Performance Comparison of Source Finders in Imaging Quality Assessment for SKA1-LOW

Abstract The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope is poised to yield massive observational data every year. The continuum imaging pipeline is a key and significant SKA data processing pipeline. An exact assessment of the continuum imaging outcomes not only serves to ascertain the overall operational integrity of the telescope but also furnishes invaluable references for subsequent data processing. In response to the urgent requirement for objective and accurate imaging quality assessment (QA) of the SKA continuum imaging pipeline, we empirically investigated the performance and availability of four source finders based on the full-scale SKA1-LOW simulation data generated by the OSKAR and the Radio Astronomy Simulation, Calibration, and Imaging Library (RASCIL2), carefully analyzing the performance of the source finder under different scenarios such as different thermal noise levels, imaging sizes, and field of view. We finally optimized the QA pipeline for SKA1-LOW according to empirical results, resulting in a discernible enhancement in both the performance and the accuracy of the pipeline.