Transcript Sep 1

Basic Detection Techniques
Radio Detection Techniques
Marco de Vos, ASTRON
[email protected] / 0521 595247
Literature:
Selected chapters from
Krauss, Radio Astronomy, 2nd edition, 1986, CygnusQuasar Books, Ohio, ISBN 1-882484-00-2
Perley et al., Synthesis Imaging in Radio Astronomy, 1994,
BookCrafters, ISBN 0-937707-23-6
Selected LOFAR and APERTIF documents
Lecture slides
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Overview
1a (2009/09/01): Introduction
Measurement properties, EM radiation, wavelength regimes, coherent &
incoherent detection, caveats in interpretation.
Historical example: detection of 21cm line
Tour d’horizon, system perspective
1b (2009/09/04): Single pixel feeds
Theory: basic properties, sky noise, system noise, Aeff/Tsys, receiver
systems, mixing, filtering
Case study: the LOFAR Low Band Antenna
2a (2009/10/06): Array antennas
Theory: aperture arrays & phased array feeds, beamforming, tile
calibration, …
Case study: the DIGESTIF Phased Array Feed
Experiment (2009/10/08 TBC)
Measurements with DIGESTIF (in Dwingeloo)
2b (2009/10/09): Synthesis arrays
Theory: aperture synthesis, van Cittert-Zernike relation, propagation of
instrumental effects, …
Concluding case studies: WSRT MFFE, EVLA, LOFAR HBA
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Measurement process
Atmospheric effects
Imaging system
Instrumentation
Conditioning of radiation before detection
Spectroscopes, photometers, phase modulators, …
Detectors
From photon/free space wave to …
Digital signal processing
Real-time conditioning of detected data
Calibration & Modelling
Determining and removing instrumental signatures
Deriving physical quantities from measurements
Assessing significance by comparison with predictions
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Observables
Neutrinos
Matter (cosmic rays, meteorites, moon rocks)
Gravitational waves (<=c)
EM waves
Directionality (RA, dec, spatial resolution)
Time (timing accuracy, time resolution)
Frequency (spectral resolution)
Flux (total intensity, polarization properties)
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Neutrino’s
Super-Kamiokande Neutrino Detector water
tank showing the thousands of photon
detectors each about the size of a beach ball
Sudbury Neutrino Observatory
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Gravitational waves
Indirect measurement through
pulsar observations?
Gravitational wave causes optical path
differences. A Michelson
interferometer is used to detect the
phase differences thus induced.
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EM waves
Directionality (RA, dec, spatial resolution)
Time (timing accuracy, time resolution)
Frequency (spectral resolution)
Flux (total intensity, polarization properties)
I 
Q 
   f (t , , l , m,  )
U 
 
