Abstract
We describe a focal plane array (FPA) system, called Apertif, that is being developed for the Westerbork Synthesis
Radio Telescope (WSRT). The aim of Apertif is to increase the instantaneous field of view of the WSRT by a factor of 37 and
its observing bandwidth to 300 MHz with high spectral resolution. This system will turn the WSRT into an effective survey
telescope with scientific applications such as deep imaging surveys of the northern sky of HI and OH emission, of the
polarised continuum and efficient searches for pulsars and transients. Such surveys will detect the HI in more than 100,000
galaxies out to z = 0.4, will allow to determine the detailed structure of the magnetic field of the Galaxy, and will discover
more than 1,000 pulsars. We present experimental results obtained with a prototype FPA installed in one of the WSRT dishes.
These results demonstrate that FPAs do have the performance that is required to make all these surveys possible.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | Proceedings of Wide Field Astronomy & Technology for the Square Kilometre Array (SKADS 2009). 4-6 November 2009. Chateau de Limelette, Belgium |
| Publisher | s.n. |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Publication status | Published - 2009 |
| Event | WIDEFIELD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FOR THE SKA. SKADS CONFERENCE 2009 - Duration: 4-Oct-2009 → … |
Conference
| Conference | WIDEFIELD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FOR THE SKA. SKADS CONFERENCE 2009 |
|---|---|
| Period | 04/10/2009 → … |