Adapting and expanding the Plateau de Bure interferometer
AIP Conference Proceedings 848 (2006) 857-863
Authors:
A Karastergiou, R Neri
Abstract:
We were recently faced with the following problem: The T-shaped Plateau de Bure Interferometer is expanding its tracks to achieve higher spatial resolution in astronomical images at mm wavelengths. Two more stations for positioning the antennas during observations are being built at the ends of the extended tracks. Which of the given stations should the remaining four antennas occupy to accommodate the new stations? What is the optimal set of antenna configurations, given the new extended one, to achieve necessary coverage of the uv-plane at a variety of spatial resolutions? We present in this paper the solutions to the above questions, resulting from a novel method we have recently developed. The method is based on identifying which placement of elements provides the most appropriate uv-plane sampling. © 2006 American Institute of Physics.
