The Name of the Project: Studies with Telescopes of Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre within the Day of Variability of Extragalactic Radio sources and Several Days (RISE)

Project Identification No. 1.1.1.2/VIAA/2/18/363

Project Acronym: RISE

The project is implemented within the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Operational Programme ‘Growth and Employment 1.1.1 Specific Support Objective ‘Increase the Research and Innovation Capacity of Latvian Research institutions and the Ability to Attract External Funding by Investing in Human Resources and Infrastructure’ 1.1.1.2 within the framework of the measure ‘Support for Postdoctoral Research’ project ‘Support for the Implementation of Postdoctoral Research’, Agreement No. 1.1.1.2/16/I/001.

Project Duration: 1/2/2019–31/7/2020

Project Funding:
Total approved costs are EUR 66,902.94 and they are financed from the following sources:

• European Regional Development Fund funding –EUR 56,867.49, which is 85.0% of the total eligible costs;
• Government funding – EUR 6,690.29, which is 10.0% of the total eligible costs;
• Ventspils University of Applied Sciences funding – EUR 3,345.16, which is 5.0% of the total eligible costs.

Brief Description and Aim of the Project:

The aim of the project is to obtain unique observations of intraday variability (IDV) for different types of Active Galaxy Nuclei (AGN) with VIRAC radio telescopes, using their technical and time capabilities. Further analysis of these data will provide insights into the subtleties of IDVs and the intraday variability of AGNs, which are often unavailable due to the episodic nature and short duration of existing observations.

In addition, it is planned to study the communication between IDV in the radio and optical range, as well as IDV communication with long-term variability in a wide radio frequency range. Cooperation is being prepared with the ‘Sardinia’ and ‘Medicina’ radio astronomy observatories in Italy, as well as with interested groups of scientists carrying out AGN research in the optical and other ranges. In order to obtain maximum information from observational data, it is planned to apply modern computational mathematical methods, such as wavelet analysis, parametric digital spectral analysis and various prediction methods. Based on the possibility to obtain high-quality radio images, with the participation of VIRAC radio telescopes in the VLBI network EVN, it is planned to determine the relationships between changes in IDV and changes in the angular structure of the studied radio sources.