The Centre for Radio Cosmology (CRC) is funded by the South African SKA Project and led by Prof Mario Santos. It aims to fully exploit the use of the next generation of radio telescopes for measurements in cosmology, in particular with MeerKAT and SKA1.
The CRC at UWC is active in research on cosmology with the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and its precursors. CRC staff is closely involved in the South African and international SKA projects.
What are its goals?
The main focus of CRC is the development of pipelines and technical know-how in order to have a world-leading group capable of conducting the required radio surveys and tackle the huge data volumes that will be provided by these telescopes and ultimately provide exquisite cosmological constraints.
CRC missions:
To fully exploit the use of the next generation of radio telescopes for measurements in cosmology, in particular with MeerKAT and SKA1.
Revealing the childhood of the Universe with low-frequency radio telescopes and data simulations.
HI Intensity mapping and higher-order corrections.
HERA power spectrum analysis.
Key Observing Instrumentation:
The CRC aims to fully exploit the use of the next generation of radio telescopes for measurements in cosmology – in particular with South African experiments using MeerKAT, HERA (see figure below) and SKA. When completed, the SKA will be the largest radio telescope in the world, and one of the largest and most powerful observing instruments ever built.
The CRC is leading one of the largest surveys on MeerKAT called MeerKLASS: MeerKAT Large Area Synoptic Survey.