HiFAST: An HI data calibration and imaging pipeline for the FAST IV: The stray-radiation correction

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Main Authors: Chen, Qingze, Wang, Jie, Jing, Yingjie, Hou, Ligang, Xu, Chen, Liang, Tiantian, Gao, Xuyang, Han, Jinlin, Liu, Ziming, Liu, Bin, Zhang, Chuanpeng, Gan, Hengqian, Zhu, Ming, Zhu, Yan, Jiang, Peng
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Chen, Qingze
Wang, Jie
Jing, Yingjie
Hou, Ligang
Xu, Chen
Liang, Tiantian
Gao, Xuyang
Han, Jinlin
Liu, Ziming
Liu, Bin
Zhang, Chuanpeng
Gan, Hengqian
Zhu, Ming
Zhu, Yan
Jiang, Peng
author_facet Chen, Qingze
Wang, Jie
Jing, Yingjie
Hou, Ligang
Xu, Chen
Liang, Tiantian
Gao, Xuyang
Han, Jinlin
Liu, Ziming
Liu, Bin
Zhang, Chuanpeng
Gan, Hengqian
Zhu, Ming
Zhu, Yan
Jiang, Peng
contents Stray radiation is a considerable challenge for radio telescopes, requiring careful assessment due to its effects. This is crucial when the strong background flux from side lobes significantly affects the total flux, especially for extended sources. In this study, we introduced the beam pattern of the L-band receiver on the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), covering various frequencies based on recent observations. We discovered that the main beam efficiency of all beams exceeds 90\% throughout the L band frequencies, with efficiency decreasing slowly as frequency increases. Subsequently, we developed a module to mitigate stray radiation effects, incorporating it into FAST's standard \HI data reduction process, referred to as \texttt{HiFAST}. Our analysis shows that side lobe flux's influence, particularly for extended sources with significant surface density gradients, necessitates detailed evaluation. Corrections for the extended M33 galaxy can reach up to 20\%. Moreover, the pattern data presented here is vital for studying HI intensity maps at high redshift. The module, along with HiFAST and beam pattern data across 15 frequency bins, can be accessed at \textrm{https://hifast.readthedocs.io}. The datasets of beam pattern presented in this paper, are openly available at \textrm{https://doi.org/10.57760/sciencedb.j00113.00266} (https://www.scidb.cn/s/bqQRNv).
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_23685
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle HiFAST: An HI data calibration and imaging pipeline for the FAST IV: The stray-radiation correction
Chen, Qingze
Wang, Jie
Jing, Yingjie
Hou, Ligang
Xu, Chen
Liang, Tiantian
Gao, Xuyang
Han, Jinlin
Liu, Ziming
Liu, Bin
Zhang, Chuanpeng
Gan, Hengqian
Zhu, Ming
Zhu, Yan
Jiang, Peng
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Stray radiation is a considerable challenge for radio telescopes, requiring careful assessment due to its effects. This is crucial when the strong background flux from side lobes significantly affects the total flux, especially for extended sources. In this study, we introduced the beam pattern of the L-band receiver on the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), covering various frequencies based on recent observations. We discovered that the main beam efficiency of all beams exceeds 90\% throughout the L band frequencies, with efficiency decreasing slowly as frequency increases. Subsequently, we developed a module to mitigate stray radiation effects, incorporating it into FAST's standard \HI data reduction process, referred to as \texttt{HiFAST}. Our analysis shows that side lobe flux's influence, particularly for extended sources with significant surface density gradients, necessitates detailed evaluation. Corrections for the extended M33 galaxy can reach up to 20\%. Moreover, the pattern data presented here is vital for studying HI intensity maps at high redshift. The module, along with HiFAST and beam pattern data across 15 frequency bins, can be accessed at \textrm{https://hifast.readthedocs.io}. The datasets of beam pattern presented in this paper, are openly available at \textrm{https://doi.org/10.57760/sciencedb.j00113.00266} (https://www.scidb.cn/s/bqQRNv).
title HiFAST: An HI data calibration and imaging pipeline for the FAST IV: The stray-radiation correction
topic Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.23685