Suggested quasi Cassegrain system for multi-beam observation of FAST

Abstract: FAST, the largest single-dish radio telescope in the world, has a 500-meter diameter main reflector and a 300-meter diameter illumination area. It has a shape variable main reflector, which changes the shape of the illuminated area in the main reflector into a paraboloid continuously. In this article, we propose a quasi Cassegrain system to FAST. The detailed design results are given in this paper. Such a quasi Cassegrain system only needs to add a 14.6-meter diameter secondary reflector, which is close to the size of the feed cabin, the distance from the secondary reflector to the focus is only 5.08-meter, and it has excellent image quality. In this quasi Cassegrain system the shape of the illuminated area in the main reflector continuously changes into an optimized hyperboloid. Using this quasi Cassegrain system from frequency 0.5 G to 8 G, the multi-beam system can include 7 to 217 feeds. If this system is used in combination with PAF technology, more multi-beam feeds can be used.