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| Paper: |
Software for the First Station of the Long Wavelength Array |
| Volume: |
485, Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems XXIII |
| Page: |
41 |
| Authors: |
Dowell, J.; LWA Collaboration |
| Abstract: |
The first station of the Long Wavelength Array, LWA1, is currently operating at frequencies between 10 and 88 MHz in the Southwest United States. LWA1 consists of 256 cross-polarization dipole pairs spread over a 100 m aperture with five total-power outriggers up to ∼500 m from the center of the station. The raw voltages from the antennas are digitized and digitally combined to form four independent dual polarization beams, each with two tunings with up to 19.6 MHz of bandwidth. The telescope is designed to be a general-purpose instrument and supports a wide variety of science projects from the ionosphere to the cosmic dark ages. I will present the software behind this telescope and discuss the challenges associated with calibrating and
maintaining an array of 261 dipoles. I will also discuss some of the
challenges of handling the large data volume that LWA1 produces and how the LWA User Computing Facility helps address those problems. |
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