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Software Which Describes the Mathematical Underpinnings of Aperture Synthesis

-- | September 3, 2017

Question: I’m interested in the topic of aperture synthesis. I was at the Jansky VLA a few years ago where the equations were posted during a seminar – the math was way beyond my understanding. Is there any software, like python for example, that performs function and might provide some understanding of the software implementation of aperture synthesis? — Dave

Answer: We do use a number of programming and script languages, including python, to process and manipulate interferometry measurements. We tend to use these programming languages at their basic levels, working with the mathematical functions themselves. Higher level software tends to be rather specialized, and rarely provides much insight into how the software is used from a basic level. You might want to take a look at Essential Radio Astronomy, an online textbook for radio astronomy which does include descriptions of the mathematical underpinnings of aperture synthesis.

Jeff Mangum

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