The Widefield ASKAP L-band Legacy All-sky Blind surveY (wallaby) is a next-generation survey of neutral hydrogen (H i) in the Local Universe. It uses the widefield, high-resolution capability of the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), a radio interferometer consisting of 36 \times12-m dishes equipped with Phased-Array Feeds (PAFs), located in an extremely radio-quiet zone in Western Australia. wallaby aims to survey three-quarters of the sky (-90^{\circ} < \delta< +30^{\circ}) to a redshift of z \lesssim0.26, and generate spectral line image cubes at ∼30 arcsec resolution and ∼1.6 mJy beam$^{−1}$ per 4 km s$^{−1}$ channel sensitivity. ASKAP’s instantaneous field of view at 1.4 GHz, delivered by the PAF’s 36 beams, is about 30 sq deg. At an integrated signal-to-noise ratio of five, wallaby is expected to detect around half a million galaxies with a mean redshift of z \sim0.05 (∼200 Mpc). The scientific goals of wallaby include: (a) a census of gas-rich galaxies in the vicinity of the Local Group; (b) a study of the H i properties of galaxies, groups and clusters, in particular the influence of the environment on galaxy evolution; and (c) the refinement of cosmological parameters using the spatial and redshift distribution of low-bias gas-rich galaxies. For context we provide an overview of recent and planned large-scale H i surveys. Combined with existing and new multi-wavelength sky surveys, wallaby will enable an exciting new generation of panchromatic studies of the Local Universe. — First results from the wallaby pilot survey are revealed, with initial data products publicly available in the CSIRO ASKAP Science Data Archive (CASDA).

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WALLABY – an SKA Pathfinder H i survey

The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) passed national acceptance and is taking pilot cycle of 'Shared-Risk' observations. The 19-beam receiver covering 1.05-1.45 GHz was used for most of these observations. The electronics gain fluctuation of the system is better than 1\% over 3.5 hours, enabling enough stability for observations. Pointing accuracy, aperture efficiency and system temperature are three key parameters of FAST. The measured standard deviation of pointing accuracy is 7.9$''$, which satisfies the initial design of FAST. When zenith angle is less than 26.4$^\circ$, the aperture efficiency and system temperature around 1.4 GHz are $\sim$ 0.63 and less than 24 K for central beam, respectively. The measured value of these two parameters are better than designed value of 0.6 and 25 K, respectively. The sensitivity and stability of the 19-beam backend are confirmed to satisfy expectation by spectral HI observations toward N672 and polarization observations toward 3C286. The performance allows FAST to take sensitive observations in various scientific goals, from studies of pulsar to galaxy evolution.

The fundamental performance of FAST with 19-beam receiver at L band

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Fast Radio Burst Energetics and Detectability from High Redshifts

The luminosity function of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs), defined as the event rate per unit cosmic co-moving volume per unit luminosity, may help to reveal the possible origins of FRBs and design the optimal searching strategy. With the Bayesian modelling, we measure the FRB luminosity function using 46 known FRBs. Our Bayesian framework self-consistently models the selection effects, including the survey sensitivity, the telescope beam response, and the electron distributions from Milky Way / the host galaxy / local environment of FRBs. Different from the previous companion paper, we pay attention to the FRB event rate density and model the event counts of FRB surveys based on the Poisson statistics. Assuming a Schechter luminosity function form, we infer (at the 95% confidence level) that the characteristic FRB event rate density at the upper cut-off luminosity $L^*=2.9_{-1.7}^{+11.9}\times10^{44}\,\rm erg\, s^{-1}$ is $\phi^*=339_{-313}^{+1074}\,\rm Gpc^{-3}\, yr^{-1}$, the power-law index is $\alpha=-1.79_{-0.35}^{+0.31}$, and the lower cut-off luminosity is $L_0\le9.1\times10^{41}\,\rm erg\, s^{-1}$. The event rate density of FRBs is found to be $3.5_{-2.4}^{+5.7}\times10^4\,\rm Gpc^{-3}\, yr^{-1}$ above $10^{42}\,\rm erg\, s^{-1}$, $5.0_{-2.3}^{+3.2}\times10^3\,\rm Gpc^{-3}\, yr^{-1}$ above $10^{43}\,\rm erg\, s^{-1}$, and $3.7_{-2.0}^{+3.5}\times10^2\,\rm Gpc^{-3}\, yr^{-1}$ above $10^{44}\,\rm erg\, s^{-1}$. As a result, we find that, for searches conducted at 1.4 GHz, the optimal diameter of single-dish radio telescopes to detect FRBs is 30-40 m. The possible astrophysical implications of the measured event rate density are also discussed in the current paper.

