Graduation Semester and Year
2021
Language
English
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Physics and Applied Physics
Department
Physics
First Advisor
Ramon Lopez
Abstract
The last two decades have seen a proliferation in the development of technology for low frequency radio astronomy based upon phased elements grouped into one or more large stations. Instruments fielding multiple large stations containing anywhere from dozens to hundreds of long wavelength dipole antenna elements include the Long Wavelength Array, the Low Frequency Array, and the Murchison Widefield Array. All of these instruments include the detection of radio transients within their broad scientific portfolios. I cover the early commissioning of the Low Frequency All Monitor (LoFASM), a phased array instrument, conceived and designed by Dr. Fredrick A. Jenet, similarly comprised of multiple stations but focused more narrowly on the all-sky detection of bright radio transients at low frequencies. LoFASM stations are considerably smaller, operated independently, and currently distributed across the continental United States. While there are many theoretical predictions for low frequency extra-solar coherent sources, with the exceptions of radio pulsars, this frequency range remains a relatively unexplored frontier. LoFASM stations search the skies for radio transients in the 15-88 MHz frequency range, favoring the detection of coherent emission processes. This thesis describes the design of the LoFASM system together with results from early tests to demonstrate its operational capabilities, including a review of data taken of solar transients, potential ionospheric activity, the Galactic background, as well as Galactic and extra-galactic point sources.
Keywords
Radio telescope, Radio astronomy, instrumentation, Long wavelength, Radio transients
Disciplines
Physical Sciences and Mathematics | Physics
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Dartez, Louis Percy, "THE COMMISSIONING OF THE LOW FREQUENCY ALL SKY MONITOR, THE FIRST DISTRIBUTED PHASED ARRAY TELESCOPE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO SEARCH FOR RADIO TRANSIENTS AT LONG WAVELENGTHS" (2021). Physics Dissertations. 169.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/physics_dissertations/169
Comments
Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington