Results of the Radio Optical Modeling and Application of the New Radio Holography Method of the RATAN-600 Radio Telescope Surface Diagnosis

Abstract

We describe a new radio holography method of the RATAN-600 radio telescope antenna diagnosis and adjustment, using the radial movement of the reference panel. We present the results of geometric optical ray tracing of the “South + Flat” antenna system in the autocollimation mode and radio optical modeling of the hologram recording and field reconstruction procedure, taking noise into account. Estimates for necessary isolation and acceptable spatial separation between transmitting and receiving feeds, geometrical tolerances, and requirements to the reference panel motion control are discussed. The experimental results of the method application to the diagnosis of radial errors in the positioning of panels of the RATAN-600 main mirror are reported.