LOFAR: The LOw-Frequency ARray
LOFAR: The LOw-Frequency ARray
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DOI：
10.1051/0004-6361/201220873
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发表时间：
2013-08-01
影响因子：
6.5
通讯作者：
van Zwieten, J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
van Haarlem, M. P.;Wise, M. W.;van Zwieten, J.
LOFAR，即低频阵列，是在荷兰北部和整个欧洲建造的新一代无线电干涉仪。利用新颖的相控阵设计，LOFAR覆盖了大部分未开发的10-240 MHz低频范围，并提供了许多独特的观测能力。从荷兰东北部Exloo村附近的一个核心向外延伸，共有40个LOFAR站即将完工。另外，德国各地还部署了五个监测站，法国、瑞典和英国各建了一个监测站。数字波束形成技术使LOFAR系统变得灵活，并允许望远镜快速重新指向以及多个同时观测的潜力。凭借其密集的核心阵列和长干涉基线，LOFAR在低频无线电领域实现了无与伦比的灵敏度和角分辨率。LOFAR设施由国际LOFAR望远镜基金会（ILT）联合运营，作为一个向全球天文学界开放的天文台。LOFAR是首批具有自动化处理管道的无线电观测站之一，可以向用户社区提供完全校准的科学产品。LOFAR的新能力、技术和操作方式使其成为平方公里阵列（SKA）的重要探路者。我们概述了LOFAR仪器，其主要硬件和软件组件，以及驱动其设计的核心科学目标。此外，我们还介绍了这个新射电天文台调试阶段的一些新结果。
LOFAR, the LOw-Frequency ARray, is a new-generation radio interferometer constructed in the north of the Netherlands and across europe. Utilizing a novel phased-array design, LOFAR covers the largely unexplored low-frequency range from 10-240 MHz and provides a number of unique observing capabilities. Spreading out from a core located near the village of Exloo in the northeast of the Netherlands, a total of 40 LOFAR stations are nearing completion. A further five stations have been deployed throughout Germany, and one station has been built in each of France, Sweden, and the UK. Digital beam-forming techniques make the LOFAR system agile and allow for rapid repointing of the telescope as well as the potential for multiple simultaneous observations. With its dense core array and long interferometric baselines, LOFAR achieves unparalleled sensitivity and angular resolution in the low-frequency radio regime. The LOFAR facilities are jointly operated by the International LOFAR Telescope (ILT) foundation, as an observatory open to the global astronomical community. LOFAR is one of the first radio observatories to feature automated processing pipelines to deliver fully calibrated science products to its user community. LOFAR's new capabilities, techniques and modus operandi make it an important pathfinder for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). We give an overview of the LOFAR instrument, its major hardware and software components, and the core science objectives that have driven its design. In addition, we present a selection of new results from the commissioning phase of this new radio observatory.