论文标题
优化改进21 cm功率谱测量的MWA EOR数据处理 - 微调电离层校正
Optimising MWA EoR data processing for improved 21 cm power spectrum measurements -- fine-tuning ionospheric corrections
论文作者
论文摘要
相对于其他银河系和层次外无线电排放,在宇宙的前十亿年,由中性氢发出的红移宇宙学21 cm信号非常淡淡,这对检测信号构成了巨大的挑战。因此,精确的仪器校准是无线电干涉仪(例如Murchison widefield阵列(MWA))成功的重要先决条件,旨在进行21厘米的检测。在过去的几年中,针对EOR科学的功率范围范式的新型校准技术已被积极研究,并在可能的情况下进行了实施。使用最近获得的MWA计算资源,我们测试了可用于MWA EOR项目的最先进校准技术的完整功能,重点是方向依赖和方向独立校准。具体而言,我们研究了可以在杂交前景缓解方法中应用的天空建模,电离层校正和紧凑型源前景减法的重要校准阶段进行的改进(一种结合了前景减法和回避的方法)。此外,我们使用插值电离层筛选研究了一种电离层校正方法,并评估其在功率谱空间中的性能。总体而言,我们确定了一种精制的RTS校准配置,该配置至少导致$ 0.1 \; \ text {hmpc}^{ - 1} $ scale。改进标志着使用MWA和即将出现的SKA低望远镜检测21 cm信号的步骤。
The redshifted cosmological 21 cm signal emitted by neutral hydrogen during the first billion years of the universe is much fainter relative to other galactic and extragalactic radio emissions, posing a great challenge towards detection of the signal. Therefore, precise instrumental calibration is a vital prerequisite for the success of radio interferometers such as the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), which aim for a 21 cm detection. Over the previous years, novel calibration techniques targeting the power spectrum paradigm of EoR science have been actively researched and where possible implemented. Using recently acquired computation resources for the MWA, we test the full capabilities of the state-of-the-art calibration techniques available for the MWA EoR project, with a focus on both direction dependent and direction independent calibration. Specifically, we investigate improvements that can be made in the vital calibration stages of sky modelling, ionospheric correction, and compact source foreground subtraction as applied in the hybrid foreground mitigation approach (one that combines both foreground subtraction and avoidance). Additionally, we investigate a method of ionospheric correction using interpolated ionospheric phase screens and assess its performance in the power spectrum space. Overall, we identify a refined RTS calibration configuration that leads to an at least 2 factor reduction of the EoR window power contamination at the $0.1 \; \text{hMpc}^{-1}$ scale. The improvement marks a step further towards detecting the 21 cm signal using the MWA and the forthcoming SKA low telescope.