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The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

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Jonathan Weintroub

Center for Astrophysics

DSP Lead, Submillimeter Array (SMA) and Event Horizon Telescope (EHT)

Jonathan Weintroub

jweintroub@cfa.harvard.edu

About

Jonathan Weintroub is an electrical engineer and scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. He leads the digital signal processing group for the Submillimeter Array (SMA), an eight element open-skies radio interferometer located on Maunakea in Hawaii. The SMA operates at frequencies of 230 GHz and above, and thus demands very wideband signal processing. Dr. Weintroub led the group which designed and deployed the "SMA Wideband Astronomical ROACH2 Machine'" (SWARM) a 48 GHz bandwidth correlator and phased array, which transformed the utility of the SMA when it was commissioned as the primary facility back end in 2017. He facilitated instrument development for the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) a global VLBI interferometer, which includes the SMA as a station, and which made the first image of a supermassive black hole on Schwarzschild radius scales, revealing the shadow due to strong field general relativity.

Ph.D. (Applied Physics) Harvard University, 1998; M.Sc., 1986, and B.Sc., 1983, (Electronics Engineering) University of Cape Town)

Telescopes and Instruments

South Pole Telescope, Antarctica

The South Pole Telescope (SPT) is a submillimeter observatory in Antarctica that performs measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and the dark energy driving the acceleration of the expansion of the universe. The observatory is also part of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), a globe-spanning multi-telescope project that captured the first image of a black hole at the center of a nearby galaxy. The SPT project is a collaboration between the University of Chicago, the University of California at Berkeley, Case Western Reserve University, the University of Illinois, and the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian.

Visit the South Pole Telescope, Antarctica Website

Event Horizon Telescope (EHT)

Black holes are found in the centers of most galaxies, where they can influence star formation and the distribution of atoms in the environment surrounding them. However, direct observation of a black hole is difficult because it is so small relative to their masses. Founded by Shep Doeleman at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) captured the first image ever taken of a black hole: specifically, the ring of light produced by matter just as it falls into the black hole at the center of the nearby galaxy M87. The EHT is a virtual observatory consisting of telescopes spanning the planet, from Greenland to the South Pole. The international collaboration operating the EHT includes observatories affiliated with the Center for Astrophysics: the CfA’s Submillimeter Array (SMA) and the Greenland Telescope.

Visit the EHT Website

The Greenland Telescope

The polar regions are challenging environments for humans, but worthwhile for astronomy with their long nights and often-clear skies. The Greenland Telescope is the latest telescope to be placed in the Arctic, as part of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project to capture the first images of black holes. The telescope operates in the region of the spectrum where infrared and radio light meet, which is ideal for looking into the dense central region of the Milky Way, where our galaxy’s supermassive black hole resides. The Greenland Telescope is jointly operated by the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian and the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy & Astrophysics (ASIAA) of Taiwan.

Visit the Greenland Telescope Website

The Submillimeter Array - Maunakea, HI

Located near the summit of Maunakea on the Big Island of Hawaii, the Submillimeter Array (SMA) is one of the flagship observatories of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. The observatory consists of eight radio dishes working together as one telescope, giving astronomers a window on a wide range of astronomical objects and phenomena: planets and comets in our own Solar System; the birth of stars and planets; and the supermassive black holes hidden at the centers of the Milky Way and other galaxies. The SMA is operated jointly by the CfA and the Academia Sinica in Taiwan.

Visit the Submillimeter Array Website