We present a demonstration version of a commensal pipeline for Fast Radio Burst (FRB) searches using a real-time incoherent beam from the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). The main science target of the pipeline are bright nearby FRBs from the local Universe (including Galactic FRBs like from SGR 1935+2154) which are the best candidates to probe FRB progenitors and understand physical mechanisms powering these extremely energetic events. Recent FRB detections by LOFAR (down to 110 MHz), the Green Bank Telescope (at 350 MHz), and Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) detections extending down to 400 MHz, prove that there is a population of FRBs that can be detected below 350 MHz. The new MWA beamformer, known as the ‘MWAX multibeam beamformer’, can form multiple incoherent and coherent beams (with different parameters) commensally to any ongoing MWA observations. One of the beams is currently used for FRB searches (tested in 10 kHz frequency resolution and time resolutions between 0.1 and 100 ms). A second beam (in 1 Hz and 1 s frequency and time resolutions, respectively) is used for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project. This paper focuses on the FRB search pipeline and its verification on selected known bright pulsars. The pipeline uses the FREDDA implementation of the Fast Dispersion Measure Transform algorithm (FDMT) for single pulse searches. Initially, it was tested during standard MWA observations, and more recently using dedicated observations of a sample of 11 bright pulsars. The pulsar PSR J0835-4510 (Vela) has been routinely used as the primary probe of the data quality because its folded profile was always detected in the frequency band 200 – 230 MHz with typical signal-to-noise ratio $>$10, which agrees with the expectations. Similarly, the low dispersion measure pulsar PSR B0950+08 was always detected in folded profile in the frequency band 140–170 MHz and so far has been the only object for which single pulses were detected. We present the estimated sensitivity of the search in the currently limited observing bandwidth of a single MWA coarse channel (1.28 MHz) and for the upgraded, future system with 12.8 MHz (10 channels) of bandwidth. Based on expected sensitivity and existing FRB rate measurements, we project an FRB detection rate between a few and a few tens per year with large uncertainty due to unknown FRB rates at low frequencies.

We describe the design, validation, and commissioning of a new correlator termed ‘MWAX’ for the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) low-frequency radio telescope. MWAX replaces an earlier generation MWA correlator, extending correlation capabilities and providing greater flexibility, scalability, and maintainability. MWAX is designed to exploit current and future Phase II/III upgrades to MWA infrastructure, most notably the simultaneous correlation of all 256 of the MWA’s antenna tiles (and potentially more in future). MWAX is a fully software-programmable correlator based around an ethernet multicast architecture. At its core is a cluster of 24 high-performance GPU-enabled commercial-off-the-shelf compute servers that together process in real-time up to 24 coarse channels of 1.28 MHz bandwidth each. The system is highly flexible and scalable in terms of the number of antenna tiles and number of coarse channels to be correlated, and it offers a wide range of frequency/time resolution combinations to users. We conclude with a roadmap of future enhancements and extensions that we anticipate will be progressively rolled out over time.

We present the first Southern-Hemisphere all-sky imager and radio-transient monitoring system implemented on two prototype stations of the low-frequency component of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA-Low). Since its deployment, the system has been used for real-time monitoring of the recorded commissioning data. Additionally, a transient searching algorithm has been executed on the resulting all-sky images. It uses a difference imaging technique to enable identification of a wide variety of transient classes, ranging from human-made radio-frequency interference to genuine astrophysical events. Observations at the frequency 159.375 MHz and higher in a single coarse channel ($\approx$0.926 MHz) were made with 2 s time resolution, and multiple nights were analysed generating thousands of images. Despite having modest sensitivity ($\sim$ few Jy beam–1), using a single coarse channel and 2-s imaging, the system was able to detect multiple bright transients from PSR B0950+08, proving that it can be used to detect bright transients of an astrophysical origin. The unusual, extreme activity of the pulsar PSR B0950+08 (maximum flux density $\sim$155 Jy beam–1) was initially detected in a ‘blind’ search in the 2020 April 10/11 data and later assigned to this specific pulsar. The limitations of our data, however, prevent us from making firm conclusions of the effect being due to a combination of refractive and diffractive scintillation or intrinsic emission mechanisms. The system can routinely collect data over many days without interruptions; the large amount of recorded data at 159.375 and 229.6875 MHz allowed us to determine a preliminary transient surface density upper limit of $1.32 \times 10^{-9} \text{deg}^{-2}$ for a timescale and limiting flux density of 2 s and 42 Jy, respectively. In the future, we plan to extend the observing bandwidth to tens of MHz and improve time resolution to tens of milliseconds in order to increase the sensitivity and enable detections of fast radio bursts below 300 MHz.

