Fiber-to-the-telescope: MeerKAT, the South African precursor to Square Kilometre Telescope Array

Tim B. Gibbon; Enoch K. Rotich Kipnoo; Romeo R. G. Gamatham; Andrew W. R. Leitch; Renier Siebrits; Roufurd Julie; Sias Malan; Warnich Rust; Francois Kapp; Thondikulam L. Venkatasubramani; Bruce Wallace; Adriaan Peens-Hough; Paul Herselman

doi:10.1117/1.JATIS.1.2.028001

6 April 2015 Fiber-to-the-telescope: MeerKAT, the South African precursor to Square Kilometre Telescope Array

Tim B. Gibbon, Enoch K. Rotich Kipnoo, Romeo R. G. Gamatham, Andrew W. R. Leitch, Renier Siebrits, Roufurd Julie, Sias Malan, Warnich Rust, Francois Kapp, Thondikulam L. Venkatasubramani, Bruce Wallace, Adriaan Peens-Hough, Paul Herselman

Author Affiliations +

Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, Vol. 1, Issue 2, 028001 (April 2015). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JATIS.1.2.028001

Abstract

Scientific curiosity to probe the nature of the universe is pushing the boundaries of big data transport and computing for radio telescopes. MeerKAT, the South African precursor to Square Kilometre Array, has 64 antennas separated by up to 12 km. By 2018, each antenna will stream up to 160 Gbps over optical fiber to a central computing engine. The antenna digitizers require highly accurate clock signals distributed with high stability. This paper outlines requirements and key design aspects of the MeerKAT network with timing reference overlay. Fieldwork results are presented into the impact of birefringence and polarization fluctuations on clock stability.

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Tim B. Gibbon, Enoch K. Rotich Kipnoo, Romeo R. G. Gamatham, Andrew W. R. Leitch, Renier Siebrits, Roufurd Julie, Sias Malan, Warnich Rust, Francois Kapp, Thondikulam L. Venkatasubramani, Bruce Wallace, Adriaan Peens-Hough, and Paul Herselman "Fiber-to-the-telescope: MeerKAT, the South African precursor to Square Kilometre Telescope Array," Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems 1(2), 028001 (6 April 2015). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JATIS.1.2.028001

Published: 6 April 2015

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