Wideband Arrays for Radio Astronomy

For those radioastronomical observations that involve the recording of signals from broadband noise sources, the efficiency of the antenna as well as the shape of the antenna pattern can be significantly improved by operating over as wide a frequency band as possible. The advantages become particularly prominent for arrays that extend to spacings of thousands of wavelengths. The effect of the operating bandwidth on the far‐field pattern of interferometers and rectangular arrays is investigated. The improvements that can be expected from wideband operation in various other cases are outlined.