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Solidifying what is known about calibration artefacts and the development of an educational tool to assist in the teaching of interferometric imaging

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2023.

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Main Author: Jackson, Jason Peter
Other Authors: Grobler, Trienko
Format: Thesis
Language:en_ZA
en_ZA
Published: Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University 2023
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access_status_str Open Access
author Jackson, Jason Peter
author2 Grobler, Trienko
author_browse Grobler, Trienko
Jackson, Jason Peter
author_facet Grobler, Trienko
Jackson, Jason Peter
author_sort Jackson, Jason Peter
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv Stellenbosch University
description Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2023.
format Thesis
id oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/127243
institution Stellenbosch University (South Africa)
language en_ZA
en_ZA
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:46:36.532Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
publishDate 2023
publishDateRange 2023
publishDateSort 2023
publisher Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
publisherStr Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
record_format dspace
source_str SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
spelling oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/127243 Solidifying what is known about calibration artefacts and the development of an educational tool to assist in the teaching of interferometric imaging Jackson, Jason Peter Grobler, Trienko Ludick, Danie Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Science. Dept. of Computer Science. Radio Interferometry Calibration Artefacts Radio interferometers Calibration Astronomy -- Observations Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2023. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Radio interferometers are arrays of radio antennas that work together to capture celestial radio emission. Imaging involves transforming the raw measurements made by these so-called interferometers into images of the radio sky. The first contribution of this thesis is the creation of an educational tool that utilizes the Transient Array Radio Telescope (TART). This tool can be used to teach radio interferometric imaging to undergraduate and postgraduate students. Calibration is the act of trying to correct for the effects that may have interfered with the celestial radio emission that an interferometer receives. Calibration artefacts or systematics are inadvertently created when we calibrate our instrument. Calibrating with an incomplete sky model in particular can create artefacts called ghosts. Ghosts are spurious sources that do not truly exist. A second contribution of the thesis is the creation of a scientific tool with which calibration artefacts can be studied. This tool is then used to investigate what artefacts form when a single extended source is only partially modelled (with a point source model). The results of this study show that for the aforementioned extended use-case ghosts become extended sources themselves. They also alter the original extended source in various ways. The original source takes on the same flux scale as the source in the calibration model and its profile changes; it becomes more point-like. The shorter baselines are also more severely affected than the longer baselines are and in contrast to previous studies for this particular setup the number of antennas does not impact the severity of the artefacts which are created. AFRIKAANS OPSOMMING: ’n Radiointerferometer is ’n skikking van radio antennas wat saam werk om buiteaardse radio golwe waar te neem. Beeldskepping vind plaas wanneer die rou metings wat radiointerferometers maak omskep word in beelde van die radiohemelruim. Die eerste bydrae van die tesis behels die skepping van ’n onderrigstoepassing wat van die Kortstondige Skikking Radioteleskoop (KSRT) gebruik maak. Hierdie toepassing kan gebruik word om adiointerferometriesebeeldskepping te verduidelik aan voorgraadse en nagraadse studente. Kalibrasie is die taak waarmee mens probeer om die ongewenste effekte wat geïnduseer word op die metings van ‘n interferometer te verwyder. Kalibrasie artefakte of ongewensthede word gegeneereer wanneer ’n interferometer gekalibreer word. Om meer spesifiek te wees, wanneer mens kalibreer met ‘n onvolledige model van die hemelruim dan vorm daar artefakte wat bekend staan as spookbronne. Spookbronne is ongewenstebronne wat nie werklik bestaan nie. ’n Tweede bydrae van hierdie tesis is die skepping van ‘n wetenskaptoepassing waarmee kalibrasie artefakte bestudeer kan word. Die toepassing word dan ook gebruik om die artefakte wat vorm wannneer ’n uitgebruidebron gemodelleer word met ’n puntborn te bestudeer. Die bevindinge van die studie bewys dat die spookbron wat vorm in die geval uitgebreid is, en nie net ’n puntbron is nie. Verder word daar bewys dat die spookbron ook die eienskappe van die oorspronklike bron op verskeie manier verander. Eerstens neem die oorspronklike bron dieselfde vloedwaarde as die bron in die kalibrasie model aan. Verder verander die profiel van die oorspronklike bron, dit word meer puntagtig. Die korter basisvektore word ook meer beïnvloed as wat die langer basisvektore beïnvloed word. Laastens word daar bevind dat in kontras met vorige studies die helderheid van die artefakte wat vorm nie afhang van die aantal antennas in die skikking nie. Masters 2023-02-28T14:25:29Z 2023-05-18T07:11:39Z 2023-02-28T14:25:29Z 2023-05-18T07:11:39Z 2023-03 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/127243 en_ZA en_ZA Stellenbosch University xviii, 134 pages : illustrations. application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
spellingShingle Radio Interferometry Calibration Artefacts
Radio interferometers
Calibration
Astronomy -- Observations
Jackson, Jason Peter
Solidifying what is known about calibration artefacts and the development of an educational tool to assist in the teaching of interferometric imaging
title Solidifying what is known about calibration artefacts and the development of an educational tool to assist in the teaching of interferometric imaging
title_full Solidifying what is known about calibration artefacts and the development of an educational tool to assist in the teaching of interferometric imaging
title_fullStr Solidifying what is known about calibration artefacts and the development of an educational tool to assist in the teaching of interferometric imaging
title_full_unstemmed Solidifying what is known about calibration artefacts and the development of an educational tool to assist in the teaching of interferometric imaging
title_short Solidifying what is known about calibration artefacts and the development of an educational tool to assist in the teaching of interferometric imaging
title_sort solidifying what is known about calibration artefacts and the development of an educational tool to assist in the teaching of interferometric imaging
topic Radio Interferometry Calibration Artefacts
Radio interferometers
Calibration
Astronomy -- Observations
url http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/127243
work_keys_str_mv AT jacksonjasonpeter solidifyingwhatisknownaboutcalibrationartefactsandthedevelopmentofaneducationaltooltoassistintheteachingofinterferometricimaging