Search

Context. Cassiopeia A is one of the best-studied supernova remnants. Its bright radio and X-ray emission is due to shocked ejecta. Cas A is rather unique in that the unshocked ejecta can also be studied: through emission in the infrared, the radio-active decay of 44Ti, and the low-frequency free-free absorption caused by cold ionised gas, which is the topic of this paper. Aims. Free-free absorption processes are affected by the mass, geometry, temperature, and ionisation conditions in the absorbing gas. Observations at the lowest radio frequencies can constrain a combination of these properties. Methods. We used Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) Low Band Antenna observations at 30–77 MHz and Very Large Array (VLA) L-band observations at 1–2 GHz to fit for internal absorption as parametrised by the emission measure. We simultaneously fit multiple UV-matched images with a common resolution of 17″ (this corresponds to 0.25 pc for a source at the distance of Cas A). The ample frequency coverage allows us separate the relative contributions from the absorbing gas, the unabsorbed front of the shell, and the absorbed back of the shell to the emission spectrum. We explored the effects that a temperature lower than the ~100–500 K proposed from infrared observations and a high degree of clumping can have on the derived physical properties of the unshocked material, such as its mass and density. We also compiled integrated radio flux density measurements, fit for the absorption processes that occur in the radio band, and considered their effect on the secular decline of the source. Results. We find a mass in the unshocked ejecta of M = 2.95 ± 0.48 M⊙ for an assumed gas temperatureof T = 100 K. This estimate is reduced for colder gas temperatures and, most significantly, if the ejecta are clumped. We measure the reverse shock to have a radius of 114″± 6″ and be centred at 23:23:26, +58:48:54 (J2000). We also find that a decrease in the amount of mass in the unshocked ejecta (as more

We present the results of a four-month campaign searching for low-frequency radio transients near the North Celestial Pole with the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR), as part of the Multifrequency Snapshot Sky Survey (MSSS). The data were recorded between 2011 December and 2012 April and comprised 2149 11-min snapshots, each covering 175 deg2. We have found one convincing candidate astrophysical transient, with a duration of a few minutes and a flux density at 60 MHz of 15-25 Jy. The transient does not repeat and has no obvious optical or high-energy counterpart, as a result of which its nature is unclear. The detection of this event implies a transient rate at 60 MHz of 3.9^{+14.7}_{-3.7}× 10^{-4} d-1 deg-2, and a transient surface density of 1.5 × 10-5 deg-2, at a 7.9-Jy limiting flux density and ˜10-min time-scale. The campaign data were also searched for transients at a range of other time-scales, from 0.5 to 297 min, which allowed us to place a range of limits on transient rates at 60 MHz as a function of observation duration.

Context. The existence of double-double radio galaxies (DDRGs) is evidence for recurrent jet activity in active galactic nuclei (AGN), as expected from standard accretion models. A detailed study of these rare sources provides new perspectives for investigating the AGN duty cycle, AGN-galaxy feedback, and accretion mechanisms. Large catalogues of radio sources, on the other hand, provide statistical information about the evolution of the radio-loud AGN population out to high redshifts. Aims. Using wide-field imaging with the LOFAR telescope, we study both a well-known DDRG as well as a large number of radio sources in the field of view. Methods. We present a high resolution image of the DDRG B1834+620 obtained at 144 MHz using LOFAR commissioning data. Our image covers about 100 square degrees and contains over 1000 sources. Results. The four components of the DDRG B1834+620 have been resolved for the first time at 144 MHz. Inner lobes were found to point towards the direction of the outer lobes, unlike standard FR II sources. Polarized emission was detected at +60 rad m-2 in the northern outer lobe. The high spatial resolution allows the identification of a large number of small double-lobed radio sources; roughly 10% of all sources in the field are doubles with a separation smaller than 1′. Conclusions. The spectral fit of the four components is consistent with a scenario in which the outer lobes are still active or the jets recently switched off, while emission of the inner lobes is the result of a mix-up of new and old jet activity. From the presence of the newly extended features in the inner lobes of the DDRG, we can infer that the mechanism responsible for their formation is the bow shock that is driven by the newly launched jet. We find that the density of the small doubles exceeds the density of FR II sources with similar properties at 1.4 GHz, but this difference becomes smaller for low flux densities. Finally, we show that the significant challenges of wi