The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is an open access telescope dedicated to studying the low-frequency (80–300 MHz) southern sky. Since beginning operations in mid-2013, the MWA has opened a new observational window in the southern hemisphere enabling many science areas. The driving science objectives of the original design were to observe 21 cm radiation from the Epoch of Reionisation (EoR), explore the radio time domain, perform Galactic and extragalactic surveys, and monitor solar, heliospheric, and ionospheric phenomena. All together $60+$ programs recorded 20 000 h producing 146 papers to date. In 2016, the telescope underwent a major upgrade resulting in alternating compact and extended configurations. Other upgrades, including digital back-ends and a rapid-response triggering system, have been developed since the original array was commissioned. In this paper, we review the major results from the prior operation of the MWA and then discuss the new science paths enabled by the improved capabilities. We group these science opportunities by the four original science themes but also include ideas for directions outside these categories.

The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is an electronically steered low-frequency (<300 MHz) radio interferometer, with a ‘slew’ time less than 8 s. Low-frequency (∼100 MHz) radio telescopes are ideally suited for rapid response follow-up of transients due to their large field of view, the inverted spectrum of coherent emission, and the fact that the dispersion delay between a 1 GHz and 100 MHz pulse is on the order of 1–10 min for dispersion measures of 100–2000 pc/cm3. The MWA has previously been used to provide fast follow-up for transient events including gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), fast radio bursts (FRBs), and gravitational waves, using systems that respond to gamma-ray coordinates network packet-based notifications. We describe a system for automatically triggering MWA observations of such events, based on Virtual Observatory Event standard triggers, which is more flexible, capable, and accurate than previous systems. The system can respond to external multi-messenger triggers, which makes it well-suited to searching for prompt coherent radio emission from GRBs, the study of FRBs and gravitational waves, single pulse studies of pulsars, and rapid follow-up of high-energy superflares from flare stars. The new triggering system has the capability to trigger observations in both the regular correlator mode (limited to ≥0.5 s integrations) and using the Voltage Capture System (VCS, 0.1 ms integration) of the MWA and represents a new mode of operation for the MWA. The upgraded standard correlator triggering capability has been in use since MWA observing semester 2018B (July–Dec 2018), and the VCS and buffered mode triggers will become available for observing in a future semester.

It is well established that political parties play a key role as gatekeepers to elected office. This article explores the local determinants of a diverse candidate pool. In particular, we seek to uncover the district- or riding-specific party factors that are related to women's participation in the parties’ candidate nomination stages. That is, why do some nomination races in a party have no women contestants, while others have many? Using data from an original survey of party constituency association presidents, as well as extensive nomination data from Elections Canada, we demonstrate that a number of local factors are related to the presence of women contesting a party's nomination. Local party associations with a woman serving as president, as well as associations that hold earlier and longer nominations, are significantly more likely to see a woman enter the contest. The results are important since they call attention to what parties do at the grassroots level, as well as highlight practical solutions for parties seeking to have more diversity in their candidate pool.

