The Square Kilometre Array

Dr. Minh Huynh (International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research and SKA Program Development Office)Deputy International SKA Project Scientist

A Global Collaboration

67 institutes from 20 countries participating

The SKA concept

a large radio telescope for transformational science • up to 1 million m2 collecting area distributed over a distance of 3000+ km (<0.1

arcsec resolution)• an interferometer at frequencies from 70 MHz to 10 GHz with two or more

detector technologies• fast survey speed: field of view ~100s of sq. deg (70 to 400 MHz), >30 sq. deg

(.4 to 2 GHz) and ~1 sq. deg. (2 to 10 GHz)• connected to fast signal transport network and high performance computing

system

Providing:• ~40x sensitivity of EVLA and up to 10000x survey speed of today’s facilities

SKA Key Science Drivers

ORIGINSProbing the Dark Ages and the Epoch of Reionization

- EoR, first galaxies and active galactic nuclei (black holes) Galaxy Evolution, Cosmology, and Dark Energy

- When did the first stars and galaxies form?- How did galaxies evolve?- Dark Energy, Dark Matter

Cradle of Life- Organic molecules in interstellar space and proto-planetary disks- Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI)

FUNDAMENTAL FORCESPulsars, General Relativity & Gravitational Waves

Origin & evolution of cosmic magnetism

EXPLORATION OF THE UNKNOWN Transients and new phenomena

Science with the Square Kilometre Array(2004, eds. C. Carilli & S. Rawlings, New Astron. Rev., 48)

SKA: project updates

• April 2011: Australia, China, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK sign a Letter of Intent declaring their common ambition to see the SKA built

• SKA Project Office (SPO) will be located at Jodrell Bank Observatory, near Manchester, England

• Financial commitments of about 15M€ for SPO itself and about 81M€ for overall pre-construction phase– Many of the commitments are in kind or in

effort, rather than in cash

Site Selection

Two candidates shortlisted in 2006Western Australia and South Africa

Physical Requirements• Extremely radio quiet environment• At least 3000km in extent• Low ionospheric and tropospheric turbulence

Timeline:• Information from sites submitted Sep 2011• SKA Site Advisory Committee (SSAC), independent panel of experts,

make evaluation and recommend a site by Dec 2011• Governing Board of SKA to make site selection by end of Feb 2012

Australia and New Zealand

Credit: Ant Schinckel (CSIRO)

South Africa + 8 countries

Top level schedule for the SKA

Technical2008-2012 telescope system design and cost (preparatory phase)2013-15 detailed design & pre-construction phase2016-19 Phase 1 construction2016 Advanced Instrumentation Program decision2018-23 Phase 2 construction 2020+ full science operations with Phase 12024-2050+ full science operations with Phase 2Programmatic2011 establish SKA organisation as a legal entity2012 SKA site selection2014 construction funding approval for Phase 1 (350 M€, 2007)2017 construction funding approval for Phase 2 (1.2 B€, 2007)

• Driver of innovation in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) – Communications infrastructure– Development of low noise amplifiers and analogue-to-digital converters

(communications, commercial applications)• A global model for 100% renewable energy

– Development of concentrated thermal and/or photovoltaic solar power• A model for improved global science-industry-government linkages

– Mega-project management and effective global research collaborations• Human capital investment

– Train new scientists and engineers– Inspire new generation to study science and maths– Employment of admin, support, outreach and construction staff

Non-Astronomy Benefits of SKA

Great Observatories for the coming decades

ALMA

JWST

IXO

SKA

E-ELT

www.skatelescope.org