HIRAX telescope to study dark energy’s effect on galaxies
SOUTH AFRICA has launched a multimillion-rand global project in radio astronomy to shed light on dark energy and mysterious radio flashes called fast radio bursts (FRB).
To be located at the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) SA site in the Karoo, the Hydrogen Intensity and Real Time Analysis eXperiment (HIRAX) telescope will have important synergies with the 64-dish MeerKAT, the country’s precursor to the SKA.
Jointly funded by the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) and the Department of Science and Technology through the National Research Foundation (NRF), HIRAX will be a compact radio telescope array of 1 024 six-metre dishes that will map about a third of the sky during its four years of observation.
HIRAX will be able to determine the characteristics of dark energy during a critical period in the universe, between seven to 11 billion years ago when dark energy became the dominant component causing it to expand at an accelerated rate.
The main HIRAX array, combined with small arrays in partnering African countries, will be able to localise mysterious FRB’s within their host galaxies, a feat never achieved before. The experiment will be managed by UKZN and is a result of a large global collaboration with at least eight South African institutions, and another dozen internationally.
UKZN vice-chancellor and principal Dr Albert van Jaarsveld said the HIRAX team had made a significant impact at a national and international level in terms of the significance of the HIRAX telescope project and its synergies with the SKA initiative.
To date, the project has trained five PhDs, five MSc and Honours students.
“This radio-astronomy telescope aims to describe the effects of dark energy on the distribution of galaxies.
‘‘The project is led from UKZN by a dynamic young team of astronomers that are breaking new ground and leveraging the SKA investment to grow a new generation of young astronomers in KZN and South Africa,” van Jaarsveld said.
HIRAX principal investigator Professor Kavilan Moodley, who is based at UKZN, said the project was exciting because a dynamic group of students and scientists worked on all aspects of the project, from building the telescope and analysing the data to scientific interpretation.
“We are aiming to use our competitive advantage of being on the excellent SKA SA Karoo site to have an impact on the study of dark energy and fast radio bursts,” Moodley said.
Speaking at the launch on Friday, Science and Technology Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said that contrary to the narrow and prejudiced belief, science was not a museum of finished creations whose beauty should be credited to a specific group of people; it was rather an enterprise that is crafted from age to age, helping humanity to better understand the universe.
“This project also compliments other South African-led radio experiments to increase South Africa’s reputation as the world leader in radio astronomy.
‘‘The project will have numerous synergies and complementarity with MeerKAT, thus adding significant value to a major SA investment, and further elevating the Karoo site as a destination for world-class astronomy telescopes.
‘‘It will also compliment the HERA experiment as it they conduct research in hydrogen analysis,” she said.