Aims. An efficient means of locating calibrator sources for international LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) is developed and used to determine the average density of usable calibrator sources on the sky for subarcsecond observations at 140 MHz. Methods. We used the multi-beaming capability of LOFAR to conduct a fast and computationally inexpensive survey with the full international LOFAR array. Sources were preselected on the basis of 325 MHz arcminute-scale flux density using existing catalogues. By observing 30 different sources in each of the 12 sets of pointings per hour, we were able to inspect 630 sources in two hours to determine if they possess a sufficiently bright compact component to be usable as LOFAR delay calibrators. Results. More than 40% of the observed sources are detected on multiple baselines between international stations and 86 are classified as satisfactory calibrators. We show that a flat low-frequency spectrum (from 74 to 325 MHz) is the best predictor of compactness at 140 MHz. We extrapolate from our sample to show that the sky density of calibrators that are sufficiently bright to calibrate dispersive and non-dispersive delays for the international LOFAR using existing methods is 1.0 per square degree. Conclusions. The observed density of satisfactory delay calibrator sources means that observations with international LOFAR should be possible at virtually any point in the sky provided that a fast and efficient search, using the methodology described here, is conducted prior to the observation to identify the best calibrator.

Extensive air showers, induced by high energy cosmic rays impinging on the Earth's atmosphere, produce radio emission that is measured with the LOFAR radio telescope. As the emission comes from a finite distance of a few kilometers, the incident wavefront is non-planar. A spherical, conical or hyperbolic shape of the wavefront has been proposed, but measurements of individual air showers have been inconclusive so far. For a selected high-quality sample of 161 measured extensive air showers, we have reconstructed the wavefront by measuring pulse arrival times to sub-nanosecond precision in 200 to 350 individual antennas. For each measured air shower, we have fitted a conical, spherical, and hyperboloid shape to the arrival times. The fit quality and a likelihood analysis show that a hyperboloid is the best parameterization. Using a non-planar wavefront shape gives an improved angular resolution, when reconstructing the shower arrival direction. Furthermore, a dependence of the wavefront shape on the shower geometry can be seen. This suggests that it will be possible to use a wavefront shape analysis to get an additional handle on the atmospheric depth of the shower maximum, which is sensitive to the mass of the primary particle.

We present measurements of radio emission from cosmic ray air showers that took place during thunderstorms. The intensity and polarization patterns of these air showers are radically different from those measured during fair-weather conditions. With the use of a simple two-layer model for the atmospheric electric field, these patterns can be well reproduced by state-of-the-art simulation codes. This in turn provides a novel way to study atmospheric electric fields.

The Sun is an active source of radio emission that is often associated with energetic phenomena ranging from nanoflares to coronal mass ejections (CMEs). At low radio frequencies (<100 MHz), numerous millisecond duration radio bursts have been reported, such as radio spikes or solar S bursts (where S stands for short). To date, these have neither been studied extensively nor imaged because of the instrumental limitations of previous radio telescopes. Aims. Here, LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) observations were used to study the spectral and spatial characteristics of a multitude of S bursts, as well as their origin and possible emission mechanisms. Methods. We used 170 simultaneous tied-array beams for spectroscopy and imaging of S bursts. Since S bursts have short timescales and fine frequency structures, high cadence (~50 ms) tied-array images were used instead of standard interferometric imaging, that is currently limited to one image per second. Results. On 9 July 2013, over 3000 S bursts were observed over a time period of ~8 h. S bursts were found to appear as groups of short-lived (<1 s) and narrow-bandwidth (~2.5 MHz) features, the majority drifting at ~3.5 MHzs-1 and a wide range of circular polarisation degrees (2-8 times more polarised than the accompanying Type III bursts). Extrapolation of the photospheric magnetic field using the potential field source surface (PFSS) model suggests that S bursts are associated with a trans-equatorial loop system that connects an active region in the southern hemisphere to a bipolar region of plage in the northern hemisphere. Conclusions. We have identified polarised, short-lived solar radio bursts that have never been imaged before. They are observed at a height and frequency range where plasma emission is the dominant emission mechanism, however, they possess some of the characteristics of electron-cyclotron maser emission.

