Microwave Receiving System Based on Cryogenic Sensors for the Optical Big Telescope Alt-Azimuth

Abstract

This article presents the results of evaluating the possibility of conducting radio astronomy studies in the windows of atmospheric transparency ~100, ~230, and ~350 GHz using the optical Big Telescope Alt-Azimuthal (BTA) of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SAO RAS). A list of some promising astronomical tasks is proposed. The astroclimat conditions at the BTA site and possible optical, cryogenic, and mechanical interfaces for mounting a superconducting radio receiver at the focus of the optical telescope are considered. As a receiving system, arrays of detectors cooled to ~0.3 K based on the superconductor–insulator–normal metal–insulator–superconductor (SINIS) structure are proposed. The implementation of the project will make it possible to use the BTA site of the SAO RAS not only to solve some astronomical problems (it is possible to consider the implementation of a single observatory, the VLBI (very-long-baseline interferometry) mode in the Suffa, EHT (Event Horizon Telescope), and Millimetron projects), but it will also be used to test various cryogenic detectors in a real observatory.

Keywords

• radioastronomy
• superconducting sensors
• SINIS detectors
• optical telescope
• BTA SAO RAS