Details
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Enabler
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Low
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None
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None
Description
At the LFAA CDR, multi-beam holography was identified as a viable method for station-beam measurement and station calibration for SKA-LOW. The technique has been used successfully at LOFAR (see attached presentation). It uses a minimum of two stations: target (multiple beams are formed around a bright source) and reference. The separation should be large enough that complex diffuse structure is resolved out and a relatively simple sky model (ideally a point) can be used. One coarse channel would be observed at any time. At the moment, a maximum of 8 station beams is specified, but there appears to be no reason why the system could not support 300 MHz/coarse channel width.
The purpose of this feature is to establish whether the SKA-LOW system can support multi-beam holography in this way. The elements involved are primarily LFAA and CSP-LOW, although SDP will need to provide suitable reduction software.