AOFlagger Strategy Presets

The following strategy presets are bundled with the pipeline and can be used in the AOFlagger step.

lofar_default

This is the LOFAR strategy. It is almost equal to the generic “minimal” AOFlagger strategy, version 2020-06-14.

Author: André Offringa

ska_low_extended

This strategy is designed to detect extended time–frequency structures, such as persistent broadband RFI. It uses larger smoothing and downsampling scales to capture long-lasting contamination patterns.

To reduce computational cost and limit the risk of over-flagging real sky signal, we recommend running this strategy only on averaged data, and applying it only when persistent broadband RFI has been identified in the observation. Consider it an optional second-pass.

See ticket LCT-84.

Author: Xiang Zhang, Last updated: 2026-05-01

ska_low_sharp

This is the current default flagging strategy for SKA-Low commissioning data. It operates on full-resolution SDP output and is optimised for detecting sharp RFI (e.g. narrowband contamination from FM radio, broadband contamination from satellites only lasting seconds). The strategy includes bandpass normalization and low-pass filtering tuned for sharp features.

See ticket LCT-84.

Author: Xiang Zhang, Last updated: 2026-05-01