Dual polarization gain estimation for radio telescope arrays

The complex receiver gains and sensor noise powers of radio telescope arrays are initially unknown and need to be calibrated. This can be accomplished by observing a relatively strong astronomical point source. Here we consider calibration algorithms for the case of dual polarized arrays and formula...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Boonstra, A.J., van der Veen, A.J.
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithm design and analysis
Calibration
Closed-form solution
Eigenvalues and eigenfunctions
Iterative algorithms
Least squares methods
Polarization
Radio astronomy
Receivers
Sensor arrays
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Description
Summary:The complex receiver gains and sensor noise powers of radio telescope arrays are initially unknown and need to be calibrated. This can be accomplished by observing a relatively strong astronomical point source. Here we consider calibration algorithms for the case of dual polarized arrays and formulate new least squares algorithms based on factor analysis, parallel factor analysis, and eigenvalue decompositions. We show that at least three sources with different polarization states are needed to obtain a unique solution for the gains. We also propose a closed form solution which has a performance comparable to the iterative parallel factor method.
ISSN:1520-6149
2379-190X
DOI:10.1109/ICASSP.2003.1199874