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| Paper: |
Observing the Future: SKA Simulations with MeqTrees |
| Volume: |
394, Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems (ADASS) XVII |
| Page: |
717 |
| Authors: |
Willis, A.G. |
| Abstract: |
Future radio telescopes such as the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) present us with a number of challenges in the areas of imaging and data processing. To select a design that will be able to achieve the SKA requirements, we need good models of the instrument and the observed sky. This makes detailed SKA simulations a vital part of any design effort. The Measurement Equation (ME) that grew out of aips++ development provides a succinct mathematical framework in which a radio telescope and the observed sky may be described. The MeqTrees software package can implement MEs of arbitrary structure and complexity, and solve for arbitrary subsets of their parameters. This paper demonstrates how MeqTrees can be applied to SKA simulations. We simulate an SKA pathfinder consisting of small dishes with phased-array focal plane arrays mounted at the prime focus, show some of the instrumental effects expected, and discuss their impact on observations. |
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