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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
The effect of errors in an aperture synthesis map is intimately related to the geometry of the synthesis instrument and the properties of the two-dimensional Fourier transformation. This paper concentrates on E-W rotational synthesis, the simple geometry of which allows a systematic treatment. After some preliminary remarks about error statistics and tolerances, the relevant properties of the Fourier transformation in polar coordinates are first reviewed. A classification of error types as “global”, “circular”, “radial” or “local” is introduced, based on the geometry of the area in the aperture over which they are coherent. A few special errors not fitting into this classification are also discussed. The characteristics of the corresponding patterns in the synthesized beam are described and illustrated with computer simulations and real-life examples.