Real-time Broadband RFI Excision for the Upgraded GMRT

TL;DR

This paper presents a real-time broadband RFI mitigation system for the upgraded GMRT, demonstrating its effectiveness during monsoon conditions with high RFI levels across multiple frequency bands.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel real-time broadband RFI excision system specifically designed for the uGMRT, with comprehensive testing and results during challenging monsoon conditions.

Findings

Effective RFI mitigation in all uGMRT bands during monsoon

Broadband power-line RFI is prevalent in the specified frequency bands

System performance remains robust under high wind-speed and moisture conditions

Abstract

A real-time broadband RFI mitigation system has been developed for the Upgraded GMRT (uGMRT). Here, we report the engineering, imaging, and beam/pulsar results from the test observations in all the bands of the uGMRT during the monsoon of 2018 and 2019. Broadband power-line RFI is almost always present in uGMRT bands 2 (120 - 240 MHz), 3 (300 - 500 MHz) and 4 (550 - 850 MHz), but the monsoon period is chosen to understand the performance in the worst RFI situations arising due to an increase in the wind-speed and moisture.