The Japanese vision for the Black Hole Explorer mission

• DOI: 10.1117/12.3019968
• Publication Date: 2024-08-23T22:07:35Z
• Authors: Kazunori Akiyama; Kotaro Niinuma; Kazuhiro Hada; Akihiro Doi; Yoshiaki Hagiwara; Aya Higuchi; Mareki Honma; Tomohisa Kawashima; Dimitar Kolev; Shoko Koyama; Sho Masui; Ken Ohsuga; Hidetoshi Sano; Hideki Takami; Yuh Tsunetoe; Yoshinori Uzawa; Takuya Akahori; Yuto Akiyama; Peter Galison; Takayuki J. Hayashi; Tomoya Hirota; Makoto Inoue; Yuhei Iwata; Michael Johnson; Motoki Kino; Yutaro Kofuji; Yosuke Mizuno; Kotaro Moriyama; Hiroshi Nagai; Kenta Nakamura; Shota Notsu; Fumie Ono; Yoko Oya; Tomoaki Oyama; Hannah Rana; Hiromi Saida; Ryo Saito; Yoshihiko Saito; Mahito Sasada; Satoko Sawada-Satoh; Mikiya M. Takahashi; Mieko Takamura; Edward Tong; Hiroyuki Tsuji; Shogo Yoshioka; Yoshimasa Watanabe
• Keywords: High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE); Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA); FOS: Physical sciences; Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics; Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena; Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies; Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM)

The Black Hole Explorer (BHEX) is a next-generation space very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) mission concept that will extend the ground-based millimeter/submillimeter arrays into space. The mission, closely aligned with the science priorities of the Japanese VLBI community, involves an active engagement of this community in the development of the mission, resulting in the formation of the Black Hole Explorer Japan Consortium. Here we present the current Japanese vision for the mission, ranging from scientific objectives to instrumentation. The Consortium anticipates a wide range of scientific investigations, from diverse black hole physics and astrophysics studied through the primary VLBI mode, to the molecular universe explored via a potential single-dish observation mode in the previously unexplored 50-70\,GHz band that would make BHEX the highest-sensitivity explorer ever of molecular oxygen. A potential major contribution for the onboard instrument involves supplying essential elements for its high-sensitivity dual-band receiving system, which includes a broadband 300\,GHz SIS mixer and a space-certified multi-stage 4.5K cryocooler akin to those used in the Hitomi and XRISM satellites by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Additionally, the Consortium explores enhancing and supporting BHEX operations through the use of millimeter/submillimeter facilities developed by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, coupled with a network of laser communication stations operated by the National Institute of Information and Communication Technology.<br/>Submitted to SPIE Conference Series, 17 pages for the main text, 33 pages for the references, 4 figures, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2024<br/>