DSI-NRF Funds HIRAX Dark Energy Telescope
Following an intensive and rigorous review process involving international experts, the National Research Foundation (NRF) approved the funding of R35 million for the Hydrogen Intensity and Real-time Analysis eXperiment (HIRAX) which will be built as a guest instrument on the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory’s (SARAO) site in the Karoo. The new equipment will bolster the country’s ability to perform cutting-edge astronomy research in alignment with the Grand Challenge Astronomy National Strategy. This new investment by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) in partnership with the NRF, will provide funding for the telescope dishes, feeds, radio frequency over fibre system, and some backend hardware. This contribution represents a significant investment in the overall HIRAX project.
South Africa has a long history of successful astronomy telescopes, and the future Square Kilometre Array (SKA), which will be hosted by both South Africa and Australia, is set to be the largest radio telescope in the world. HIRAX will provide training and skills development in anticipation of the SKA era while studying cutting-edge questions in the fields of dark energy, fast radio bursts, and pulsar science. The telescope is currently funded to be an interferometer array of 256-closely packed dishes that will provide an unprecedented peek into the history of our universe. There are also plans for possible future expansion to 1 024-dishes.
This state-of-the-art telescope will provide large astronomy data sets to the project's consortium members, international partners, and project collaborators. Led by the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), under the leadership of the principal investigator Professor Kavilan Moodley, the HIRAX consortium has seven consortium members, viz., UKZN, SARAO, the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Durban University of Technology, Rhodes University, University of Cape Town, and the University of Western Cape. There are five international consortium partners, viz., McGill University, ETH Zürich, Université de Genève, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, and West Virginia University, plus 12 additional collaboration members which include, Botswana International University of Technology, Laboratoire Astroparticule & Cosmologie, University of British Columbia, Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oxford, University of Toronto, The Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Perimeter Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Stellenbosch University, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Yale University.
The Cosmology group of the Department of Theoretical Physics (DPT) is strongly involved in the HIRAX project, particularly in the development of the pipeline to analyse the data, and to use the data to improve our understanding of the Universe, and it is also a partner in a SNF FLARE grant to support HIRAX. "We are really excited that HIRAX is moving ahead, it will help to open a new window on the cosmos by mapping the large-scale distribution of neutral hydrogen, and it will pave the way towards the huge Square-Kilometre Array radio telescope." emphasized Martin Kunz, professor at the DPT, and Alireza Vafaei Sadr added "HIRAX will also be a great source of big data. It is an opportunity to demonstrate the role of machine learning and artificial intelligence in the analysis of astronomical observations, through applications like data cleaning and anomaly detection". Viraj Nistane highlighted the synergy with the ESA space mission Euclid, another mission in which the DPT is actively involved: "By combining the HIRAX data with the galaxy and weak lensing surveys from Euclid, we will be able to learn even more about the physical processes governing the evolution of the universe.
Reflecting on the NRF’s University Flagship Programme which aims to provide customised, innovative solutions and institutional support in a way that recognises the unique strengths and niche research areas of public universities, Dr Gansen Pillay, the Acting CEO noted that “This investment in Strategic Research Equipment will further advance postgraduate student training, new knowledge generation and South Africa’s standing as a global leader in the field of astronomy”.
March 31, 2021
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