Simdata CASA 3.1

mosaic simulation task:
mosaic simulation task (prototype):     

    This task simulates interfermetric observations (currently 
    only ALMA can be done easily).  New functionality is actively 
    being added, so if you have changed versions of CASA, check 
    the inputs carefully.
    Please contact CASA experts with any questions, especially 
    about features noted below as *experimental*    
    -------------------------------
    project -- root filename for all output files.
    -------------------------------
    modifymodel -- change the coordinate system of the model sky image?
       * if graphics selected, display the rescaled model image
    skymodel -- if modifymodel=False, use this as the sky model. 
       * if modifyimage=True, use this as the starting point, modify it 
         write the output to a different image (default $project.skymodel)
         and use that new image as the sky model
    inbright -- peak brightness in Jy/pixel, or "" for unchanged
       * NOTE: "unchanged" will take the numerical values in your image 
         and assume they are in Jy/pixel, even if it says some other unit 
         in the header. 
    indirection -- central direction, or "" for unchanged
    incell -- spatial pixel size, or "" for unchanged
    incenter -- frequency of center channel e.g. "89GHz", or "" for unchanged
    inwidth -- width of channels, or "" for unchanged - this should be a 
         string representing a quantity with units e.g. "10MHz"
       * NOTE: only works reliably with frequencies, not velocities
       * NOTE: it is not possible to change the number of spectral planes
         of the sky model, only to relabel them with different frequencies
         That kind of regridding can be accomplished with the CASA toolkit.
    -------------------------------
    setpointings -- calculate a map of pointings, or if false, provide ptgfile
       * if graphics selected, display the pointings shown on the model image
    ptgfile -- a text file specifying directions in the same 
         format as the example, and optional integration times, e.g.
         #Epoch     RA          DEC      TIME(optional)
         J2000 23h59m28.10 -019d52m12.35 10.0
       * if the time column is not present in the file, it will use
         "integration" for all pointings.
       * NOTE: at this time the file should contain only science pointings:
         simdata will observe these, then optionally the calibrator, 
         then the list of science pointings again, etc, until totaltime
         is used up. 
    integration --- Time interval for each integration e.g '10s'
       * NOTE: to simulate a "scan" longer than one integration, use 
         setpointings to generate a pointing file, and then edit the 
         file to repeat each pointing several times before moving to the 
         next point.
    direction -- mosaic center direction e.g 'J2000 19h00m00 -40d00m00'
       * can optionally be a list of pointings
       * otherwise simdata will pack mapsize according to maptype
    mapsize -- angular size of map 
       * set to "" to span the model image
    maptype -- hexagonal or linear 
    pointingspacing -- spacing in between beams e.g '1arcsec'    
    -------------------------------
    predict -- calculate visibilities from skymodel (which may have been 
         modified above, (optionally) complist, and $ptgfile (which 
         may have been generated above)
       * if graphics selected, display the array (like plotants), the uv 
         coverage, the synthesized (dirty) beam, and ephemeris information
    refdate -- central time of simulated observation eg: '2012/05/21/22:05:00'
       * NOTE: observations are currently centered at the nearest transit *
    totaltime --- total time of observation e.g '7200s'
    antennalist -- ascii file containing antenna positions.
         each row has x y z coordinates and antenna diameter; 
         header lines are required to specify the observatory name
         and coordinate system e.g. 
           # observatory=ALMA
           # coordsys=UTM
           # datum=WGS84
           # zone=19
       * standard arrays are found in your CASA data repository, 
         os.getenv("CASAPATH").split()[0]+"/data/alma/simmos/"        
       * if "", will not not produce an interferometric MS
       * NEW: a string of the form "alma;0.5arcsec" will be parsed into a full 12m ALMA
         configuration.  This only works for full ALMA and may fail to find the 
         standard configuration files on some systems - see casaguides.nrao.edu
    caldirection -- *NEW* an unresolved calibrator can be observed 
         interleaved with the science pointings.  This feature is 
         experimental, so please contact us with any questions.
       * The calibrator is implemented as a point source clean component 
         with this direction and flux=calflux
    sdantlist -- antenna position file with antennas to be used for 
         single dish or total power simulation 
       * if "", will not produce a total power MS
    sdant -- the index of the antenna in the list to use for total 
         power.  defaults to the first antenna on the list. 
    -------------------------------