Pulsar Signal Processing Instrumentation for the CHIME Telescope

用于 CHIME 望远镜的脉冲星信号处理仪器

• 批准号: 458893-2014
• 负责人: Kaspi, Victoria
• 金额: $ 9.38万
• 依托单位: McGill University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2013-01-01 至 2014-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=542070
• 关键词: Pulsar; Signal; Processing; Instrumentation; CHIME

We propose to build a real-time digital signal processing instrument to observe radio pulsars using a novel radio telescope currently being built in Penticton, BC: the CFI-funded Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME). Although this new radio telescope is being built for cosmology purposes, it also has the potential to be a world-class instrument for pulsar astrophysics, given its large collecting area and wide radio bandwidth. However, the time-domain signal processing requirements for pulsar observations are very different from what will be built for CHIME. Here we propose to build a pulsar processing instrument for CHIME that will enable it to do world-leading unique pulsar science. Among many other pulsar applications, the proposed equipment will support experiments involving long-term high-precision timing of millisecond radio pulsars, with the goal of detecting or setting interesting upper limits on a background of nanohertz gravitational waves. Such waves are predicted to pervade the Universe due to supermassive black hole mergers. CHIME has the potential to improve the timing precision of millisecond pulsars by up to a factor of two, which will greatly accelerate gravitational-wave detection. We propose to build an instrument out of commodity parts to first tap off the radio output of the CHIME pathfinder telescope currently being built, for testing and modest science purposes, and subsequently for use on full CHIME, in order to time up to 10 pulsars simultaneously, 24-hr per day, 365 days per year.

我们建议建立一个实时的数字信号处理仪器，使用一个新的射电望远镜目前正在建立在彭蒂克顿，不列颠哥伦比亚省：加拿大氢强度测绘实验（CHIME）。虽然这台新的射电望远镜是为宇宙学目的建造的，但由于其收集面积大和无线电带宽宽，它也有可能成为脉冲星天体物理学的世界级仪器。 然而，脉冲星观测的时域信号处理要求与CHIME的要求非常不同。 在这里，我们建议为CHIME建立一个脉冲星处理仪器，使其能够进行世界领先的独特脉冲星科学。 在许多其他脉冲星应用中，拟议的设备将支持涉及毫秒射电望远镜长期高精度计时的实验，目标是在纳赫兹引力波背景下探测或设置有趣的上限。 由于超大质量黑洞的合并，这种波被预测会遍布宇宙。CHIME有可能将毫秒级射电望远镜的计时精度提高两倍，这将大大加速引力波的探测。 我们建议用商品部件建造一台仪器，首先利用目前正在建造的CHIME探路者望远镜的无线电输出，用于测试和适度的科学目的，随后用于完整的CHIME，以便每天24小时，每年365天，同时计时多达10个卫星。