We apply two methods to estimate the 21-cm bispectrum from data taken within the Epoch of Reionisation (EoR) project of the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). Using data acquired with the Phase II compact array allows a direct bispectrum estimate to be undertaken on the multiple redundantly spaced triangles of antenna tiles, as well as an estimate based on data gridded to the uv-plane. The direct and gridded bispectrum estimators are applied to 21 h of high-band (167–197 MHz; z = 6.2–7.5) data from the 2016 and 2017 observing seasons. Analytic predictions for the bispectrum bias and variance for point-source foregrounds are derived. We compare the output of these approaches, the foreground contribution to the signal, and future prospects for measuring the bispectra with redundant and non-redundant arrays. We find that some triangle configurations yield bispectrum estimates that are consistent with the expected noise level after 10 h, while equilateral configurations are strongly foreground-dominated. Careful choice of triangle configurations may be made to reduce foreground bias that hinders power spectrum estimators, and the 21-cm bispectrum may be accessible in less time than the 21-cm power spectrum for some wave modes, with detections in hundreds of hours.

We provide the first in situ measurements of antenna element beam shapes of the Murchison Widefield Array. Most current processing pipelines use an assumed beam shape, which can cause absolute and relative flux density errors and polarisation ‘leakage’. Understanding the primary beam is then of paramount importance, especially for sensitive experiments such as a measurement of the 21-cm line from the epoch of reionisation, where the calibration requirements are so extreme that tile to tile beam variations may affect our ability to make a detection. Measuring the primary beam shape from visibilities is challenging, as multiple instrumental, atmospheric, and astrophysical factors contribute to uncertainties in the data. Building on the methods of Neben et al. [Radio Sci., 50, 614], we tap directly into the receiving elements of the telescope before any digitisation or correlation of the signal. Using ORBCOMM satellite passes we are able to produce all-sky maps for four separate tiles in the XX polarisation. We find good agreement with the beam model of Sokolowski et al. [2017, PASA, 34, e062], and clearly observe the effects of a missing dipole from a tile in one of our beam maps. We end by motivating and outlining additional on-site experiments.

We describe the motivation and design details of the ‘Phase II’ upgrade of the Murchison Widefield Array radio telescope. The expansion doubles to 256 the number of antenna tiles deployed in the array. The new antenna tiles enhance the capabilities of the Murchison Widefield Array in several key science areas. Seventy-two of the new tiles are deployed in a regular configuration near the existing array core. These new tiles enhance the surface brightness sensitivity of the array and will improve the ability of the Murchison Widefield Array to estimate the slope of the Epoch of Reionisation power spectrum by a factor of ∼3.5. The remaining 56 tiles are deployed on long baselines, doubling the maximum baseline of the array and improving the array u, v coverage. The improved imaging capabilities will provide an order of magnitude improvement in the noise floor of Murchison Widefield Array continuum images. The upgrade retains all of the features that have underpinned the Murchison Widefield Array’s success (large field of view, snapshot image quality, and pointing agility) and boosts the scientific potential with enhanced imaging capabilities and by enabling new calibration strategies.

The discovery of the first electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational wave signal has generated follow-up observations by over 50 facilities world-wide, ushering in the new era of multi-messenger astronomy. In this paper, we present follow-up observations of the gravitational wave event GW170817 and its electromagnetic counterpart SSS17a/DLT17ck (IAU label AT2017gfo) by 14 Australian telescopes and partner observatories as part of Australian-based and Australian-led research programs. We report early- to late-time multi-wavelength observations, including optical imaging and spectroscopy, mid-infrared imaging, radio imaging, and searches for fast radio bursts. Our optical spectra reveal that the transient source emission cooled from approximately 6 400 K to 2 100 K over a 7-d period and produced no significant optical emission lines. The spectral profiles, cooling rate, and photometric light curves are consistent with the expected outburst and subsequent processes of a binary neutron star merger. Star formation in the host galaxy probably ceased at least a Gyr ago, although there is evidence for a galaxy merger. Binary pulsars with short (100 Myr) decay times are therefore unlikely progenitors, but pulsars like PSR B1534+12 with its 2.7 Gyr coalescence time could produce such a merger. The displacement (~2.2 kpc) of the binary star system from the centre of the main galaxy is not unusual for stars in the host galaxy or stars originating in the merging galaxy, and therefore any constraints on the kick velocity imparted to the progenitor are poor.

