Calibration requirements for detecting the 21 cm epoch of reionization power spectrum and implications for the SKA

Abstract

21 cm epoch of reionization (EoR) observations promise to transform our understanding of galaxy formation, but these observations are impossible without unprecedented levels of instrument calibration. We present end-to-end simulations of a full EoR power spectrum (PS) analysis including all of the major components of a real data processing pipeline: models of astrophysical foregrounds and EoR signal, frequency-dependent instrument effects, sky-based antenna calibration, and the full PS analysis. This study reveals that traditional sky-based per-frequency antenna calibration can only be implemented in EoR measurement analyses if the calibration model is unrealistically accurate. For reasonable levels of catalogue completeness, the calibration introduces contamination in otherwise foreground-free PS modes, precluding a PS measurement. We explore the origin of this contamination and potential mitigation techniques. We show that there is a strong joint constraint on the precision of the calibration catalogue and the inherent spectral smoothness of antennas, and that this has significant implications for the instrumental design of the SKA (Square Kilometre Array) and other future EoR observatories.