The Low-Frequency Environment of the Murchison Widefield Array: Radio-Frequency Interference Analysis and Mitigation

A.R. Offringa; R.B. Wayth; N. Hurley-Walker; D.L. Kaplan; N. Barry; A.P. Beardsley; M.E. Bell; G. Bernardi; J.D. Bowman; F. Briggs; J.R. Callingham; R.J. Cappallo; P. Carroll; A.A. Deshpande; J.S. Dillon; K.S. Dwarakanath; A. Ewall-Wice; L. Feng; Bi-Qing For; B.M. Gaensler; L.J. Greenhill; P. Hancock; B.J. Hazelton; J.N. Hewitt; L. Hindson; D.C. Jacobs; M. Johnston-Hollitt; Anna Kapińska; H.S. Kim; P. Kittiwisit; E. Lenc; J. Line; A. Loeb; C.J. Lonsdale; B. Mckinley; S.R. Mcwhirter; D.A. Mitchell; M.F. Morales; E. Morgan; J. Morgan; A.R. Neben; D. Oberoi; S.M. Ord; S. Paul; B. Pindor; J.C. Pober; T. Prabu; P. Procopio; J. Riding; N. Udaya Shankar; S. Sethi; K.S. Srivani; Lister Staveley-Smith; R. Subrahmanyan; I.S. Sullivan; M. Tegmark; N. Thyagarajan; S.J. Tingay; C.M. Trott; R.L. Webster; A. Williams; C.L. Williams; Chen Wu; J.S. Wyithe; Q. Zheng

doi:10.1017/pasa.2015.7

The Low-Frequency Environment of the Murchison Widefield Array: Radio-Frequency Interference Analysis and Mitigation

A.R. Offringa, R.B. Wayth, N. Hurley-Walker, D.L. Kaplan, N. Barry, A.P. Beardsley, M.E. Bell, G. Bernardi, J.D. Bowman, F. Briggs, J.R. Callingham, R.J. Cappallo, P. Carroll, A.A. Deshpande, J.S. Dillon, K.S. Dwarakanath, A. Ewall-Wice, L. Feng, Bi-Qing For, B.M. GaenslerL.J. Greenhill, P. Hancock, B.J. Hazelton, J.N. Hewitt, L. Hindson, D.C. Jacobs, M. Johnston-Hollitt, Anna Kapińska, H.S. Kim, P. Kittiwisit, E. Lenc, J. Line, A. Loeb, C.J. Lonsdale, B. Mckinley, S.R. Mcwhirter, D.A. Mitchell, M.F. Morales, E. Morgan, J. Morgan, A.R. Neben, D. Oberoi, S.M. Ord, S. Paul, B. Pindor, J.C. Pober, T. Prabu, P. Procopio, J. Riding, N. Udaya Shankar, S. Sethi, K.S. Srivani, Lister Staveley-Smith, R. Subrahmanyan, I.S. Sullivan, M. Tegmark, N. Thyagarajan, S.J. Tingay, C.M. Trott, R.L. Webster, A. Williams, C.L. Williams, Chen Wu, J.S. Wyithe, Q. Zheng

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123 Citations (Web of Science)

Abstract

© 2015 Astronomical Society of Australia. The Murchison Widefield Array is a new low-frequency interferometric radio telescope built in Western Australia at one of the locations of the future Square Kilometre Array. We describe the automated radio-frequency interference detection strategy implemented for the Murchison Widefield Array, which is based on the aoflagger platform, and present 72-231 MHz radio-frequency interference statistics from 10 observing nights. Radio-frequency interference detection removes 1.1% of the data. Radio-frequency interference from digital TV is observed 3% of the time due to occasional ionospheric or atmospheric propagation. After radio-frequency interference detection and excision, almost all data can be calibrated and imaged without further radio-frequency interference mitigation efforts, including observations within the FM and digital TV bands. The results are compared to a previously published Low-Frequency Array radio-frequency interference survey. The remote location of the Murchison Widefield Array results in a substantially cleaner radio-frequency interference environment compared to Low-Frequency Array's radio environment, but adequate detection of radio-frequency interference is still required before data can be analysed. We include specific recommendations designed to make the Square Kilometre Array more robust to radio-frequency interference, including: the availability of sufficient computing power for radio-frequency interference detection; accounting for radio-frequency interference in the receiver design; a smooth band-pass response; and the capability of radio-frequency interference detection at high time and frequency resolution (second and kHz-scale respectively).

