LOFAR Related PhD Project

Courtesy of the RAS Job List - a PhD project related to LOFAR.

Large-scale structure from the next generation of radio surveys.

University of Sussex Astronomy Centre
Supervisor: Dr. Ilian Iliev (Sussex)
Co-supervisors: Prof. Steven Rawlings (Oxford) and Prof. Robert Nichol(Portsmouth)

Funding is available for 3 years for suitably qualified candidates, at a level of 12,940 GBP/year. Fees are fully covered for UK/EU students (and in some cases may be covered for international students) and travel funding is also available.

This PhD project will address a host of important questions related to the formation and evolution of the large-scale cosmic structures. The main topics are studying the nature of the Dark Energy component which dominates today's universe through precise measurements of the Baryonic Acoustic Oscillations and evaluating the effects of possible primordial non-Gaussianity of the initial perturbations on the large-scale structures. Both objectives will be achieved through performing and studying N-body structure formation simulations which will be among the largest ever performed, with tens to hundreds of billions of particles. These results will then be compared to data from large galaxy surveys, in particular the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), the HETDEX survey and radio surveys with LOFAR. More specifically, we will simulate the LOFAR million-source survey and SDSS-3, producing mock catalogues of both galaxies and radio sources. We will use the halo model and semi-analytical galaxy formation modelling to implement galaxies and sub-structure and their evolution. The high dynamic range of these simulations will improve the statistics and allow us to connect most radio sources to individual galaxies. It will also yield a better treatment of the nonlinear source clustering and scale-dependent bias. The key objectives are to produce detailed source catalogues and radio maps to be used for understanding the survey results and design improvements for future instruments like the Square Kilometer Array. This will allow us to extract much more precise values for the basic cosmological parameters from the data and gain better understanding of the nature of Dark Energy, one of the largest mysteries in present-day science.

For more information/to apply for this project, please contact Dr. Ilian Iliev (email: I.T.Iliev [AT] sussex.ac.uk).

More parts on the way to Chilbolton

We just got the word that the second load of LOFAR parts (lots of cables and electronics - everything else needed to set up the LBAs) are now on their way to Chilbolton. Expected arrival in 2 days.





Soon the workshop at Chilbolton will be very full of boxes! We were impressed on Thursday to see Owain's detailed plan for how it can all fit in until it's installed in the LOFAR field.

Visit to Chilbolton, Sunday Nov 15

Last Sunday I dragged the family up to Chilbolton to see the first delivered parts, the marked out station location and test pits, all dug in preparation for construction early in the new year. After five years of UK effort, and a decade of personal LOFAR involvement (so far!) it was great to see the project getting to this stage. Owain Davies kindly opened up the site for us in the middle of his weekend.

On the left you can see a small Fender oblivious to the high technology which are the LBA ground planes in the background...





Owain also drove us around the station site in the STFC landrover, and pointed out to us how the test pits reveal the striking change from soil to chalk only 20 cm below the surface.

There are ideas about shaping this chalk layer to aid with drain-off of water from the site.

Anyway, although there are still major decisions to be taken about things like the mode and route of our data links to The Netherlands, this first step in the construction of the Chilbolton station is a very significant one for LOFAR-UK.

First LOFAR Parts Arrive in Chilbolton

The first parts for the LOFAR array arrived safely in Chilbolton yesterday morning after a long trip over from Dwingloo.

Yesterday morning a group of LOFAR scientists from Portsmouth (Prof. Bob Nichol, Dr. Alejo Martinez-Sansigre, PhD student Hana Schumacher and myself) drove up to Chilbolton to see the arrival of the first parts with Owain Davies and Derek McKay, and get a tour around the site.

This first pictures shows the delivery men from the Netherlands unloading the ground planes (the part of the equipment which actually collects the radio waves for the longest frequency part of the array). This is standard metal mesh used to reinforce concrete in the Netherlands. Each weighs about 30kgs - here they are unloading half of the 96 in total which will be laid out in Chilbolton.

You can see in the background that the container (grey box) has already been unloaded, while in the foreground the ground sheets (rolled up black plastic - used to stop weeds growing up through the wire mesh) are still on the transport.

It was a rainy morning in Chilbolton, but the clouds cleared and a rainbow came out as we watched the action.


Prof. Bob Nichol and Dr. Alejo Martinez-Sansigre check we have the right container, and wonder how to go about breaking the customs seal to have a look inside.


More parts, including the electrical components for the LBAs (low band arrays) are expected next week, after which test construction of the LBA can begin. For now these parts and container will have a temporary home in the carpark next to the 25m antenna at Chilbolton while site preparation is completed at the final LOFAR-Chilbolton location on a more remote part of the site.

LOFAR IYA2009 Stamp

In the Netherlands a stamp has been issued showing the location of LOFAR stations across Europe as part of the celebrations for IYA2009. You can see the Chilbolton station just makes it into the picture on the extreme left illustrating how LOFAR-UK adds to the resolution of LOFAR (ie. how sharp the images it will eventually be able to make) by creating some of the longest baselines. The addition of these outer international stations to the Dutch core make a radio telescope which is effectively as large as northern Europe! (Stations in France and Sweden are not on the stamp, but make it into the outer frame if you buy a block of ten.)

Chilbolton Container on its way!

We have received word this morning from ASTRON that the Chilbolton container with the first parts for the LOFAR station at Chilbolton is now on it's way. Hoping for a safe journey for arrival tomorrow morning.

Loading the container:


Setting off:


Look out for it if you're on the road between Dwingloo, NL and Chilbolton, UK in the next 24 hours or so!

Second International LOFAR Station Completed

Good news for LOFAR - the second international station has been completed (in Tautenberg, Germany).

Read all about it in this article on the main LOFAR website.