The next era in radio astronomy: the pathway to SKA
Principal contact: J. M. van der Hulst (j.m.van.der.hulst@rug.nl )
Organisers: L. Feretti (INAF - IRA, Bologna, Italy), M. A. Garrett, ASTRON, The Netherlands, S. Garrington, M. Kramer (Manchester, UK), S. R. Rawlings (Oxford, UK), A. van Ardenne (ASTRON, The Netherlands), J.M. van der Hulst (Groningen, The Netherlands), W. van Driel (Obs. de Paris, France), A. Zensus (MPIfR-Bonn, Germany)
Europe is entering a new era in radio astronomy in which the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will play a major role. The SKA, identified as a cornerstone of the Astronet Roadmap, offers an excellent opportunity for Europe to dispaly scientific and technical leadership. The science impact of the SKA will be widely felt in astro-particle physics and cosmology, fundamental physics, galactic and extragalactic astronomy, solar system science and astrobiology. The range of key science to be tackled by the SKA covers the epoch of re-ionization, galaxy evolution, dark energy, cosmic magnetism, strong field tests of gravity, gravitational wave detection, transients, proto-planetary disks, and the search for extra-terrestrial life.
In addition there is promise of breakthrough science soon from instruments and activities exploring SKA technologies (commonly termed pathfinders), such as e-EVN, e-MERLIN, APERTIF on the WSRT, and LOFAR which is opening a new spectral window with entirely new technology. The expected science return is spectacular, encompassing a broad range of topics from conventional astronomy to emerging areas such as astro-particle physics. The goal of the meeting is threefold
- to expose the European astronomical community to the scientific potential of new instruments such as LOFAR with its key programmes, e-MERLIN with its legacy programme and e-EVN;
- to engage colleagues accross Europe in building the community needed to exploit the SKA; and
- to address synergies with other areas of astronomy, physics, and industry.
Scientific Programme
| Monday 20th April | Overview of SKA projects | |
| 11:00 | A European Vision for Radio Astronomy: Pathway to the SKA | Thijs van der Hulst |
| 11:15 | The Square Kilometre Array | Richard Schilizzi |
| 11:30 | Widefield Techniques for the SKA using Aperture Arrays | Arnold van Ardenne |
| 11:45 | The Latest on Apertif | Tom Oosterloo |
| 12:00 | Science with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder | Simon Johnston |
| 12:15 | The MeerKAT Telescope | Justin Jonas |
| Monday 20th April | e-EVN/e-MERLIN, a high resolution window to SKA | |
| 14:00 | The e-EVN: a Realtime VLBI Instrument | Zsolt Paragi |
| 14:20 | e-MERLIN | Simon Garrington |
| 14:30 | Radio Emission from Super-Grains: Observing Planets Form | Jane Greaves |
| 14:45 | COBRaS - e-MERLIN Cyg OB2 Radio Survey | Danielle Fenech |
| 15:00 | Relativistic Jet Physics with e-MERLIN | Robert Laing |
| 15:15 | The E-MERGE Legacy Program | Scott Chapman |
| Monday 20th April | Science with SKA, SKA pathfinders and synergies with other wavebands | |
| 16:30 | Polarization and Spectral Surveys with Aperture Arrays on the SKA | Paul Alexander |
| 16:45 | Synergies between SKA and ALMA | Leonardi Testi |
| 17:00 | Synergies between SKA and ELT | Roberto Gilmozzi |
| 17:15 | At the Beginning was the Hydrogen: Simulations for The SKA | Danail Obreschkow |
| 17:30 | Simulating the Radio Sky on the Pathway to the SKA | Filipe Abdalla |
| 17:45 | The Atlas3D Survey of HI in Early-Type Galaxies | Paolo Serra |
| Tuesday 21st April | LOFAR, exploring the low frequency sky | |
| 11:00 | LOFAR: Current Status, Scientific Programmes and Exploration for the SKA | Rene Vermeulen |
| 11:15 | The LOFAR Epoch of Reionization Key Project | Leon Koopmans |
| 11:33 | Deep Extragalactic Surveys with LOFAR | Philip Best |
| 11:51 | Detecting High Energy Cosmic Rays with LOFAR | Andreas Horneffer |
| 12:09 | Pulsars: From LOFAR to the SKA | Ben Stappers |
| Tuesday 21st April | Science with SKA, SKA pathfinders and synergies with other wavebands | |
| 14:00 | Wide-field VLBI Imaging without Supercomputers | Olaf Wucknitz |
| 14:15 | Space and Planetary Science Frontier of SKA | Leonid Gurvits |
| 14:30 | Gravitational Lensing of the Cosmic 21 cm Radiation | Robert Metcalf |
| 14:45 | What Ultra High-Resolution, High-Sensitivity Maser Observations tell us about the Physics of Stellar Winds | Anita Richards |
| 15:00 | Radio Pulsar Surveys and Neutron- Star Binary Discoveries | Joeri van Leeuwen |
| 15:15 | SKA Polarised Sky Simulations | Joern Geisbuesch |
