The Role of CPU-Based Correlators in Radio Astronomy
In this talk I will discuss the role of CPU-based correlators in radio
astronomy with a focus on the DiFX Correlator which is in heavy use by
Very Long Baseline Interferometry arrays around the world. I will discuss
the advantages and disadvantages of these, estimate resource requirements
for software correlators in the context of today's and tomorrow's large
interferometers, and explain their potential utility in the commissioning
of new or upgraded arrays. I will describe some cases in which the
flexibility of software correlators has enabled science that would have
been otherwise difficult or impossible to achieve.