Introduction to Science, Operations and Data Analysis with an International LOFAR Station
School of Physics, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
January 8-10, 2018
Summary
This workshop will introduce researchers to LOFAR single-station science, operations and data analysis. The workshop will cover many aspects of an International LOFAR Station, from the capabilities of the station hardware to the software pipelines and science products that it produces.
Hands-on lab sessions will give attendees an opportunity to gain experience with data from an international LOFAR station. Students, postdocs, and staff are all encouraged to attend.
This workshop is supported by the Institute of Physics in Ireland.
Registration
If you would like to attend, please email John Quinn (UCD Physics). Please note that a registration fee of €50 will be payable at the meeting.
Software
All tutorials will be given using the Python programming language (Python v3.6 and v2.7). We recommend that you run Python using Jupiter and/or Spyder, which can be installed using Anaconda. Further details on how to install these packages can be found here. An excellent introduction to Python for the analysis of astronomical data can be found at Python4Astronomers.
Internet Access
Wifi access will be provided via eduroam. Please ensure that you have registered for eduroam by contacting your IT services at your home institution before arriving in UCD.
Exercises
- Exercise 1: Subband Statistics Tutorial [McKay].
- Exercise 2: Beamlet Statistics / Type II Tutorial [McCauley & Carley]. Download Zip file.
- Exercise 3: Pulsar Timing [Griessmeier].
- Exercise 4: All-sky Imaging [Foster]. Note, this requires Python 2.7.
Schedule
- Day 1 (Jan 8): LOFAR hardware and observing capabilities
10:00 – 10:30 Arrival and coffee
10:30 – 10:45 Welcome and workshop goals [Quinn/Gallagher]
10:45 – 11:30 Overview of I-LOFAR [McCauley]
11:30 – 12:15 International LOFAR Station Hardware [McKay]
12:30 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 14:45 Science with an International LOFAR Station [Greissmeier]
14:45 – 15:30 Observing with an International LOFAR Station [Bourke]
15:30 – 16:00 Coffee
16:00 – 16:45 LOFAR Station Transient Search Backends [Foster]
16:45 – 17:30 Overview of ILT [Zucca]
19:00 Dinner at the RaddissonBlue Stillorgan.
- Day 2 (Jan 9): Single station data analysis
09:00 – 10:00 Introduction to Single Station Data Analysis [McKay, Griessmeier, McCauley, Carley]
10:00 – 10:30 Distribution of sample data (dynamic spectra, all-sky maps, etc) and software set up
10:30 – 11:00 Coffee
11:00 – 12:30 Data analysis talks/tutorials
12:30 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 15:30 Data analysis lab
15:30 – 16:00 Coffee
16:00 – 18:00 Data analysis lab
- Day 3 (Jan 10): Single station data analysis
09:00 – 13:00 Data analysis lab
Workshop Venue
The workshop will be held at University College Dublin (UCD), which is located about 4km south of Dublin city centre.
The meeting venue will be room 2.32 in the School of Physics (Science Centre North, Building 65). Here is a Google map with the meeting venue.
Accommodation
- Talbot Hotel Stillorgan. Located about 2.5km south of UCD, but has a free shuttle bus service to UCD.
- RadissonBlu St. Helens Hotel. Located 1.8km from UCD meeting venue.
- Mespil Hotel. Located close to the city centre but UCD easily reachable on Dublin bus route 39a.
Getting to UCD
