Characterization of a Low-Frequency Radio Astronomy Prototype Array in Western Australia
We report characterization results for an engineering prototype of a next-generation low-frequency radio astronomy array. This prototype, which we refer to as the Aperture Array Verification System 0.5 (AAVS0.5), is a sparse pseudo-random array of 16 log-periodic antennas designed for 70-450 MHz. It...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC
2015
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/33666 |
| _version_ | 1848754010746519552 |
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| author | Sutinjo, Adrian Colegate, Timothy Wayth, Randall Hall, P. Acedo, E. Booler, T. Faulkner, A. Feng, L. Hurley-Walker, Natasha Juswardy, Budi Padhi, S. Razavi-Ghods, N. Sokolowski, M. Tingay, Steven de Vaate, J. |
| author_facet | Sutinjo, Adrian Colegate, Timothy Wayth, Randall Hall, P. Acedo, E. Booler, T. Faulkner, A. Feng, L. Hurley-Walker, Natasha Juswardy, Budi Padhi, S. Razavi-Ghods, N. Sokolowski, M. Tingay, Steven de Vaate, J. |
| author_sort | Sutinjo, Adrian |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | We report characterization results for an engineering prototype of a next-generation low-frequency radio astronomy array. This prototype, which we refer to as the Aperture Array Verification System 0.5 (AAVS0.5), is a sparse pseudo-random array of 16 log-periodic antennas designed for 70-450 MHz. It is co-located with the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) at the Murchison Radioastronomy Observatory (MRO) near the Australian Square Kilometre Array (SKA) core site. We characterize the AAVS0.5 using two methods: in-situ radio interferometry with astronomical sources and an engineering approach based on detailed full-wave simulation. In-situ measurement of the small prototype array is challenging due to the dominance of the Galactic noise and the relatively weaker calibration sources easily accessible in the southern sky. The MWA, with its 128 "tiles" and up to 3 km baselines, enabled in-situ measurement via radio interferometry. We present array sensitivity and beam pattern characterization results and compare to detailed full-wave simulation. We discuss areas where differences between the two methods exist and offer possibilities for improvement. Our work demonstrates the value of the dual astronomy-simulation approach in upcoming SKA design work. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:33:37Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-33666 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:33:37Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-336662018-03-29T09:08:24Z Characterization of a Low-Frequency Radio Astronomy Prototype Array in Western Australia Sutinjo, Adrian Colegate, Timothy Wayth, Randall Hall, P. Acedo, E. Booler, T. Faulkner, A. Feng, L. Hurley-Walker, Natasha Juswardy, Budi Padhi, S. Razavi-Ghods, N. Sokolowski, M. Tingay, Steven de Vaate, J. We report characterization results for an engineering prototype of a next-generation low-frequency radio astronomy array. This prototype, which we refer to as the Aperture Array Verification System 0.5 (AAVS0.5), is a sparse pseudo-random array of 16 log-periodic antennas designed for 70-450 MHz. It is co-located with the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) at the Murchison Radioastronomy Observatory (MRO) near the Australian Square Kilometre Array (SKA) core site. We characterize the AAVS0.5 using two methods: in-situ radio interferometry with astronomical sources and an engineering approach based on detailed full-wave simulation. In-situ measurement of the small prototype array is challenging due to the dominance of the Galactic noise and the relatively weaker calibration sources easily accessible in the southern sky. The MWA, with its 128 "tiles" and up to 3 km baselines, enabled in-situ measurement via radio interferometry. We present array sensitivity and beam pattern characterization results and compare to detailed full-wave simulation. We discuss areas where differences between the two methods exist and offer possibilities for improvement. Our work demonstrates the value of the dual astronomy-simulation approach in upcoming SKA design work. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/33666 10.1109/TAP.2015.2487504 IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC restricted |
| spellingShingle | Sutinjo, Adrian Colegate, Timothy Wayth, Randall Hall, P. Acedo, E. Booler, T. Faulkner, A. Feng, L. Hurley-Walker, Natasha Juswardy, Budi Padhi, S. Razavi-Ghods, N. Sokolowski, M. Tingay, Steven de Vaate, J. Characterization of a Low-Frequency Radio Astronomy Prototype Array in Western Australia |
| title | Characterization of a Low-Frequency Radio Astronomy Prototype Array in Western Australia |
| title_full | Characterization of a Low-Frequency Radio Astronomy Prototype Array in Western Australia |
| title_fullStr | Characterization of a Low-Frequency Radio Astronomy Prototype Array in Western Australia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characterization of a Low-Frequency Radio Astronomy Prototype Array in Western Australia |
| title_short | Characterization of a Low-Frequency Radio Astronomy Prototype Array in Western Australia |
| title_sort | characterization of a low-frequency radio astronomy prototype array in western australia |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/33666 |