Validation of the HARP method for simulation ofmutual coupling between SKALA antennas

Abstract

The low-frequency instrument of the SKA radiotelescope will be made of large arrays of log-periodic antennas. Their mutual coupling may be strong and needs to be modeled in terms of em- bedded element patterns. The HARP method is based on Macro Basis Functions and computes their interactions versus relative positions, based on a lim- ited number of explicit calculations in the near eld. This paper shows results of this method in the low and medium range of the foreseen frequency spec- trum, considering the SKALA (SKA Log-Periodic Antennas) designed for this new telescope