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Characterisation of the Mopra radio telescope at 1650GHz

Urquhart, J.S., Hoare, Melvin G., Purcell, C.R., Brooks, K.J., Voronkov, M.A., Indermuehle, B.T., Burton, Michael G., Tothill, N.F.H., Edwards, P.G. (2010) Characterisation of the Mopra radio telescope at 1650GHz. Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 27 (3). pp. 321-330. ISSN 1323-3580. (doi:10.1071/AS10002) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:52232)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://www.dx.doi.org/10.1071/AS10002

Abstract

We present the results of a programme of scanning and mapping observations of astronomical masers and Jupiter designed to characterise the performance of the Mopra Radio Telescope at frequencies between 16 and 50 GHz using the 12-mm and 7-mm receivers. We use these observations to determine the telescope beam size, beam shape, and overall telescope beam efficiency as a function of frequency. We find that the beam size is well fit by ?/D over the frequency range with a correlation coefficient of ?90%. We determine the telescope main beam efficiencies are between ?48 and 64% for the 12-mm receiver and reasonably flat at ?50% for the 7-mm receiver. Beam maps of strong H2O (22 GHz) and SiO masers (43 GHz) provide a means to examine the radial beam pattern of the telescope. At both frequencies, the radial beam pattern reveals the presence of three components: a central ‘core’, which is well fit by a Gaussian and constitutes the telescopes main beam; and inner and outer error beams. At both frequencies, the inner and outer error beams extend out to ?2 and ?3.4 times the full-width half maximum of the main beam, respectively. Sources with angular sizes of a factor of two or more larger than the telescope main beam will couple to the main and error beams, and therefore the power contributed by the error beams needs to be considered. From measurements of the radial beam power pattern we estimate the amount of power contained in the inner and outer error beams is of order one-fifth at 22 GHz, rising slightly to one-third at 43 GHz.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1071/AS10002
Uncontrolled keywords: instruments, ISM: molecules, radio sources: lines
Subjects: Q Science > QB Astronomy > QB460 Astrophysics
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Natural Sciences > Physics and Astronomy
Depositing User: James Urquhart
Date Deposited: 30 Nov 2015 16:10 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:21 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/52232 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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