LOFAR Status

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LOFAR Status
Michael Kramer, Ralf-Jürgen Dettmar and Marcus
Brüggen for GLOW
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Path into the Future
MeerKAT
ATA
10 SKA Phase I
FAST
Full SKA
LOFAR
ASKAP
Now
2012
2010
2017
2022
2015

• LOFAR as important stepping stone towards SKA
• Exciting new science facility in its own right!

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Low Frequency Array (LOFAR)

• Telescope the size of the Netherlands plus
• parts of Europe
• Frequency coverage 30-80, 120-240 MHz
• 10 SKA at low-frequencies
• Baselines 2.5-100 km
• European Expansion to 1000 km
• Aperture array two types
• 18 core 18 remote stations
• No moving parts electronic beam steering
• Supercomputer
• synthesizes giant dish
• Two orders of magnitude
• improvement in resolution
• and sensitivity

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LBAs and HBAs
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The core of LOFAR
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LOFAR NL
July 09
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It tracks!
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International LOFAR

• 5 (7) German stations
• 1-2 UK stations
• French superstation
• Swedish station

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Effelsberg station

• Completed last month
• Fully functional
• First pulsar light
• First fringes with Dutch stations!
• (see press release tomorrow!)

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Effelsberg station

• Completed last month
• Fully functional
• First pulsar light
• First fringes with Dutch stations!
• (see press release tomorrow!)

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Tautenburg has seen first light
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LBA installed in Unterweilenbach HBA follow
this month
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What about the other German stations? Unterweil
enbach is setting up HBA now Potsdam constr
uction starting this year Jülich
(Verbundforschungsstation)
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LOFAR Key Science
The epoch of reionisation Deep
extragalactic surveys Transient radio
phenomena and pulsars (Ultra) high energy
cosmic rays Cosmic magnetism Solar
physics and space weather
Single station usage German subarray
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Summary

• LOFAR in the Netherlands and in Germany on track
• First results are very promising and suggest
  exciting future
• Full operations expected for 2010
• Early science possible Calls for opportunities
• if this is possible with LOFAR, the
  SKA will be a revolution!

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Single Station Operation
Motivation

• Neutron star seismology high density matter
  properties
• Neutron star population physics, e.g.
  intermittent pulsars
• Pulsar emission physics steep spectra,
  unexplored
• Interstellar weather and impact on
  high-precision timing
• (needed for GW detection, GR tests etc.)
• Rotation service for EM and non-EM counterparts
• FERMI, GW detection of spinning or glitching
  neutron stars
• Simultaneous multi-frequency observations
• Discovery of bright, unknown transients (rapid
  shallow survey)

PSR B193124 on 20 of time