An international team of astronomers used the state-of-the-art capability of VERA, a Japanese network of radio telescopes operated by NAOJ, to uncover valuable clues about how rapidly growing “young” supermassive black holes form, grow, and possibly evolve into more powerful quasars.
A research team from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), Yamaguchi University, Ibaraki University, the University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, and other institutions monitored the supernova SN 2024iss for approximately one year using the Japanese VLBI Network (JVN). Radio emission was detected 10 and 23 days after the explosion. The observations indicate that the shock wave produced by the explosion was expanding faster than predicted by a standard theoretical model, suggesting that dense gas existed close to the progenitor star. This finding suggests that the star had a complex mass-loss history shortly before the explosion.
We have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for an international VLBI network that will combine approximately 20 radio telescopes in the East Asian region in Japan, South Korea, and China to achieve resolution equivalent to a giant radio telescope with a maximum diameter of 5,500 km.