Ska Correlator Advances

When the SKA was proposed, a major technical obstacle to its feasibility was the cost of the correlator. Significant advances made in correlator design since then are described. These advances have made SKA correlator possible within reasonable cost constrains. At the same time performance issues with the proposed FX architecture have been addressed.     

Hemispheric Imaging of Galactic Neutral Hydrogen with a Phased Array Antenna System

The thousand element array (THEA) system is a phased array system consisting of 1 m² tiles having 64 Vivaldi elements each, arranged on a regular 8-by-8 grid, which has been developed as a demonstrator of technology and applicability for SKA. In this paper we present imaging results of Galactic neutral hydrogen with THEA. Measurements have been taken using a dense 2-by-2 array of four tiles as a four tile adder. The results are compared with results from the Leiden-Dwingeloo Survey, showing qualitative agreement, but also indicating that further studies are needed on the instrumental characteristics.     

Model Validation and Performance Evaluation for The Multi-Tethered Aerostat Subsystem of the Large Adaptive Reflector

The Canadian design for the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope includes a large multi-tethered aerostat to support the telescope’s receiver. To validate this design concept, two parallel tracks have been undertaken: a numerical simulation of the multi-tethered aerostat system has been assembled, and a one-third scale prototype of the system has been constructed. This paper describes the experimental facility, presents results from initial tests of the uncontrolled system and compares these results to the predictions of the computer model of the system. Generally, the results compare very favourably. Using the simulation, we arrive at two important design philosophies to be used in the design of the full-scale system: (a) perturbations on the confluence point should be minimized, and (b) the system stiffness should be maximized to ensure minimum response to disturbances.     

A Spherical Lens For The Ska

Spherical refracting lenses based upon the Luneburg lens offer unique capabilities for radioastronomy, but the large diameter of lens required for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) means that traditional lens materials are either too dense or too lossy. We are investigating a composite dielectric that theoretically offers extremely low loss and low density, and is suitable for low-cost mass production. We describe our progress towards realising this material and demonstrating the manufacturing concept, via the manufacture and testing of a small (0.9 m) spherical lens.     

基于Python的SKA-RASCIL中的天线增益校准实现

天线增益校准是射电天文观测数据处理过程中的一个关键步骤。分析了经典的天线增益校准算法Antsol的基本原理,并基于Python对Antsol算法进行了高性能实现,所完成的程序代码已经集成到平方公里阵列(Square Kilometre Array,SKA)的射电天文模拟校准成像软件(Radio Astronomy Simulation,Calibration and Imaging Library,RASCIL)中,不仅为当前平方公里阵列数据处理提供了支撑,也为未来数据处理的性能优化提供算法参考。     

On post-SKA radio astronomy

It is suggested that the development of the SKA will drastically change the face of radio astronomy in the 21st Century. A FAST-style SKA would admit observations of low contrast features, and would be the best design for studying the `dark ages' of the Universe (x≫ 1) where sub-arcmin total power instruments can usefully be employed. To date there have been no proposals for post-SKA, billion square-metra instruments; we speculate that mobile communication systems can be used. In the very distant future, SKA multi-beam systems could be used to collect signals reflected by Solar system bodies such as the asteroid belt. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Square Kilometre Array Molonglo Prototype (Skamp) Correlator

An FX correlator implementation for the SKAMP project is presented. The completed system will provide capabilities that match those proposed for the aperture plane array concept for the SKA. Through novel architecture, expansion is possible to accommodate larger arrays such as the 600-station cylindrical reflector proposals. In contrast to many current prototypes, it will use digital transmission from the antenna, requiring digital filterbanks and beamformers to be located at the antenna. This will demonstrate the technologies needed for all long baseline antennas in the SKA.     

Cylinder – Small Dish Hybrid For The SKA

No single technology can meet the current science specifications for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). In this paper a hybrid option is explored that uses cylindrical reflectors to satisfy low frequency sensitivity and field-of-view requirements and small parabolic dishes to work at frequencies above 0.5 GHz.     

Modeling of A Feed Support System for Fast

As an engineering demonstrator for SKA, the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) is proposed in China. This paper is focused on one of the most critical components of FAST, the feed support system. The engineering concept, the configuration and results from model experiments are presented. The mechanical characteristics of the structure are analyzed. The performance of the feedback control system of the model is described. The feasibility of the design is tentatively confirmed by the experiments described at the end of the report.     

Experimental Research of First Feed-Support System of FAST

First feed support system, which is one of the key technologies of Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) was discussed in this paper. A 1:30 scaled model (20 m × 20 m × 6 m) has been built to make systemic research on the feasibility of the system. The root mean square of pointing error of moving cable car was measured and the displacements of cable car within the wind speed of 8 m/s, which is the maximal wind speed of the place where the FAST will be located, were evaluated. Then the total maximal pointing error of cable car was computed. Experimental results demonstrate that the total pointing error of the cable car is less than 50 cm, the required pointing accuracy error of the system. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.