Ciriaco Goddi.

Jatos astrofísicos são fenômenos energéticos bastante presentes na astronomia. Sua emissão abrange diferentes escalas, de estrelas jovens a buracos negros supermassivos e núcleos ativos de galáxias. Acredita-se que jatos desempenham um papel central no controle da acresção de massa em proto-estrelas e buracos negros, assim como o crescimento de galáxia via AGN feedback; apesar de sua importância, seu mecanismo de formação ainda é amplamente desconhecido. Isso se deve principalmente aos limites observacionais: a ejeção e a colimação do jato ocorrem nas regiões mais internas próximas à fonte central, sendo necessária uma resolução angular extremamente alta para observá-las. Neste contexto, a interferometria em ondas de rádio, e particularmente, a interferometria de longa linha de base (Very Long Baseline Interferometry, VLBI) realizada nos menores comprimentos de ondas de rádio (1mm ou menos), produz a maior resolução angular possível de ser obtida em solo na astronomia atual. O projeto proposto tem como objetivo estudar observacionalmente os jatos de AGNs e de proto-estrelas usando os melhores interferômetros de rádio da Terra. Iso inclúi o Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) e o Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), que fez um avanço histórico publicando a primeira imagem de um buraco negro (divulgada em Abril de 2019). Juntos, o EHT e o ALMA estão abrindo caminho para uma nova era da ciência. Em particular, o programa de observação proposto aqui permitirá um grande passo para a compreensão dos processos de acresção e de perda de massa na formação de estrelas de alta massa, do papel dos campos magnéticos na ejeção dos jatos e na regulação na acresção de massa dos buracos negros em AGNs.

New science in Radio Astronomy: applying cutting-edge technology to enhance the entire data chain, from receiver to final output

This programme joints the efforts of theorists and observers in the Italian community, with a solid expertise in the field of star-formation research, with the aim of investigating the role of magnetic fields in the star-formation process, in particular of massive O and B stars. According to the most accredited theories for the formation of new stars, the magnetic field plays a fundamental role in establishing the timescales and the morphology of the observed structures. Our goal is to confirm or disprove the predictions of the theory and to establish the role of magnetic fields relative to gravity and turbulence in the star-formation process.

The Einstein Telescope (ET) is a proposed underground infrastructure to host a third-generation, gravitational-wave observatory.

One of the prime objectives of the Large Latin American Millimeter Array (LLAMA) is (sub)mm Very Long Baseline Interferometry (mm-VLBI) as the first one in a series of antennas that would make up the first interferometry VLBI network in Latin America. VLBI above 200 GHz (< 1.5 &#955;mm) is a largely unexplored spectral domain and LLAMA, when operating with ALMA, will increase the angular resolution by ~10x compared to ALMA alone.&#10;&#10;A global mm-VLBI network will achieve the highest possible high angular resolution available in all of astronomy. Such array will allow us to address one of the most fundamental predictions of General Relativity: the existence of Black Holes (BHs). Their defining feature is the event horizon, the surface that even light cannot escape. However, while there are many convincing BH candidates in the universe, there is still no conclusive proof for the event horizon. So, does general relativity really hold in its most extreme limit and is there an event horizon? To answer such questions we aim to obtain the first direct images of BHs on event horizon scales using VLBI: Sgr A*, the super-massive BH in the center of our Milky Way, and its counterpart in the nearby galaxy M 87.&#10;&#10;To conduct the experiment requires establishing the required global mm-VLBI network of radio telescopes operating above 200 GHz, which we refer to as the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). BlackHoleCam is participating in the technical and operational implementation of the EHT. Detailed theoretical simulations show that a BH embedded in an optically thin emission region would lead to a sharp ?shadow? cast by the event horizon which can be detected by the EHT. Preliminary non-imaging observations with the EHT have already successfully detected emission around Sgr A* on event horizon scales. The EHT is in the process of adding stations and sensitivity that will enable imaging observations within the next few years.&#10;&#10;The aim of our project is to operationally make LLAMA VLBI-ready and prepare for and conduct the first VLBI observations ALMA, the EHT, and other (sub)mm telescopes.

The BHC project is funded through an ERC synergy grant (Total funds: 14 Million Euros) and includes about fifty people affiliated to several institutes in Europe and beyond: Radboud University Nijmegen, JIVE, University of Amsterdam (the Netherlands), MPIfR, Goethe University (Germany), IRAM (Germany/France/Spain), Onsala observatory (Sweden), INAF IT-ARC (Italy), Rhodes University (South-Africa). BHC is part of the Event Horizon Telescope Consortium. BHC is part of the global Event Horizon Telescope Consortium, whose main goal is to image and simulate supermassive black holes using the VLBI technique at mm wavelengths.