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LOFAR: Recent Imaging Results and Future Prospects

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Abstract

The Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) is under construction in the Netherlands and in several surrounding European countries. In this contribution, we describe the layout and design of the telescope, with particular emphasis on the imaging characteristics of the array when used in its ‘standard imaging’ mode. After briefly reviewing the calibration and imaging software used for LOFAR image processing, we show some recent results from the ongoing imaging commissioning efforts. We conclude by summarizing future prospects for the use of LOFAR in observing the little-explored low-frequency Universe.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ASTRON, Postbus 2, 7990 AA, Dwingeloo, The Netherlands

    George Heald, Roberto Pizzo, Joris E. van Zwieten, Ilse van Bemmel, Marijke Haverkorn & John McKean

  2. Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschildstraße 1, 85741, Garching, Germany

    Michael R. Bell & Francesco De Gasperin

  3. Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, 53121, Bonn, Germany

    Andreas Horneffer, James M. Anderson, Rainer Beck & Halime Miraghaei

  4. Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 800, 9700 AV, Groningen, The Netherlands

    André R. Offringa & Aleksandar Shulevski

  5. Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9513, 2300 RA, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Sebastiaan van der Tol, Reinout J. van Weeren, Laura Bîrzan, Marijke Haverkorn, David Rafferty & Huub Röttgering

  6. Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 1, 28759, Bremen, Germany

    Annalisa Bonafede

  7. Onsala Space Observatory, Dept. of Earth and Space Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-43992, Onsala, Sweden

    John Conway

  8. UNS, CNRS UMR 6202 Cassiopée, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, Nice, France

    Chiara Ferrari

  9. Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom

    Neal Jackson

  10. INAF - Istituto di Radioastronomia, via Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy

    Giulia Macario

  11. Institute for Studies in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics, Tehran, Iran

    Halime Miraghaei

  12. Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

    Halime Miraghaei

  13. Radboud University Nijmegen, Heijendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Emanuela Orrù

  14. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 31 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin, 2, Ireland

    Anna Scaife

  15. Astronomisches Institut der Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44780, Bochum, Germany

    Carlos Sotomayor

  16. GEPI, Observatoire de Paris-Meudon, 5 place Jules Janssen, 92190, Meudon, France

    Cyril Tasse

  17. Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, Auf dem Hügel 71, 53121, Bonn, Germany

    Monica Trasatti & Olaf Wucknitz

Authors
  1. George Heald
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  2. Michael R. Bell
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  3. Andreas Horneffer
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  4. André R. Offringa
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  5. Roberto Pizzo
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  6. Sebastiaan van der Tol
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  7. Reinout J. van Weeren
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  8. Joris E. van Zwieten
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  9. James M. Anderson
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  10. Rainer Beck
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  11. Ilse van Bemmel
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  12. Laura Bîrzan
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  13. Annalisa Bonafede
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  14. John Conway
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  15. Chiara Ferrari
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  16. Francesco De Gasperin
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  17. Marijke Haverkorn
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  18. Neal Jackson
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  19. Giulia Macario
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  20. John McKean
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  21. Halime Miraghaei
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  22. Emanuela Orrù
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  23. David Rafferty
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  24. Huub Röttgering
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  25. Anna Scaife
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  26. Aleksandar Shulevski
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  27. Carlos Sotomayor
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  28. Cyril Tasse
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  29. Monica Trasatti
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  30. Olaf Wucknitz
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on behalf of the LOFAR collaboration

Corresponding author

Correspondence to George Heald.

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Heald, G., Bell, M.R., Horneffer, A. et al. LOFAR: Recent Imaging Results and Future Prospects. J Astrophys Astron 32, 589–598 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12036-011-9125-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12036-011-9125-1

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