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The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), the largest single dish radio telescope in the world, has implemented an innovative technology for its huge reflector, which changes the shape of the primary reflector from spherical to that of a paraboloid of 300 m aperture. Here we explore how the current FAST sensitivity can potentially be further improved by increasing the illuminated area (i.e., the aperture of the paraboloid embedded in the spherical surface). Alternatively, the maximum zenith angle can be increased to give greater sky coverage by decreasing the illuminated aperture.Different parabolic apertures within the FAST capability are analyzed in terms of how far the spherical surface would have to move to approximate a paraboloid. The sensitivity of FAST can be improved by approximately 10 % if the aperture of the paraboloid is increased from 300 m to 315 m. The parabolic aperture lies within the main spherical surface and does not extend beyond its edge. The maximum zenith angle can be increased to approximately 35 degrees from 26.4 degrees, if we decrease the aperture of the paraboloid to 220 m. This would still give a sensitivity similar to the Arecibo 305 m radio telescope. Radial deviations between paraboloids of different apertures and the spherical surfaces of differing radii are also investigated. Maximum zenith angles corresponding to different apertures of the paraboloid are further derived. A spherical surface with a different radius can provide a reference baseline for shape-changing applied through active reflector technology to FAST-like telescopes., Accepted by MNRAS

The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope, or the FAST for short, known as the “China Sky Eye”, is the world’s largest and most sensitive single aperture radio telescope. It is located in a karst depression in Pingtang County, Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province.

We report the discovery of a highly dispersed fast radio burst, FRB~181123, from an analysis of $\sim$1500~hr of drift-scan survey data taken using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). The pulse has three distinct emission components, which vary with frequency across our 1.0--1.5~GHz observing band. We measure the peak flux density to be $>0.065$~Jy and the corresponding fluence $>0.2$~Jy~ms. Based on the observed dispersion measure of 1812~cm$^{-3}$~pc, we infer a redshift of $\sim 1.9$. From this, we estimate the peak luminosity and isotropic energy to be $\lesssim 2\times10^{43}$~erg~s$^{-1}$ and $\lesssim 2\times10^{40}$~erg, respectively. With only one FRB from the survey detected so far, our constraints on the event rate are limited. We derive a 95\% confidence lower limit for the event rate of 900 FRBs per day for FRBs with fluences $>0.025$~Jy~ms. We performed follow-up observations of the source with FAST for four hours and have not found a repeated burst. We discuss the implications of this discovery for our understanding of the physical mechanisms of FRBs., 7 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJL

We describe PSR J1926-0652, a pulsar recently discovered with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). Using sensitive single-pulse detections from FAST and long-term timing observations from the Parkes 64-m radio telescope, we probed phenomena on both long and short time scales. The FAST observations covered a wide frequency range from 270 to 800 MHz, enabling individual pulses to be studied in detail. The pulsar exhibits at least four profile components, short-term nulling lasting from 4 to 450 pulses, complex subpulse drifting behaviours and intermittency on scales of tens of minutes. While the average band spacing P3 is relatively constant across different bursts and components, significant variations in the separation of adjacent bands are seen, especially near the beginning and end of a burst. Band shapes and slopes are quite variable, especially for the trailing components and for the shorter bursts. We show that for each burst the last detectable pulse prior to emission ceasing has different properties compared to other pulses. These complexities pose challenges for the classic carousel-type models., Comment: 13pages with 12 figures

The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope(FAST) is expected to complete its commissioning in 2019. FAST will soon begin the Commensal Radio Astronomy FasT Survey(CRAFTS), a novel and unprecedented commensal drift scan survey of the entire sky visible from FAST. The goal of CRAFTS is to cover more than 20000 $deg^{2}$ and reach redshift up to about 0.35. We provide empirical measurements of the beam size and sensitivity of FAST across the 1.05 to 1.45 GHz frequency range of the FAST L-band Array of 19-beams(FLAN). Using a simulated HI-galaxy catalogue based on the HI Mass Function(HIMF), we estimate the number of galaxies that CRAFTS may detect. At redshifts below 0.35, over $6\, \times \, 10^{5}$ HI galaxies may be detected. Below the redshift of 0.07, the CRAFTS HIMF will be complete above a mass threshold of $10^{9.5}\,M_{\odot}$. FAST will be able to investigate the environmental and redshift dependence of the HIMF to an unprecedented depth, shedding light onto the missing baryon and missing satellite problems., Comment: Published as Sci. China-Phys. Mech. Astron. 62, 959506 (2019)

