ISOLDE Seminar

The (Radio) Spectral Revolution: Altering our understanding of radio galaxy evolution, the epoch of reionisation, and astroparticle acceleration

by Dr Joseph Callingham (Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy)

Europe/Zurich
593/R-010 - Salle 11 (CERN)

593/R-010 - Salle 11

CERN

50
Show room on map
Description

We have entered a new era of radio astronomy with the development of sophisticated megahertz-sensitive telescopes. With these telescopes, we can now sample the spectrum of a radio source over several orders of magnitudes and at a level of detail never before achievable. The ability to accurately sample radio spectra over such a large range of frequency space has opened up new ways of investigating the evolution of radio galaxies, the period in which the Universe reionised, and particle acceleration around black holes.

In this talk I will introduce the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) and Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), and the all-sky surveys being conducted by these facilities. In particular, I will focus on the key issues that are driving the development of these types of telescopes, such as the study of the Earth’s ionosphere and the drive to detect the epoch of reionisation. I will conclude my talk discussing the development of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), the next generation radio telescope that will fundamentally alter what we understand about the large-scale Universe.