FEKO/GRASP Simulations of Super-Resolution on the 32m Medicina Radio Telescope

Our group at Arcetri is currently carrying out a project devoted to the implementation of super-resolution on single-dish radio telescopes, which should result in an angular resolution better than the classical diffraction limit. A feasible method to achieve this goal consists of using variable transmittance pupils. The simplest transmittance pupils are binary phase shift masks, also known as Toraldo pupils, consisting of finite-width concentric coronae which modify the phase of the incident wavefront. In this work I show, through EM numerical simulations, that super-resolution can indeed be achieved on a Cassegrain radio telescope. I also discuss the inadequacy of simple analytical models to predict the performance of Toraldo pupils when optically interfaced to a telescope.