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	e008
Journal	Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia
Volume	32
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/pasa.2015.7
Publication status	Published - 2015

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10.1017/pasa.2015.7

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Offringa, A. R., Wayth, R. B., Hurley-Walker, N., Kaplan, D. L., Barry, N., Beardsley, A. P., Bell, M. E., Bernardi, G., Bowman, J. D., Briggs, F., Callingham, J. R., Cappallo, R. J., Carroll, P., Deshpande, A. A., Dillon, J. S., Dwarakanath, K. S., Ewall-Wice, A., Feng, L., For, B-Q., ... Zheng, Q. (2015). The Low-Frequency Environment of the Murchison Widefield Array: Radio-Frequency Interference Analysis and Mitigation. Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 32, e008. https://doi.org/10.1017/pasa.2015.7

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title = "The Low-Frequency Environment of the Murchison Widefield Array: Radio-Frequency Interference Analysis and Mitigation",

abstract = "{\textcopyright} 2015 Astronomical Society of Australia. The Murchison Widefield Array is a new low-frequency interferometric radio telescope built in Western Australia at one of the locations of the future Square Kilometre Array. We describe the automated radio-frequency interference detection strategy implemented for the Murchison Widefield Array, which is based on the aoflagger platform, and present 72-231 MHz radio-frequency interference statistics from 10 observing nights. Radio-frequency interference detection removes 1.1% of the data. Radio-frequency interference from digital TV is observed 3% of the time due to occasional ionospheric or atmospheric propagation. After radio-frequency interference detection and excision, almost all data can be calibrated and imaged without further radio-frequency interference mitigation efforts, including observations within the FM and digital TV bands. The results are compared to a previously published Low-Frequency Array radio-frequency interference survey. The remote location of the Murchison Widefield Array results in a substantially cleaner radio-frequency interference environment compared to Low-Frequency Array's radio environment, but adequate detection of radio-frequency interference is still required before data can be analysed. We include specific recommendations designed to make the Square Kilometre Array more robust to radio-frequency interference, including: the availability of sufficient computing power for radio-frequency interference detection; accounting for radio-frequency interference in the receiver design; a smooth band-pass response; and the capability of radio-frequency interference detection at high time and frequency resolution (second and kHz-scale respectively).",

author = "A.R. Offringa and R.B. Wayth and N. Hurley-Walker and D.L. Kaplan and N. Barry and A.P. Beardsley and M.E. Bell and G. Bernardi and J.D. Bowman and F. Briggs and J.R. Callingham and R.J. Cappallo and P. Carroll and A.A. Deshpande and J.S. Dillon and K.S. Dwarakanath and A. Ewall-Wice and L. Feng and Bi-Qing For and B.M. Gaensler and L.J. Greenhill and P. Hancock and B.J. Hazelton and J.N. Hewitt and L. Hindson and D.C. Jacobs and M. Johnston-Hollitt and Anna Kapi{\'n}ska and H.S. Kim and P. Kittiwisit and E. Lenc and J. Line and A. Loeb and C.J. Lonsdale and B. Mckinley and S.R. Mcwhirter and D.A. Mitchell and M.F. Morales and E. Morgan and J. Morgan and A.R. Neben and D. Oberoi and S.M. Ord and S. Paul and B. Pindor and J.C. Pober and T. Prabu and P. Procopio and J. Riding and {Udaya Shankar}, N. and S. Sethi and K.S. Srivani and Lister Staveley-Smith and R. Subrahmanyan and I.S. Sullivan and M. Tegmark and N. Thyagarajan and S.J. Tingay and C.M. Trott and R.L. Webster and A. Williams and C.L. Williams and Chen Wu and J.S. Wyithe and Q. Zheng",

year = "2015",

doi = "10.1017/pasa.2015.7",

language = "English",

volume = "32",

pages = "e008",

journal = "Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia",

issn = "1323-3580",

publisher = "Cambridge University Press",

}

Offringa, AR, Wayth, RB, Hurley-Walker, N, Kaplan, DL, Barry, N, Beardsley, AP, Bell, ME, Bernardi, G, Bowman, JD, Briggs, F, Callingham, JR, Cappallo, RJ, Carroll, P, Deshpande, AA, Dillon, JS, Dwarakanath, KS, Ewall-Wice, A, Feng, L, For, B-Q, Gaensler, BM, Greenhill, LJ, Hancock, P, Hazelton, BJ, Hewitt, JN, Hindson, L, Jacobs, DC, Johnston-Hollitt, M, Kapińska, A, Kim, HS, Kittiwisit, P, Lenc, E, Line, J, Loeb, A, Lonsdale, CJ, Mckinley, B, Mcwhirter, SR, Mitchell, DA, Morales, MF, Morgan, E, Morgan, J, Neben, AR, Oberoi, D, Ord, SM, Paul, S, Pindor, B, Pober, JC, Prabu, T, Procopio, P, Riding, J, Udaya Shankar, N, Sethi, S, Srivani, KS, Staveley-Smith, L, Subrahmanyan, R, Sullivan, IS, Tegmark, M, Thyagarajan, N, Tingay, SJ, Trott, CM, Webster, RL, Williams, A, Williams, CL, Wu, C, Wyithe, JS & Zheng, Q 2015, 'The Low-Frequency Environment of the Murchison Widefield Array: Radio-Frequency Interference Analysis and Mitigation', Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia, vol. 32, pp. e008. https://doi.org/10.1017/pasa.2015.7

TY - JOUR

T1 - The Low-Frequency Environment of the Murchison Widefield Array: Radio-Frequency Interference Analysis and Mitigation

AU - Offringa, A.R.

