Astronomical Software Tools
Interactive VLBI analysis and modeling tools written in Julia
This page provides an overview of specialized software packages I've developed for Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) data analysis and astronomical research. All tools are written in Julia and designed to be user-friendly with interactive interfaces.
Each tool started as a solution to problems I commonly encountered in my own research. Rather than continuing to write ad-hoc solutions every time, I decided to package them as reusable tools that can be useful to others as well.
A powerful interactive tool for quick inspection of Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) visibility datasets.
Features:
- Interactive Visualization: Real-time exploration of VLBI visibility data with an intuitive graphical interface
- Universal File Format Support: Compatible with any format supported by VLBIFiles.jl
- Flexible Data Loading: Support for single files, multiple files, and glob pattern matching
- Advanced Filtering: Filter and inspect specific data subsets with powerful query capabilities
An interactive tool for fitting interferometric models to Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) visibility data, with Bayesian parameter and uncertainty estimation.
Think of it like difmap's modelfit, but more automatic, with robust uncertainty quantification, and rich real-time diagnostics.
Core Capabilities:
- Automatic Fitting: No manual component placement needed - finds globally optimal solutions using MCMC sampling
- Flexible Multi-Component Models: Flexible circular and elliptical Gaussian components
- Bayesian Uncertainty Estimation: Full parameter uncertainties via parallel tempering
- Flexible Data Handling: Fit to either complex visibilities or visibility amplitudes
- Real-Time Model Diagnostics: Instantly see how well your model describes the data
An interactive tool for stacking (averaging) Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) images.
An interactive tool for aligning multi-frequency jet images, aimed primarily at Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations.
Features:
- Interactive Jet Alignment: Semi-manual alignment of multi-frequency VLBI jet images with intuitive mouse controls
- Spectral Index Visualization: Compute and display spectral index maps to evaluate alignment and study jet emission properties
- Cross-Correlation Analysis: Image cross-correlation tools for guidance in alignment
Simulate radio wave scattering in interstellar matter with Julia
This code simulates angular broadening and refractive substructure for arbitrary phase screens, producing lightcurves, milliarcsecond-scale images, and visibilities.
Getting Started
All tools require Julia 1.11+ and are designed to be self-contained. Each repository includes:
- Easy installation: Clone the repository and easily install dependencies, thanks to the Julia package manager
- Documentation: Detailed README files with usage examples
- Interactive interfaces: No command-line expertise required
- Example data: Many tools include sample datasets to get started immediately
Built on Solid Foundations
These tools leverage powerful and composable Julia packages, including:
- VLBIFiles.jl - Reading visibility and image files in various formats
- VLBIData.jl - Visibility data manipulation and calculations
- Makie.jl - Interactive plotting and visualization
- Pigeons.jl - Parallel tempering MCMC algorithms
- ScatteringOpticsExtra.jl - Simulations of scattering in the ISM
Questions? All tools welcome feedback, bug reports, and contributions. Visit the corresponding GitHub repository.