Low-frequency technology fora lunar interfero meter.

This work sketches a possible design architecture of a low-frequency radio interferometer located on thelunar surface. The design has evolved from single antenna experiments aimed at the global signaldetection of the epoch of reionization (EoR) to thesquare kilometre array (SKA) which, when complete, will be capable of imaging the highly red-shifted H¹-signal from the cosmic dawn through to the EoR. However, due to the opacity of the ionosphere below10 MHz and the anthropogenic radio-frequency interference, these terrestrial facilities are incapable of detecting pre-ionization signals and the moonbecomes an attractive location to build a low-frequency radio interferometer capable of detectingsuch cosmological signals. Even though there areenormous engineering challenges to overcome,having this scientific facility on the lunar surfacealso opens up several new exciting possibilities forlow-frequency radio astronomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]