The Argentine Institute of Radio Astronomy and its Observatory: Present and Future

The Argentine Institute of Radio Astronomy (IAR) has been a cornerstone of Argentine radio astronomy since its inception in 1962. Located in the Province of Buenos Aires and supported by CONICET (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas), CICPBA (Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas), and the National University of La Plata, the IAR is home to two 30- meter radio telescopes. These telescopes are now focused on studying cosmic phenomena such as pulsars, transient objects, and blazars. Beyond astronomy, the IAR contributes to interdisciplinary projects, including satellite and industrial applications. The IAR has also been instrumental in managing and mitigating radio frequency interference (RFI), working with Argentine regulators to protect frequency bands for scientific research. The Institute’s efforts include RFI measurement campaigns to identify and mitigate sources of interference. Internationally, the IAR participates in the development of filtering methods and monitoring protocols to ensure data integrity, supporting projects such as the Pulsar Monitoring Array (PuMA) and Fast Radio Burst (FRB) monitoring. Recent technological advances, including RFoF systems and CASPER-based back-end processors, enable the IAR to handle larger bandwidths and maintain data quality in an increasingly noisy RF environment.