WSClean Version 1.12

Released 2016-07-09

Summary: No major feature enhancements, but many small improvements and fixes. Differential LOFAR beam is probably the biggest new feature, while some new deconvolution modes can improve RM-synthesis imaging.

New features:

  • Support correction of the differential LOFAR beam instead of full beam.

  • Option -squared-channel-joining for [using the channel-squared values during peak finding](RMSynthesis), instead of channel-summed.

  • Option to turn off dirty image creation (-no-dirty).

  • Adding WSCNVIS and WSCENVIS keywords to fits files.

  • During imaging, WSClean now outputs the ‘effective visibility count’.

  • Rewrote dft prediction algorithm, it is now possible to use NDPPP for prediction.

  • Adding cleaned flux to output when performing multi-scale clean (requested by A. G. de Bruyn).

  • Better determination of available number of CPUs, to make WSClean cooperate with cluster management tools like SLURM (Using CPU affinity code from J. D. Mol).

  • Support for masks in the IUWT deconvolution method.

  • Adding time to output when requested new parameter with -log-time (SF #76).

Fixes:

  • Changed behaviour of SPWs to not count unused SPWs in calculation of output channels (Requested by R. van Weeren).

  • Model data corrupted when using -predict because of bug in contiguous MS writer (SF #78).

  • Issue with -predict mode – prediction no longer used the kaiser bessel kernel, because of an unset value.

  • Use WEIGHT column if WEIGHT_SPECTRUM is not available (SF #73).

  • Fully flagged output channels causes joined cleaning to malfunction (reported by K. Emig).

  • Increased precision of fits keywords to have double precision for RA and DEC output, otherwise VLBI observations have slightly inaccurate positions (Reported by R. Dean).

  • Issue with IUWT in combination with -deconvolution-channels, reported by O. Smirnov.

  • Some usual refactoring and fixes for newer compilers.

  • Some preparation to allow IDG as gridder.

  • Imaging multiple polarizations in multi-frequency, multi-spw modes would lead to an error (reported by R. van Weeren).