Square Kilometre Array: a new generation facility for radio astronomy

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Square Kilometre Array a new generation facility
for radio astronomy

• OECD Workshop on Best Practices in International
  Scientific Cooperation
• Richard Schilizzi

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Outline

• a few remarks about radio astronomy
• example of a working international collaboration
  - European Very long baseline interferometry
  Network (EVN) and its best practices
• a brief description of the SKA - a new generation
  facility
• organisation and management challenges for the
  SKA

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Effelsberg
VLA
Arecibo
Arecibo
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Radio telescope arrays

• create images by interferometry
• all telescopes point in the same direction at the
  same time
• the signals from the telescopes are combined at a
  central location to create an image
• the more telescopes simultaneously in the array,
  the better the image quality
• the further apart the telescopes in the array,
  the finer the detail that can be seen in the
  centres of stars and galaxies zoom lens
  effect

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Global scale VLBI arrays (Europe, USA,
Asia-Pacific)
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European VLBI organisation

• Total investment in national telescopes and
  equipment 350 M
• Governing principles
• the whole is greater than the sum of the parts
• each telescope retains its autonomy except in
  the selection of astronomical projects observed
• Board of Directors - sets policy and takes
  Network-wide decisions by consensus
• Technical and Operations Group - coordinates each
  observation and takes the data
• Cooperation to the mutual benefit of all. Has
  worked since 1980!

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SKA the vision

• A radio telescope with 1 million square metres
  collecting area
• an enormous increase in the capability for
  ground-based radio astronomy
• increase in sensitivity by a factor of 100
  above current arrays
• Wide range of science drivers
• Construction to start 2010
• Born international

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SKA Science Goals

• A History of Time
• Probe the dark ages before first light, and
  evolution of Large Scale Structure in the
  Universe
• Chart the formation and evolution of galaxies
• Understand key astrophysical processes
• Exotic physics
• Search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI)

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Hubble Deep Field with the VLA
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Hubble Deep Field with the SKA
SKA 8 hour integration (simulation by Hopkins et
al.)
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Expand galactic exploration (SETI)
SKA
ATA
Phoenix
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Key instrumental parameters

• collecting area 1 million square metres
• 50 within 5 km
• 25 from 5 km to 1000 km
• 25 from 1000 km to 5000 km
• frequency range 150 MHz - gt20 GHz
• cost / 1000 per square metre total / 1
  billion

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How to Build the SKA?

• We have the technology to build the SKA now
• We must find the most cost effective solution
• Array of small dishes (USA, India)
• Planar phased array (Europe)
• Single adaptive reflector (Canada)
• KARST formations - multiple Arecibos (China)
• Array of Luneburg lenses (Australia)
• Array of cylindrical reflectors (Australia)

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SKA Design concepts
Karst depressions in China
Flat aperture arrays
Many small dishes
Luneburg lenses
Large adaptive reflector
Cylindrical reflectors
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Achieving the vision - International Collaboration

• To build facilities which no single nation can
  afford
• Coordination
• avoid wasteful competition
• Broader knowledge base, cross fertilisation
• Collaboration essential there is no
  international organization for radio astronomy
  (e.g. CERN/ESA/ESO)
• Wealth creation

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Wealth creation

• Same generic technologies are important to ICT
  sector
• radio telescopes are complex sensor arrays
• wide area (to thousands of km)
• high data volume (to many Tbits/s, PBytes)
• compute intensive (to many Tera-ops)
• development trends parallel those in ICT sector

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And now the reality!

• Development money obtained in Australia, Canada,
  China, India, Netherlands, USA
• SKA management structure in place
• Process of decision making agreed
• Process of down-selection of concept and site
  agreed
• Statement of intent on IPR drafted

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SKA Management Structure
International SKA Steering Committee
Proposal Review Committee
International Science Advisory Committee

Long-Term Planning Committee
International SKA Director
9 Working Groups
Engineering Management Team
Site Evaluation and Selection Committee
Outreach Committee
9 Working Groups
ISSC SKA staff
Industrial Relations Committee
Simulation WG
non-ISSC staff
planned future addition
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SKA International Steering Committee

• 18 members representing 11 countries, 27
  institutes
• 6 European (UK, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden,
  Italy, Poland)
• 6 United States
• 2 Canada
• 2 Australia
• 1 China
• 1 India
• 2 at large members
• MOU signed IAU Manchester August 2000
• New membership requests from South Africa and
  Russia

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Timeline
1991 concept first proposed 1996 International
MOU for technology development 1997 annual
science/technology workshops began 2000 MoU for
the International SKA Steering Committee 2002 7
White Paper end-to-end technical concepts
submitted and reviewed now being revised 2003
White Papers on possible sites 2004 Second round
White Papers on concept and site Revised science
case 2005 Site selection, short list of
concepts 2007 Concept selection 2010
Construction begins
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Funding

• development phase to 2006
• 50 M/ so far
• prototyping phase (2007-2010)
• TBD
• construction phase (2010 -)
• 1/3 Europe (inter-governmental agreement?, EU?)
• 1/3 USA
• 1/3 Canada, Australia, South Africa, China,
  India, Japan,

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Astronomy Projects Funded 2000-2005
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Organisational issues

• Nature and identity of the partners
• Role of the partners
• Legal aspects of the collaborative arrangement
• Administrative issues
• Finances
• Procurement
• Personnel issues
• Role of the host country/institution

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In particular

• Key issues are to agree on who is
• Responsible for setting policy
• Scientifically accountable
• Programmatically accountable
• Financially accountable

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Organisational models examined so farALMA,
TESLA, Pierre Auger Observatory

• TESLA 4 Billion Euros
• 12 countries, 44 institutions
• ALMA 600 Million
• 2 countries (now), NRAO ESO (many institutions)
• Auger 100 Million
• 19 countries, 50 institutions
• All are inter-agency agreements same will be
  proposed for SKA

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Pierre Auger Observatory

• Separate financial and scientific oversight
• - Collaboration Board
• - Financial Board
• Executive financial institution (CERN)
• 80 of construction funding is in-kind
• Common fund is essential

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ALMA and TESLA
Parties

• One ALMA Board - no separated financial and
  scientific oversight
• Financial authority remains with the legal entity
  in each region, the regional executive
• -Fair Return ? multiple project offices
  (duplication?)

Exec.
Attempt to modify ALMA for multi-country
agreement
ALMA now
TESLA proposed
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Challenges for the SKA

• Technical concept
• Site selection
• man-made interference
• Funding model
• how to align funding world-wide (role for the
  GSF?)
• Different cultures of project management

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Terrestrial Interference

• Forte satellite 131MHz

FORTÉ satellite 131 MHz
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Potential Site for the SKA
But there are 6 other sites currently in
contention South Africa, US, Europe, China,
Argentina, Brazil
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Global Science ForumTask Force on radio
astronomy and the radio spectrum

• examined questions related to International
  Radio Science Reserves (radio quiet zones)
• report expected March 2003
• proposals to ITU to put this Question on the
  World Radio Conference Agenda for 2007

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Further informationwww.skatelescope.org