Abstract
As Part I of a paper series showcasing a new imaging framework, we consider the recently proposed unconstrained Sparsity Averaging Reweighted Analysis (uSARA) optimization algorithm for wide-field, high-resolution, high-dynamic range, monochromatic intensity imaging. We reconstruct images from real radio-interferometric observations obtained with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and present these results in comparison to the widely used, state-of-the-art imager WSClean . Selected fields come from the ASKAP Early Science and Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) Pilot surveys and contain several complex radio sources: the merging cluster system Abell 3391-95, the merging cluster SPT-CL 2023-5535, and many extended, or bent-tail, radio galaxies, including the X-shaped radio galaxy PKS 2014-558 and ‘the dancing ghosts’, known collectively as PKS 2130-538. The modern framework behind uSARA utilizes parallelization and automation to solve for the w -effect and efficiently compute the measurement operator, allowing for wide-field reconstruction over the full field-of-view of individual ASKAP beams (up to ∼3.3° each). The precision capability of uSARA produces images with both super-resolution and enhanced sensitivity to diffuse components, surpassing traditional CLEAN algorithms that typically require a compromise between such yields. Our resulting monochromatic uSARA-ASKAP images of the selected data highlight both extended, diffuse emission and compact, filamentary emission at very high resolution (up to 2.2 arcsec), revealing never-before-seen structure. Here we present a validation of our uSARA-ASKAP images by comparing the morphology of reconstructed sources, measurements of diffuse flux, and spectral index maps with those obtained from images made with WSClean .
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | ] |
Pages (from-to) | 5558-5575 |
Number of pages | 18 |
Journal | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |
Volume | 522 |
Issue number | 4 |
Early online date | 4 May 2023 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jul 2023 |
Keywords
- galaxies: clusters: intracluster medium
- radio continuum: galaxies
- techniques: image processing
- techniques: interferometric
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Space and Planetary Science
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Scalable precision wide-field imaging in radio interferometry: I. uSARA validated on ASKAP data'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Datasets
-
uSARA and AIRI reconstructions of selected ASKAP observations
Wilber, A. (Creator), Dabbech, A. (Creator), Terris, M. (Contributor), Jackson, A. (Contributor) & Wiaux, Y. (Contributor), Heriot-Watt University, 21 Jan 2023
DOI: 10.17861/5a60f25b-d43b-4807-ba02-a69bc460db03
Dataset