore, V., and Charlot, P., 2007. The impact of radio source structure on European geodetic VLBI measurements. Journal of Geodesy, 81, 469–478.
van Cittert, P. H., 1934. Die wahrscheinliche Schwingungsverteilung in einer von einer Lichtquelle direkt oder mittels einer Linse beleuchteten Ebene. Physica, 1, 201–210.
Zernike, F., 1938. The concept of degree of coherence and its application to optical problems. Physica, 5, 785–795.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Wiesemeyer, H., Nothnagel, A. (2011). Very Long Baseline Interferometry. In: Gupta, H.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8702-7_99
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8702-7_99
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-8701-0
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-8702-7
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences