Research Infrastructure: Next-generation Very Large Array Design Activities: 2024-2026

研究基础设施：下一代甚大阵列设计活动：2024-2026

• 批准号: 2334267
• 负责人: Anthony Beasley
• 金额: $ 300万
• 依托单位: Associated Universities, Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Cooperative Agreement
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-10-01 至 2026-09-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2334267&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Research; Infrastructure; Next; generation; Very

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) has been working with the astronomical community on the development of the next-generation Very Large Array (ngVLA). The ngVLA is envisaged as an interferometric array with ten times greater sensitivity and spatial resolution than the current VLA, Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) and the Atacama Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), operating in the frequency range of 1.2 – 116 GHz. This project will end in the conceptual design down-select for each major sub-system within the array, and allow the transition to the preliminary design of these subsystems. Critical technical development and risk reduction activities will be included to ensure that novel leading-edge technologies that may reduce cost or improve performance are considered in the down-select. The ngVLA will be a transformative, multi-disciplinary scientific instrument that will open a new window on the Universe through ultra-sensitive imaging of thermal line and continuum emission down to milliarcsecond-scale resolution, as well as unprecedented broad-band continuum polarimetric imaging of non-thermal processes. These capabilities are the only means with which to address a broad range of critical questions in modern astronomy, including direct imaging of Earth-like planet formation in the terrestrial zone, studies of dust-obscured star formation and the cosmic baryon cycle down to parsec-scales out to the Virgo cluster, undertaking a cosmic census of the molecular gas which fuels star formation back to first light and cosmic reionization, and novel techniques for exploring temporal phenomena on timescales from milliseconds to years in this new era of multi-messenger astrophysics. The ngVLA will be optimized for observations in the spectral region between the superb performance of ALMA at sub-mm wavelengths, and the future Phase I Square Kilometer Array (SKA-1) at decimeter and longer wavelengths. The ngVLA project offers opportunities for student training, increased participation of underrepresented groups, tangible benefits to the wider U.S. research community (e.g., data archive access and the commercialization of new technologies), and positive impacts to the environment and economy of the communities that host the facility. The effort will provide supplemental funding to the NRAO Office of Diversity and Inclusion and Education and Public Outreach departments to expand their core activities to include the ngVLA. Programs that will be positively impacted include the African American Teaching Fellows, the National Astronomy Consortium undergraduate program, and the National and the Inter-National Exchange program. In addition to the broader participation and educational impacts, the ngVLA project will have a direct impact on fostering a revitalized U.S. high-tech manufacturing hub in the southwest, with precision machine fabrication and manufacturing in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas.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.

国家射电天文台（NRAO）一直在与天文学界合作开发下一代甚大阵列（ngVLA）。 ngVLA被设想为具有比当前VLA、甚长基线阵列（VLBA）和阿塔卡马毫米/亚毫米阵列（阿尔马）高十倍的灵敏度和空间分辨率的干涉阵列，在1.2 - 116 GHz的频率范围内操作。 该项目将在概念设计中结束，向下选择阵列内的每个主要子系统，并允许过渡到这些子系统的初步设计。 关键技术开发和降低风险活动将包括在内，以确保在向下选择时考虑到可能降低成本或提高性能的新型领先技术。ngVLA将是一种变革性的多学科科学仪器，将通过对热谱线和连续辐射的超灵敏成像（分辨率可达毫弧秒）以及对非热过程的前所未有的宽带连续偏振成像打开一扇新的宇宙窗口。这些能力是解决现代天文学中广泛的关键问题的唯一手段，包括在陆地区域直接成像类地行星的形成，研究尘埃遮蔽的星星形成和宇宙重子循环，直到室女座星系团，对分子气体进行宇宙普查，这些分子气体为星星形成提供燃料，使其回到第一道光线和宇宙再电离，以及在多信使天体物理学的新时代探索从毫秒到数年时间尺度上的时间现象的新技术。ngVLA将针对亚毫米波长阿尔马的卓越性能和未来第一阶段平方公里阵列（SKA-1）分米和更长波长之间的光谱区域进行优化。 ngVLA项目为学生培训提供了机会，增加了代表性不足的群体的参与，为更广泛的美国研究界带来了实实在在的好处（例如，数据档案存取和新技术的商业化），以及对设施所在社区的环境和经济的积极影响。这项工作将为NRAO多样性和包容性办公室以及教育和公共外联部门提供补充资金，以扩大其核心活动，包括ngVLA。 将受到积极影响的项目包括非裔美国人教学研究员，国家天文学联盟本科项目以及国家和国际交流项目。 除了更广泛的参与和教育影响外，ngVLA项目还将对促进美国西南部的高科技制造中心的振兴产生直接影响，该中心将在新墨西哥州、亚利桑那州和德克萨斯州进行精密机械制造和制造。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。