Preparing the input files

LoSiTo requires the following input files:

• A LOFAR measurement set. This measurement set will be used as template for the simulation. The visibility data in this MS file will be overwritten, but the metadata (such as frequency-, station- and time-information) will be kept. The simulated visibilities will be written to a new or existing column in this measurement set. You may use any existing LOFAR MS. Alternatively, LoSiTo can be used to create measurement sets from scratch with the Synthms script script.

• A sky model in the makesourcedb format. This file can be obtained in a number of ways: e.g., from an image using PyBDSF, generated directly by WSClean during imaging, from a survey catalog (e.g., the TGSS), or with the LoSiTo Sky model script.

• A parset that defines the steps to be done. See LoSiTo parset for details.