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The beam pattern of the IRAM 30-m telescope

A. Greve tex2html_wrap_inline2257 , C. Kramer tex2html_wrap_inline2259 , W. Wild tex2html_wrap_inline2261
tex2html_wrap_inline2257 IRAM, 300 rue de la piscine, F-38406 St Martin d'Hères, France
tex2html_wrap_inline2261 IRAM, Nucleo Central, Avda. Divina Pastora 7, E-18102 Granada, Spain
tex2html_wrap_inline2267 I. Physikalishes Institut, Universität zu Köln, Zülpicher Strasse 77, D-50937 Köln, Germany
Astron. & Astrophys. Suppl. 133, 271 (1998)

 

Wavel./Freq. tex2html_wrap_inline2269 tex2html_wrap_inline2271 tex2html_wrap_inline2269 tex2html_wrap_inline2275 tex2html_wrap_inline2277 B tex2html_wrap_inline2281 F tex2html_wrap_inline2281 tex2html_wrap_inline2277 tex2html_wrap_inline2287 S/T tex2html_wrap_inline2289 tex2html_wrap_inline2177 P tex2html_wrap_inline2293 ( tex2html_wrap_inline2269 tex2html_wrap_inline2297 ) P tex2html_wrap_inline2023 ( tex2html_wrap_inline2269 tex2html_wrap_inline2303 ) P tex2html_wrap_inline2305 ( tex2html_wrap_inline2269 tex2html_wrap_inline2309 )
[mm]/[GHz] [''] [''] [ tex2html_wrap_inline2315 ] [ tex2html_wrap_inline2315 ] [ tex2html_wrap_inline2315 ] [ tex2html_wrap_inline2315 ] [Jy/K] [ tex2html_wrap_inline2315 ]('') [ tex2html_wrap_inline2315 ]('') [ tex2html_wrap_inline2315 ]('')
3.4 / 88 27.5 tex2html_wrap_inline2335 64 61 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 3 73 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 3 92 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 2 94 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 4 5.9 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 00.3 3 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 1(300) 3(410) 20(2500)
2.0 / 150 16.0 tex2html_wrap_inline2335 38 45 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 3 54 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 3 90 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 2 92 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 4 7.8 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 0.5 7 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 3(175) 8(280) 25(1500)
1.3 / 230 10.5 tex2html_wrap_inline2335 25 35 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 3 42 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 3 86 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 2 85 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 4 9.7 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 0.9 15 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 5(125) 12(180) 26 (950)
[0.86 / 350 8.5 tex2html_wrap_inline2335 20 16 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 4 19 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 4 75 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 3 22 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 3 20 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 5 (85) 20(160) 30(580)] tex2html_wrap_inline2389
Table: Efficiency parameters of the IRAM 30-m telescope (after July 1997).


Update from the values compiled by Kramer (1997).
The entries of the Table are:
tex2html_wrap_inline2269 tex2html_wrap_inline2271 : beam width (FWHP) (measured); tex2html_wrap_inline2269 tex2html_wrap_inline2275 : full width (to first minimum), tex2html_wrap_inline2269 tex2html_wrap_inline2275 tex2html_wrap_inline2083 2.4 tex2html_wrap_inline2269 tex2html_wrap_inline2271 (calculated);
tex2html_wrap_inline2277 : aperture efficiency (measured tex2html_wrap_inline2413 calculated from tex2html_wrap_inline2415 tex2html_wrap_inline2417 ); B tex2html_wrap_inline2281 : main beam efficiency, B tex2html_wrap_inline2281 tex2html_wrap_inline2083 1.20 tex2html_wrap_inline2277 ;
F tex2html_wrap_inline2281 : forward efficiency (from sky dips), tex2html_wrap_inline2277 tex2html_wrap_inline2287 : Moon efficiency (measured);
S/T tex2html_wrap_inline2435 = (2k/A)F tex2html_wrap_inline2281 / tex2html_wrap_inline2277 = 3.906F tex2html_wrap_inline2281 / tex2html_wrap_inline2277 : antenna gain (calculated tex2html_wrap_inline2413 measured).
P tex2html_wrap_inline2293 - P tex2html_wrap_inline2305 : relative power of the error beams (calculated). The accuracy of the values is tex2html_wrap_inline2335 tex2html_wrap_inline2337 5 tex2html_wrap_inline2315 . The entries of P tex2html_wrap_inline2293
illustrate the partially transient nature of this error beam. In brackets are given the widths (FWHP) of the
corresponding error beams.
* not frequently used frequency and somewhat poorly known telescope performance. *
The values valid before July 1997 are published by Kramer (1997) and are found in the 30-m Telescope Manual (Wild).

Total power scans across the Moon around New Moon (mostly day time) and Full Moon (night time) at 3.4 mm (88 GHz), 2.0 mm (150 GHz), 1.3 mm (230 GHz), and 0.86 mm (350 GHz) wavelength are used to derive the beam pattern of the IRAM 30-m telescope to a level of approximately -30 dB (0.1 tex2html_wrap_inline2315 ) and, dependent on wavelength, to a full width of 1000 - 1400''. From the reflector surface construction and application of the antenna tolerance theory we find that the measurable beam consists of the diffracted beam, two underlying error beams which can be explained from the panel dimensions, and a beam deformation mostly due to large-scale transient residual thermal deformations of the telescope structure. In view of the multiple beam structure of the 30-m telescope, and of other telescopes with a similar reflector construction of (mini-)panels and panel frames, we summarize the antenna tolerance theory for the influence of several independent surface/wavefront deformations. This theory makes use of different correlation lengths, which in essence determine the independent error distributions, and of the wavelength-scaling of the diffracted beam and of the error beams.

  figure818
Figure: Composite profiles f tex2html_wrap_inline2287 (u) which illustrate the improvement of the reflector surface accuracy; measurements before July1997 (24 Dec 1994): open circles, after July 1997 (19 Nov 1997): solid dots.

From the Moon scans we derive the parameters for calculation of the 30-m telescope beam in the wavelength range 3 mm to 0.8 mm as required for the reduction of astronomical observations, in particular of extended sources. The parameters of the beam are primarily for the time after July 1997 when the reflector was re-adjusted and improved to the illumination weighted surface precision of tex2html_wrap_inline2415 tex2html_wrap_inline2471 = 0.065 - 0.075 mm.

  figure823
Figure: Relative power P( tex2html_wrap_inline2473 ) (Eq.(24)) received in the solid angle tex2html_wrap_inline2473 of opening tex2html_wrap_inline2269 tex2html_wrap_inline2479 given in fractions of the full beam width tex2html_wrap_inline2269 tex2html_wrap_inline2275 (Table 2). P( tex2html_wrap_inline2473 ) at tex2html_wrap_inline2269 tex2html_wrap_inline2479 / tex2html_wrap_inline2269 tex2html_wrap_inline2275 = 1 is the beam efficiency B tex2html_wrap_inline2281 ; the normalization of the curves is made to these values given in Table 1. The values are shown for tex2html_wrap_inline2269 tex2html_wrap_inline2479 tex2html_wrap_inline2501 1000 - 1400'', i.e. the extent of the profile measurements where also F tex2html_wrap_inline2281 tex2html_wrap_inline2083 tex2html_wrap_inline2277 tex2html_wrap_inline2287 (Table 1). The remaining energy for larger angles tex2html_wrap_inline2269 tex2html_wrap_inline2479 is mainly in the backward beam and is of the order 1 - F tex2html_wrap_inline2281 .


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