We have conducted two pilot surveys for radio pulsars and fast transients with the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) around 140 MHz and here report on the first low-frequency fast-radio burst limit and the discovery of two new pulsars. The first survey, the LOFAR Pilot Pulsar Survey (LPPS), observed a large fraction of the northern sky, ~ 1.4 × 104 deg2, with 1 h dwell times. Each observation covered ~75 deg2 using 7 independent fields formed by incoherently summing the high-band antenna fields. The second pilot survey, the LOFAR Tied-Array Survey (LOTAS), spanned ~600 deg2, with roughly a 5-fold increase in sensitivity compared with LPPS. Using a coherent sum of the 6 LOFAR "Superterp" stations, we formed 19 tied-array beams, together covering 4 deg2 per pointing. From LPPS we derive a limit on the occurrence, at 142 MHz, of dispersed radio bursts of < 150 day-1 sky-1, for bursts brighter than S> 107 Jy for the narrowest searched burst duration of 0.66 ms. In LPPS, we re-detected 65 previously known pulsars. LOTAS discovered two pulsars, the first with LOFAR or any digital aperture array. LOTAS also re-detected 27 previously known pulsars. These pilot studies show that LOFAR can efficiently carry out all-sky surveys for pulsars and fast transients, and they set the stage for further surveying efforts using LOFAR and the planned low-frequency component of the Square Kilometer Array.

We present Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) Low Band observations of the Boötes and 3C 295 fields. Our images made at 34, 46, and 62 MHz reach noise levels of 12, 8, and 5 mJy beam-1, making them the deepest images ever obtained in this frequency range. In to

Aims. This study aims to characterise the polarized foreground emission in the ELAIS-N1 field and to address its possible implications for extracting of the cosmological 21 cm signal from the LOw-Frequency ARray-Epoch of Reionization (LOFAR-EoR) data. Methods. We used the high band antennas of LOFAR to image this region and RM-synthesis to unravel structures of polarized emission at high Galactic latitudes. Results. The brightness temperature of the detected Galactic emission is on average ~4 K in polarized intensity and covers the range from-10 to + 13 rad m-2 in Faraday depth. The total polarized intensity and polarization angle show a wide range of morphological features. We have also used the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) at 350 MHz to image the same region. The LOFAR and WSRT images show a similar complex morphology at comparable brightness levels, but their spatial correlation is very low. The fractional polarization at 150 MHz, expressed as a percentage of the total intensity, amounts to 1.5%. There is no indication of diffuse emission in total intensity in the interferometric data, in line with results at higher frequencies Conclusions. The wide frequency range, high angular resolution, and high sensitivity make LOFAR an exquisite instrument for studying Galactic polarized emission at a resolution of ~1-2 rad m-2 in Faraday depth. The different polarized patterns observed at 150 MHz and 350 MHz are consistent with different source distributions along the line of sight wring in a variety of Faraday thin regions of emission. The presence of polarized foregrounds is a serious complication for epoch of reionization experiments. To avoid the leakage of polarized emission into total intensity, which can depend on frequency, we need to calibrate the instrumental polarization across the field of view to a small fraction of 1%.

