Department of Microelectronics
Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, and Computer Science

S. Brackenhoff

Postdoc
Terahertz Sensing (THZ), Department of Microelectronics

Expertise: Radio-astronomical data analysis and calibration methods

Biography

Stefanie Brackenhoff received a B.Sc. in astronomy from Leiden University (Leiden, the Netherlands) in 2018 and a B.Sc. in electrical engineering from Delft University of Technology (Delft, the Netherlands) in 2019. She completed her M.Sc. in electrical engineering with a specialization in signals and systems at Delft University of Technology in 2021 (cum laude). She pursued her PhD at the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute of Groningen University, which she is set to complete in 2025.

She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Delft University of Technology. Her work focuses on improving the on-sky performance of the DESHIMA on-chip spectrometer, a pioneering instrument for high-redshift galaxy observations in the 220–440 GHz range. Her research interests lie in radio-astronomical data analysis and calibration methods (in both interferometric arrays and single-dish telescopes), and include signal-processing methods and algorithm design for improved sensitivity and atmospheric noise removal, and end-to-end simulations of radio-astronomical instrument performance.

Publications

  1. Robust direction-dependent gain-calibration of beam-modelling errors far from the target field
    S. A. Brackenhoff; A. R. Offringa; M. Mevius; L. V. E. Koopmans; J. K. Chege; E. Ceccotti; C. Höfer; L. Gao; S. Ghosh; F. G. Mertens; S. Munshi;
    Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
    Volume 541, Issue 4, Aug. 2025. DOI: 10.1093/mnras/staf1206

  2. Extracting the Epoch of Reionization Signal with 3D U-Net Neural Networks Using a Data-driven Systematic Effect Model
    Li-Yang Gao; Léon V. E. Koopmans; Florent G. Mertens; Satyapan Munshi; Yichao Li; Stefanie A. Brackenhoff; Emilio Ceccotti; J. Kariuki Chege; Anshuman Acharya; Raghunath Ghara; Sambit K. Giri; Ilian T. Iliev; Garrelt Mellema; Xin Zhang;
    The Astrophysical Journal,
    Volume 988, Issue 1, pp. 84 (1-17), Jul. 2025. DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ade2dc

  3. Deeper multi-redshift upper limits on the epoch of reionisation 21 cm signal power spectrum from LOFAR between z = 8.3 and z = 10.1
    F. G. Mertens; M. Mevius; L. V. E. Koopmans; A. R. Offringa; S. Zaroubi; A. Acharya; S. A. Brackenhoff; E. Ceccotti; E. Chapman; K. Chege; B. Ciardi; R. Ghara; S. Ghosh; S. K. Giri; I. Hothi; C. Höfer; I. T. Iliev; V. Jelić; Q. Ma; G. Mellema; S. Munshi; V. N. Pandey andS. Yatawatta;
    Astronomy and Astrophysics,
    Volume 698, Issue A186, pp. 1-32, May 2025. DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202554763

  4. Near-field imaging of local interference in radio interferometric data
    S. Munshi; F. G. Mertens; L. V. E. Koopmans; M. Mevius; A. R. Offringa; B. Semelin; C. Viou; A. Bracco; S. A. Brackenhoff; E. Ceccotti; J. K. Chege; A. Fialkov; L. Y. Gao; R. Ghara; S. Ghosh; A. K. Shaw; P. Zarka; S. Zaroubi; B. Cecconi; S. Corbel; J. N. Girard; J. M. Grießmeier; O. Konovalenko; A. Loh; P. Tokarsky; O. Ulyanov; V. Zakharenko;
    Astronomy and Astrophysics,
    Volume 697, Issue A203, pp. 1-19, May 2025. DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202554763

