Analysis and particle swarm optimization of correlator antenna arrays for radio astronomy applications

A novel design methodology is presented for correlator antenna arrays in radio astronomy applications. In order to characterize the spatial-filter-like performance of a correlator array, an analyzer is developed to calculate its u-v coverage and synthesized beam, along with the capability to simulate the Earth rotation effect and the image retrieval process. On the other hand, particle swarm optimization (PSO) is applied to determine the locations of antenna elements in typical open-ended and closed array configurations (such as the "Y" and the Reuleaux triangle), in order to achieve either the maximum. u-v coverage or a synthesized beam with the lowest sidelobe level (SLL). Optimized arrays are observed to outperform uniform arrays and representative existing designs.