Context. The Sun is an active source of radio emission which is often associated with energetic phenomena such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). At low radio frequencies (< 100 MHz), the Sun has not been imaged extensively because of t

We present the first detection of carbon radio recombination line absorption along the line of sight to Cygnus A. The observations were carried out with the Low Frequency Array in the 33-57MHz range. These low-frequency radio observations provide us with

Aims. The characteristic outer scale of turbulence (i.e. the scale at which the dominant source of turbulence injects energy to the interstellar medium) and the ratio of the random to ordered components of the magnetic field are key parameters to characte

Faint undetected sources of radio-frequency interference (RFI) might become visible in long radio observations when they are consistently present over time. Thereby, they might obstruct the detection of the weak astronomical signals of interest. This issu

LOFAR, the LOw-Frequency ARray, is a new-generation radio interferometer constructed in the north of the Netherlands and across europe. Utilizing a novel phased-array design, LOFAR covers the largely unexplored low-frequency range from 10-240 MHz and prov

Some radio pulsars show clear "drifting subpulses", in which subpulses are seen to drift in pulse longitude in a systematic pattern. Here we examine how the drifting subpulses of PSR B0809+74 evolve with time and observing frequency. We show that the subp

Pulsars emit from low-frequency radio waves up to high-energy gamma-rays, generated anywhere from the stellar surface out to the edge of the magnetosphere. Detecting correlated mode changes across the electromagnetic spectrum is therefore key to understanding the physical relationship among the emission sites. Through simultaneous observations, we detected synchronous switching in the radio and x-ray emission properties of PSR B0943+10. When the pulsar is in a sustained radio-"bright" mode, the x-rays show only an unpulsed, nonthermal component. Conversely, when the pulsar is in a radio-"quiet" mode, the x-ray luminosity more than doubles and a 100% pulsed thermal component is observed along with the nonthermal component. This indicates rapid, global changes to the conditions in the magnetosphere, which challenge all proposed pulsar emission theories.

Dispersion in the interstellar medium is a well known phenomenon that follows a simple relationship, which has been used to predict the time delay of dispersed radio pulses since the late 1960s. We performed wide-band simultaneous observations of four pulsars with LOFAR (at 40-190 MHz), the 76-m Lovell Telescope (at 1400 MHz) and the Effelsberg 100-m Telescope (at 8000 MHz) to test the accuracy of the dispersion law over a broad frequency range. In this paper we present the results of these observations which show that the dispersion law is accurate to better than 1 part in 10 5 across our observing band. We use this fact to constrain some of the properties of the interstellar medium along the line-of-sight and use the lack of any aberration or retardation effects to determine upper limits on emission heights in the pulsar magnetosphere. We also discuss the effect of pulse profile evolution on our observations, and the implications that it could have for precision pulsar timing projects such as the detection of gravitational waves with pulsar timing arrays.

Context.M 87 is a giant elliptical galaxy located in the centre of the Virgo cluster, which harbours a supermassive black hole of mass 6.4 × 10 9 M ·, whose activity is responsible for the extended (80 kpc) radio lobes that surround the galaxy. The ener

Aims. This paper discusses the spectral occupancy for performing radio astronomy with the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR), with a focus on imaging observations. Methods. We have analysed the radio-frequency interference (RFI) situation in two 24-h surveys with Dutch LOFAR stations, covering 30-78 MHz with low-band antennas and 115-163 MHz with high-band antennas. This is a subset of the full frequency range of LOFAR. The surveys have been observed with a 0.76 kHz/1 s resolution. Results. We measured the RFI occupancy in the low and high frequency sets to be 1.8% and 3.2% respectively. These values are found to be representative values for the LOFAR radio environment. Between day and night, there is no significant difference in the radio environment. We find that lowering the current observational time and frequency resolutions of LOFAR results in a slight loss of flagging accuracy. At LOFAR's nominal resolution of 0.76 kHz and 1 s, the false-positives rate is about 0.5%. This rate increases approximately linearly when decreasing the data frequency resolution. Conclusions. Currently, by using an automated RFI detection strategy, the LOFAR radio environment poses no perceivable problems for sensitive observing. It remains to be seen if this is still true for very deep observations that integrate over tens of nights, but the situation looks promising. Reasons for the low impact of RFI are the high spectral and time resolution of LOFAR; accurate detection methods; strong filters and high receiver linearity; and the proximity of the antennas to the ground. We discuss some strategies that can be used once low-level RFI starts to become apparent. It is important that the frequency range of LOFAR remains free of broadband interference, such as DAB stations and windmills.