The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) attempts to address the possibility of the presence of technological civilizations beyond the Earth. Benefiting from high sensitivity, large sky coverage, an innovative feed cabin for China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), we performed the SETI first observations with FAST's newly commisioned 19-beam receiver; we report preliminary results in this paper. Using the data stream produced by the SERENDIP VI realtime multibeam SETI spectrometer installed at FAST, as well as its off-line data processing pipelines, we identify and remove four kinds of radio frequency interference(RFI): zone, broadband, multi-beam, and drifting, utilizing the Nebula SETI software pipeline combined with machine learning algorithms. After RFI mitigation, the Nebula pipeline identifies and ranks interesting narrow band candidate ET signals, scoring candidates by the number of times candidate signals have been seen at roughly the same sky position and same frequency, signal strength, proximity to a nearby star or object of interest, along with several other scoring criteria. We show four example candidates groups that demonstrate these RFI mitigation and candidate selection. This preliminary testing on FAST data helps to validate our SETI instrumentation techniques as well as our data processing pipeline., 21 pages, 19 figures, 3 tables, published in ApJ

Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) is a Chinese mega-science project to build the largest single dish radio telescope in Guizhou province, Southwest China. The construction of FAST will involve many kinds of analog and digital electrical equipments. The electrical equipments are potential threat to radio observation due to its ElectroMagnetic Interference (EMI) emission. The EMI should be safely shielded when FAST telescope operates. The shielding effectiveness of large shielding enclosures can be tested with two log periodic antennas, signal generator and spectrum analyzer. It is not suitable to test small shielding enclosure for that is not possible to put big antenna and signal generator inside. In this paper, an effective shielding effectiveness measurement system for the small shielding enclosure is introduced. This measurement system uses a frequency synthesizer of Valon Technology as signal generator which can measure the shielding effectiveness no more than 100dB in a frequency range of 23–6000MHz. Some of measurement results of shielding effectiveness are also presented.

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be the world’s largest synthesis radio telescope, which is designed to answer major scientific questions such as those relating to the cosmic origin and fundamental forces in the universe. With the SKA entering into the phase of pre-construction, more than 100 institutes in about 20 countries including China have been involved in the associated key technology development. The Dish Verification Antenna China (DVA-C) is a concept prototype which has been built to meet the requirements of the SKA’s scientific goals. It utilizes a unique skin-and-rib structure with single-piece panel reflectors. This paper presents details on the design and measured performances of DVA-C, as well as the preliminary observational results. Current applications of the DVA-C are also introduced.

Phased array feeds (PAFs) for large diameter single dish radio telescopes offer the capability for multiple simultaneous beam formation and wide field-of-view surveys. An L-band PAF front end design is presented for the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), which is currently under construction and when complete will be the largest single dish radio telescope in the world. A broadband PAF element at L-band was designed in conjunction with the FAST optics and focal plane field distribution, fabricated, and tested. The simulated performance of the array meets the FAST PAF performance requirements for field of view, efficiency, sensitivity, and other key parameters. A unique aspect of the FAST PAF is the need for feed cabin vibration compensation. A study of the use of adaptive beamforming to compensate for lateral movement is given.

Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) is a Chinese mega-science project to build the largest single dish radio telescope in the world. The first light of FAST is expected in September 2016. Due to the high sensitivity of FAST, it is very sensitive to the radio frequency interference coming from the electrical and electronic equipments of telescope itself. In order to assure the realization of the scientific goals of the telescope, the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) study on FAST at the design and construction stages, has been carried out to decrease the possibility of the interference from the telescope. Several examples, such as EMC designs and measurements for actuator and focus cabin, have been introduced briefly.

Phased array feed (PAF) is an emerging technology which can greatly improve the survey speed of telescopes. As a world-class radio telescope, the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) is also trying to enhance its observation capability and open up new scientific studies at several frequency bands by PAFs. At the first partof this paper, the blue print of the FAST PAFs development and corresponding scientific goals are introduced, as well as the progress has been made in these PAFs.

The SKA (Square Kilometer Array) will be the world’s largest synthesis radio telescope, which will address many fundamental questions about our universe. Scientists and Engineers from 67 institutions in 20 countries have joined the pre-study of the SKA since 1993. China has been playing an important role, from various SKA concepts in the early years, to the current site selection as well as the technical development. The SKA has now entered the pre-construction phase, and many countries including China are involved into the key technology development, such as antenna prototyping and Phased Array Feed. With China’s continuous participation into the SKA, including the establishment of a science team aiming at limited scientific objectives, technical studies and designs of high-precision light antennas and broadband wide-field receivers, the Chinese Astronomy and related technologies will be greatly promoted. The SKA will provide a great opportunity for China to play an active role in international mega-science projects.

