Backed by approximately $ 10 million in grants from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the CHIME / FRB Outriggers project has now secured funding to complete the construction of three new radio telescopes in conjunction with the main CHIME instrument located in the Oakan Valley in the Oak Valley. of British Columbia. . “It was a pleasure to work with the talented team that develops outriggers for CHIME,” said Robert Kirshner, Ph.D., Chief Program Officer for Science at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. “Despite the burdens of COVID, interruptions in the supply of steel for antennas and competition with bitcoin miners for specialized computer chips that power their computing magic, the CHIME team is heading for a dramatic improvement in the scientific performance of CHIME’s abundant FRB recaps. ».
Extruders to sharpen CHIME’s vision
With the ability to detect 10-100 times faster radio bursts than all other telescopes combined, CHIME had a profound impact on FRB science. The telescope allowed scientists to observe disappearing short bursts with excellent time resolution. CHIME’s limitation, however, was its inability to pinpoint exactly where the FRBs came from. The headlights will allow for this radical jump. “The CHIME telescope can now detect the location of a rapid radio burst in a part of the sky equivalent to the size of a full moon. “With the addition of the three new outrigger telescopes, this part of the sky can be reduced to the size of a quarter held at about 40 km,” said Patrick Boyle, Senior Project Manager for CHIME / FRB Outriggers Department of Physics at McGill University. By locating FRBs, the new telescopes will allow scientists to magnify the environments within the galaxies from which the explosions originated, thus limiting possible explanations for their existence. “The CHIME / Outrigger Fast Radio Burst team is ready to shed even more light on one of the most exciting recent discoveries in the Universe: the fleeting pulses known as rapid radio bursts (FRBs),” said CHIME / FRB lead researcher Professor Victoria Kaspi. Director of the McGill Space Institute and Professor of Physics at McGill University. “CHIME ejection telescopes will help us understand the origins of FRBs and realize their potential as cosmic detectors.”
The new brothers of CHIME
Extrusion telescopes are smaller versions of the original set to be built at three locations in North America. One of the extrusion sites is located in Canada:
Close Princeton, British Columbiaon a plot kindly leased to CHIME by HML Mining Ltd., where the construction of the reflector of the new telescope has already been completed
The other two are located in the United States and result from collaborations with existing radio astronomical observatories:
The Green Bank Observatory in West Virginiawhere it is located in the middle of the National Silent Radio Zone (NRQZ). The Hat Creek Radio Observatory in Californiawhere the CHIME / FRB project has collaborated with the SETI Institute.
“The distance of the Green Bank Observatory from the other CHIME sites, the presence within the NRQZ and the pre-existing infrastructure available on our campus make it the perfect site for a new CHIME Outrigger. The instrument will benefit from the radio frequency interference protection provided by NRQZ. “It’s good to see the 2,700-acre campus being used in new ways, and it’s exciting to see this impressive instrument under construction,” said Andrew Seymour, a Green Bank Observatory scientist working with the CHIME team on the project. “We are excited to welcome the world-class CHIME team to the Hat Creek Radio Observatory,” Andrew Siemion, Bernard M. Oliver, President of SETI, told SETI. “Hosting a CHIME extruder represents a stunning and complementary addition to HCRO’s scientific mission.”
Building on a successful partnership
Representing an astonishing convergence of scientists across North America, the CHIME / FRB Outriggers project is a collaboration between many Canadian and international institutes, including McGill University, the University of British Columbia, the University of Toronto, the University of Toronto and the University of Toronto. Massachusetts Institute. Technology. The project also collaborates with the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, the National Research Council of Canada, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and the Green Bank Observatory. The outrigger project has also received funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for electronics as well as salaries for faculty, postdoctoral, and graduate students based in the United States.
About the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation promotes pioneering scientific discovery, preserving the environment, improving patient care, and preserving the unique character of the bay area. Visit moore.org and follow @MooreFound.
About the Green Bank Observatory
The Green Bank Observatory is a major facility of the National Science Foundation managed by the Associated University, Inc.
About the SETI Institute
The SETI Institute, founded in 1984, is a non-profit, interdisciplinary research and education organization whose mission is to guide humanity’s quest to understand the origins and prevalence of life and intelligence in the universe and to share this knowledge. with the world. Our research includes the natural and biological sciences and utilizes data analysis, machine learning and advanced signal detection technologies. The SETI Institute is a distinguished research partner for industry, academia and government agencies, including NASA and the National Science Foundation.
