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

研究人员将开发一种便携式干涉探测器阵列（RAPID），用于研究电离层现象、太阳射电发射、银河同步加速器背景和通过气淋发射的超高能量宇宙射线。该阵列将由50-100个工作在500mhz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没有任何电缆的情况下运行，并且可以在零站点基础设施的情况下快速轻松地运输，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，可以根据任何给定的野外活动的特定科学目标进行高度定制，从而支持迄今为止不可行的科学调查。该系统以电压数据采集为基础，所有的处理都在研究人员家中的软件中离线进行，简化了现场操作，降低了设备的复杂性。RAPID将通过对赤道和/或极光区域电离层结构的高分辨率干涉成像，通过对现有商业（电视和无线电）和科学（非相干散射雷达装置）发射机发出的信号进行连贯和增强的散射，彻底改变电离层研究的范围。凭借其广泛的频率覆盖范围和定制阵列布局的能力，以匹配各种强大的太阳日冕辐射的空间尺度，RAPID将大大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区域提供新的亮点。与当前数据相比，RAPID的可重构性和优异的成像特性将使银河系同步加速器背景发射的全天空图具有优越的角分辨率，同时还结合了跨越十年频率的高精度宽带频谱数据。RAPID系统还提供了研究来自宇宙射线空气阵雨的强烈纳秒级脉冲的能力，捕捉响应外部触发的完整振幅和相位信息，用户选择孔径采样，并且易于携带到现有粒子观测站的位置。该项目将为无线电测量界引入重要的创新，并为后续开发更大、更强大的此类仪器提供技术基础。我们将汇集射电天文学、地球空间雷达社区和快速发展的高科技行业的多个分支的前沿技术和技术，以创建一个真正具有独特功能的便携式系统，用于强无线电信号的详细研究。该项目还通过NSF REU和RET项目为学生和教师提供了广泛的教育和培训机会，并且它所涉及的各种科学主题可以通过无线电信号的连接主题与公众交流。RAPID系统要素是理想的教育工具，可以在全国各地的学校和学院演示无线电测量原理。

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.