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Title: LONG-TERM CALIBRATION STABILITY OF A RADIO ASTRONOMICAL PHASED ARRAY FEED

Abstract

There are many challenges associated with the implementation of a phased array feed for radio astronomy applications. Among these is the need to have an adequate set of calibration measurements so that reliable beamformers can be computed. Changes in the operating environment and temporal gain drift in the electronics contribute to calibration drift, which affects the beamformer performance. We will show that calibration measurements are relatively stable over a 5 day period and may remain so for up to 70 days or longer. We have incorporated the use of a calibration update system that has the potential to refresh a set of old calibrators, specifically correcting for electronic gain drift. However, the long-term variations that are present with fresh, current calibrators are greater than the degradation due to using an old calibration set, suggesting that, at this time, there is not a need for sophisticated calibration update systems or algorithms.

Authors:
; ;  [1]
  1. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22089726
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astronomical Journal (New York, N.Y. Online)
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 145; Journal Issue: 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 1538-3881
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; ALGORITHMS; ASTROPHYSICS; CALIBRATION; GAIN; POTENTIALS; RADIO TELESCOPES; RADIOASTRONOMY; STABILITY; VARIATIONS

Citation Formats

Elmer, Michael, Jeffs, Brian D., and Warnick, Karl F. LONG-TERM CALIBRATION STABILITY OF A RADIO ASTRONOMICAL PHASED ARRAY FEED. United States: N. p., 2013. Web. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/145/1/24.
Elmer, Michael, Jeffs, Brian D., & Warnick, Karl F. LONG-TERM CALIBRATION STABILITY OF A RADIO ASTRONOMICAL PHASED ARRAY FEED. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-6256/145/1/24
Elmer, Michael, Jeffs, Brian D., and Warnick, Karl F. 2013. "LONG-TERM CALIBRATION STABILITY OF A RADIO ASTRONOMICAL PHASED ARRAY FEED". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-6256/145/1/24.
@article{osti_22089726,
title = {LONG-TERM CALIBRATION STABILITY OF A RADIO ASTRONOMICAL PHASED ARRAY FEED},
author = {Elmer, Michael and Jeffs, Brian D. and Warnick, Karl F.},
abstractNote = {There are many challenges associated with the implementation of a phased array feed for radio astronomy applications. Among these is the need to have an adequate set of calibration measurements so that reliable beamformers can be computed. Changes in the operating environment and temporal gain drift in the electronics contribute to calibration drift, which affects the beamformer performance. We will show that calibration measurements are relatively stable over a 5 day period and may remain so for up to 70 days or longer. We have incorporated the use of a calibration update system that has the potential to refresh a set of old calibrators, specifically correcting for electronic gain drift. However, the long-term variations that are present with fresh, current calibrators are greater than the degradation due to using an old calibration set, suggesting that, at this time, there is not a need for sophisticated calibration update systems or algorithms.},
doi = {10.1088/0004-6256/145/1/24},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22089726}, journal = {Astronomical Journal (New York, N.Y. Online)},
issn = {1538-3881},
number = 1,
volume = 145,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2013},
month = {Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2013}
}