  5. Spectral modelling of Cygnus A between 110 and 250 MHz. Impact on the LOFAR 21-cm signal power spectrum
    E. Ceccotti; A. R. Offringa; L. V. E. Koopmans; F. G. Mertens; M. Mevius; A. Acharya; S. A. Brackenhoff; B. Ciardi; B. K. Gehlot; R. Ghara; J. K. Chege; S. Ghosh; C. Höfer; I. Hothi; I. T. Iliev; J. P. McKean; S. Munshi; S. Zaroubi;
    Astronomy and Astrophysics,
    Volume 696, Issue A56, pp. 1-22, Apr. 2025. DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202453106

  6. Beyond the horizon: Quantifying the full sky foreground wedge in the cylindrical power spectrum
    S. Munshi; F. G. Mertens; L. V. E. Koopmans; A. R. Offringa; E. Ceccotti; S. A. Brackenhoff; J. K. Chege; B. K. Gehlot; S. Ghosh; C. Höfer; M. Mevius;
    Astronomy and Astrophysics,
    Volume 693, Issue A276, pp. 1-20, Jan. 2025. DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202451181

  7. Constraints on the state of the intergalactic medium at z∼8 − 10 using redshifted 21 cm observations with LOFAR
    R. Ghara; S. Zaroubi; B. Ciardi; G. Mellema; S. K. Giri; F. G. Mertens; M. Mevius; L. V. E. Koopmans; I. T. Iliev; A. Acharya; S. A. Brackenhoff; E. Ceccotti; K. Chege; I. Georgiev; S. Ghosh; I. Hothi; C. Höfer; Q. Ma; S. Munshi; A. R. Offringa; A. K. Shaw; V. N. Pandey; S. Yatawatta; M. Choudhury;
    Astronomy and Astrophysics,
    Volume 699, Jul. 2025. DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202554163

  8. Improved upper limits on the 21-cm signal power spectrum at z = 17.0 and z = 20.3 from an optimal field observed with NenuFAR
    S. Munshi; F. G. Mertens; J. K. Chege; L. V. E. Koopmans; A. R. Offringa; B. Semelin; R. Barkana; J. Dhandha; A. Fialkov; R. Mériot; S. Sikder; A. Bracco; S. A. Brackenhoff; E. Ceccotti; R. Ghara; S. Ghosh; I. Hothi; M. Mevius; P. Ocvirk; A. K. Shaw; S. Yatawatta; P. Zarka;
    Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
    Volume 542, Issue 4, pp. 2785–2807, Oct. 2025. DOI: 10.1093/mnras/staf1386

  9. The impact of lossy data compression on the power spectrum of the high-redshift 21 cm signal with LOFAR
    J. K. Chege; L. V. E. Koopmans; A. R. Offringa; B. K. Gehlot; S. A. Brackenhoff; E. Ceccotti; S. Ghosh; C. Höfer; F. G. Mertens; M. Mevius; S. Munshi;
    Astronomy and Astrophysics,
    Volume 692, Issue A211, pp. 1-11, Dec. 2024. DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202451367

  10. Ionospheric contributions to the excess power in high-redshift 21-cm power-spectrum observations with LOFAR
    S. A. Brackenhoff; M. Mevius; L. V. E. Koopmans; A. Offringa; E. Ceccotti; J. K. Chege; B. K. Gehlot; S. Ghosh; C. Höfer; F. G. Mertens; S. Munshi; S. Zaroubi;
    Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical,
    Volume 533, Issue 1, pp. 632–656, Sept. 2024. DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stae1856

  11. Transient RFI environment of LOFAR-LBA at 72–75 MHz. Impact on ultra-widefield AARTFAAC Cosmic Explorer observations of the redshifted 21-cm signal
    B. K. Gehlot; L. V. E. Koopmans; S. A. Brackenhoff; E. Ceccotti; S. Ghosh; C. Höfer; F. G. Mertens; M. Mevius; S. Munshi; A. R. Offringa; V. N. Pandey; A. Rowlinson; A. Shulevski; R. A. M. J. Wijers; S. Yatawatta; S. Zaroubi;
    Astronomy and Astrophysics,
    Volume 681, Issue A71, pp. 1-13, Jan. 2024. DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202346376

