The DSA: A Fast Radio Burst Localization Machine

十多年来，射电天文学家一直在探测来自我们银河系以外遥远地方的毫秒级射电辐射。每天有数以千计的这种快速射电爆发(FRB)到达地球，但它们的性质仍然是一个谜。到目前为止，最大的障碍是发现了FRB的射电望远镜的空间分辨率很低，这不足以准确地定位它们起源的遥远的宿主星系。深天像阵列(DSA)是一种新的射电望远镜，旨在正面解决FRB问题，每年探测100个FRB，并将每一次爆发定位到其所在星系。除了解开FRB起源的谜团外，这些事件还可以用来提供一个强大的探测器来探测星际介质，即占据星系之间空间的电离气体。在探测到每个FRB后，将立即向整个天文学社区共享警报。从K-12到本科生和研究生水平的学生将参与DSA的设计、建造和操作，以及参与科学的交付，为美国的下一代射电天文学家提供种子。DSA将是专门为探测FRB和直接定位而建造的无线电干涉仪。它将设在欧文斯山谷射电天文台(OVRO)，充分利用现有基础设施，最大限度地减少成本和部署时间。该阵列将由110×5米碟形天线组成，横跨直径2.25公里的区域，并将在1280-1530兆赫的频率下连续探测FRB。使用配备了定制设计的接收器和新型数字后端的低成本天线，将在一个为期3年的科学计划中提供300个FRB的样本，这些FRB分布在3角秒的区域。FRB警报将通过VOEent服务向整个天文学社区发布，以确保DSA本地化FRB的快速后续行动。该项目将使我们能够在理解FRB的起源以及在环星系介质和星系间介质中看不见的重子方面取得变革性的进展。DSA技术的低成本实施还将为美国社区提供一个框架，以开发未来以无与伦比的调查速度绘制无线电天空的设施。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

For more than a decade, radio astronomers have been detecting millisecond bursts of radio emission originating from great distances far beyond our own galaxy. Thousands of these Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) arrive at Earth each day, but their nature remains a mystery. The biggest obstacle has been the low spatial resolution of the radio telescopes that have discovered FRBs to date, which has been insufficient to accurately pinpoint the distant host galaxies from which they originate. The Deep Synoptic Array (DSA) is a new radio telescope, designed to tackle the FRB problem head on by detecting 100 FRBs each year, and localizing each burst to its host galaxy. As well as solving the mystery of the origin of FRBs, these events can be used to provide a powerful probe of the intergalactic medium, the ionized gas occupying the space between galaxies. Immediately after detection of each FRB, an alert will be shared with the entire astronomical community. Students, ranging from K-12 through undergraduate and graduate level, will be involved in designing, building and operating the DSA, as well as participating in delivery of science, seeding the next generation of radio astronomers in the US.The DSA will be a radio interferometer purpose-built for FRB detection and direct localization. It will be located at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO), heavily leveraging existing infrastructure to minimize both cost and deployment timescale. The array will consist of 110 x 5m dishes spanning an area of diameter 2.25 km, and will continuously survey for FRBs at frequencies between 1280 - 1530 MHz. The use of low-cost antennas outfitted with custom-designed receivers and a novel digital back-end will deliver a sample of 300 FRBs localized to 3-arcsecond regions within a 3-year science program. FRB alerts will be issued via the VOEvent service to the entire astronomical community to ensure rapid follow-up of DSA-localized FRBs. The project will enable transformational advances in our understanding of the origins of FRBs, and of the unseen baryons in the circumgalactic medium and intergalactic medium. The low-cost implementation of the DSA technology will also offer a framework for the US community to develop a future facility for mapping the radio sky with unmatched survey speed.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.