Instrumentation for Wide Bandwidth Radio Astronomy.pdf

Instrumentation for Wide Bandwidth Radio Astronomy
Thesis by
Glenn Evans Jones
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, California
2010
(Defended September 25, 2009)
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c 2010
Glenn Evans Jones
All Rights Reserved
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To my family.
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Acknowledgements
Since I was very young I have been fascinated by radio telescopes, but despite a keen interest in
other areas of electronics, I never learned how they were used until I began working with my research
advisor, Sandy Weinreb. As a fellow electronics and technology enthusiast, I cannot imagine a better
person to introduce me to the field of radio astronomy which has steadily e my career. From
the very beginning, he has been a tireless advocate for me while sharing his broad experience across
the gamut of radio astronomy instrumentation and observations. One of the most important ways in
which Sandy has influenced me professionally is by pursuing every available opportunity to introduce
me to members of the radio munity.
I also very much appreciate the support provided by my academic advisor, Dave Rutledge. Dave
provided a wide range of useful suggestions and encouragement during group meetings, and looked
out for me from the very beginning.
Each of the other members of my mittee also deserves special thanks apart from my
gratitude to them for serving on mittee. . Vaidyanathan introduced me to digital signal
processing and his clear, insightful lectures helped to inspire my interest in the field. Tony Read-
head’s courses on radio astronomy instrumentation and radiative processes significantly improved
my understanding of the details of radio astronomy. Tom Kuiper oversaw the GAVRT digital pro-
cessing subsystem, and provided me with a wide range of advice on scientific projects and observing
techniques. Robert Jarnot has been extremely supportive and has provided another perspective on
digit