The classical analysis of the response of a long baseline radio interferometer

summary . A general derivation of the classical response of a long baseline interferometer is presented including the effects of finite bandwidth of the receiver systems, instrumental delays and phase shifts, instabilities in the separate local oscillators, as well as the effects of the retarded baseline. The general theory is then applied to a pair of antennae attached to the Earth and discussed in the light of a number of geophysical phenomena including the effects of precession, nutation, rotation, polar motion, annual aberration and Earth tides.