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

研究人员将开发便携式干涉探测器无线电阵列(快速)，研究电离层现象、太阳射电发射、银河系同步加速器背景以及通过空气簇射发射的超高能宇宙射线。该阵列将由50-100个运行在500 MHz以下的小型、低增益宽带天线组成。与现有阵列不同，RAPID可以在天线和中心位置之间无需布线即可运行，并且可以通过零站点基础设施快速轻松地进行运输、部署和物理重新配置。这创造了一种定位和配置成像无线电干涉仪阵列的独特能力，该阵列高度定制，以满足任何给定实地活动的特定科学目标，从而支持迄今尚不可行的科学调查。该系统以电压数据采集为基础，所有处理都在调查人员家中的软件中离线进行，简化了实地作业并降低了设备复杂性。RAPID将通过对赤道和(或)极光区域的电离层结构进行高分辨率干涉成像，对现有的商业发射机(电视和无线电发射机)和科学发射机(非相干散射雷达装置)的信号进行相干和增强散射，从而使一系列电离层研究发生革命性变化。凭借其广泛的频率覆盖范围和定制阵列布局的能力，以匹配各种强大的日冕发射的空间尺度，FAST将极大地提高这些频率的太阳成像能力，为与空间天气现象密切相关的地区带来新的曙光。RAPID的可重构性和出色的成像特性将使银河同步加速器背景辐射的全天图与当前数据相比具有更高的角分辨率，同时还包括跨越十年频率的高精度宽带光谱数据。RAPID系统还提供了研究宇宙线空气簇射产生的纳秒级强脉冲的能力，捕获了响应外部触发的全部幅度和相位信息，具有用户选择的孔径采样，并且可以很容易地携带到现有粒子观测站的位置。该项目将为无线电测量界带来重要的创新，并为随后开发更大、更强大的这类仪器提供技术基础。我们将汇集射电天文学、地球空间雷达界和快速发展的高科技产业的尖端技术和技术，创造一个真正便携的系统，具有独特的能力，用于详细研究强无线电信号。该项目还包括通过NSF REU和RET计划为学生和教师提供广泛的教育和培训机会，以及它所涉及的各种科学主题，这些主题可以通过无线电信号的连接主题向普通公众传播。快速系统元素是在全国各地的学校和大学演示无线电测量原理的理想教育工具。

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.