Difference between revisions of "Undergraduate Radio Lab"

Revision as of 11:17, 23 January 2019

This course consists of four laboratory experiments that concentrate on radio instrumentation and laboratory techniques. We will build receiving, observing, and data analysis systems for two telescopes: a single-dish 21-cm line system, and a 10.7-GHz interferometer. We will use these telescopes for astronomical observing projects including structure of the Milky Way galaxy, precise position measurement of several radio sources, and measurement of the radio brightness distributions of the sun and moon with high angular resolution. There is a heavy emphasis on digital data acquisition, software development in the Python language, and high-quality written reports.

Class Programmatics

Class Code Repository: http://github.com/AaronParsons/ugradio
Syllabus
Class Hours:
- Tuesday 2-5pm
Office Hours:
- Aaron: TBD
- Bryan: TBD
- Jonathan: Thursdays 11a-12p
Lab1 Groups:
- TBD

Experiments

General Skills Used Through-Out Course

Topics by Date

Lab 1 (Exploring Digital Sampling, Fourier Transforms, and both DSB and SSB Mixers), Due Feb 12, 2:00p

Lab 1, Week 1 (Jan 22): Sampling and Power Spectra

Theory and Background
- Nyquist Sampling
Demos and Tutorials
- Introduction to Python and Plotting
- Aliasing Demo
In class:
- Astrobaki, Syllabus, Office Hours
- Lecture: How EM waves get onto a wire
- Radio Astronomy: State of the Union
- Tour of lab
  - Lab components
- Getting accounts / setting up environments
  - Unix Primer
  - Python Installation and Basic Programming, first pass
  - Revision Control, first pass
  - Unix Text Editors
- Lecture: Nyquist sampling and aliasing

Lab 1, Week 2 (Jan 29): DSB and SSB Mixers

Theory and Background:
Demos and Tutorials
- In the Mind: Introduction to the Fourier Transform with handout on DFTs with DFTs
- Mommy Fortuna's Midnight Carnival of Python Oddities
- Data Representations, with handout on Data Types and Organizational Structures
In class:
- Lecture: Fourier Transforms, Convolution Theorem, Data Types
- Show and Tell (10m per group)
- Scientific Python Review (numpy, pylab, scipy)
- Python Installation and Basic Programming, second pass
- Lecture: Introduction to DSB and SSB Mixers

Lab 1, Week 3 (Feb 5): More Mixers, and Lab Reports

Theory and Background
- LaTeX
- Introduction to Python and Plotting, second pass
In Class:
- Show and Tell
- Writing Lab Reports
Lab 1 Due Feb 12, 2:00p

Lab 2 (Astronomy with the 21cm Line; Some Microwave Electronics), due Mar 5, 2:00p

Lab 2, Week 1 (Feb 12): 21cm Line and Waveguides

Theory and Background:
Demos and Tutorials
- Python Tutorial Part 3: Functions, Modules, and Objects
- Central Limit Theorem and Averaging
In class:
- Introduction to Horn and Receiver
- Time
- Doppler Corrections, ugradio.doppler

Lab 2, Week 2 (Feb 19): Collect and Analyze Data

Theory and Background
Demos and Tutorials
- Matrix Math with Numpy
In Class:
- Show and Tell
- Waveguides, Transmission Lines, and Rope
- Fitting Gaussians and Polynomials, ugradio.gauss

Lab 2, Week 3 (Feb 26): Write Lab Report

Theory and Background
- Least-Squares and Chi-Square for the Budding Aficionado: Art and Practice
In Class:
- Show and Tell
- Least Squares Part 2
Lab 2 Due Mar 5, 2:00p

Lab 3 (Radio Interferometry at X Band), due Apr 9, 2:00p

Lab 3 Week 1 (Mar 5): Interferometer

Theory and Background
- Coordinates
- Basic Interferometry
In Class:
- Tour of Rooftop Interferometer
- Exercise Ball Coordinates
- Interferometry with Strings

Lab 3 Week 2 (Mar 12): Collect and Analyze Data

Theory and Background
- Measurement Equation
- Telescope Field of View/Resolution
In Class:
- Show and Tell
- Controlling the Telescope
- Tracking the Sun
- Scheduling Observations

Lab 3 Week 3 (Mar 19): Collect and Analyze Data

Theory and Background
- Basic Interferometry II
- Least Squares
In Class:
- Show and Tell
- Linear Least-Squares in Python
- Minimizing Chi-Square
- Noise in Observations

No class (Mar 26)

Lab 3 Week 4 (Apr 2): Write Lab Report

Theory and Background
- - Correlators
  - Units of radiation
In Class:
- Show and Tell
- Photon bucket demo
Lab 3 Due Apr 9, 2:00p

Lab 4 (Mapping the HI Line: the Galaxy and Supershells), due May 7, 2:00p

Useful Links

Link to Observing Calendar

Leuschner WebCam

Lab 4 Week 1 (Apr 9): Leuschner Dish

Theory and Background
- Specific Intensity
- Radio Sky
In Class:
- Trip to Leuschner: Class will go later than usual
- drive mechanism (how the dish moves)
- feed (notice probes) and cables
- IF setup (one channel for OH, one for HI)
- show spectrum
- demo action
- spatial sampling with dish

Lab 4 Week 2 (Apr 16): Collect and Analyze Data

Theory and Background
In Class:
- Show and Tell
- pointing control
- how to take data
- computing doppler width for a line of sight (assuming circular motion)

Lab 4 Week 3 (Apr 23): Collect and Analyze Data

Theory and Background
In Class:
- Show and Tell
- close-out plan
- calibrating spectra
- converting spectra to hydrogen

Lab 4 Week 4 (Apr 30): Write Lab Report

Theory and Background
- Calibrating the Intensity and Shape of Spectral Lines (Carl Heiles)
In Class:
- Show and Tell
- displaying information in image form
- Lab 4 Due May 7, 2:00p

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 ** Aaron: TBD
 ** Bryan: TBD
-** Jonathan: TBD
+** Jonathan: Thursdays 11a-12p
 * Lab1 Groups:
 ** TBD