Evaluating the E-Field Parallel Imaging Correlator (EPIC) with the Long Wavelength Array

Wide-field imaging using the E-Field Parallel Imaging Correlator (EPIC) architecture for interferometric arrays has been shown to be an effective method for high-cadence, all-sky observations (Thyagarajan et al. 2017). This parameter space in high-resolution imaging arrays was previously inaccessible with traditional correlation algorithms due to the high computation load associated with gridding or FFT-based methods (Kent et al. 2019). The EPIC formalism was demonstrated using the Long Wavelength Array (LWA) in Kent (2019) and motivates further testing and comparison of this electric field-based direct imaging method with traditional correlated imaging. We present an observation of Crab Pulsar using standard FX-correlated observations with the LWA Sevilleta Station (LWA-SV) and its commensal EPIC imaging mode. Comparing these results provides essential insight on how the two observing modes function, and how we can exploit the strengths of both instruments in future LWA research of Pulsars, Fast Radio Bursts, and other fast time-domain transient phenomena.