1. e-MERLIN & Radio issues Simon Garrington Wide-fields (ie ~10x10 arcmin) uJy sensitivity; 50-150 mas resolution key science driver for e-MERLIN ~1500 sources for deep 1.5 GHz field AG, VO tools already essential for multi- Making transition from expert to routine use GOODS HST/ACS N 16x10arcmin

2. e-MERLIN Project Status DESIGN: 2x2 GHz;widefield;freq. flexible Front-ends –New C-band (4-8 GHz) installed –L-band lens, mechanisms, horns: in place IF,samplers –Design/prototype: on telescope 05-06 Fibre network –90 km new dig + 600km trunk –All installed & connected –First light on local sections –Cambridge-Birmingham tests start today Digital & transmission –Modules ready for tests this year Correlator –WIDAR from DRAO –16 x 128 MHz sub-bands; 2048 complex lags –1 st fringes: prototype 2006 (4 tels 1 band) – Full correlator 2007/8

3. e-MERLIN software/imaging challenges All 1.5 GHz (5GHz) images will require wide-field mapping To reach 1-3uJy noise in normal 12-24hr runs Wide-field & wide-band imaging techniques & algorithms –EVLA, LOFAR, WSRT,LWA  KAT, NTD  SKA –‘Image-plane’ calibration (ionosphere; antenna pointing) –Wide-band imaging: MFS –Dwingeloo workshop June ’05: www.skatelescope.orgwww.skatelescope.org ALBUS (RadioNET JRA) www.radionet-eu.orgwww.radionet-eu.org –Advanced Long Baseline User Software –ASTRON,JIVE,MPIfR,JBO –Parallelisation;calibration;wide-field;wide-band

4. ALBUS Progress Smarter pipelines/scripts... Improving the products delivered to the users/archives –Smart calibration Using GPS+Ionospheric models (Anderson. JIVE) Using WVR/GPS for tropospheric calibration (Roy, MPIfR) –Better pipelines ParselTongue: Python for AIPS – ideal for CEA integration (Kettenis, JIVE) –Wide-band & Wide-field: data splitting & task parallelisation & (JIVE, JBO) Opportunity for AG Workflow management

5. Summary New generation of cm- and metre-wave radio telescopes in 2007> New ways to access data –Some (eg LOFAR) will be radically different –Others eg e-MERLIN,EVLA Lots more data; wider fields; new algorithms required; faster & smarter pipelines Expectation that data may not move Increased sensitivity will motivate more multi- studies using VO tools Of course, data will be VO-ready –Renewed interest & effort in algorithms and processing strategies –No big new packages; interfaces to ‘legacy code’; workflows etc. ParselTongue opportunity