Using the EPIC Algorithm for Radio Astronomy

Presenter(s)

Samuel Michaud

Abstract

The EPIC (E-field Parallel Imaging Correlator) algorithm is a direct imaging correlator for radio interferometer arrays. Bypassing the expensive processing step of cross correlation and immediately computing a spatial fast Fourier transform allows it to generate extremely high framerate radio images. EPIC serves to efficiently process signals from a very high count of radio antennas in an array with parallel computing, scaling as Nlog(N). This research project investigates the advantages and limitations of using EPIC for astronomy. This was done by stress testing both the user interface and back-end database through SQL commands to validate the output data it processed from the signal generated by the Long Wavelength Array radio telescope in New Mexico. The presentation provides an overview of how EPIC works, along with some projects that have been done such as documenting solar radio bursts, searching for fast radio bursts, and validating output via comparison to a beamforming algorithm.

College

College of Science & Engineering

Department

Physics

Campus

Winona

First Advisor/Mentor

Adam Beardsley

Start Date

4-24-2025 1:00 PM

End Date

4-24-2025 2:00 PM

Presentation Type

Poster Session

Format of Presentation or Performance

In-Person

Session

2a=1pm-2pm

Poster Number

39

Comments

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Apr 24th, 1:00 PM Apr 24th, 2:00 PM

Using the EPIC Algorithm for Radio Astronomy

The EPIC (E-field Parallel Imaging Correlator) algorithm is a direct imaging correlator for radio interferometer arrays. Bypassing the expensive processing step of cross correlation and immediately computing a spatial fast Fourier transform allows it to generate extremely high framerate radio images. EPIC serves to efficiently process signals from a very high count of radio antennas in an array with parallel computing, scaling as Nlog(N). This research project investigates the advantages and limitations of using EPIC for astronomy. This was done by stress testing both the user interface and back-end database through SQL commands to validate the output data it processed from the signal generated by the Long Wavelength Array radio telescope in New Mexico. The presentation provides an overview of how EPIC works, along with some projects that have been done such as documenting solar radio bursts, searching for fast radio bursts, and validating output via comparison to a beamforming algorithm.