Research Progresses on Ionospheric Effect Simulation and Calibration Methods in Low-frequency Radio Interferometric Imaging postprint

Abstract: High-precision calibration of ionospheric effect is not only the key for EoR signal detection, but also the key problem for all low-frequency radio interferometer(usually less than 300 MHz). It is necessary to study the characteristics of the ionosphere, the influence on radio interferometer array and calibration methods. In this paper, we first analyze the ionosphere-induced phase errors on the baseline and the source positional offsets on the image domain. The existing ionospheric monitoring data, prediction models, and current ionospheric simulation and calibration techniques are systematically investigated. The indepth investigation of the ionospheric effect will provide basic support for the data simulation and calibration in the field of low-frequency radio interferometric imaging.