Autonomous power for radio astronomy antenna stations

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Around 400,000 years after the big bang, the universe cooled sufficiently for neutral hydrogen atoms to form for the first time. The following period, known as the "dark ages," is unexplored to date and represents uncharted territory that is ripe for new discoveries. Neutral hydrogen atoms naturally emit light with a wavelength of 21 cm, and because the universe is expanding, this wavelength is stretched in proportion to how far away (or, equivalently, how long ago) the hydrogen emitted its light. The observational frequencies (<30 MHz) that correspond to the dark ages are exceptionally difficult to measure because of radio-frequency interference (RFI) and ionospheric contamination, and very few sky maps exist. This proposal will provide a critical, custom power solution for a new array of radio antennas that will form an interferometer that aims to map the <30-MHz sky with an order-of-magnitude improvement in resolution over existing data. These improved maps will serve as an important first step toward laying the groundwork for future explorations of the dark ages. The array will consist of autonomous antenna stations, each recording raw "baseband" sky signals that can be interferometrically combined offline. These antennas will be installed at the McGill Arctic Research Station, which has low RFI and ionospheric contamination because of the remote location and polar latitude (in conjunction with the current solar minimum). To fully capitalize upon the unique Canadian geographic advantage offered by the high Arctic, the antenna stations must be able to operate throughout the winter. The fuel cell technology supported by this proposal will bring tremendous added value to the novel instrumentation that has been developed at McGill and will open a brand new window on the radio sky.