Next: Weighting and Tapering Up: Image size and pixel Previous: Link between image size Contents Index
The largest sampled spatial frequency is directly linked to the synthesized beam size (i.e. the interferometer spatial resolution). The pixel size must be at least 1/2 the synthesized beam size to ensure Nyquist sampling in the image plane. However, Nyquist sampling is enough only when dealing with linear processes while deconvolution techniques are non-linear. It is thus recommended to select a pixel size between 1/3 and 1/4 of the synthesized beam to ease the deconvolution. Smaller pixel sizes would lead to larger images, and unduly slow down the imaging and deconvolution process.