Periodic Reporting for period 1 - STELLAR (Scientific and Technological Excellence by Leveraging LOFAR Advancements in Radio Astronomy)
Berichtszeitraum: 2020-09-01 bis 2021-11-30
The project “Scientific and Technological Excellence by Leveraging LOFAR Advancements in Radio astronomy” (STELLAR) is addressing the shared initiative of all four partner institutions to significantly increase the technical and Radio Astronomy (RA) expertise for utilisation of data from the pan-European Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) telescope at the Institute of Astronomy and National Astronomical Observatory (IANAO), the Technical University of Sofia (TUS), and the Bulgarian astronomical community as a whole. Furthermore, STELLAR is a major step towards the realisation, utilisation, maintenance and future technological development of a LOFAR station in Bulgaria and joining the International LOFAR Telescope network. The advnanced partners in the STELLAR project are The Netherlands Institute of Radio Astronomy (ASTRON), and the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies (DIAS).
The project will have a multiplicative effect for the Bulgarian astronomical and geophysical communities through the development of radio astronomy, space weather, and radio technology training curricula for Bulgarian scientists and engineers, ensuring a sustainable effect of the project. The project is expected to have a positive impact on national and regional development. We foresee technological gains from the project to eventually result in high added value entrepreneurial efforts focused on RF technologies, PA systems, and signal processing.
The overall objectives of the STELLAR project are: to significantly increase the technical and radio astronomy expertise and utilisation of LOFAR data at IANAO and TUS as part of the strategy for development of national RA observatory in Bulgaria, by transferring technical and scientific know-how from world-leading RA institutions; To improve the capacity of IANAO staff to carry internationally competitive RA and SW research; To develop and strengthen long-term research collaborations between IANAO, ASTRON, DIAS, and TUS; To prepare for the sustainable development of a LOFAR observing station in Bulgaria.
The project will have a multiplicative effect for the Bulgarian astronomical and geophysical communities through the development of radio astronomy, space weather, and radio technology training curricula for Bulgarian scientists and engineers, ensuring a sustainable effect of the project. The project is expected to have a positive impact on national and regional development. We foresee technological gains from the project to eventually result in high added value entrepreneurial efforts focused on RF technologies, PA systems, and signal processing.
The overall objectives of the STELLAR project are: to significantly increase the technical and radio astronomy expertise and utilisation of LOFAR data at IANAO and TUS as part of the strategy for development of national RA observatory in Bulgaria, by transferring technical and scientific know-how from world-leading RA institutions; To improve the capacity of IANAO staff to carry internationally competitive RA and SW research; To develop and strengthen long-term research collaborations between IANAO, ASTRON, DIAS, and TUS; To prepare for the sustainable development of a LOFAR observing station in Bulgaria.
The STELLAR project is divided along three main themes: 1) Training in Radio Instrumentation and LOFAR Hardware; 2) Training in LOFAR Operations and Science; 3) Training in Space Weather with LOFAR.
As part of the first area, several in-person and online classes were held in the first period of the project. The first activity was the course “Introduction to Antennas”, taught on 15-19.02.2021 by Dr. David Prinsloo of ASTRON. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the course was held online. It provided the participants with an overview of the fundamental parameters with which to characterise the performance of antennas, basic antenna types typical to radio astronomy instrumentation, and concluded with a short introduction on antenna array theory. The course lectures were very well attended by roughly 50 participants from 13 European universities and research institutions. Next, the module ‘Radio Frequency Techniques and Development’ was presented on-site at ASTRON between 27.09.2021 and 01.10.2021 on-site at ASTRON. The course was structured in a full week of training including the theory module, practical exercises, and a tour of the facilities at ASTRON, including the LOFAR core. Seven participants from the Technical University of Sofia attended the course. The last activity of the first period in this theme was the Digital Signal Processing course I, presented between 04-08.10.2021 by ASTRON engineer Ronald de Wild, on-site at the campus of the Technical University of Sofia.10 participants from the Technical University, the Institute of Astronomy, and Sofia University, attended the course and gained a strong introduction to the theory of Signals, Transforms, and Systems.
The first training activity of the 'Training in LOFAR Operations and Science' theme was the LOFAR Data Processing School. It was hosted on 22-26 March 2021 online at ASTRON, and provided a basic overview of the telescope and its science together with dedicated technical tutorials for data retrieval, pre-processing and visualisation. The processing school counted more than 120 participants worldwide including 16 staff members and students from IANAO and TUS. The attendees of the school received first-hand experience of the processing pipelines of LOFAR, and learned the basics of data reduction in hands-on workshops. The second training activity, the LOFAR Data Reduction and Analysis Training at ASTRON, focused on advanced data reduction and analysis, including beam-forming and interferometric techniques. The training explored the theory behind these observing modes, the various techniques for calibration and flagging of the data, the techniques for imaging using different subsets of the LOFAR stations, and the processing pipelines for the different key science projects. The training took place in ASTRON between July 26th and July 30th 2021. The full week of training also included data processing and visits of the Telescope facilities in Exloo and Westerbork.
