MASK: Multi-frequency AGN Survey with the KVN

Available VLBI sources at high frequencies (e.g. >22GHz) are very limited - mainly due to atmospheric fluctuations that degrade coherence time and a power-law energy distribution of particles in case of AGNs. However, simultaneous multi-frequency VLBI receiving system of the Korean VLBI Network (KVN) and its powerful VLBI phase calibration technique offer benefits in finding more weak sources at millimeter wavelengths. Based on this aspect, multi-frequency AGN survey with the KVN (MASK) project, which aims to densify an existing a VLBI catalog of extragalactic radio sources at 22/43/86/129GHz is proposed as a KVN legacy program. We selected 1220 sources of AGNs that include known VLBI sources and new fringe-detected sources using the KVN at K-band (22GHz). Among them, 138 sources were observed as pilot experiments at 22/43/86/129GHz simultaneously and excellent VLBI detection results are achieved. Therefore, we expect that MASK will open a new era in VLBI science at millimeter wavelengths by providing unprecedented number of available sources in the Universe.