Science Opportunities Unique to the LWA

该项目将支持长波长阵列（LWA）的运营，该阵列提供对100 MHz以下电磁频谱的很少探索部分的访问。 这个区域包括最近探测到的78 MHz的天空平均吸收特征，从宇宙黎明开始，当第一颗恒星开始发光时，宇宙只有1.8亿岁。 LWA由新墨西哥州大学运营，是最后剩下的大学无线电观测站之一。 这些设施是下一代仪器制造商必不可少的培训基地。 UNM和其他美国大学的学生和博士后作为开发人员和用户发挥着重要作用。通过该项目，长波长阵列（LWA 1）的第一个非常成功的站将被转换为多站点天文台，将LWA 1与塞维利亚的新LWA站（LWA-SV）以及超大阵列（VLA）的新低频功能相结合。 这种扩大的LWA（ELWA）将克服LWA 1的主要限制-角分辨率-并使该观测站与世界上在这一频率范围内运行的任何其他仪器相比具有竞争力。 这一新的能力将在定期征求建议书时向社区提供。 与此同时，现有的LWA 1和LWA-SV站也将单独或一起向社区开放。 LWA站由256个双极化偶极子组成，这些偶极子被数字化并组合成波束，或互相关以形成全天空图像。 以其高时间性（50纳秒）和高光谱（1赫兹）分辨率的LWA正在作出重大贡献，建立领域（木星和太阳爆发，木星，电离层），并开辟了新的研究领域（来自火球的无线电爆发，脉冲星环境，和探测或限制新的瞬变，如引力波源）该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will support operations of the Long Wavelength Array (LWA) which provides access to the little explored part of the electromagnetic spectrum below 100 MHz. This region includes the recently detected sky-averaged absorption feature at 78 MHz from cosmic dawn when the first stars began to shine and the Universe was only 180 million years old. The LWA, operated by the University of New Mexico, is one of the last remaining University Radio Observatories. Such facilities are essential training grounds for the next generation of instrument builders. Students and post-docs, both at UNM and other US Universities, play an essential role as developers and users.With this project the highly successful first station of the Long Wavelength Array (LWA1) will be converted to a multi-site observatory by combining LWA1 with the new LWA station at Sevilleta (LWA-SV), and the new low-frequency capability on the Very Large Array (VLA). This expanded LWA (ELWA) will overcome the primary limitation of LWA1 -- angular resolution -- and make the observatory competitive with any other instrument in the world operating in this frequency range. This new capability will be offered to the community in regular calls for proposals. At the same time the existing LWA1 and LWA-SV stations will also be open to the community either separately or together. The LWA stations consist of 256 dual-polarization dipoles, which are digitized and combined into beams, or cross-correlated to form all-sky images. With its high temporal (50 nanoseconds), and high spectral (1 Hz) resolution the LWA is making major contributions to established fields (Jupiter and Solar bursts, pulsars, ionosphere), and opening up new areas of study (radio bursts from fireballs, pulsar environments, and detections or limits on new transients such as gravitational wave sources).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.