We describe the design and performance of the Engineering Development Array, which is a low-frequency radio telescope comprising 256 dual-polarisation dipole antennas working as a phased array. The Engineering Development Array was conceived of, developed, and deployed in just 18 months via re-use of Square Kilometre Array precursor technology and expertise, specifically from the Murchison Widefield Array radio telescope. Using drift scans and a model for the sky brightness temperature at low frequencies, we have derived the Engineering Development Array’s receiver temperature as a function of frequency. The Engineering Development Array is shown to be sky-noise limited over most of the frequency range measured between 60 and 240 MHz. By using the Engineering Development Array in interferometric mode with the Murchison Widefield Array, we used calibrated visibilities to measure the absolute sensitivity of the array. The measured array sensitivity matches very well with a model based on the array layout and measured receiver temperature. The results demonstrate the practicality and feasibility of using Murchison Widefield Array-style precursor technology for Square Kilometre Array-scale stations. The modular architecture of the Engineering Development Array allows upgrades to the array to be rolled out in a staged approach. Future improvements to the Engineering Development Array include replacing the second stage beamformer with a fully digital system, and to transition to using RF-over-fibre for the signal output from first stage beamformers.

Acetolactate synthase–- (ALS-) inhibiting herbicides are frequently used to control annual bluegrass in managed turfgrass systems. Recently, the number of annual bluegrass populations resistant to these herbicides has increased on golf courses. Previous research involving annual bluegrass resistance to ALS inhibitors has included elucidating the mechanism of resistance and in vivo response of ALS to ALS-inhibiting herbicides. The purpose of this research was to generate baseline information on enzymatic parameters of resistant (R) and susceptible (S) annual bluegrass biotypes and further distinguish these biotypes by comparing vegetative growth and reproductive characteristics. The R biotype contained a mutation in the ALS gene resulting in a Trp574 to Leu amino acid substitution. Compared to the S biotype, the R biotype exhibited a 27- and 10-fold resistance to trifloxysulfuron at the whole-plant level and under in vitro conditions, respectively. No significant differences were observed in substrate concentration at one-half maximum rate of enzyme activity (pyruvate) or extractable ALS activity between biotypes, but the maximum rate of enzyme activity was higher for the R biotype. The feedback inhibition of ALS activity by the branched-chain amino acids was higher for the R biotype than the S biotype, with leucine, valine, and isoleucine inhibiting ALS activity 20, 6, and 4% more in the R biotype, respectively. The R biotype produced more inflorescences and seeds per plant in comparison with the S biotype, but relative growth rates between biotypes were similar at all harvest intervals. Our research provides baseline information regarding ALS enzyme response, vegetative growth, and reproductive characteristics of annual bluegrass biotypes resistant and susceptible to ALS-inhibiting herbicides.

Glyphosate is used in the transition zone to control annual bluegrass in fully dormant warm-season grasses. A suspected resistant (R) biotype of annual bluegrass was identified on a golf course in South Carolina after at least 10 consecutive years of glyphosate application. Greenhouse bioassays revealed the R biotype was 4.4-fold resistant to glyphosate compared with a standard susceptible (S) biotype. Further studies were conducted to investigate the mechanism conferring glyphosate resistance in the R biotype. Leaf discs of both biotypes accumulated shikimate in response to increasing glyphosate concentration, but the glyphosate concentration resulting in 50% EPSP synthase inhibition as a result of shikimate accumulation (I 50) was 4.2-fold higher in the R biotype compared with the S biotype. At the whole plant level, similar levels of shikimate accumulation were observed between biotypes at 6 and 24 h after treatment (HAT) with glyphosate, but greater shikimate accumulation occurred in the S biotype at 72, 120, and 168 HAT. Shikimate levels decreased in the R biotype after 72 HAT. There were no differences in 14C-glyphosate absorption between biotypes. However, more 14C-glyphosate translocated out of the treated leaf in the R biotype and into root tissues over time compared with the S biotype. Partial sequencing of the EPSP synthase gene revealed a point mutation that resulted in an Ala substitution at Pro106. Although other mechanisms may contribute to glyphosate resistance, these results confirm a Pro106 to Ala substitution is associated with resistance to glyphosate in the R annual bluegrass biotype.

