MRI: Development of Radio Array of Portable Interferometric Detectors (RAPID)

MRI：便携式干涉探测器无线电阵列 (RAPID) 的开发

• 批准号: 1229036
• 负责人: Colin Lonsdale
• 金额: $ 215.14万
• 依托单位: Northeast Radio Observatory Corp
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-10-01 至 2019-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1229036&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Development; Radio; Array; Portable

The investigators will develop a Radio Array of Portable Interferometric Detectors (RAPID) investigations of ionospheric phenomena, solar radio emission, the Galactic synchrotron background, and ultra-high energy cosmic rays via airshower emission. The array will consist of 50-100 small, low-gain broadband antennas operating below 500 MHz. Unlike existing arrays, RAPID can be operated without any cabling between the antennas and a central location, and can be shipped, deployed and physically reconfigured quickly and easily with zero site infrastructure. This creates a unique capability to locate and configure an imaging radio interferometer array, highly customized to the specific science goal of any given field campaign, thereby supporting science investigations that hitherto have not been feasible. The system is based on voltage data capture with all processing performed offline in software at the home institutions of investigators, simplifying field operations and reducing equipment complexity.RAPID will revolutionize a range of ionospheric studies through high resolution interferometric imaging of ionospheric structures in equatorial and/or auroral regions, via coherent and enhanced scatter of signals from existing transmitters, both commercial (TV and radio) and scientific (incoherent scatter radar installations),. With its broad frequency coverage and the ability to customize the array layout to match the spatial scales in powerful solar coronal emissions of various kinds, RAPID will greatly advance solar imaging capabilities at these frequencies, shedding new light on a region intimately linked with space weather phenomena. The reconfigurability and excellent imaging properties of RAPID will enable all-sky maps of the Galactic synchrotron background emission with superior angular resolution compared to current data, while also incorporating high precision broadband spectral data spanning a decade in frequency. The RAPID system also offers the capability of studying intense nanosecond-scale pulses from cosmic ray airshowers, capturing full amplitude and phase information in response to external triggers, with user-selected aperture sampling, and with easy portability to the location of existing particle observatories. The project will introduce important innovations to the radio measurement community, and provide a technical foundation for subsequent development of larger, more powerful instruments of this type. We will bring together leading edge technologies and techniques from multiple branches of radio astronomy, the geospace radar community, and a rapidly advancing high-tech industry to create a truly portable system with unique capabilities for the detailed study of strong radio signals. The project also features extensive education and training opportunities for students and teachers through the NSF REU and RET programs, and the diverse science topics it addresses which can be communicated to the general public with a connecting theme of radio signals. The RAPID system elements are ideal as educational tools to demonstrate the principles of radio measurement at schools and colleges around the country.

研究人员将开发一个可移植干涉探测器（快速）研究的无线电阵列（快速）研究通过气轴发射，对电离层现象，太阳能无线电发射，银河同步器背景和超高的能量宇宙射线进行了研究。该阵列将由50-100个小幅宽带天线组成，在500 MHz以下运行。与现有阵列不同，可以在天线和中心位置之间进行任何电缆，并且可以通过零站点基础架构快速，轻松地进行物理重新配置。这创建了一个独特的功能来定位和配置成像无线电干涉仪阵列，该阵列高度定制了任何给定现场活动的特定科学目标，从而支持迄今为止尚不可行的科学调查。 The system is based on voltage data capture with all processing performed offline in software at the home institutions of investigators, simplifying field operations and reducing equipment complexity.RAPID will revolutionize a range of ionospheric studies through high resolution interferometric imaging of ionospheric structures in equatorial and/or auroral regions, via coherent and enhanced scatter of signals from existing transmitters, both commercial (TV and radio) and scientific （不连贯的散点雷达安装），。凭借其广泛的频率覆盖范围和自定义阵列布局以在各种强大的太阳冠状排放中与空间尺度相匹配的能力，Rapid将在这些频率下极大地提高太阳成像能力，从而在与空间天气现象密切相关的区域上散发出新的光线。与当前数据相比，快速的重构性和出色的成像特性将使银河同步子背景发射具有优质分辨率，同时还结合了高精度的宽带光谱数据，频率超过十年。快速系统还提供了从宇宙射线射线表中研究强烈的纳秒尺度脉冲的能力，从而通过用户选择的孔径采样来捕获完全振幅和相位信息，并具有对现有粒子粒子位置的轻松可移植性。该项目将向无线电测量社区介绍重要的创新，并为随后开发这种类型的更大，更强大的工具提供技术基础。我们将汇集来自射电天文学多个分支，地理雷达社区的多个分支的领先技术和技术，以及快速发展的高科技行业，以创建一个真正的便携式系统，具有独特的功能，可详细研究强大的广播信号。该项目还通过NSF REU和RET计划为学生和教师提供广泛的教育和培训机会，以及它解决的各种科学主题，可以通过无线电信号的连接主题传达给公众。快速系统要素是理想的教育工具，可以证明全国学校和大学的无线电测量原理。