MRI: Acquisition of a Full-Wave Interferometric Digital Radio System For Space Research and University Education

该项目的目的是为购置最先进的多点数字无线电系统提供资金，该系统由四个天线及其相关的接收器和电子设备组成。该系统最初将分为三点干涉仪，将在观测活动期间部署在实地，第四个点将设在波多黎各巴扬蒙的泛美园区。该设备将用于研究定向到电离层的高功率无线电波如何产生湍流的电子和离子等离子体波、受激发的无线电发射和高能电子流。这些过程发生在被称为等离子体的高温气体中，由高能自由电子和正离子组成。大多数等离子体都含有磁场，这对物理学来说也很重要。这就是地球局部空间环境的情况，一个主要目标是通过观察人工泵浦的等离子体湍流随角度的变化，将地球磁场用作几何探测器。三点干涉配置将跟随受激射电波辐射相对于地磁场方向的变化。此外，3D全波天线将完全指定无线电信号的电场和磁场，这是单极化或双极化设备所不可能做到的。这是一项新兴的电磁技术，必将导致等离子体和辐射物理学的新发现。无线电技术将与先进的非相干散射雷达测量以及协作相干雷达和光学观测相结合，以研究一系列湍流过程，包括朗缪尔和高层混合湍流效应的相对重要性，这是该领域的一个关键问题。观测将在斯堪的纳维亚半岛的EISCAT大陆和斯瓦尔巴特天文台、斯瓦尔巴特群岛上的英国/中国长矛和俄罗斯巴伦茨堡研究设施进行，随后将在阿拉斯加的HAARP和/或HIPAS天文台进行，可能还会在波多黎各的阿雷西博天文台进行。观察结果将通过与建模和模拟代码的结果进行比较来加以利用。位于巴扬翁的波多黎各泛美大学校区是一所私立本科院校，99%的学生是西班牙裔，大多数是低收入家庭的学生。四名巴亚蒙本科生参与了这项研究。该仪器将支持位于巴扬翁的美洲研究中心的研究基础设施，为将于2007年8月填补的一个新的空间研究教员职位增加价值，并在本科教学和研究方案以及制定电子工程硕士研究生学位方案方面提供实验室机会。该项目促进国际、国家和波多黎各内部的合作。除了出版物和专业会议外，外联工作还将包括由每个项目参与者举办的年度公开研讨会，在学校、社区活动和其他公共论坛上举行。

This project is to fund the acquisition of a state-of-the-art multi-point digital radio system consisting of four antennae and their associated receivers and electronics. The system would initially be divided into a three-point interferometer to be deployed in the field during observational campaigns, and a fourth point to be located at the Interamerican campus in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. The equipment would be applied to study how a high-power radio wave, directed into the ionosphere, creates turbulent electron and ion plasma waves, stimulated radio emissions, and streams of high-energy electrons. These processes occur within high-temperature gases, known as plasmas and consisting of energetic free electrons and positive ions. Most plasmas contain a magnetic field which is also important to the physics. This is the case in the Earth's local space environment, and a principle objective is to use the Earth's magnetic field as a geometric probe through observations of the variation in the artificially pumped plasma turbulence as a function of angle. The three-point interferometric configuration would follow changes in stimulated radio emissions with respect to the geomagnetic field direction. In addition, the 3-D full-wave antennas would completely specify the electric and magnetic fields of the radio signals, something not possible with single or dual-polarization equipment. This is an emerging electromagnetic technology and will certainly lead to new discoveries in the physics of plasmas and radiation. The radio techniques will be combined with advanced incoherent scatter radar measurements and collaborative coherent radar and optical observations to study a range of turbulent processes including the relative importance of Langmuir versus upper-hybrid turbulent effects, a key question in this field. The observations will be carried out at the EISCAT mainland and Svalbard observatories in Scandinavia, the UK/Chinese SPEAR and Russian Barentsburg research facilities on Svalbard, and later at the HAARP and/or HIPAS observatories in Alaska and possibly at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The observations will be leveraged by comparison with results from modeling and simulation codes. The Interamerican University of Puerto Rico campus in Bayamón is a private undergraduate institution with 99% Hispanic, mostly low-income students. Four Bayamón undergraduates are participating in this research. The instrumentation would support the research infrastructure at Interamerican in Bayamón, adding value to a new space research faculty position to be filled in August 2007, and providing laboratory opportunities in the undergraduate teaching and research program and in the development of an MS graduate electrical engineering degree program. The project promotes collaborations internationally, nationally, and within Puerto Rico. In addition to publications and professional conferences, outreach efforts will include annual public seminars by eachproject participant, to be held in schools, at community events, and in other public forums.