127 research outputs found
Radio Frequency Interference Mitigation
Radio astronomy observational facilities are under constant upgradation and
development to achieve better capabilities including increasing the time and
frequency resolutions of the recorded data, and increasing the receiving and
recording bandwidth. As only a limited spectrum resource has been allocated to
radio astronomy by the International Telecommunication Union, this results in
the radio observational instrumentation being inevitably exposed to undesirable
radio frequency interference (RFI) signals which originate mainly from
terrestrial human activity and are becoming stronger with time. RFIs degrade
the quality of astronomical data and even lead to data loss. The impact of RFIs
on scientific outcome is becoming progressively difficult to manage. In this
article, we motivate the requirement for RFI mitigation, and review the RFI
characteristics, mitigation techniques and strategies. Mitigation strategies
adopted at some representative observatories, telescopes and arrays are also
introduced. We also discuss and present advantages and shortcomings of the four
classes of RFI mitigation strategies, applicable at the connected causal
stages: preventive, pre-detection, pre-correlation and post-correlation. The
proper identification and flagging of RFI is key to the reduction of data loss
and improvement in data quality, and is also the ultimate goal of developing
RFI mitigation techniques. This can be achieved through a strategy involving a
combination of the discussed techniques in stages. Recent advances in high
speed digital signal processing and high performance computing allow for
performing RFI excision of large data volumes generated from large telescopes
or arrays in both real time and offline modes, aiding the proposed strategy.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figures, Chinese version accepted for publication in
Acta Astronomica Sinica; English version to appear in Chinese Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Installation and Use of Pulsar Search Software
Searching for radio pulsars typically requires a bespoke software pipeline to
efficiently make new discoveries. In this paper we describe the search process,
provide a tool for installing pulsar software, and give an example of a pulsar
search.Comment: Tutorial on tempo2 presented at the Beijing pulsar conference during
2011. To appear in "Astronomical Research and Technology" Vol.9, No.3, page
21
Searches for radio transients
Exploration of the transient Universe is an exciting and fast-emerging area
within radio astronomy. Known transient phenomena range in time scales from
sub-nanoseconds to years or longer, thus spanning a huge range in time domain
and hinting a rich diversity in their underlying physical processes. Transient
phenomena are likely locations of explosive or dynamic events and they offer
tremendous potential to uncover new physics and astrophysics. A number of
upcoming next-generation radio facilities and recent advances in computing and
instrumentation have provided a much needed impetus for this field which has
remained a relatively uncharted territory for the past several decades. In this
paper we focus mainly on the class of phenomena that occur on very short time
scales (i.e. from milliseconds to nanoseconds), known as {\it
fast transients}, the detections of which involve considerable signal
processing and data management challenges, given the high time and frequency
resolutions required in their explorations, the role of propagation effects to
be considered and a multitude of deleterious effects due to radio frequency
interference. We will describe the techniques, strategies and challenges
involved in their detections and review the world-wide efforts currently under
way, both through scientific discoveries enabled by the ongoing large-scale
surveys at Parkes and Arecibo, as well as technical developments involving the
exploratory use of multi-element array instruments such as VLBA and GMRT. Such
developments will undoubtedly provide valuable inputs as next-generation arrays
such as LOFAR and ASKAP are designed and commissioned. With their wider fields
of view and higher sensitivities, these instruments, and eventually the SKA,
hold great potential to revolutionise this relatively nascent field, thereby
opening up exciting new science avenues in astrophysics.Comment: To appear in the special issue of the Bulletin of the Astronomical
Society of India on Transients at different wavelengths, eds D.J. Saikia and
D.A. Green. 21 pages, 5 figures. http://www.ncra.tifr.res.in/~bas
The Millisecond Radio Sky: Transients from a Blind Single Pulse Search
We present the results of a search for transient radio bursts of between
0.125 and 32 millisecond duration in two archival pulsar surveys of
intermediate galactic latitudes with the Parkes multibeam receiver. Fourteen
new neutron stars have been discovered, seven of which belong to the recently
identified "rotating radio transients" (RRATs) class. Here we describe our
search methodology, and discuss the new detections in terms of how the RRAT
population relates to the general population of pulsars. The new detections
indicate (1) that the galactic z-distribution of RRATs in the surveys closely
resembles the distribution of pulsars, with objects up to 0.86 kpc from the
galactic plane; (2) where measurable, the RRAT pulse widths are similar to that
of individual pulses from pulsars of similar period, implying a similar beaming
fraction; and (3) our new detections span a variety of nulling fractions, and
thus we postulate that the RRATs may simply be nulling pulsars that are only
"on" for less than a pulse period. Finally, the newly discovered object PSR
J0941-39 may represent a link between pulsars and RRATs. This bizarre object
was discovered as an RRAT, but in follow-up observations often appeared as a
bright (~10 mJy) pulsar with a low nulling fraction. It is obvious therefore
that a neutron star can oscillate between being an RRAT and a pulsar.
