Workshop 2 |
Title of workshop: Towards a detailed project proposal for Indian participation in the SKA : Science Requirements |
Details: The Square Kilometre Array (SKA), the next generation radio telescope, is now in the final stages of its detailed design. These design activities are expected to conclude by the end of 2018 and actual construction work of the SKA Phase 1 (SKA-1) is expected to start in the second half of 2019. Towards the end of 2016, India made an (early) commitment about its plans for participation in the SKA-1 construction. It is expected that India will play lead roles in various technical aspects during the construction of the telescope (e.g. delivery of the Telescope Manager). Early 2018 would be a good time for the potential users of the SKA in India to review the progress of the SKA science case activities in India and to plan for the future, specifically with the aim to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) which will contain the detailed plans for Indian participation in the construction phase of the SKA-1. This DPR will be submitted to the Government of India as a mega-project proposal (funded by DAE and DST), and will form the basis for the long-term participation of India in the SKA, and the funding for the same. This DPR is expected to also fold in the development of SKA science related activities in India, as well as the required HRD activities needed to support the main science objectives, in addition to the detailed proposal for Indian participation in the construction of the SKA. A suitable committee, under the purview of the SKA-India Consortium, is expected to hold discussions and prepare the DPR. |
Objective: The proposed workshop aims to bring together astronomers all over India to review the progress so far, sharpen the science plans, and consolidate inputs on science aspects of the DPR. This would be a follow up of two similar SKA-related workshops organised during the earlier ASI meetings, which have proved to be immensely useful, in different ways, to the Indian astronomy community. The first workshop in 2014 at IISER, Mohali seeded the formation of the SKA-India Science Working Groups (SWGs), which have become very active over the last three years; while the second one in 2015 at NCRA, Pune resulted in the formation of the SKA-India Consortium and also saw useful growth of the activities of the Indian SWGs. In the last few years, Indian astronomers have been able to identify various science areas of interest with the SKA. These science cases have been published as articles in a special issue of the Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysics in December 2016. In addition, various groups have already started pilot observations with the uGMRT to get trained for science with the SKA. The two ASI workshops played a crucial role in galvanising these activities of the Indian community.
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Session Information: The ASI meeting forms a natural backdrop for a gathering of scientists from all over India which would be ideal for meeting the goals of the workshop. The workshop would consist of a number of invited talks during the morning, followed by a discussion and planning session in the afternoon/evening. |
Expected Participants: 50 |
Details on Organisation: Organisers: Tirthankar Roy Choudhury and Yashwant Gupta |