A 500-m aperture spherical telescope (FAST) was funded by the National Development and Reform Commission of China (NDRC) in July 2007 and will be located in the unique Karst region, a sinkhole-like landform, in Guizhou province. FAST can be seen as a modified ldquoArecibordquo type radio telescope using many innovative techniques, with as much as twice the collecting area and a wider sky coverage. FAST has, first, an active reflector, conforming to a paraboloid of revolution from a sphere in real time through actuated control, which enables the realization of wide bandwidth and full polarization capability by using standard feed design. Secondly, it has a light focus cabin suspension system, integrating optical, mechanical, and electronic technologies, reducing effectively the cost of the support structure and control system. With such a huge collecting area of more than 30 football fields, FAST will become the largest single dish ever built. Here we will summarize the FAST concept and the milestones achieved in experiments on its key technologies, i.e., site exploration, active reflector prototyping, focus cabin driving mechanism, measurement and control techniques, and the receiver layout. The Miyun FAST demonstrator also will be presented.

The National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences is now building a 50 m radio telescope at the Miyun Station. In this paper, we give a brief introduction to the Miyun Station. The main specifications and the status of construction of the 50 m radio telescope are described. We are now building an L-band pulsar receiver for this new 50 m telescope. The status of this receiver project is also described. The 50 m telescope, together with the pulsar receiver, will make it a powerful radio telescope to carry out pulsar observations and researches in the near future.

FAST, Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope, is the Chinese effort for the international project SKA, Square Kilometer Array. An innovative engineering concept and design pave a new road to realizing huge single dish in the most effective way. Three outstanding features of the telescope are the unique karst depressions as the sites, the active main reflector which corrects spherical aberration on the ground to achieve full polarization and wide band without involving complex feed system, and the light focus cabin driven by cables and servomechanism plus a parallel robot as secondary adjustable system to carry the most precise parts of the receivers. Besides a general coverage of those critical technologies involved in FAST concept, the progresses in demonstrating model being constructed at the Miyun Radio Observatory of the NAOC is introduced. Being the most sensitive radio telescope, FAST will enable astronomers to jumpstart many of science goals, for example, the natural hydrogen line surveying in distant galaxies, looking for the first generation of shining objects, hearing the possible signal from other civilizations, etc. Among these subjects, the most striking one could be pulsar study. Large scale survey by FAST will not only improve the statistics of the pulsar population, but also may offer us a good fortune to pick up more of the most exotic, even unknown types like a sub-millisecond pulsar or a neutron star – black hole binary as the telescope is put into operation.

The Effelsberg 100 m radio telescope has been used over a period of 5.5 yr to monitor the flux densities of 40 extragalactic radio sources. In this paper we study the long-term variability characteristics over timescales of several months of the quasar PKS 0528+134 at several wavelengths. It shows that the 6 cm light curve of the source hints at a time-asymmetric behavior as could be expected from an asymmetric source structure. The wavelength dependence of the degree of variability does not meet the predictions of the interstellar scintillation theory. Furthermore, variations of the spectral indices (α) follow the shock models. We conclude that the variations in PKS 0528+134 are probably intrinsic, and several intrinsic models are briefly discussed to interpret the observed variability properties.

Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) is a Chinese mega-science project to build the largest single dish radio telescope in the world. The first light of FAST is expected in 2016. In order to protect the radio environment for FAST site, the local government has promised to establish a radio quiet zone of 30 km diameter, with the Dawodang depression in Guizhou province as the centre. The legislation of this radio quiet zone is underway.

Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) is a Chinese mega-science project to build the largest single dish radio telescope in the world. Its innovative engineering concept and design pave a new road to realize a huge single dish in the most effective way. FAST also represents Chinese contribution in the international efforts to build the square kilometer array (SKA). Being the most sensitive single dish radio telescope, FAST will enable astronomers to jump-start many science goals, for example, surveying the neutral hydrogen in the Milky Way and other galaxies, detecting faint pulsars, looking for the first shining stars, hearing the possible signals from other civilizations, etc. The idea of sitting a large spherical dish in a karst depression is rooted in Arecibo telescope. FAST is an Arecibo-type antenna with three outstanding aspects: the karst depression used as the site, which is large to host the 500-meter telescope and deep to allow a zenith angle of 40 degrees; the active main reflector correcting for spherical aberration on the ground to achieve a full polarization and a wide band without involving complex feed systems; and the light-weight feed cabin driven by cables and servomechanism plus a parallel robot as a secondary adjustable system to move with high precision. The feasibility studies for FAST have been carried out for 14 years, supported by Chinese and world astronomical communities. The project time is 5.5 years from the commencement of work in March of 2011 and the first light is expected to be in 2016. This review intends to introduce FAST project with emphasis on the recent progress since 2006. In this paper, the subsystems of FAST are described in modest details followed by discussions of the fundamental science goals and examples of early science projects., 36 pages, 28 figures, accepted for publication in International Journal of Modern Physics D