AU - Wayth, R.B.

AU - Hurley-Walker, N.

AU - Kaplan, D.L.

AU - Barry, N.

AU - Beardsley, A.P.

AU - Bell, M.E.

AU - Bernardi, G.

AU - Bowman, J.D.

AU - Briggs, F.

AU - Callingham, J.R.

AU - Cappallo, R.J.

AU - Carroll, P.

AU - Deshpande, A.A.

AU - Dillon, J.S.

AU - Dwarakanath, K.S.

AU - Ewall-Wice, A.

AU - Feng, L.

AU - For, Bi-Qing

AU - Gaensler, B.M.

AU - Greenhill, L.J.

AU - Hancock, P.

AU - Hazelton, B.J.

AU - Hewitt, J.N.

AU - Hindson, L.

AU - Jacobs, D.C.

AU - Johnston-Hollitt, M.

AU - Kapińska, Anna

AU - Kim, H.S.

AU - Kittiwisit, P.

AU - Lenc, E.

AU - Line, J.

AU - Loeb, A.

AU - Lonsdale, C.J.

AU - Mckinley, B.

AU - Mcwhirter, S.R.

AU - Mitchell, D.A.

AU - Morales, M.F.

AU - Morgan, E.

AU - Morgan, J.

AU - Neben, A.R.

AU - Oberoi, D.

AU - Ord, S.M.

AU - Paul, S.

AU - Pindor, B.

AU - Pober, J.C.

AU - Prabu, T.

AU - Procopio, P.

AU - Riding, J.

AU - Udaya Shankar, N.

AU - Sethi, S.

AU - Srivani, K.S.

AU - Staveley-Smith, Lister

AU - Subrahmanyan, R.

AU - Sullivan, I.S.

AU - Tegmark, M.

AU - Thyagarajan, N.

AU - Tingay, S.J.

AU - Trott, C.M.

AU - Webster, R.L.

AU - Williams, A.

AU - Williams, C.L.

AU - Wu, Chen

AU - Wyithe, J.S.

AU - Zheng, Q.

PY - 2015

Y1 - 2015

N2 - © 2015 Astronomical Society of Australia. The Murchison Widefield Array is a new low-frequency interferometric radio telescope built in Western Australia at one of the locations of the future Square Kilometre Array. We describe the automated radio-frequency interference detection strategy implemented for the Murchison Widefield Array, which is based on the aoflagger platform, and present 72-231 MHz radio-frequency interference statistics from 10 observing nights. Radio-frequency interference detection removes 1.1% of the data. Radio-frequency interference from digital TV is observed 3% of the time due to occasional ionospheric or atmospheric propagation. After radio-frequency interference detection and excision, almost all data can be calibrated and imaged without further radio-frequency interference mitigation efforts, including observations within the FM and digital TV bands. The results are compared to a previously published Low-Frequency Array radio-frequency interference survey. The remote location of the Murchison Widefield Array results in a substantially cleaner radio-frequency interference environment compared to Low-Frequency Array's radio environment, but adequate detection of radio-frequency interference is still required before data can be analysed. We include specific recommendations designed to make the Square Kilometre Array more robust to radio-frequency interference, including: the availability of sufficient computing power for radio-frequency interference detection; accounting for radio-frequency interference in the receiver design; a smooth band-pass response; and the capability of radio-frequency interference detection at high time and frequency resolution (second and kHz-scale respectively).

AB - © 2015 Astronomical Society of Australia. The Murchison Widefield Array is a new low-frequency interferometric radio telescope built in Western Australia at one of the locations of the future Square Kilometre Array. We describe the automated radio-frequency interference detection strategy implemented for the Murchison Widefield Array, which is based on the aoflagger platform, and present 72-231 MHz radio-frequency interference statistics from 10 observing nights. Radio-frequency interference detection removes 1.1% of the data. Radio-frequency interference from digital TV is observed 3% of the time due to occasional ionospheric or atmospheric propagation. After radio-frequency interference detection and excision, almost all data can be calibrated and imaged without further radio-frequency interference mitigation efforts, including observations within the FM and digital TV bands. The results are compared to a previously published Low-Frequency Array radio-frequency interference survey. The remote location of the Murchison Widefield Array results in a substantially cleaner radio-frequency interference environment compared to Low-Frequency Array's radio environment, but adequate detection of radio-frequency interference is still required before data can be analysed. We include specific recommendations designed to make the Square Kilometre Array more robust to radio-frequency interference, including: the availability of sufficient computing power for radio-frequency interference detection; accounting for radio-frequency interference in the receiver design; a smooth band-pass response; and the capability of radio-frequency interference detection at high time and frequency resolution (second and kHz-scale respectively).

U2 - 10.1017/pasa.2015.7

DO - 10.1017/pasa.2015.7

M3 - Article

SN - 1323-3580

VL - 32

SP - e008

JO - Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia

JF - Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia

ER -

The Low-Frequency Environment of the Murchison Widefield Array: Radio-Frequency Interference Analysis and Mitigation

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