[mmaimcal]Change to Total Power Detector sampling rate
Al Wootten
awootten at nrao.edu
Mon Sep 13 18:32:22 EDT 2004
Mark had another point, which I try to paraphrase thusly: Currently, our
paradigm is a 5% error in the relative flux scale. This will not be
good enough for some mosaicked observations, where such a large
difference in the interferometer flux scale and the total power flux
scale will result in imaging errors. How can we improve this? Mark
proposes we contemplate a cross calibration of total power and
interferometric systems by observing a bright quasar with both. At 880
GHz there should be one 0.5 Jy QSO within 15 degrees or so of the mosaic
target source. We can observe that source, but ideally the minute or so
we'd like to devote to getting good enough S/N on that source will not
suffice. We'd need many minutes, perhaps an hour. But in that period
of time the sky and the instrument are likely to have changed, so we
cannot get adequate S/N quickly enough. However, if we observe with all
64 antennas, although the TP flux scale on any particular antenna may be
say 8% off, the mean of all of them would be like 1% off, enabling the
accurate cross calibration of total power and interferometric
observations, and allow us to make a high quality mosaicked image.
I believe that the change should apply to all 64 antennas.
Comments? Corrections?
Mark notes that you can also find backing material for this argument in
section 10.2 of https://wikio.nrao.edu/bin/view/ALMA/CalTotalPower
More information about the mmaimcal
mailing list