Microwave Imaging Spectropolarimetry of the Sun and Solar Activity

扩展的欧文斯山谷太阳能阵列(EOVSA)是位于欧文斯山谷射电天文台(OVRO)的专门用于研究太阳的射电干涉仪。它收集了微波频段内对太阳和空间天气现象的微波成像光谱偏振测量结果。提出者寻求将EOVSA作为社区资源运营，在收集数据后几个小时内向所有用户公开数据。该阵列的主要科学目标是研究太阳耀斑、太阳活动区的磁场和等离子体结构，以及空间天气的驱动因素。EOVSA为频率捷变太阳射电望远镜(FAIR)提供了天线原型、馈电、模拟和数字系统、校准方法和数据管理的试验台。FAIR是拟议中的下一代太阳射电观测站。计划者将运营扩展的欧文斯谷太阳能阵列，该阵列使用无线电干涉测量技术在1-18 GHz的一系列波段每秒收集太阳的全盘图像，不包括由于噪声而导致的1.9-2.4 GHz。瞬时带宽为500 MHz；它在20毫秒内在每个频段之间切换，允许在1秒内完全覆盖整个频率范围。他们收集的数据将用于研究太阳耀斑、太阳活动区和空间天气来源。EOVSA由13个2.1米长的射电碟子组成，其中一个27米长的碟子用于高灵敏度校准。该阵列覆盖范围为1.1×1.2公里，一周七天，从日出到日落。提出者寻求将阵列作为社区仪器使用，不仅使更大的太阳天文学和空间气象社区可以获得数据，还将该系统用作未来可能用于微波仪器的原型系统的试验台。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。

The Expanded Owens Valley Solar Array (EOVSA) is a radio interferometer dedicated to the study of the Sun located at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO). It collects microwave imaging spectropolarimetry measurements of the Sun and space weather phenomena in the microwave frequency band. The proposers seek to operate EOVSA as a community resource, making the data public to all users within hours of collection. The chief science aims of the array are the study of solar flares, the magnetic and plasma structure of solar active regions, and drivers of space weather. EOVSA provides a test bed for prototyping of antennas, feeds, analog and digital systems, calibration methods, and data management for the Frequency Agile Solar Radio Telescope (FASR), a proposed next-generation solar radio observatory.The proposers will operate the Expanded Owens Valley Solar Array, which uses radio interferometry to collect full-disk images of the Sun every second in a series of wavebands in the frequency range of 1-18 GHz, excluding 1.9-2.4 GHz due to noise. The instantaneous bandwidth is 500 MHz; it switches between each band in 20 ms, allowing full coverage of the whole frequency range in 1 second. The data they collect will be used to study solar flares, solar active regions, and sources for space weather. EOVSA consists of 13 2.1-meter radio dishes, with a 27-m dish used for high-sensitivity calibration. The array covers an area 1.1 by 1.2 kilometers in extent, and operates seven days a week, from sunrise to sunset. The proposers seek to use the Array as a community instrument, not only making the data available to the larger solar astronomy and space weather community, but also using the system a testbed for prototyping systems for potential future instrumentation in the microwave.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.