Adam Deller (Swinburne University of Technology)

Adam Deller Colloquium: The UTMOST-2D time domain radio astronomy machine

Marsfield lecture theatre

Abstract

The Molonglo Cross Telescope was inaugurated over 50 years ago and has passed through several upgrades during its operating life to enable new science output from what remains the largest collecting area in the Southern Hemisphere. Most recently, the "UTMOST" upgrade commissioned a new high-speed digital correlator/beamformer backend for the facility, transforming it into a 24/7 machine for finding and following up fast radio bursts (FRBs) and pulsars. A second stage of the UTMOST upgrade, breathing new life into the 40-year-dormant North-South arm of the cross, is currently underway and will provide both the ability to localise detected FRBs and pulsars, as well as a further increase in sensitivity and field-of-view. In this talk, I will describe the current operations and recent results of UTMOST, as well as commissioning results from the modular and expandable UTMOST-2D system and a comparison of UTMOST-2D's capabilities against other radio interferometers.