Influence of Optimal Adjustment of FAST Active Reflector on Receiving Efficiency

Abstract

In this study, how to optimize and adjust the five hundred-meter aperture spherical radio telescope—FAST—active reflector and the impact on the receiving efficiency after optimization are discussed. The shape adjustment of the active reflector of FAST can be taken as the deformation of a continuous and ideal surface. The surface equation with parameter idealization is established. Meanwhile, the ideal surface equation is obtained and the corresponding evaluation function is given to evaluate the ideal parabolic equation. Furthermore, the ideal surface equation is discretized, and the discrete points are taken as the position to which the actual main cable node should be displaced by the down-tie cable. Finally, a receiving efficiency model is established to compare the actual receiving efficiency of the previous and after reflection panels. The accuracy similar to the ideal paraboloid of the reflector shape in the working area previous and after deformation is given. The results show that our optimization and adjustment model can improve the receiving efficiency of FAST reflective panel with small deformation.