PROJECT TITLE :

Characterization of a Low-Frequency Radio Astronomy Prototype Array in Western Australia

ABSTRACT:

We report characterization results for an engineering prototype of a next-generation low-frequency radio astronomy array. This prototype, which we tend to ask as the Aperture Array Verification System 0.5 (AAVS0.five), could be a sparse pseudorandom array of sixteen log-periodic antennas designed for 70–450 MHz. It's colocated with the Murchison widefield array (MWA) at the Murchison radioastronomy observatory (MRO) near the Australian square kilometre array (SKA) core website. We characterize the AAVS0.5 using two strategies: in situ radio interferometry with astronomical sources and an engineering approach based on detailed full-wave simulation. In situ measurement of the tiny prototype array is challenging because of the dominance of the Galactic noise and the comparatively weaker calibration sources simply accessible within the southern sky. The MWA, with its 128 “tiles” and up to three km baselines, enabled in situ measurement via radio interferometry. We have a tendency to gift array sensitivity and beam pattern characterization results and compare to detailed full-wave simulation. We tend to discuss areas where variations between the 2 methods exist and supply potentialities for improvement. Our work demonstrates the value of the twin astronomy–simulation approach in upcoming SKA design work.