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In this paper a description is given of the SFXC software correlator, developed and maintained at the Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE). The software is designed to run on generic Linux-based computing clusters. The correlation algorithm is explained in detail, as are some of the novel modes that software correlation has enabled, such as wide-field VLBI imaging through the use of multiple phase centres and pulsar gating and binning. This is followed by an overview of the software architecture. Finally, the performance of the correlator as a function of number of CPU cores, telescopes and spectral channels is shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper a description is given of the UniBoard (Universal Board) design and its application in the APERTIF (APERture Tile In Focus) beam former project. The UniBoard is a complex high-performance computing platform, designed for data-intensive applications in radio astronomy, such as beam forming, correlation, pulsar processing and digital filtering. Thanks to its scalable design, multiple UniBoards can be combined for higher performance, in terms of IO, memory and processing power. At the end of June 2013 36 UniBoards had been produced and one prototype APERTIF beam former. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A functional description is given of the new 16-station MarkIV VLBI data processor for the European VLBI Network. The data processor can operate in many configurations including sensitive continuum modes, line modes with unprecedented spectral resolution, and wide field imaging and pulsar gating modes. The EVN-MarkIV processor was developed by an international European/U.S. consortium. Several similar processors are deployed in both Europe and in the U.S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The class of type Ic supernovae have drawn increasing attention since 1998 owing to their sparse association (only four so far) with long duration γ-ray bursts (GRBs). Although both phenomena originate from the core collapse of a massive star, supernovae emit mostly at optical wavelengths, whereas GRBs emit mostly in soft γ-rays or hard X-rays. Though the GRB central engine generates ultra-relativistic jets, which beam the early emission into a narrow cone, no relativistic outflows have hitherto been found in type Ib/c supernovae explosions, despite theoretical expectations and searches. Here we report radio (interferometric) observations that reveal a mildly relativistic expansion in a nearby type Ic supernova, SN 2007gr. Using two observational epochs 60 days apart, we detect expansion of the source and establish a conservative lower limit for the average apparent expansion velocity of 0.6c. Independently, a second mildly relativistic supernova has been reported. Contrary to the radio data, optical observations of SN 2007gr indicate a typical type Ic supernova with ejecta velocities ∼6,000 km s-1, much lower than in GRB-associated supernovae. We conclude that in SN 2007gr a small fraction of the ejecta produced a low-energy mildly relativistic bipolar radio jet, while the bulk of the ejecta were slower and, as shown by optical spectropolarimetry, mildly aspherical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]