Apertif Radio Transient System passes PDR

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We are glad to announce that on July 7, 2015, the Apertif Radio Transient System (ARTS) passed its Preliminary Design Review (PDR). ARTS extends Apertif for high time resolution -- for pulsars and fast radio bursts (FRBs) -- and for high angular resolution (VLBI). After a thorough review of the conceptual designs, and a one-day meeting in Dwingeloo filled with presentations by and questions to the ARTS team -- shown on the cake, above -- the international panel concluded that

"The science cases are extremely compelling:

Pulsar timing and VLBI provide important legacy work &

The FRB searches are ground breaking."

"There's a good team in place to deliver the system, given the necessary support. No obvious bottlenecks have been identified; it was clear that the team already identified the problem areas."

So excellent preliminary feedback, overall. We now move forward with the detailed design, the CDR, and the upcoming deployment. Through its unique combination of sensitivity and wide field of view, Apertif/ARTS will arguably be the most powerful fast-transient machine in the world.