Atacama compact array antennas

M. Saito; J. Inatani; K. Nakanishi; H. Saito; S. Iguchi

doi:10.1117/12.926987

17 September 2012 Atacama compact array antennas

M. Saito, J. Inatani, K. Nakanishi, H. Saito, S. Iguchi

Proceedings Volume 8444, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes IV; 84443H (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.926987
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2012, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Abstract

The ACA (Atacama Compact Array) system is an important element of ALMA and consists of four ACA 12-m antennas and twelve ACA 7-m antennas. The ACA system aims to acquire the total power data with four 12-m antennas and the short baseline interferometer data with 7-m antennas. The ACA system also increases reliability of the interferometer maps of astronomical sources larger than the field view of the 12-m antenna. The science performance of these antennas has been extensively verified at OSF (operation support facility) at an elevation of 2900 m in Atacama desert in northern Chile since 2007. The pointing performance has been verified with a dedicated optical pointing telescope, the servo performance is tested with angle encoders, and the surface accuracy has been measured with a radio holography method. Both ACA 12-m antennas and 7-m antennas have been successfully demonstrated to meet the very stringent ALMA specifications.

Citation Download Citation

M. Saito, J. Inatani, K. Nakanishi, H. Saito, and S. Iguchi "Atacama compact array antennas", Proc. SPIE 8444, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes IV, 84443H (17 September 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.926987

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