Collaborative Research: Commensal All-sky Imaging of Low-Frequency Transients with EPIC

合作研究：使用 EPIC 进行低频瞬变的共生全天成像

• 批准号: 2108115
• 负责人: Judd Bowman
• 金额: $ 64.7万
• 依托单位: Arizona State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-09-01 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2108115&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Commensal; sky; Imaging

Radio telescopes allow astronomers to see energetic events in the universe. New and planned radio telescopes use thousands of antennas. The antenna signals must be combined digitally in supercomputers to make images of the sky. Reducing these computations will reduce the cost of future telescopes. The investigators have developed an algorithm that is faster and will implement it on the Long Wavelength Array in New Mexico. Using the images, the investigators will search for fast radio bursts, a recently discovered phenomenon. This may help identify the type of objects that make these mysterious bursts. The team will also study other astronomical objects. They will extend the Research Experiences for Non-Traditional Undergraduates (RENTU) program. Financial or family obligations can prevent students from participating in research. This program makes research more accessible for first-generation and under-represented student groups as well as veterans. This project addresses the goals of the Windows on the Universe Big Idea.Modern low-frequency radio interferometers enable views of cosmic dawn and the time-variable sky. Driven by the need for wide fields, high sensitivity, and excellent imaging performance, these telescopes include hundreds or thousands of individual antennas. Processing so many signals is computationally expensive, particularly for science objectives that require all-sky imaging and high-temporal resolution. This project seeks to advance a real-time, all-sky radio interferometer imaging architecture that reduces the standard computational scaling. The capabilities of an existing system currently implemented on the Long Wavelength Array station in Sevilleta, New Mexico will be expanded by improving efficiency and operating bandwidth, enabling response to external events and triggers, developing a transient detection module, coordinating commensal observing with other facilities, and monitoring sources of interest. The imager will be used for fast-transient studies at low frequencies, including targets such as pulsars, prompt radio counterparts to gravitational wave events, interplanetary scintillation, and searches for fast radio bursts. The investigators will also extend the Research Experiences for Non-Traditional Undergraduates (RENTU) program at Arizona State University to include the University of New Mexico and Winona State University. This program serves local students for whom financial or family obligations prevent from participating in existing research programs away from their home institutions.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.

射电望远镜使天文学家能够看到宇宙中的高能事件。新的和计划中的射电望远镜使用数千个天线。天线信号必须在超级计算机中进行数字组合，才能生成天空图像。减少这些计算将降低未来望远镜的成本。研究人员已经开发出一种速度更快的算法，并将在新墨西哥州的长波长阵列上实现。调查人员将利用这些图像搜索快速射电爆发，这是最近发现的一种现象。这可能有助于确定造成这些神秘爆炸的物体类型。该团队还将研究其他天文天体。他们将扩展非传统本科生(RETU)项目的研究经验。经济或家庭责任可能会阻碍学生参与研究。这项计划使第一代和代表不足的学生群体以及退伍军人更容易获得研究。该项目致力于实现宇宙大理想之窗的目标。现代低频无线电干涉仪使人们能够看到宇宙的黎明和时变的天空。由于对宽视场、高灵敏度和优良成像性能的需求，这些望远镜包括成百上千个单独的天线。处理如此多的信号在计算上是昂贵的，特别是对于需要全天成像和高时间分辨率的科学目标。该项目旨在推进一种实时、全天无线电干涉仪成像体系结构，以减少标准计算比例。目前在新墨西哥州塞维莱塔的长波阵站上实施的现有系统的能力将通过提高效率和工作带宽、能够对外部事件和触发做出反应、开发瞬变探测模块、协调与其他设施的共生观测以及监测感兴趣的来源来扩大。该成像仪将用于低频下的快速瞬变研究，包括脉冲星等目标、引力波事件的即时无线电对应物、星际闪烁和搜索快速射电爆发。调查人员还将亚利桑那州立大学的非传统本科生研究经验(RETU)项目扩展到包括新墨西哥大学和威诺纳州立大学。该项目为当地学生提供服务，这些学生因经济或家庭责任而无法在本国机构以外的地方参加现有的研究项目。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。