RFI

Spectrum sharing has become challenging due to the ever-growing demand for spectrum access by a wide range of emerging radio services. This in turn leads to an increased risk of Radio Frequency Interference between spectrum users. This is particularly true for passive scientific services such as radio astronomy, Earth remote sensing, or meteorology, where sensitive measurements must be carried out in frequency bands defined by the laws of nature.
Protecting the scarce radio spectrum resources for science, while accommodating the needs of other spectrum users, can only be achieved in a joint effort. RFI 2024 offers the venue to promote interaction, exchange of ideas, and cooperation between researchers, engineers, and users from all radio science disciplines dealing with RFI, uniting them under the common goal of working on solutions to minimize the impact of interference. RFI 2024 is the seventh in a series of workshops focusing on this topic, the first of which took place in Bonn, Germany, in 2001.

Editorial board

Alexandra Bringer, ElectroScience Laboratory, alexandra.bringer@gmail.com
Ashley Vanderley, NSF, bevander@nsf.gov
Balthasar Indermuehle, CSIRO, Balt.Indermuehle@csiro.au
Federico Di Vruno, SKAO, Federico.DiVruno@skao.int
Flávio Jorge, flavio.jorge@ext.esa.int
Greg Hellbourg, Caltech, ghellbourg@astro.caltech.edu
Hayian Zhang, National Astronomical Observatories of CAS, hyzhang@bao.ac.cn
Kirsty McBeath, MetOffice, kirsty.mcbeath@metoffice.gov.uk
Stephen English, ECMWF, Stephen.English@ecmwf.int
Willem Baan, Astron, baan@astron.nl
Paolo de Matthaeis, pdematth@ieee.org

The increased sensitivity of passive instrumentation in radio astronomy and remote sensing and the intensifying active use of the spectrum have led to an increasing level of radio frequency interference (RFI) of the active services on the passive use of the spectrum. Advances in technology and computing have opened up new possibilities for mitigating the effects of certain classes of interference in the observing data. Interference in allocated bands always leads to data loss for the passive users of the spectrum even if interference mitigation is applied. However, interference mitigation in non-allocated spectral bands may facilitate the partial use of this spectrum for passive (non-interfering) observations. There is no generic method to mitigate all types of interference, so a multi-layered system approach may be advisable to reduce detrimental effects for a congested interference environment. Specific mitigation methods implemented at different points in the data acquisition chain will thus result in a cumulative mitigation effect on the data. This third RFI Mitigation Workshop considered RFI mitigation in radio astronomy in all its facets with the aim of facilitating the implementation of instrumental and data processing techniques. This workshop aimed to take a forward look at applications for the next generation of radio instruments, such as the SKA and its pathfinders and LOFAR, as well as considering their application to existing instruments. This workshop has been organized by ASTRON and NAIC, with support from the Engineering Forum of FP7 RadioNet, the SKA Project Development Office, and in collaboration with CRAF and IUCAF.