Course syllabus for Radioastronomical techniques and interferometry

Course syllabus adopted 2022-02-02 by Head of Programme (or corresponding).

Overview

  • Swedish nameRadioastronomiska tekniker och interferometri
  • CodeRRY131
  • Credits7.5 Credits
  • OwnerMPPHS
  • Education cycleSecond-cycle
  • Main field of studyElectrical Engineering, Engineering Physics
  • DepartmentSPACE, EARTH AND ENVIRONMENT
  • GradingTH - Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3), Fail

Course round 1

  • Teaching language English
  • Application code 85143
  • Block schedule
  • Open for exchange studentsYes

Credit distribution

0113 Project 3 c
Grading: UG		0 c3 c0 c0 c0 c0 c
0213 Examination 4.5 c
Grading: TH		0 c4.5 c0 c0 c0 c0 c
  • 17 Jan 2025 pm J
  • 14 Apr 2025 am J
  • 27 Aug 2025 pm J

In programmes

Examiner

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Eligibility

General entry requirements for Master's level (second cycle)
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Specific entry requirements

English 6 (or by other approved means with the equivalent proficiency level)
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Course specific prerequisites

Basic knowledge in electromagnetism.

Aim

The aim of the course is that students to understand radio astronomy techniques and the astrophysical goals motivating radio astronomy measurements. The course shall enable the students to plan an astronomical experiment using either single dish or interferometry, and to determine the required integration time, choice of instrument etc. The course will explain how to go from raw radio astronomy data to final images/spectra. The level of understanding should be such that the students in their profession as engineers or scientists should be able to apply radioastronomical techniques.

Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)

* Become aware of the role played by radio astronomy in the study of the Universe. 
* Know about the most important radio astronomical instruments (e.g. ALMA, VLA, SKA, LOFAR, VLBI) and their science drivers. 
* Be able to describe which physical quantities can be measured by radio telescopes. 
* Understand the mechanisms of continuum and spectral line radiation and the nature of the astrophysical sources (from star-forming regions to supermassive black holes). 
* From the spectral energy distribution of a typical source (star, active galaxy, etc), be able to determine in which frequency ranges it can be observed by different telescopes. 
* Calculate required angular resolution for a given science need (is an interferometer needed?) 
* Be able to describe and perform simple calculations involving fundamentals of positional astronomy. 
* Be able to describe the basic operation of a radio telescope and its instrumentation. 
* Know the main single-dish observational techniques (e.g. frequency - beam - position switching, polarization measurements, fast scanning). 
* Estimate required integration time for a given observation (the radiometer equation).
* Plan, carry out and analyze a single-dish astronomical observation. 
* Know the main limitations and strengths of interferometric observations. 
* Understand concepts of point source and surface brightness sensitivity. 
* Learn the mathematical tools needed to understand interferometry (signal cross-correlation, 2D Fourier transform, 2D convolution). 
* Visualise a simple two-element interferometer and the output response of a point source. 
* Understand the process of image reconstruction from interferometric observations.
* Learn the basics of data calibration (amplitude and phase) in interferometry. 

Content

The course contains the following parts: 

* Single-dish radio astronomy. 
* Fundamental concepts. 
* Basic antenna theory. 
* Receiver and signal processing. 
* Observational methods. 
* Radio astronomical sources. 
* Spectral line analysis. 
* Planning a single-dish observation. 
* Observing with the Onsala 20m telescope. 
* Single-dish data analysis. 
* The 2-element non-tracking interferometer. 
* The tracking interferometer. 
* The 2D Fourier transform. 
* 'uv' coverage for example interferometers. 
* The dirty map and dirty beam. 
* Noise in interferometry images. 
* Properties of the main radio interferometers where one can apply for observing time. 
* Planning an observation with a radio interferometer. 
* Deconvolution methods. 
* Phase errors and their recovery using closure phase and self-calbration. 
* Interferometric data reduction. 
* Design of aperture arrays.

Organisation

Lectures, problem classes, practical observations, and computer exercises.

Literature

  • Lecture notes
  • Books (both are available as e-books from the Chalmers library):
    • Essential Radio Astronomy, J.J. Condon & S.M. Ransom, Princeton University Press, 2016
    •  Tools of Radio Astronomy, K. Rohlfs & T.L. Wilson, Springer Verlag, latest edition 

Examination including compulsory elements

(1) Written exam. 60% of the final grade. 
(2) Written report about the observations with a radio telescope (group work), hand-in assignments and oral presentation of a scientific paper.  40% of the final grade. 

The course examiner may assess individual students in other ways than what is stated above if there are special reasons for doing so, for example if a student has a decision from Chalmers on educational support due to disability.