Annual bluegrass is the most problematic winter annual weed in managed turfgrass. Acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibiting herbicides are effective for annual bluegrass control, but reliance on this mode of action can select for herbicide-resistant biotypes. Two annual bluegrass biotypes not controlled with ALS-inhibiting herbicides were reported at golf courses in South Carolina and Georgia. Research was initiated at Clemson University to verify the level of resistance of these biotypes to ALS inhibitors. Two ALS-susceptible (S) and suspected resistant (SCr, GAr) annual bluegrass biotypes were established in a greenhouse. Dose-response experiments were conducted on mature annual bluegrass plants using trifloxysulfuron, foramsulfuron, and bispyribac-sodium, all ALS-inhibiting herbicides. Additionally, a rapid diagnostic ALS activity assay was optimized and conducted using the same herbicides. For dose-response experiments, the rate of herbicide that reduced shoot biomass 50% (I50) values for the S biotypes were 13.6 g ai ha−1 for trifloxysulfuron, 7.0 g ai ha−1 for foramsulfuron, and 38.3 g ai ha−1 for bispyribac-sodium. Fifty percent shoot biomass reduction was not observed in either the SCr or GAr biotypes at eight times the labeled field rate of all ALS-inhibiting herbicides tested. For in vivo tests of ALS activity, the SCr biotype yielded I50 (concentration of herbicide that reduced ALS activity 50%) values 3,650, 3,290, and 13 times the S biotypes following treatment with trifloxysulfuron, foramsulfuron, and bispyribac-sodium, respectively. Similarly, I50 values for the GAr biotype were 316, 140, and 64 times greater than the S biotypes following the same herbicide treatments. This research indicates high levels of annual bluegrass resistance to multiple ALS-inhibiting herbicides in South Carolina and Georgia. Future research should focus on the mechanisms of ALS resistance in these annual bluegrass biotypes as well as alternative options for control not targeting the ALS enzyme.

Annual bluegrass is one of the most diverse plant species in the world and is the most problematic winter annual weed in commercial turfgrass. Continuous application of the same herbicide mechanism of action for annual bluegrass control on golf courses has increased herbicide-resistant populations. The purpose of this research was to simulate six herbicide-use strategies to evaluate the risk of annual bluegrass resistance evolution to glyphosate. In a worst-case scenario of yearly glyphosate applications at dormancy, resistance evolved within 10 yr and was predicted to evolve in > 90% of populations by yr 20. When glyphosate was rotated on alternate years with a unique mechanism of action, resistance was delayed for 12 to 15 yr. Season-long control of annual bluegrass often requires multiple herbicide applications. Therefore, additional strategies were simulated in which glyphosate was applied at dormancy with combinations of PRE and/or POST herbicides at various timings. Resistance was most effectively delayed with a PRE application in late summer, a POST application in fall, and alternating glyphosate with a different POST option at dormancy. This delayed resistance by 25 yr and a 35% risk was predicted after 50 yr. Strategies utilizing three annual herbicide applications with unique mechanisms of action were more effective for controlling population growth compared to other strategies. Resistance was predicted to evolve within 35 yr for each of the strategies simulated. However, these results indicate annual bluegrass herbicide resistance can be managed by using an integrated herbicide program, rotating unique mechanisms of action as frequently as possible.