Abell 2256 is one of the best known examples of a galaxy cluster hosting large-scale diffuse radio emission that is unrelated to individual galaxies. It contains both a giant radio halo and a relic, as well as a number of head-tail sources and smaller diffuse steep-spectrum radio sources. The origin of radio halos and relics is still being debated, but over the last years it has become clear that the presence of these radio sources is closely related to galaxy cluster merger events. Here we present the results from the first LOFAR low band antenna (LBA) observations of Abell 2256 between 18 and 67 MHz. To our knowledge, the image presented in this paper at 63 MHz is the deepest ever obtained at frequencies below 100 MHz in general. Both the radio halo and the giant relic are detected in the image at 63 MHz, and the diffuse radio emission remains visible at frequencies as low as 20 MHz. The observations confirm the presence of a previously claimed ultra-steep spectrum source to the west of the cluster center with a spectral index of-2.3 ± 0.4 between 63 and 153 MHz. The steep spectrum suggests that this source is an old part of a head-tail radio source in the cluster. For the radio relic we find an integrated spectral index of-0.81 ± 0.03, after removing the flux contribution from the other sources. This is relatively flat which could indicate that the efficiency of particle acceleration at the shock substantially changed in the last ~0.1 Gyr due to an increase of the shock Mach number. In an alternative scenario, particles are re-accelerated by some mechanism in the downstream region of the shock, resulting in the relatively flat integrated radio spectrum. In the radio halo region we find indications of low-frequency spectral steepening which may suggest that relativistic particles are accelerated in a rather inhomogeneous turbulent region.

When an ultra-high energy neutrino or cosmic-ray strikes the Lunar surface a radio-frequency pulse is emitted. We plan to use the LOFAR radio telescope to detect these pulses. In this work we propose an efficient trigger implementation for LOFAR optimized for the observation of short radio pulses.

Low frequency radio waves, while challenging to observe, are a rich source of information about pulsars. The LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) is a new radio interferometer operating in the lowest 4 octaves of the ionospheric "radio window": 10-240 MHz, that will greatly facilitate observing pulsars at low radio frequencies. Through the huge collecting area, long baselines, and flexible digital hardware, it is expected that LOFAR will revolutionize radio astronomy at the lowest frequencies visible from Earth. LOFAR is a next-generation radio telescope and a pathfinder to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), in that it incorporates advanced multi-beaming techniques between thousands of individual elements. We discuss the motivation for low-frequency pulsar observations in general and the potential of LOFAR in addressing these science goals. We present LOFAR as it is designed to perform high-time-resolution observations of pulsars and other fast transients, and outline the various relevant observing modes and data reduction pipelines that are already or will soon be implemented to facilitate these observations. A number of results obtained from commissioning observations are presented to demonstrate the exciting potential of the telescope. This paper outlines the case for low frequency pulsar observations and is also intended to serve as a reference for upcoming pulsar/fast transient science papers with LOFAR.

Aims. We want to understand the emission mechanism of radio emission from air showers to determine the origin of high-energy cosmic rays. Therefore, we study the geometry of the air shower radio emission measured with LOPES and search for systematic effects between the direction determined on the radio signal and the direction provided by the particle detector array KASCADE. Methods. We produce 4D radio images on time-scales of nanoseconds using digital beam-forming. Each pixel of the image is calculated for three spatial dimensions and as a function of time. The third spatial dimension is obtained by calculating the beam focus for a range of curvature radii fitted to the signal wave front. We search this multi-dimensional parameter space for the direction of maximum coherence of the air shower radio signal and compare it to the direction provided by KASCADE. Results. The maximum radio emission of air showers is obtained for curvature radii being larger than 3 km. We find that the direction of the emission maximum can change when optimizing the curvature radius. This dependence dominates the statistical uncertainty for the direction determination with LOPES. Furthermore, we find a tentative increase of the curvature radius to lower elevations, where the air showers pass through a larger atmospheric depth. The distribution of the offsets between the directions of both experiments is found to decrease linearly with increasing signal-to-noise ratio. Significantly increased offsets and enhanced signal strengths are found in events which were modified by strong electric fields in thunderstorm clouds. Conclusions. We conclude that the angular resolution of LOPES is sufficient to determine the direction which maximizes the observed electric field amplitude. However, the statistical uncertainty of the directions is not determined by the resolution of LOPES, but by the uncertainty of the curvature radius. We do not find any systematic deviation between the directions determi