On the FRB luminosity function - - II. Event rate density

We estimate the upper limit redshifts of known FRBs using the dispersion measure (DM) - redshift ($z$) relation and derive the upper limit peak luminosity $L_p$ and energy $E$ of FRBs within the observational band. The average $z$ upper limits range from 0.17 to 3.10, the average $L_p$ upper limits range from $1.24 \times 10^{42} \rm erg \ s^{-1}$ to $7.80 \times 10^{44} \rm erg \ s^{-1}$, and the average $E$ upper limits range from $6.91 \times 10^{39}$ erg to $1.94 \times 10^{42}$ erg. FRB 160102 with DM $=2596.1 \pm 0.3 \ {\rm pc \ cm^{-3}}$ likely has a redshift greater than 3. Assuming that its intrinsic DM contribution from the host and FRB source is ${\rm DM_{host}+DM_{scr}}\sim 100 \ {\rm pc \ cm^{-3}}$, such an FRB can be detected up to $z \sim 3.6$ by Parkes and by FAST under ideal conditions up to $z \sim 10.4$. Assuming that there exist FRBs detectable at $z\sim 15$ by sensitive telescopes such as FAST, the upper limit DM for FRB searches may be set to $\sim 9000 \ {\rm pc \ cm^{-3}}$. For single-dish telescopes, those with a larger aperture tend to detect more FRBs than those with a smaller aperture if the FRB luminosity function index $\alpha_{\rm L}$ is steeper than 2, and vice versa. In any case, large-aperture telescopes such as FAST are more capable of detecting high-$z$ FRBs, even though most of FRBs detected by them are still from relatively low redshifts.

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FRB Energetics and detectability from high redshifts

Having achieved "first light" immediately prior to the ceremony introducing it on 25 September 2016, China's 500-m aperture spherical radio telescope (FAST) is now being kept busy with commissions. Its innovative design requires ~1,000 points to be measured and driven instead of just the two axes of motion, e.g., azimuth and elevation for most conventional antennas, to realize pointing and tracking. We have devised a survey plan to exploit the full sensitivity of FAST, while minimizing the complexities involved during system operation. The 19-beam L-band focal plan array will be rotated to specific angles and receive continuous data streams, while the surface shape and the focal cabin stay fixed. Such a survey will cover the northern sky in about 220 full days. Our aim is to obtain data simultaneously for pulsar search, detection of neutral hydrogen (HI) galaxies, HI imaging, and radio transients through multiple back ends. These data sets could represent a significant contribution to all related fields in radio astronomy and remain relevant for decades.

FAST in Space: Considerations for a Multibeam, Multipurpose Survey Using China's 500-m Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST)

Having achieved 'first-light' right before the opening ceremony on September 25, 2016, the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) is being busily commissioned Its innovative design requires ~1000 points to be measured and driven instead of just the two axes of motion, eg Azimuth and Elevation for most of the conventional antennae, to realize pointing and tracking We have devised a survey plan to utilized the full sensitivity of FAST, while minimizing the complexities in operation the system The 19-beam L band focal plan array will be rotated to specific angles and taking continuous data streams while the surface shape and the focal cabin stay fixed Such a survey will cover the northern sky in about 220 full days Our aim is to obtain data for pulsar search, HI (neutral hydrogen) galaxies, HI imaging, and radio transients, simultaneously, through multiple backends These data sets could be a significant contribution to all related fields in radio astronomy and remain relevant for decades

Considerations for a Multi-beam Multi-purpose Survey with FAST

The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) is a Chinese mega-science project funded by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) is in charge of its construction and the subsequent operation. Upon its expected completion in September of 2016, FAST will surpass the 300-meter Arecibo and the 100-meter GBT in terms of absolute sensitivity in the 70 MHz to 3 GHz bands. In this paper, we report the current status, the key science goals, and the aspiration of its early sciences. A special emphasis is paid to its innovative fatigue-resistant fibers, which are critical for the control and data acquisition under the unique FAST design.

Chenjin Jin

Papers

FAST in Space: Considerations for a Multibeam, Multipurpose Survey Using China's 500-m Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST)

Considerations for a Multi-beam Multi-purpose Survey with FAST

The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) project