Cross Correlators.ppt

Cross Correlators Walter Brisken Outline The correlation function What is a correlator? Simple correlators Sampling and quantization Spectral line correlators The EVLA correlator in detail The VLBA Correlator The Correlation Function If it is an auto-correlation (AC). Otherwise it is a cross-correlation (CC). Useful for Determining timescales (AC) Motion detection (2-D CC) Optical character recognition (2-D CC) Pulsar timing / template matching (CC) What is a Correlator? Visibilities are in general a function of Frequency Antenna pair Time They are used for Imaging Spectroscopy / polarimetry Astrometry A Real (valued) Cross Correlator Visibilities The Complex Correlator Time Series, Sampling, and Quantization are real-valued time series sampled at “uniform” intervals, . The sampling theorem allows this to accurately reconstruct a bandwidth of . Sampling involves quantization of the signal Quantization noise Strong signals become non-linear Sampling theorem violated! Quantization Noise Automatic Gain Control (AGC) Normally prior to sampling the amplitude level of each time series is adjusted so that quantization noise is minimized. This occurs on timescales very long compared to a sample interval. The magnitude of the amplitude is stored so that the true amplitudes can be reconstructed after correlation. The Correlation Coefficient The correlation coefficient, measures the likeness of two time series in an amplitude independent manner: Normally the correlation coefficient is much less than 1 Because of AGC, the correlator actually measures the correlation coefficient. The visibility amplitude is restored by dividing by the AGC gain. Van Vleck Correction At low correlation, quantization increases correlation Quantization causes predictable non-linearity at high correlation Correction must be applied to the real and imaginary parts of separately Thus the visibility phase is affected as well as the amplitude