Aperture array verification system 1: Overview of a square kilometre array prototype

Aperture Array Verification System 1 (AAVS1) is a prototype and verification platform for SKA-Low, the low-frequency component of the international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope to be built at the remote, radio-quiet Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO) in Western Australia. The 400-antenna AAVS1 is a sparse aperture array which will be built and characterized in 2016-17. It is the primary Critical Design Review demonstrator for SKA-Low and is an undertaking by the seven-member Aperture Array Design and Construction Consortium. AAVS1 is hosted at the MRO by the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) radio telescope, the first operational SKA precursor telescope. This paper introduces the AAVS1 instrument and outlines its use in both stand-alone and MWA-adjunct modes.