The Expanded Owens Valley Solar Array as a Community Facility

该奖项全部或部分由2021年美国救援计划法案（公法117-2）资助。太阳耀斑和太阳大气中的活动区代表了两种现象，它们是更好地理解太阳活动启动机制的关键。不断变化的磁场为太阳能的爆炸性释放提供动力，因此，对磁场的测量对于了解和预测影响地球和近地空间环境（空间气象）的太阳活动至关重要。这项工作将支持在扩大欧文斯谷太阳能电池阵列（EOVSA）进行的操作和研究。EOVSA是美国唯一的太阳专用无线电设施，能够提供太阳活动的常规光谱成像，并直接测量3D太阳磁场。最近通过的两党合作的PROSWIFT法案（促进空间天气的研究和观测，以改善未来的预测）呼吁，除其他外，“维持地面观测能力”，包括“维持和改善对太阳的地面观测。“这项工作通过在太阳活动周期25的上升阶段提供太阳射电数据直接解决了这一问题。这项工作还将发展数学框架，从目前未利用的偏振数据中推断有关太阳环境的信息，这将为活动区结构和理论理解太阳耀斑中的粒子加速提供关键信息。此外，这一项目将通过更准确地考虑太阳自转差异来改进图像重建技术，这将大大提高对太阳耀斑和活动区域成像的能力。该项目将通过直接支持新泽西理工学院和加州伯克利大学的几名研究生来促进研究和教育的整合，他们将轮流负责EOVSA的运营，并通过支持和参与学生和早期开发STEM劳动力。职业博士后研究员。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查的支持的搜索.

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).Solar flares and active regions in the solar atmosphere represent two phenomena that are key to better understanding of initiation mechanisms of solar activity. The evolving magnetic fields power explosive releases of the solar energy, and their measurements are therefore of utmost importance for understanding and forecasting of solar activity that impact the Earth and near-Earth space environment (Space Weather). The work will support operations and research conducted at the Expanded Owens Valley Solar Array (EOVSA). EOVSA is the US sole solar-dedicated radio facility with the capability to provide routine spectral imaging of the solar activity and directly measure the solar magnetic fields in 3D. The recently passed bipartisan PROSWIFT Act (Promoting Research and Observations of Space Weather to Improve the Forecasting of Tomorrow) calls, among other things, for "sustaining ground-based observational capability" including "maintain and improve ground-based observations of the Sun." The work directly addresses this call by providing solar radio data during the rising phase of Solar Cycle 25. This work will also develop the mathematical framework to deduce information about solar environment from the currently unutilized polarized data, which will provide key information for both active region structure and theoretical understanding of particle acceleration in solar flares. Further, this project will improve image reconstruction techniques by more accurately accounting for differential solar rotation, which will greatly enhance the capability to image solar flares and active regions. This project will stimulate integration of research and education by directly supporting several graduate students at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the University of California Berkeley who will be responsible for EOVSA operations on a rotating basis as well as develop STEM workforce by supporting and involving students and early-career postdoctoral researcher.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.