Radio Interferometry SS 2017 (8404)

 

• Links:
• Argelander Institute for Astronomy
• German ALMA Regional Center node
• ALMA

• Course Links:
• Course main page
• Course material
• Syllabus
• A virtual radio interferometer

Syllabus

Interferometry basics, Calibration, Imaging

Single antennas, interferometers, Fourier transform, uv-coverage, visibilities, real interferometers (dirty beam, gains, finite bandwidth), Earth rotation synthesis, calibration (gains, amplitude and phase, bandpass), imaging (gridding, CLEAN, MEM), correlators, examples of existing interferometers

Spectral line interferometry

Motivation, origin of spectral lines, selection of tracers, observational aspects (velocity definitions, resolution/bandwidth, Doppler tracking, Gibbs phenomenon), data reduction (continuum subtraction, visualization), examples

Polarimetry

Motivation, origin of polarized emission, Stokes parameters, observational aspects (feeds, EVPA, D-terms, calibration) and data reduction, examples

VLBI

Motivation, observational aspects (clocks/LO, correlation, hardware), data reduction (delays, fringe-fitting, limitations), existing VLBI arrays, examples

ALMA

Science drivers, capabilities, current status, planned development, timeline, special observational aspects, proposals, support

LOFAR

Science drivers, capabilities, current status, planned development, timeline, special observational aspects, proposals, support.

SKA and precursors

Science drivers, capabilities, current status, planned development, timeline, special observational aspects, proposals, support

Proposal preparation

Basics of proposal writing, technical aspects (correlator setup, LAS, FOV etc.), hands-on example using the ALMA-OT

Tutorial

In the tutorial, you can learn how to reduce and analyze interferometric data with the increasingly popular Common Astronomy Software Applications (CASA) package. Please bring your own laptop (Mac OS or Linux), if you want to fully participate in these hands-on sessions.