A prototype model for evaluating SKA-LOW station calibration

Es, A. J. J. van; Labate, Maria Grazia; Waterson, M.; Monari, Jader; Bolli, Pietro; Davidson, David; Wayth, R. B.; Sokołowski, M.; Ninni, Paola Di; Pupillo, G.; Macario, G.; Virone, G.; Ciorba, Lorenzo; Paonessa, Fabio

doi:10.1117/12.2562391

Cited by 19 publications

(23 citation statements)

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“…Since 2016, various full-size prototype SKA-Low stations have been deployed and tested at the MRO [e.g., Aperture Array Verification System 1 (AAVS1) 3 and Engineering Development Array 1 (EDA1) 4 ]. In this paper, we will focus on the latest prototype station built at MRO, the AAVS2 5,6 , deployed in 2019 and currently operational along with the comparator system EDA2 (see Ref. 7 submitted to this journal, for details).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The AAVS2 is the most recent full-sized SKA-Low station prototype, based on the the experience gained from the commissioning results of its predecessor AAVS1. 3,6 It consists of 256 SKALA4.1 log-periodic dual-polarization antennas with low noise amplifiers optimized to meet the required performances in the SKA1-Low frequency bandwidth of 50 to 350 MHz. 8 Antennas are pseudorandomly distributed over a circular area of about 40 m diameter, with a layout chosen to improve the overall performance of the station.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…8 Antennas are pseudorandomly distributed over a circular area of about 40 m diameter, with a layout chosen to improve the overall performance of the station. 6 The layout is basically identical to that of EDA2 and the predecessor stations, 3,7 although the diameter of AAVS2 has been increased by ∼10% to host the larger SKALA4.1 antennas (the maximum distance among antennas is ≈38 m 9 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A complete description of the AAVS2 system and signal chain is reported in Ref. 6 (their section 2 and figure 2). The SKA1-Low signal reception chain is broadly described in Ref.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characterization of the SKA1-Low prototype station Aperture Array Verification System 2

Macario

Pupillo

Bernardi

et al. 2022

J. Astron. Telesc. Instrum. Syst.

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The low frequency component of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA1-Low) will be an aperture phased array located at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO) site in Western Australia. It will be composed of 512 stations, each consisting of 256 log-periodic dual-polarized antennas, and will operate in the low frequency range (50 to 350 MHz) of the SKA bandwidth. The Aperture Array Verification System 2 (AAVS2), operational since late 2019, is the last full-size engineering prototype station deployed at the MRO site before the start of the SKA1-Low construction phase. The aim of this paper is to characterize the station performance through commissioning observations at six different frequencies (55, 70, 110, 160, 230, and 320 MHz) collected during its first year of activities. We describe the calibration procedure, present the resulting all-sky images and their analysis, and discuss the station calibratability and system stability. Using the difference imaging method, we also derive estimates of the SKA1-Low sensitivity for the same frequencies and compare them with those obtained through electromagnetic simulations across the entire telescope bandwidth, finding good agreement (within 13%). Moreover, our estimates exceed the SKA1-Low requirements at all considered frequencies by up to a factor of ∼2.3. Our results are very promising and allow for an initial validation of the AAVS2 prototype station performance, which is an important step toward the coming SKA1-Low telescope construction and science.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A complete description of the AAVS2 system and signal chain is reported in Ref. 6 (their section 2 and figure 2). The SKA1-Low signal reception chain is broadly described in Ref.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characterization of the SKA1-Low prototype station Aperture Array Verification System 2

Macario

Pupillo

Bernardi

et al. 2022

J. Astron. Telesc. Instrum. Syst.

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“…The SKA will become the biggest and most sensitive radio telescope in the world. Aperture arrays are envisioned for both SKA1-LOW (50 to 350 MHz, random configuration) 2,3 and possibly SKA1-Mid phase 2 (400 to 1.45 GHz, regular configuration). [4][5][6] Dishes will be adopted for higher frequencies up to 14 GHz.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurement of the LOFAR-HBA beam patterns using an unmanned aerial vehicle in the near field

Virone

Paonessa

Ciorba

et al. 2021

J. Astron. Telesc. Instrum. Syst.

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A Southern-Hemisphere all-sky radio transient monitor for SKA-Low prototype stations

Sokołowski

Wayth

Price

et al. 2021

Publ. Astron. Soc. Aust.

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We present the first Southern-Hemisphere all-sky imager and radio-transient monitoring system implemented on two prototype stations of the low-frequency component of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA-Low). Since its deployment, the system has been used for real-time monitoring of the recorded commissioning data. Additionally, a transient searching algorithm has been executed on the resulting all-sky images. It uses a difference imaging technique to enable identification of a wide variety of transient classes, ranging from human-made radio-frequency interference to genuine astrophysical events. Observations at the frequency 159.375 MHz and higher in a single coarse channel ( $\approx$ 0.926 MHz) were made with 2 s time resolution, and multiple nights were analysed generating thousands of images. Despite having modest sensitivity ( $\sim$ few Jy beam–1), using a single coarse channel and 2-s imaging, the system was able to detect multiple bright transients from PSR B0950+08, proving that it can be used to detect bright transients of an astrophysical origin. The unusual, extreme activity of the pulsar PSR B0950+08 (maximum flux density $\sim$ 155 Jy beam–1) was initially detected in a ‘blind’ search in the 2020 April 10/11 data and later assigned to this specific pulsar. The limitations of our data, however, prevent us from making firm conclusions of the effect being due to a combination of refractive and diffractive scintillation or intrinsic emission mechanisms. The system can routinely collect data over many days without interruptions; the large amount of recorded data at 159.375 and 229.6875 MHz allowed us to determine a preliminary transient surface density upper limit of $1.32 \times 10^{-9} \text{deg}^{-2}$ for a timescale and limiting flux density of 2 s and 42 Jy, respectively. In the future, we plan to extend the observing bandwidth to tens of MHz and improve time resolution to tens of milliseconds in order to increase the sensitivity and enable detections of fast radio bursts below 300 MHz.

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A prototype model for evaluating SKA-LOW station calibration

Cited by 19 publications

References 0 publications

Characterization of the SKA1-Low prototype station Aperture Array Verification System 2

Characterization of the SKA1-Low prototype station Aperture Array Verification System 2

Measurement of the LOFAR-HBA beam patterns using an unmanned aerial vehicle in the near field

A Southern-Hemisphere all-sky radio transient monitor for SKA-Low prototype stations

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