Full-Sky Maps of the VHF Radio Sky with the Owens Valley Radio Observatory Long Wavelength Array
Abstract
21-cm cosmology is a powerful new probe of the intergalactic medium at redshifts 20 >~ z >~ 6 corresponding to the Cosmic Dawn and Epoch of Reionization. Current observations of the highly-redshifted 21-cm transition are limited by the dynamic range they can achieve against foreground sources of low-frequency (<200 MHz) of radio emission. We used the Owens Valley Radio Observatory Long Wavelength Array (OVRO-LWA) to generate a series of new modern high-fidelity sky maps that capture emission on angular scales ranging from tens of degrees to ~15 arcmin, and frequencies between 36 and 73 MHz. These sky maps were generated from the application of Tikhonov-regularized m-mode analysis imaging, which is a new interferometric imaging technique that is uniquely suited for low-frequency, wide-field, drift-scanning interferometers.
- Publication:
-
Peering towards Cosmic Dawn
- Pub Date:
- May 2018
- DOI:
- 10.1017/S1743921317011231
- Bibcode:
- 2018IAUS..333..110E
- Keywords:
-
- cosmology: early universe;
- ISM: HII regions;
- ISM: supernova remnants;
- techniques: interferometric;
- radio continuum: general