Subtraction of Bright Point Sources from Synthesis Images of the Epoch of Reionization

Bright point sources associated with extragalactic active galactic nuclei and radio galaxies are an important foreground for low-frequency radio experiments aimed at detecting the redshifted 21-cm emission from neutral hydrogen during the epoch of reionization. The frequency dependence of the synthe...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Pindor, B., Wyithe, J., Mitchell, D., Ord, Stephen, Wayth, Randall, Greenhill, L.
Format: Journal Article
Published: CSIRO 2011
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/46168
_version_ 1848757484145082368
author Pindor, B.
Wyithe, J.
Mitchell, D.
Ord, Stephen
Wayth, Randall
Greenhill, L.
author_facet Pindor, B.
Wyithe, J.
Mitchell, D.
Ord, Stephen
Wayth, Randall
Greenhill, L.
author_sort Pindor, B.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Bright point sources associated with extragalactic active galactic nuclei and radio galaxies are an important foreground for low-frequency radio experiments aimed at detecting the redshifted 21-cm emission from neutral hydrogen during the epoch of reionization. The frequency dependence of the synthesized beam implies that the sidelobes of these sources will move across the field of view as a function of observing frequency, hence frustrating line-of-sight foreground subtraction techniques. We describe a method for subtracting these point sources from dirty maps produced by an instrument such as the MWA. This technique combines matched filters with an iterative centroiding scheme to locate and characterize point sources in the presence of a diffuse background. Simulations show that this technique can improve the dynamic range of epoch-of-reionization maps by 2–3 orders of magnitude.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T09:28:49Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-46168
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T09:28:49Z
publishDate 2011
publisher CSIRO
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-461682017-09-13T16:07:34Z Subtraction of Bright Point Sources from Synthesis Images of the Epoch of Reionization Pindor, B. Wyithe, J. Mitchell, D. Ord, Stephen Wayth, Randall Greenhill, L. Bright point sources associated with extragalactic active galactic nuclei and radio galaxies are an important foreground for low-frequency radio experiments aimed at detecting the redshifted 21-cm emission from neutral hydrogen during the epoch of reionization. The frequency dependence of the synthesized beam implies that the sidelobes of these sources will move across the field of view as a function of observing frequency, hence frustrating line-of-sight foreground subtraction techniques. We describe a method for subtracting these point sources from dirty maps produced by an instrument such as the MWA. This technique combines matched filters with an iterative centroiding scheme to locate and characterize point sources in the presence of a diffuse background. Simulations show that this technique can improve the dynamic range of epoch-of-reionization maps by 2–3 orders of magnitude. 2011 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/46168 10.1071/AS10023 CSIRO unknown
spellingShingle Pindor, B.
Wyithe, J.
Mitchell, D.
Ord, Stephen
Wayth, Randall
Greenhill, L.
Subtraction of Bright Point Sources from Synthesis Images of the Epoch of Reionization
title Subtraction of Bright Point Sources from Synthesis Images of the Epoch of Reionization
title_full Subtraction of Bright Point Sources from Synthesis Images of the Epoch of Reionization
title_fullStr Subtraction of Bright Point Sources from Synthesis Images of the Epoch of Reionization
title_full_unstemmed Subtraction of Bright Point Sources from Synthesis Images of the Epoch of Reionization
title_short Subtraction of Bright Point Sources from Synthesis Images of the Epoch of Reionization
title_sort subtraction of bright point sources from synthesis images of the epoch of reionization
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/46168