Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder: I. System Description
Abstract
In this paper we describe the system design and capabilities of the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope at the conclusion of its construction project and commencement of science operations. ASKAP is one of the first radio telescopes to deploy phased array feed (PAF) technology on a large scale, giving it an instantaneous field of view that covers 31 square degrees at 800 MHz. As a two-dimensional array of 36x12m antennas, with baselines ranging from 22m to 6km, ASKAP also has excellent snapshot imaging capability and 10 arcsecond resolution. This, combined with 288 MHz of instantaneous bandwidth and a unique third axis of rotation on each antenna, gives ASKAP the capability to create high dynamic range images of large sky areas very quickly. It is an excellent telescope for surveys between 700 MHz and 1800 MHz and is expected to facilitate great advances in our understanding of galaxy formation, cosmology and radio transients while opening new parameter space for discovery of the unknown.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2102.01870,
title = {Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder: I. System Description},
author = {A. W. Hotan and J. D. Bunton and A. P. Chippendale and M. Whiting and J. Tuthill and V. A. Moss and D. McConnell and S. W. Amy and M. T. Huynh and J. R. Allison and C. S. Anderson and K. W. Bannister and E. Bastholm and R. Beresford and D. C. -J. Bock and R. Bolton and J. M. Chapman and K. Chow and J. D. Collier and F. R. Cooray and T. J. Cornwell and P. J. Diamond and P. G. Edwards and I. J. Feain and T. M. O. Franzen and D. George and N. Gupta and G. A. Hampson and L. Harvey-Smith and D. B. Hayman and I. Heywood and C. Jacka and C. A. Jackson and S. Jackson and K. Jeganathan and S. Johnston and M. Kesteven and D. Kleiner and B. S. Koribalski and K. Lee-Waddell and E. Lenc and E. S. Lensson and S. Mackay and E. K. Mahony and N. M. McClure-Griffiths and R. McConigley and P. Mirtschin and A. K. Ng and R. P. Norris and S. E. Pearce and C. Phillips and M. A. Pilawa and W. Raja and J. E. Reynolds and P. Roberts and D. N. Roxby and E. M. Sadler and M. Shields and A. E. T. Schinckel and P. Serra and R. D. Shaw and T. Sweetnam and E. R. Troup and A. Tzioumis and M. A. Voronkov and T. Westmeier},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2102.01870},
year = {2021}
}
Comments
38 pages, 24 figures, accepted for publication in PASA