22,471 research outputs found
Direction-Dependent Polarised Primary Beams in Wide-Field Synthesis Imaging
The process of wide-field synthesis imaging is explored, with the aim of
understanding the implications of variable, polarised primary beams for
forthcoming Epoch of Reionisation experiments. These experiments seek to detect
weak signatures from redshifted 21cm emission in deep residual datasets, after
suppression and subtraction of foreground emission. Many subtraction algorithms
benefit from low side-lobes and polarisation leakage at the outset, and both of
these are intimately linked to how the polarised primary beams are handled.
Building on previous contributions from a number of authors, in which
direction-dependent corrections are incorporated into visibility gridding
kernels, we consider the special characteristics of arrays of fixed dipole
antennas operating around 100-200 MHz, looking towards instruments such as the
Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Arrays
(HERA). We show that integrating snapshots in the image domain can help to
produce compact gridding kernels, and also reduce the need to make complicated
polarised leakage corrections during gridding. We also investigate an
alternative form for the gridding kernel that can suppress variations in the
direction-dependent weighting of gridded visibilities by 10s of dB, while
maintaining compact support.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in JA
Redundant Array Configurations for 21 cm Cosmology
Realizing the potential of 21 cm tomography to statistically probe the
intergalactic medium before and during the Epoch of Reionization requires large
telescopes and precise control of systematics. Next-generation telescopes are
now being designed and built to meet these challenges, drawing lessons from
first-generation experiments that showed the benefits of densely packed, highly
redundant arrays--in which the same mode on the sky is sampled by many antenna
pairs--for achieving high sensitivity, precise calibration, and robust
foreground mitigation. In this work, we focus on the Hydrogen Epoch of
Reionization Array (HERA) as an interferometer with a dense, redundant core
designed following these lessons to be optimized for 21 cm cosmology. We show
how modestly supplementing or modifying a compact design like HERA's can still
deliver high sensitivity while enhancing strategies for calibration and
foreground mitigation. In particular, we compare the imaging capability of
several array configurations, both instantaneously (to address instrumental and
ionospheric effects) and with rotation synthesis (for foreground removal). We
also examine the effects that configuration has on calibratability using
instantaneous redundancy. We find that improved imaging with sub-aperture
sampling via "off-grid" antennas and increased angular resolution via far-flung
"outrigger" antennas is possible with a redundantly calibratable array
configuration.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures. Revised to match the accepted ApJ versio
Software Holography: Interferometric Data Analysis for the Challenges of Next Generation Observatories
Next generation radio observatories such as the MWA, LWA, LOFAR, CARMA and
SKA provide a number of challenges for interferometric data analysis. These
challenges include heterogeneous arrays, direction-dependent instrumental gain,
and refractive and scintillating atmospheric conditions. From the analysis
perspective, this means that calibration solutions can not be described using a
single complex gain per antenna. In this paper we use the optimal map-making
formalism developed for CMB analyses to extend traditional interferometric
radio analysis techniques--removing the assumption of a single complex gain per
antenna and allowing more complete descriptions of the instrumental and
atmospheric conditions. Due to the similarity with holographic mapping of radio
antenna surfaces, we call this extended analysis approach software holography.
The resulting analysis algorithms are computationally efficient, unbiased, and
optimally sensitive. We show how software holography can be used to solve some
of the challenges of next generation observations, and how more familiar
analysis techniques can be derived as limiting cases.Comment: in revie
OAM multiple transmission using uniform circular arrays: numerical modeling and experimental verification with two digital television signals
In this work we present the outcomes of a radio-frequency OAM transmission
between two antenna arrays performed in a real-world context. The analysis is
supplemented by deep simulative investigations able to provide both a
preliminary overview of the experimental scenario and a posteriori validation
of the achieved results. As a first step, the far-field OAM communication link
is tested at various frequencies and the corresponding link budget is studied
by means of an angular scan generated by the rotation of the receiving system.
Then, on the same site, two digital television signals encoded as OAM modes
(=1 and =-1) are simultaneously transmitted at a common frequency
of 198.5 MHz with good mode insulation.Comment: 16 pages, 14 figure
Robust sparse image reconstruction of radio interferometric observations with purify
Next-generation radio interferometers, such as the Square Kilometre Array
(SKA), will revolutionise our understanding of the universe through their
unprecedented sensitivity and resolution. However, to realise these goals
significant challenges in image and data processing need to be overcome. The
standard methods in radio interferometry for reconstructing images, such as
CLEAN, have served the community well over the last few decades and have
survived largely because they are pragmatic. However, they produce
reconstructed inter\-ferometric images that are limited in quality and
scalability for big data. In this work we apply and evaluate alternative
interferometric reconstruction methods that make use of state-of-the-art sparse
image reconstruction algorithms motivated by compressive sensing, which have
been implemented in the PURIFY software package. In particular, we implement
and apply the proximal alternating direction method of multipliers (P-ADMM)
algorithm presented in a recent article. First, we assess the impact of the
interpolation kernel used to perform gridding and degridding on sparse image
reconstruction. We find that the Kaiser-Bessel interpolation kernel performs as
well as prolate spheroidal wave functions, while providing a computational
saving and an analytic form. Second, we apply PURIFY to real interferometric
observations from the Very Large Array (VLA) and the Australia Telescope
Compact Array (ATCA) and find images recovered by PURIFY are higher quality
than those recovered by CLEAN. Third, we discuss how PURIFY reconstructions
exhibit additional advantages over those recovered by CLEAN. The latest version
of PURIFY, with developments presented in this work, is made publicly
available.Comment: 22 pages, 10 figures, PURIFY code available at
http://basp-group.github.io/purif
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