meerkat: an overview
DESCRIPTION
Talk by Dr Lindsay Magnus at the SuperJEDI conference, July 2013TRANSCRIPT
MeerKAT outline
Lindsay
The MeerKAT Programme
• Africa will have a legacy of a large radio telescope.– Irrespective of the outcome of the SKA site
competition.– But not independent of the SKA.– Largest radio telescope in southern hemisphere,
one of the largest in the world.
• MeerKAT is an SKA Precursor.– Engineering prototype and early science (SKA-
mid “Phase 0”).– Drive the establishment of the Karoo Radio
Astronomy Reserve.2
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High Level SpecificationsMetric KAT-7 MeerKAT
Flow 1.2 GHz 580 MHz
Fhigh 1.95 GHz 15 GHz
Ae/Tsys 16 m2/K 200 m2/K
DRimag 30 dB 60 dB
DRspec 30 dB 50 dB
Xpol -20 dB -25 dB
BW 256 MHz 1 024 MHz
(4 096 MHz)
Nchan 4 096 32 768?
Tint <1 s 0.1 ms
Configuration (64 antennas)
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8 km
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MeerKAT Large Surveys
MeerKAT Large Surveys
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22 countries
MeerKAT Phase 1 (2016)
• 64 x 13.5 m gregorian offset antennas– >> 220 m2/K (300 m2/K goal)
• 8 km maximum baseline– 70 % in < 1km diameter core
• 0.9-1.726 GHz (following ECP) cryogenic single-pixel receiver (L-band)– Multiple feed indexer
• Direct digitization– DFX architecture
Future Phases
• Aspirations (contingent on money and/or technology availability):– 580-1000 MHz (UHF-band) – currently being
designed – 8-14.5 GHz (X/Ku-band)– 20+ km baselines – possibly use initial SKA
dishes– 1.5-3 GHz for NanoGrav– 5-22 GHz wideband receiver
• SKA-mid Phase 1
Commissioning and early science
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Time Allocated – > 5 years
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Survey L-Band UHF X/Ku-Band
Deep HI 5 000 5 000
Pulsar Timing 7 860
30 Galaxies 6 000
HI Absorption 2 000 2 000
EoR Molecules 6 500
Fast Transients 3 080 ?
Fornax HI 2 450
X/Ku-band Galaxy 3 300
Deep Continuum 1 950
Slow Transients 3 000 ? ?
TOTAL 31 340 7 000 8 800 1 yr = 8 760 hr
MeerKAT dish concept
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KAT-7
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HUDF & NVSS contours
NGC 3109 (neutral hydrogen)
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Single Baseline OH spectrum
Vela Single Pulse Baseband
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Other things we do…
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Youth into Science & Engineering• Research chairs• Visiting / joint professorships• University grants – support or
lecturers • Postdoctoral fellowships• Postgraduate bursaries• Undergraduate bursaries• Internships• Technician training – national
diplomas at universities of technology
• FET (artisan) training• Development of astrophysics
and related engineering in Africa partner states
• Mobility grants
A focused and structured programme with a pipeline strategy
Opportunities (Students)
Research chair/group/program University Professor
Electromagnetic Systems and EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) Mitigation
Stellenbosch Prof. David Davidson
Radio Astronomy Wits Prof. Sergio Colafrancesco
Astrophysics UWC Prof. Roy Maartens
Multi-Wavelength Extragalactic Astronomy
UCT Prof Claude Carignan
Radio Astronomy Techniques Rhodes Prof Oleg Smirnov
NASSP Multiple www.star.ac.za
SKA Multiple http://www.ska.ac.za/students/bursaries.php
Opportunities (Faculty)
• Science Data Processing– Developer MeerKAT
• Archiving, Pipelining, Calibration, HPC
– Developer SKA PEP• Work on developing specifications for SKA
• Commissioning– Senior scientist
• Can lead commissioning teams with a good knowledge of the system from hardware through to publishable science
– Junior/intermediate scientist • Has worked on radio telescope hardware and data
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