The President of UEC, Shunichi Tano (left) and the Director General of NAOJ, Saku Tsuneta (right), presenting the signed agreement
Credit: NAOJ

 
For the past five years, NAOJ and UEC have been collaborating on the development of a high-performance superconducting receiver to be installed in the ALMA telescope for the enhancement of ALMA capabilities. This joint research is centered on the development of an ultra-wideband receiver that covers two frequency bands (Band 7: 275–373 GHz and Band 8: 385–500 GHz) in the submillimeter-wave region among ten ALMA receiver bands. In the course of the development process, the joint research team developed an ultra-wideband waveguide circuit that greatly expands the frequency bandwidth of observable radio waves and succeeded in the demonstration of a receiver that covers the 275–500 GHz band with one unit for the first time in the world. NAOJ and UEC are also aiming to further improve the performance of the receiver by developing high-quality superconducting device fabrication technology.

With the conclusion of this comprehensive collaboration agreement, NAOJ and UEC will further advance the research on improving the performance of superconducting radio wave receivers, aiming to realize new astronomical observations. In addition to the research on ALMA, the two organizations will also work together to promote the research on improving the performance of the gravitational wave detector KAGRA and applying artificial intelligence and big data analysis technology to the analysis of the Subaru Telescope data. Furthermore, in the future, NAOJ and UEC aim to utilize the high-frequency reception technology cultivated in the astronomical field for the development of social infrastructure in the next era.