2025/03/14 by Ezequiel Albentosa-Ruíz, I. Martí‐Vidal, Albentosa-Ruiz, Ezequiel +5 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #FOS: Physical sciences #Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2503.11258
openalex publication_date 2025/03/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
This document presents a novel method for the intra-field calibration and imaging of the radio source SgrA*, observed with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). SgrA* is a complex source comprising two components: the compact core (which exhibits high variability) and the extended minispiral (which is relatively stable over short timescales). The novel approach consists in a self-calibration method that employs the extended structure of the source (the minispiral) to calibrate the flux variability of the compact core. The algorithm involves several steps: (1) an initial CLEAN image is generated for the entire source; (2) the core is subtracted, leaving only the minispiral; (3) a two-component visibility model is constructed, comprising the minispiral and the core; (4) the model is fitted to the data, retrieving flux density parameters for each integration time; and (5) the data are scaled and calibrated, resulting in nearly constant brightness for the minispiral and variable flux for the core. The implementation of this algorithm through a script in the CASA package is described, detailing the configuration parameters and the steps involved. The success of the method is demonstrated through light curves of SgrA* observed on day 21 April 2018 in Band 6, as part of the 2018 EHT campaign. The light curves have been produced for Stokes I (total intensity), linear polarized intensity, EVPA (electric vector position angle), and Stokes V (circular polarization), providing valuable insights into the variability of this radio source.