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ALMA Memo #390
Radio Interferometer Array Point Spread Functions II.
Evaluation and Optimization


David Woody
Owens Valley Radio Observatory

2001-08-31


Keywords: radio interferometers, configurations, point spread function

The PSF of several sample arrays, including pseudo-random and circular arrays, are evaluated. The distribution of sidelobes is shown to closely follow the theoretical distribution derived in the companion paper [1]. An optimization procedure is developed that produces configurations with peak sidelobes close to the expected limit given in [1] and with a smooth progression from small peaks near the center of the PSF and the largest peaks at the edge of the primary beam. Plotting the peak sidelobe as a function of the radial distance from the center of the PSF is shown to be very useful for evaluating the PSF. The optimized arrays provide a benchmark against which other configurations can be compared.



View a pdf version of ALMA Memo 390.


***Please be advised that an addendum is now available for Memo 390.




Last modified: 2001 Oct 10

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