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    The effect of the ionosphere on ultra-low-frequency radio-interferometric observations

    274975.pdf (10.32Mb)
    Access Status
    Open access
    Authors
    De Gasperin, F.
    Mevius, M.
    Rafferty, D.
    Intema, Hubertus
    Fallows, R.
    Date
    2018
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Citation
    De Gasperin, F. and Mevius, M. and Rafferty, D. and Intema, H. and Fallows, R. 2018. The effect of the ionosphere on ultra-low-frequency radio-interferometric observations. Astronomy and Astrophysics. 615: Article ID A 179.
    Source Title
    Astronomy and Astrophysics
    DOI
    10.1051/0004-6361/201833012
    ISSN
    0004-6361
    Remarks

    Reproduced with permission from Astronomy & Astrophysics, © ESO

    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/73782
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    Context. The ionosphere is the main driver of a series of systematic effects that limit our ability to explore the low-frequency (<1 GHz) sky with radio interferometers. Its effects become increasingly important towards lower frequencies and are particularly hard to calibrate in the low signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) regime in which low-frequency telescopes operate. Aims. In this paper we characterise and quantify the effect of ionospheric-induced systematic errors on astronomical interferometric radio observations at ultra-low frequencies (<100 MHz). We also provide guidelines for observations and data reduction at these frequencies with the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) and future instruments such as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). Methods. We derive the expected systematic error induced by the ionosphere. We compare our predictions with data from the Low Band Antenna (LBA) system of LOFAR. Results. We show that we can isolate the ionospheric effect in LOFAR LBA data and that our results are compatible with satellite measurements, providing an independent way to measure the ionospheric total electron content (TEC). We show how the ionosphere also corrupts the correlated amplitudes through scintillations. We report values of the ionospheric structure function in line with the literature. Conclusions. The systematic errors on the phases of LOFAR LBA data can be accurately modelled as a sum of four effects (clock, ionosphere first, second, and third order). This greatly reduces the number of required calibration parameters, and therefore enables new efficient calibration strategies.

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