  12. First upper limits on the 21 cm signal power spectrum from cosmic dawn from one night of observations with NenuFAR
    S. Munshi; F. G. Mertens; L. V. E. Koopmans; A. R. Offringa; B. Semelin; D. Aubert; R. Barkana; A. Bracco; S. A. Brackenhoff; B. Cecconi; E. Ceccotti and, S. Corbel; A. Fialkov; B. K. Gehlot; R. Ghara; J. N. Girard; J. M. Grießmeier; C. Höfer; I. Hothi; R. Mériot; M. Mevius; P. Ocvirk; A. K. Shaw; G. Theureau; S. Yatawatta; P. Zarka; S. Zaroubi;
    Astronomy and Astrophysics,
    Volume 681, Jan. 2024. DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202348329

  13. A novel radio imaging method for physical spectral index modelling
    E. Ceccotti; A. R. Offringa; L. V. E. Koopmans; R. Timmerman; S. A. Brackenhoff; B. K. Gehlot; F. G. Mertens; S. Munshi; V. N. Pandey; R. J. van Weeren; S. Yatawatta; S. Zaroubi;
    Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
    Volume 525, Issue 3, pp. 3946–3962, Nov. 2023. DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stad2465

  14. TiEMPO: open-source time-dependent end-to-end model for simulating ground-based submillimeter astronomical observations
    Huijten, E.; Roelvink, Y.; Brackenhoff, S. A.; Taniguchi, A.; Bakx, T. J. L. C.; Marthi, K. B.; Zaalberg, S.; Doing A.-K.; Baselmans, J. J. A.; Chin, K. W.; Huiting, R.; Karatsu, K.; Pascual Laguna, A.; Tamura, Y.; Takekoshi, T.; Yates, S. J. C.; van Hoven, M.; Endo, A.;
    J. of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments and systems,
    Volume 8, Issue 2, 2022. DOI: 10.1117/1.JATIS.8.2.028005

  15. DESHIMA 2.0: Development of an Integrated Superconducting Spectrometer for Science Grade Astronomical Observations
    A Taniguchi; T Bakx; J Baselmans; R Huiting; K Karatsu; N Llombart; M Rybak; T Takekoshi; Y Tamura; H Akamatsu; S Brackenhoff; J Bueno; B Buijtendorp; S Dabironezare; AK Doing; Y Fujii; K Fujita; M Gouwerok; S Hähnle; T Ishida; S Ishii; R Kawabe; T Kitayama; K Kohno; A Kouchi; J Maekawa; K Matsuda; V Murugesan; S Nakatsubo; T Oshima; A Pascual Laguna; D Thoen; P vd Werf; S Yates; A Endo;
    Journal of Low Temperature Physics,
    Volume 209, pp. 278-286, Nov. 2022. DOI: 10.1007/s10909-022-02888-5

  16. Detection of polarization neutral points in observations of the combined corona and sky during the 21 August 2017 total solar eclipse
    Frans Snik; Steven P. Bos; Stefanie A. Brackenhoff; David S. Doelman; Emiel H. Por; Felix Bettonvil; Michiel Rodenhuis; Dmitry Vorobiev; Laura M. Eshelman; Joseph A. Shaw;
    Appl. Opt.,
    Volume 59, pp. F71-F77, 2020. DOI: 10.1364/AO.391814

  17. TiEMPO: Open-Source Time-Dependent End-to-End Model for Simulating Ground-Based Submillimeter Astronomical Observations
    E. Huijten; Y. Roelvink; S.A. Brackenhoff; A. Taniguchi; T.J.L.C. Bakx; K.B. Marthi; S. Zaalberg; J.J.A. Baselmans; K.W. Chin; R. Huiting; K. Karatsu; Pascual Laguna, A. ; Y. Tamura; T. Takekoshi; S.J.C. Yates; M. van Hoven; A. Endo;
    In Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy X,
    SPIE, International Society for Optics and Photonics, pp. 562 - 581, Dec. 13 2020. DOI: 10.1117/12.2561014

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Last updated: 4 Sep 2025

Stefanie Brackenhoff