Crucially, the sites of the RRAT pulses are coincident with the pulsar's
emission, implying that the two emission mechanisms are linked, and that RRATs
are not just pulsars observed from different orientations.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, accepted by MNRA
VAST: An ASKAP Survey for Variables and Slow Transients
The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) will give us an
unprecedented opportunity to investigate the transient sky at radio
wavelengths. In this paper we present VAST, an ASKAP survey for Variables and
Slow Transients. VAST will exploit the wide-field survey capabilities of ASKAP
to enable the discovery and investigation of variable and transient phenomena
from the local to the cosmological, including flare stars, intermittent
pulsars, X-ray binaries, magnetars, extreme scattering events, interstellar
scintillation, radio supernovae and orphan afterglows of gamma ray bursts. In
addition, it will allow us to probe unexplored regions of parameter space where
new classes of transient sources may be detected. In this paper we review the
known radio transient and variable populations and the current results from
blind radio surveys. We outline a comprehensive program based on a multi-tiered
survey strategy to characterise the radio transient sky through detection and
monitoring of transient and variable sources on the ASKAP imaging timescales of
five seconds and greater. We also present an analysis of the expected source
populations that we will be able to detect with VAST.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures. Submitted for publication in Pub. Astron. Soc.
Australi
Fast Radio Bursts
The discovery of radio pulsars over a half century ago was a seminal moment
in astronomy. It demonstrated the existence of neutron stars, gave a powerful
observational tool to study them, and has allowed us to probe strong gravity,
dense matter, and the interstellar medium. More recently, pulsar surveys have
led to the serendipitous discovery of fast radio bursts (FRBs). While FRBs
appear similar to the individual pulses from pulsars, their large dispersive
delays suggest that they originate from far outside the Milky Way and hence are
many orders-of-magnitude more luminous. While most FRBs appear to be one-off,
perhaps cataclysmic events, two sources are now known to repeat and thus
clearly have a longer-lived central engine. Beyond understanding how they are
created, there is also the prospect of using FRBs -- as with pulsars -- to
probe the extremes of the Universe as well as the otherwise invisible
intervening medium. Such studies will be aided by the high implied all-sky
event rate: there is a detectable FRB roughly once every minute occurring
somewhere on the sky. The fact that less than a hundred FRB sources have been
discovered in the last decade is largely due to the small fields-of-view of
current radio telescopes. A new generation of wide-field instruments is now
coming online, however, and these will be capable of detecting multiple FRBs
per day. We are thus on the brink of further breakthroughs in the
short-duration radio transient phase space, which will be critical for
differentiating between the many proposed theories for the origin of FRBs. In
this review, we give an observational and theoretical introduction at a level
that is accessible to astronomers entering the field.Comment: Invited review article for The Astronomy and Astrophysics Revie
Fast Radio Bursts
The discovery of radio pulsars over a half century ago was a seminal moment
in astronomy. It demonstrated the existence of neutron stars, gave a powerful
observational tool to study them, and has allowed us to probe strong gravity,
dense matter, and the interstellar medium. More recently, pulsar surveys have
led to the serendipitous discovery of fast radio bursts (FRBs). While FRBs
appear similar to the individual pulses from pulsars, their large dispersive
delays suggest that they originate from far outside the Milky Way and hence are
many orders-of-magnitude more luminous. While most FRBs appear to be one-off,
perhaps cataclysmic events, two sources are now known to repeat and thus
clearly have a longer-lived central engine. Beyond understanding how they are
created, there is also the prospect of using FRBs -- as with pulsars -- to
probe the extremes of the Universe as well as the otherwise invisible
intervening medium. Such studies will be aided by the high implied all-sky
event rate: there is a detectable FRB roughly once every minute occurring
somewhere on the sky. The fact that less than a hundred FRB sources have been
discovered in the last decade is largely due to the small fields-of-view of
current radio telescopes. A new generation of wide-field instruments is now
coming online, however, and these will be capable of detecting multiple FRBs
per day. We are thus on the brink of further breakthroughs in the
short-duration radio transient phase space, which will be critical for
differentiating between the many proposed theories for the origin of FRBs. In
this review, we give an observational and theoretical introduction at a level
that is accessible to astronomers entering the field.Comment: Invited review article for The Astronomy and Astrophysics Revie
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