Context. The detection of radio pulses from cosmic ray air showers is a potentially powerful new detection mechanism for studying spectrum and composition of ultra high energy cosmic rays that needs to be understood in greater detail. The radiation consists in large part of geosynchrotron radiation. The intensity of this radiation depends, among other factors, on the energy of the primary particle and the angle of the shower axis with respect to the geomagnetic field. Aims. Since the radiation mechanism is based on particle acceleration, the atmospheric electric field can play an important role. Especially inside thunderclouds large electric fields can be present. In this paper we examine the contribution of an electric field to the emission mechanism theoretically and experimentally. Methods. Two mechanisms of amplification of radio emission are considered: the acceleration radiation of the shower particles and the radiation from the current that is produced by ionization electrons moving in the electric field. For both mechanisms analytical estimates are made of their effects on the radio pulse height. We selected LOPES data recorded during thunderstorms, periods of heavy cloudiness and periods of cloudless weather. We tested whether the correlations with geomagnetic angle and primary energy vary with atmospheric conditions. Results. We find that during thunderstorms the radio emission can be strongly enhanced. The present data suggests that the observed amplification is caused by acceleration of the shower electrons and positrons. In the near future, extensions of LOPES and the construction of LOFAR will help to identify the mechanism in more detail. No amplified pulses were found during periods of cloudless sky or heavy cloudiness, suggesting that the electric field effect for radio air shower measurements can be safely ignored during non-thunderstorm conditions.

Aims: The capability of radio antenna arrays to measure cosmic ray air showers with very large zenith angles is explored. This is important, since a possible neutrino detection has to fulfill two requirements. First: antennas should be able to detect very inclined cosmic ray air showers, and second: it should be possible to estimate the distance to the shower maximum, since neutrinos are most likely to travel far through the Earth's atmosphere without interaction and induce air showers close to the ground. Methods: LOPES (LOFAR PrototypE Station; LOFAR - LOw Frequency ARray), an array of dipole antennas, is used for the detection of inclined cosmic ray air showers. LOPES is co-located and triggered by the KASCADE (KArlsruhe Shower Core and Array DEtector) experiment, which also provides information on air shower properties such as electron and muon numbers on the ground, as well as the arrival direction. Radio emission of nearly vertical cosmic ray air showers has been detected by LOPES. Results: LOPES-10 (the first phase of LOPES, consisting of 10 antennas) detected a significant number of cosmic ray air showers with a zenith angle larger than 50°, and many of these have very high radio field strengths. The most inclined event that has been detected with LOPES-10 has a zenith angle of almost 80°. This is proof that the new technique is also applicable for cosmic ray air showers with high inclinations, which in the case that they are initiated close to the ground, can be a signature of neutrino events. Conclusions: Our results indicate that arrays of simple radio antennas can be used for the detection of highly inclined air showers, which might be triggered by neutrinos. In addition, we found that the radio pulse height (normalized with the muon number) for highly inclined events increases with the geomagnetic angle, which confirms the geomagnetic origin of radio emission in cosmic ray air showers.

In the last few years, radio detection of cosmic ray air showers has experienced a true renaissance, becoming manifest in a number of new experiments and simulation efforts. In particular, the LOPES project has successfully implemented modern interferometric methods to measure the radio emission from extensive air showers. LOPES has confirmed that the emission is coherent and of geomagnetic origin, as expected by the geosynchrotron mechanism, and has demonstrated that a large scale application of the radio technique has great potential to complement current measurements of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. We describe the current status, most recent results and open questions regarding radio detection of cosmic rays and give an overview of ongoing research and development for an application of the radio technique in the framework of the Pierre Auger Observatory.

When Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) interact with particles in the Earth's atmosphere, they produce a shower of secondary particles propagating toward the ground. LOPES-30 is an absolutely calibrated array of 30 dipole antennas investigating the radio emission from these showers in detail and clarifying if the technique is useful for large-scale applications. LOPES-30 is co-located and measures in coincidence with the air shower experiment KASCADE-Grande. Status of LOPES-30 and first measurements are presented.

LOPES is set up at the location of the KASCADE-Grande extensive air shower experiment in Karlsruhe, Germany and aims to measure and investigate radio pulses from Extensive Air Showers. Data taken during half a year of operation of 10 LOPES antennas (LOPES-10), triggered by showers observed with KASCADE-Grande have been analyzed. We report about results of correlations found of the measured radio signals by LOPES-10 with shower parameters.

Data taken during half a year of operation of 10 LOPES antennas (LOPES-10), triggered by EAS observed with KASCADE-Grande have been analysed. We report about the analysis of correlations of radio signals measured by LOPES-10 with extensive air shower events reconstructed by KASCADE-Grande, including shower cores at large distances. The efficiency of detecting radio signals induced by air showers up to distances of 700 m from the shower axis has been investigated. The results are discussed with special emphasis on the effects of the reconstruction accuracy for shower core and arrival direction on the coherence of the measured radio signal. In addition, the correlations of the radio pulse amplitude with the primary cosmic ray energy and with the lateral distance from the shower core are studied.

Measuring radio pulses from cosmic ray air showers offers various new opportunities. New digital radio receivers allow measurements of these radio pulses even in environments that have lots of radio interference. With high bandwidth ADCs and fast data processing it is possible to store the whole waveform information in digital form and analyse transient events like air showers even after they have been recorded. Digital filtering and beam forming can be used to suppress the radio interference so that it is possible to measure the radio pulses even in radio loud environments. LOPES is a prototype station for the new digital radio interferometer LOFAR and is tailored to measure air showers. For this it is located at the site of the KASCADE-Grande air shower experiment. Already with the first phase of LOPES we have been able to measure radio pulses from air showers and show correlations between the radio pulse height and air shower parameters. The first part gives an introduction and presents the science results of LOPES, while the second part presents the hard- and software that enables LOPES to detect air short pulses.

Aperture plane detection of cosmic radio signals can confer several important advantages. The mechanical signal processing of conventional parabolic dish antennas can be replaced by signal processing purely in electronics and software, thereby placing aperture plane array instruments in a regime with decreasing future costs. Aperture arrays using all-sky element antennas also allow multiple, independent, full sensitivity telescopes to be formed in software. The Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) project aims to realize these advantages in a previously largely unexplored frequency domain, 10-240 MHz. Consisting of up to eight shared aperture telescopes operated independently over internet, it will explore the epoch of re-ionization, open the transient radio Universe to systematic study, record ultra-high energy cosmic particles and add a new dimension to solar and space physics research.

First analyses of coincident data of the LOPES (LOfar PrototypE Station) radio antennas with the particle air shower experiment KASCADE-Grande show basic correlations in the observed shower parameters, like the strength of the radio signal and the particle number, or comparing the estimated shower directions. In addition, an improvement of the experimental resolution of the shower parameters reconstructed by KASCADE-Grande can be obtained by including the data of the radio antennas. This important feature will be shown in this article explicitely by an example event.

The LOPES experiment (LOfar Prototype Station) has been built at the KASCADE-Grande experiment in order to test the LOFAR (LOw Frequency ARray) technology and demonstrate its capability for radio measurements in Extensive Air Showers (EAS). After the first positive results in the framework of the KASCADE-Grande experiment we developed the next generation of antennas, electronics, and trigger. The main new features are easy calibration of antennas with precise detection of polarization, and good capability of self-triggering. The results from this new design are under test in Karlsruhe. Furthermore the background situation was measured and analyzed.