MMA Memo #199

Cost-Benefit Analysis for the Number of MMA Configurations

M.A. Holdaway

February 27, 1998

Keywords: array configuration, reconfiguring, sensitivity, tapering

We perform a new sort of cost/scientific-benefit analysis to determine the optimal number of configurations the MMA should have. We trade the costs of building extra configurations, moving antennas among them, and lost observing time, against the loss of sensitivity which results from tapering when a specific image resolution different from the natural resolution of the array is required. With our assumptions, we find that the optimal number of configurations is between five and eight, depending upon what fraction of the time tapering is required. However, four configurations is fairly close to the optimum.

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Last modified: 09 December, 1999