论文标题
南部天空校准器PKS B1934-638附近的现场源:对SKA-MID及其前体的光谱线观测的影响
Field sources near the southern-sky calibrator PKS B1934-638: effect on spectral line observations with SKA-MID and its precursors
论文作者
论文摘要
准确的仪器带通校正对于从无线电干涉仪观察的可靠解释光谱线的可靠解释至关重要。通常通过将强校准器源与假定模型(通常是孤立点源的模型进行测量)进行测量来进行带通校正。现代干涉仪的广泛视野和高灵敏度意味着在校准器的观察中经常发现其他来源。这可以将错误引入带通校正,然后将目标数据引入,如果未正确考虑目标数据。为了关注标准校准器PKS B1934-638,我们通过构建宽场天空模型来进行模拟来评估这种效果。检查了SKA-MID的ASKAP(0.7-1.9 GHz),Meerkat(UHF:0.58-1.05 GHz; L-band:0.87-1.67 GHz)和2(0.95-1.76 GHz)的案例。发现在带通校准期间的中央点源模型的使用可将幅度误差降低到由〜0.2-0.5%级别下降到〜0.01%的光谱中,在SKA-MID的情况下降至约0.01%。这表现为在源光谱中的涟漪,其行为与阵列基线的分布,溶液间隔,初级梁大小,校准扫描的小时角以及对目标进行成像时使用的权重。校准管道应定期采用完整的现场模型来使标准校准器从数据中清除这种潜在的破坏性污染物,这是我们通过将模拟结果与PKS B1934-638的Meerkat扫描进行比较而验证的建议,并在没有我们扩展的天空模型的情况下进行校准。
Accurate instrumental bandpass corrections are essential for the reliable interpretation of spectral lines from targeted and survey-mode observations with radio interferometers. Bandpass correction is typically performed by comparing measurements of a strong calibrator source to an assumed model, typically an isolated point source. The wide field-of-view and high sensitivity of modern interferometers means that additional sources are often detected in observations of calibrators. This can introduce errors into bandpass corrections and subsequently the target data if not properly accounted for. Focusing on the standard calibrator PKS B1934-638, we perform simulations to asses this effect by constructing a wide-field sky model. The cases of ASKAP (0.7-1.9 GHz), MeerKAT (UHF: 0.58-1.05 GHz; L-band: 0.87-1.67 GHz) and Band 2 (0.95-1.76 GHz) of SKA-MID are examined. The use of a central point source model during bandpass calibration is found to impart amplitude errors into spectra measured by the precursor instruments at the ~0.2-0.5% level dropping to ~0.01% in the case of SKA-MID. This manifests itself as ripples in the source spectrum, the behaviour of which is coupled to the distribution of the array baselines, the solution interval, the primary beam size, the hour-angle of the calibration scan, as well as the weights used when imaging the target. Calibration pipelines should routinely employ complete field models for standard calibrators to remove this potentially destructive contaminant from the data, a recommendation we validate by comparing our simulation results to a MeerKAT scan of PKS B1934-638, calibrated with and without our expanded sky model.