Radio Arrays

Haystack Observatory is involved in a variety of next-generation array development projects. The work is all based upon the recent availability of sufficient, affordable computing power to handle very large data rates and large numbers of antennas. We have emphasized new ways of calibrating and analyzing the wealth of data that is generated by such arrays, as well as concept development, system design and detailed design for the new arrays..

A major effort involves the Mileura Widefield Array (MWA), concentrating on the 80-300 MHz frequency range. This project is a collaboration with the MIT campus, with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, with the Australia Telescope National Facility, and with several other Australian groups.

The Deuterium Array is a project led by Alan Rogers at Haystack, designed to detect and measure the Deuterium line at 327 MHz in the Galactic plane, thereby constraining the cosmological abundance of Deuterium. The array is physically located at Haystack, and has already generated the first robust detection of the Deuterium line at 327 MHz.

Haystack has been involved for a number of years in work on the Square Kilometer Array, a project to build a radio telescope 2 to 3 orders of magnitude more sensitive than any now in existence. We are founding members of the US SKA Consortium, and are active participants in the international SKA project.

Supporting all the array projects, as well as radio interferometry in general, is the development of a new and innovative simulation capability, known as the MIT Array Performance Simulator, or MAPS.

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