Year: 2013
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: The Murchison Widefield Array is a low frequency (80 – 300 MHz) SKA Precursor, comprising 128 aperture array elements (known as tiles) distributed over an area of 3 km diameter. The MWA is located at the extraordinarily radio quiet Murchison Radioastronomy Observatory in the mid-west of Western Australia, the selected home for the Phase 1 and Phase 2 SKA low frequency arrays. The MWA science goals include: 1) detection of fluctuations in the brightness temperature of the diffuse redshifted 21 cm line of neutral hydrogen from the epoch of reionisation; 2) studies of Galactic and extragalactic processes based on deep, confusion-limited surveys of the full sky visible to the array; 3) time domain astrophysics through exploration of the variable radio sky; and 4) solar imaging and characterisation of the heliosphere and ionosphere via propagation effects on background radio source emission. This paper concentrates on the capabilities of the MWA for solar science and summarises some of the solar science results to date, in advance of the initial operation of the final instrument in 2013.
Authors: S J Tingay, D Oberoi, I Cairns, A Donea, R Duffin, W Arcus, G Bernardi, J D Bowman, F Briggs, J D Bunton, R J Cappallo, B E Corey, A Deshpande, L deSouza, D Emrich, B M Gaensler, R Goeke, L J Greenhill, B J Hazelton, D Herne, J N Hewitt, M Johnston-Hollitt, D L Kaplan, J C Kasper, J A Kennewell, B B Kincaid, R Koenig, E Kratzenberg, C J Lonsdale, M J Lynch, S R McWhirter, D A Mitchell, M F Morales, E Morgan, S M Ord, J Pathikulangara, T Prabu, R A Remillard, A E E Rogers, A Roshi, J E Salah, R J Sault, N Udaya-Shankar, K S Srivani, J Stevens, R Subrahmanyan, M Waterson, R B Wayth, R L Webster, A R Whitney, A Williams, C L Williams, J S B Wyithe
Institutions: Curtin University, International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, The University of Sydney, Monash University, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian, Arizona State University, Australian National University, ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Astronomy and Space, Raman Research Institute, University of Washington, Victoria University of Wellington, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, The University of Melbourne, The University of Western Australia
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
Funders: National Science Foundation, Smithsonian Institution, Nvidia, Harvard University, Astronomy Australia Limited, Australian Government, Victoria University of Wellington, Victoria University, Curtin University of Technology, Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, U.S. Air Force, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Awards: CDI Type II: Scientific Computation for Astronomy, Neurobiology and Chemistry using Graphics Processing Units and Solid-State Storage, Low-Frequency Radio Transient Science with the MWA, Mileura Wide-Field Array Science and Technology Demonstrator, G6671297155, G6960866714, G7090116110, CAREER: 21 cm Cosmology Observations
OpenAlex ID: W2136880694