V 
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Energy levels
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Different wavelengths, different properties
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Windows of opportunity
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Photon detectors
Respond to individual photons:
Bio/chemical: eye, photographic plate
Electrical: CCD (photo excitation), photomultipliers (photo emission)
X-ray/gamma-ray detectors: scintillators, …
Phase not preserved!!!
Incoherent detection
Often integrating (e.g. CCD)
Inherently broadband
Need instrumentation to get spectral resolution/accuracy
Sensitive above threshold energy
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ESO VLT Hawk I CCD
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Energy detectors
Absorb energy
Bolometer: temperature rises with total EM energy deposited
“Read-out” by measuring electrical properties change with
temperature
Used in FIR en sub-mm
Phase not preserved!!!
Incoherent detection
Inherently broadband with slow response
Need instrumentation to get spectral resolution/accuracy
No threshold energy
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SCUBA bolometer
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Coherent detectors
Responds to electric field ampl. of incident EM waves
Active dipole antenna
Dish + feed horn + LNA
Requires full receiver chain, up to A/D conversion
Radio
mm (turnoverpoint @ 300K)
IR (downconversion by mixing with laser LOs)
Phase is preserved
Separation of polarizations
Typically narrow band
But tunable, and with high spectral resolution
For higher frequencies: needs frequency conversion schemes
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Horn antennas
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Wire antennas, vivaldi
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“Unique selling points” of radio astronomy
Technical:
Radio astronomy works at the diffraction limit (/D)
It usually works at ‘thermal noise’ limit (after ‘selfcalibration’ in interferometry)
Imaging on very wide angular resolution scales (degrees to ~100 arcsec)
Extremely energy sensitive (due to large collecting area and low photon
energy)
Very wide frequency range (~5 decades; protected windows ! RFI important)
Very high spectral resolution (<< 1 km/s) achievable due to digital techniques
Very high time resolution (< 1 nanoseconds) achievable
Good dynamic range for spatial, temporal and spectral emission
Astrophysical:
Most important source of information on cosmic magnetic fields
No absorption by dust => unobscured view of Universe
Information on very hot (relativistic component, synchrotron radiation)
Diagnostics on very cold - atomic and molecular - gas
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Early days of radio astronomy
v=25MHz; dv=26kHz
Galactic centre
1932 Discovery of cosmic radio waves (Karl Jansky)
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The first radio astronomer (Grote Reber, USA)
Built the first radio telescope
"Good" angular resolution
Good visibility of the sky
Detected Milky Way, Sun, other radio sources
(ca. 1939-1947).
Published his results in astronomy journals.
Multi-frequency observations 160 & 480 MHz
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Radio Spectral-lines
Predicted by van der Hulst (1944):discrete 1420 MHz (21 cm)
emission from neutral Hydrogen (HI).
Detected by Ewen & Purcell (1951)
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1956
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1971
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Connecting Europe …
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Giant radio telescopes of the world
1957
~1970
~1970
~1970
~2000
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76m Jodrell Bank, UK
64-70m Parkes, Australia
100m Effelsberg, Germany
300m Arecibo, Puerto Rico
100m GreenBank Telescope (GBT), USA
EVLA
27 x 25m dish
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Grote vragen
Voor de antwoorden is
een grote telescoop nodig
De Square Kilometre Array
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A systems perspective
Simulations,
analyses, ...
Science Applications
Document
Science User
Requirements
Document
ify ce
ec
n
Sp
lia
mp
Co
Analysis
Reports
System Architectural
Design Document
System Requirement
Specification
Reference
documents
Background
documents
Science
consortium
System Design
& Engineering
Operations
Plan
Subsystem
Requirement
Specification
Subsystem
Architectural
Design Document
Interface Control
Document
SDE/workpackages
Prototype
designs
Workpackages
Engineering
reports
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LOFAR – the science
Epoch of Reionisation
Wide-area Surveys
Transients
Cosmic Rays
Magnetism
Solar System Science
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RCU Board
A/D
Filter

Filter

RSP Board
Beamformer
Central Processing Facilities
WAN
Filter
Backplane
& RF Shield


Output
control
Distributed
Beamforming
GbE switch fabric (231 outputs)
Filter
Station GbE switch (24 ports)
GbE
RSP board 24
calibration
Sync.
Correlator /
Beamformers
(Blue Gene /L)
Storage
Buffering
Image creation
Delay
Ionosphere
Calibration
RFI Mitigation
User applications
WAN fibre
connections
Station 77
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Archive
Export and
GRID
on/off
delaystep
on/off
delaystep
1..16
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to receiver
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Sampling
observation
mode I
10 - 90
observation
mode II
110 - 190
optional
observation
mode III
170 - 230
30
10
90
I : 0-80
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Filters
160 MHz clock
Nyquist Zones
110
II: 80 - 160
I: 0 - 100
0
observation
mode IV
210 - 250
II: 100 - 200
100
200 MHz clock
Nyquist Zones
III: 160 - 240
III: 200- 300
200
300 frequency [MHz]
Timing
Rubidium (Rb) laser reduces variance in the
GPS-PPS to < 4 ns rms over 105 sec.
The output of the Rb reference is distributed to
the Time Distribution Sub-rack (TDS).
Reference frequency is converted to the
sampling frequency: using 10 MHz reference
and Phase Locked Loops (PLL) in combination
with a Voltage Controlled Crystal Oscillator
(VCXO), the jitter of the output clock signals
are minimized.
Within a sub-rack all clock distribution is done
differentially to reduce noise picked up by the
clock traces and to reduce Electro Magnetic
Interference (EMI) by the clock.
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CEntral Processing Facility
10 Tbyte/day
25000 Tbyte/day
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250
Tbyte/
day
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