The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA): Current Status and Plans
Abstract
The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is a low frequency radio telescope of novel design, being built in the sparsely populated outback of western Australia, by a consortium of US, Australian and Indian institutions. The pristine environment for radio frequency interference facilitates sensitive measurements in support of science goals ranging from cosmology to space weather. The array operates in the 80-300 MHz range, and comprises 512 antenna "tiles" scattered over a 3km diameter region, each composed of 16 dual-polarization broadband dipoles. The received signals are digitized in the field, and transported by optical fiber to a central processing facility for correlation. The design and hardware components will be described, and the current state of construction will be summarized. The plans for completion of construction, test and verification of the hardware, commissioning of the array, and science operations will be presented.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #218
- Pub Date:
- May 2011
- Bibcode:
- 2011AAS...21813207W