Shadowing and Cross-Talk

Observations at low elevation in the C and D configurations will commonly be affected by shadowing. It is strongly recommended that all data from a shadowed antenna be discarded. This will automatically be done during filling (CASA task importasdm) when using the default inputs (Note: For archival VLA data, the AIPS task FILLM can also flag based on shadowing). AIPS task UVFLG can be used to flag data based on shadowing as well, although it will only flag based on antennas in the dataset, and is ignorant of antennas in other sub-arrays.

Cross-talk is an effect in which signals from one antenna are picked up by an adjacent antenna, causing an erroneous correlation. At 20 cm, this effect is important principally in the D configuration. Careful editing is necessary to identify and remove this form of interference.

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