The first training activity under the third theme, Training in Space Weather with LOFAR, was a Space Weather Workshop. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was held online from 12-15 July, 2021, hosted by the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. The workshop consisted of 4 full days of lectures and hand-on sessions on space weather from established researchers from the international community. While the entire workshop had a radio science focus, the lectures and hands-on session also covered X-ray, EUV and white-light observations of the Sun, heliosphere, ionosphere and magnetosphere. Approximately 28 participants attended this successful workshop.
As part of the first area, several in-person and online classes were held in the first period of the project. The first activity was the course “Introduction to Antennas”, taught on 15-19.02.2021 by Dr. David Prinsloo of ASTRON. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the course was held online. It provided the participants with an overview of the fundamental parameters with which to characterise the performance of antennas, basic antenna types typical to radio astronomy instrumentation, and concluded with a short introduction on antenna array theory. The course lectures were very well attended by roughly 50 participants from 13 European universities and research institutions. Next, the module ‘Radio Frequency Techniques and Development’ was presented on-site at ASTRON between 27.09.2021 and 01.10.2021 on-site at ASTRON. The course was structured in a full week of training including the theory module, practical exercises, and a tour of the facilities at ASTRON, including the LOFAR core. Seven participants from the Technical University of Sofia attended the course. The last activity of the first period in this theme was the Digital Signal Processing course I, presented between 04-08.10.2021 by ASTRON engineer Ronald de Wild, on-site at the campus of the Technical University of Sofia.10 participants from the Technical University, the Institute of Astronomy, and Sofia University, attended the course and gained a strong introduction to the theory of Signals, Transforms, and Systems.
The first training activity of the 'Training in LOFAR Operations and Science' theme was the LOFAR Data Processing School. It was hosted on 22-26 March 2021 online at ASTRON, and provided a basic overview of the telescope and its science together with dedicated technical tutorials for data retrieval, pre-processing and visualisation. The processing school counted more than 120 participants worldwide including 16 staff members and students from IANAO and TUS. The attendees of the school received first-hand experience of the processing pipelines of LOFAR, and learned the basics of data reduction in hands-on workshops. The second training activity, the LOFAR Data Reduction and Analysis Training at ASTRON, focused on advanced data reduction and analysis, including beam-forming and interferometric techniques. The training explored the theory behind these observing modes, the various techniques for calibration and flagging of the data, the techniques for imaging using different subsets of the LOFAR stations, and the processing pipelines for the different key science projects. The training took place in ASTRON between July 26th and July 30th 2021. The full week of training also included data processing and visits of the Telescope facilities in Exloo and Westerbork.
The first training activity under the third theme, Training in Space Weather with LOFAR, was a Space Weather Workshop. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was held online from 12-15 July, 2021, hosted by the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. The workshop consisted of 4 full days of lectures and hand-on sessions on space weather from established researchers from the international community. While the entire workshop had a radio science focus, the lectures and hands-on session also covered X-ray, EUV and white-light observations of the Sun, heliosphere, ionosphere and magnetosphere. Approximately 28 participants attended this successful workshop.
All STELLAR project classes and lectures were delivered by highly experienced scientists and engineers form ASTRON and DIAS, and attended by local researchers, engineers and students. Lectures covered in a unique manner the fundamentals of radio astronomical hardware and research, and were regarded with great interest in the local scientific community. They also offered highly valuable information and know-how for the engineers of the Bulgarian high-tech sector. The classes were attended with great interest and inspired a lot of students to take first steps in the space science and engineering field.
The project so far is aptly achieving its stated goals. In addition to the planned activities, a STELLAR Seminar Series was initiated, with invited speakers presenting their radio astronomical research in front of the project participants and wider audiences. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, several activities were advertised and held online, thus reaching much larger audiences. The major expected outcome of the project is creation of a local expert group that will build and operate a Bulgarian LOFAR station, process and analyse radio astronomical observations, and produce strong scientific output. This group will also develop university classes and doctoral studies on the related subjects, train students, engineers, doctors and postdocs to the superior level in the field. The project gives invaluable opportunity for the development of the country in an area, that has a significant deficit so far.
The project so far is aptly achieving its stated goals. In addition to the planned activities, a STELLAR Seminar Series was initiated, with invited speakers presenting their radio astronomical research in front of the project participants and wider audiences. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, several activities were advertised and held online, thus reaching much larger audiences. The major expected outcome of the project is creation of a local expert group that will build and operate a Bulgarian LOFAR station, process and analyse radio astronomical observations, and produce strong scientific output. This group will also develop university classes and doctoral studies on the related subjects, train students, engineers, doctors and postdocs to the superior level in the field. The project gives invaluable opportunity for the development of the country in an area, that has a significant deficit so far.