Karl G. Jansky VLA Tutorials

Introduction

The Jansky VLA Tutorials are meant to guide the observer through some common types of data analysis, using example datasets, and including explanations of the individual steps. These analyses will be broadly applicable to many EVLA datasets.

If you are new to Jansky VLA Data, you may start with

Jansky VLA Tutorials

• Carbon Star IRC+10216: high frequency (36GHz), spectral line data reduction (CASA 4.1)

• IRC+10216 Tutorial
• This tutorial requires to download a dataset 1.1GB in size

Calibrate and make image cubes of the line emission from this asymptotic giant branch star. This is a high-frequency Jansky VLA dataset. Includes:

• Inspecting data; basic flagging & calibration
• Subtracting continuum emission
• Imaging the spectral lines
• Imaging the continuum
• Image analysis
• Self-calibration

• Supernova Remnant 3C391: 6cm Polarimetry and Continuum Imaging, Mosaicking (CASA 4.1)

• 3C391 Tutorial Part 1: calibration, imaging
• 3C391 Tutorial Part 2: Image Analysis, Polarization, Self-calibration
• This tutorial requires to download a dataset 3.1GB in size

Calibrate Jansky VLA full polarization data, image a mosaic of the region in full Stokes and create a spectral index map. Includes:

• Inspecting data; basic flagging
• Calibration
• Image Analysis and Manipulation
• Polarization Imaging
• Spectral Index imaging
• Self-calibration

Jansky VLA Tutorials for more Advanced Users

• Supernova SN2010FZ: Wide-band, narrow-field imaging; C-band (5-7 GHz) (CASA 4.1)

• Supernova SN2010FZ Tutorial
• This tutorial requires to download a dataset 2.9GB in size

Calibrate and image a galaxy field for this mid-frequency Jansky VLA observation. This includes:

• Excising RFI from the data
• Basic flagging and calibration steps
• Imaging from one spectral window to full dataset
• Using multi-scale, multi-frequency synthesis
• Image analysis

• Protostar G192.16-3.84: Wide-band, narrow-field imaging using 3-bit sampled data; Ka-band (27-38 GHz) (CASA 4.1)

• Protostar G192.16-3.84 Tutorial
• This tutorial requires the download of an 18GB dataset

Calibrate and image a protostar for this high-frequency VLA observation taken using the 3-bit samplers. Note that this tutorial can be used as a guide for 8-bit data as well. This includes:

• Deleting bad data and RFI
• Basic calibration, including tropospheric opacity and requantizer gain corrections
• Bootstrapping to determine the spectrum of the bandpass calibration source
• Imaging from a single spectral window to the full dataset
• Using multi-frequency synthesis imaging
• Image analysis

• Supernova G55.7_3.4: Wide-band, wide-field imaging; L-band (1-2 GHz) (CASA 4.1)

• G55.7+3.4 Tutorial
• This tutorial requires to download a dataset 14GB in size

This low-frequency Jansky VLA tutorial for the observation of a supernova remnant focuses on RFI excision as well as imaging wide-field and wide-fractional-bandwidth data. This includes:

• Basic flagging and evaluation
• Different methods for automatic RFI excision
• Calibrating the data
• Exploring different imaging options: widefield, multi-scale, and multi-frequency synthesis

Specific Topics

• CASA: Writing a CASA task

Presents the basics of writing a CASA task, and provides examples of tasks that will be helpful and instructive.

• Baseband Stitching-CASA4.1

Demonstrates the use of the contributed "stitch" task to edit data which has been obtained in an overlapping subband mode.

• Imaging Flanking Fields

• Transient reduction pipeline

• Obtaining EVLA Data: 3C 391 Example

Other

• Data Calibration, Imaging, and Analysis - simplified for Community Day Events: EVLA high frequency Spectral Line Tutorial - CDE

CASA 4.1 versions

• EVLA high frequency Spectral Line tutorial - IRC+10216 - CASA 4.1

CASA 3.4 versions

• IRC+10216 Tutorial

• 3C391 Tutorial Part 1: calibration, imaging
• 3C391 Tutorial Part 2: Image Analysis, Polarization, Self-calibration

• SN2010FZ Tutorial

• G55.7+3.4 Tutorial

CASA 3.3 versions

• IRC+10216 Part 1: editing, calibration
• IRC+10216 Part 2: continuum subtraction, imaging, selfcal

• 3C391 Tutorial Part 1: calibration, imaging
• 3C391 Tutorial Part 2: Image Analysis, Polarization, Self-calibration

• SN2010FZ Tutorial

• G55.7+3.4 Tutorial