About McGill University
McGill University, founded in Montreal, Quebec in 1821, is Canada ‘s leading medical doctoral university. McGill is consistently ranked as one of the leading universities, both nationally and internationally. It is a world-renowned higher education institution with research activities spanning three campuses, 11 faculties, 13 vocational schools, 300 degree programs and more than 39,000 students, including more than 10,400 postgraduate students. McGill attracts students from more than 150 countries around the world, with 12,000 international students making up 30% of the student body. More than half of McGill students claim a first language other than English, including about 20% of our students who say French is their first language. For media requests, contact: McGill University: Fergus Grieve, Communications Officer, fergus.grieve [at] mcgill.ca Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation: Trity Pourbahrami, Communication Officer, Scientific Program, trityp [at] moore.org Green Bank Observatory: Jill Malusky, Public Relations, jmalusky [at] nrao.edu SETI Institute: Rebecca McDonald, Communications Director, mcdonald [at] seti.org
title: “Chime Outrigger Telescopes Boost Search For Fast Radio Bursts " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-18” author: “Sarah Fink”
The world-famous Canadian telescope, the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME), is backed up in the search for the origin of one of the great mysteries of astronomy – fast radio bursts (FRB). Backed by approximately $ 10 million in grants from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the CHIME / FRB Outriggers project has now secured funding to complete the construction of three new radio telescopes in conjunction with the main CHIME instrument located in the Oakan Valley in the Oak Valley. of British Columbia. . “It was a pleasure to work with the talented team that develops outriggers for CHIME,” said Robert Kirshner, Ph.D., Chief Program Officer for Science at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. “Despite the burdens of COVID, interruptions in the supply of steel for antennas and competition with bitcoin miners for specialized computer chips that power their computing magic, the CHIME team is heading for a dramatic improvement in the scientific performance of CHIME’s abundant FRB recaps. ».
Extruders to sharpen CHIME’s vision
With the ability to detect 10-100 times faster radio bursts than all other telescopes combined, CHIME had a profound impact on FRB science. The telescope allowed scientists to observe disappearing short bursts with excellent time resolution. CHIME’s limitation, however, was its inability to pinpoint exactly where the FRBs came from. The headlights will allow for this radical jump. “The CHIME telescope can now detect the location of a rapid radio burst in a part of the sky equivalent to the size of a full moon. “With the addition of the three new outrigger telescopes, this part of the sky can be reduced to the size of a quarter held at about 40 km,” said Patrick Boyle, Senior Project Manager for CHIME / FRB Outriggers Department of Physics at McGill University. By locating FRBs, the new telescopes will allow scientists to magnify the environments within the galaxies from which the explosions originated, thus limiting possible explanations for their existence. “The CHIME / Outrigger Fast Radio Burst team is ready to shed even more light on one of the most exciting recent discoveries in the Universe: the fleeting pulses known as rapid radio bursts (FRBs),” said CHIME / FRB lead researcher Professor Victoria Kaspi. Director of the McGill Space Institute and Professor of Physics at McGill University. “CHIME ejection telescopes will help us understand the origins of FRBs and realize their potential as cosmic detectors.”
The new brothers of CHIME
Extrusion telescopes are smaller versions of the original set to be built at three locations in North America. One of the extrusion sites is located in Canada:
Close Princeton, British Columbiaon a plot kindly leased to CHIME by HML Mining Ltd., where the construction of the reflector of the new telescope has already been completed
The other two are located in the United States and result from collaborations with existing radio astronomical observatories:
The Green Bank Observatory in West Virginiawhere it is located in the middle of the National Silent Radio Zone (NRQZ). The Hat Creek Radio Observatory in Californiawhere the CHIME / FRB project has collaborated with the SETI Institute.
“The distance of the Green Bank Observatory from the other CHIME sites, the presence within the NRQZ and the pre-existing infrastructure available on our campus make it the perfect site for a new CHIME Outrigger. The instrument will benefit from the radio frequency interference protection provided by NRQZ. “It’s good to see the 2,700-acre campus being used in new ways, and it’s exciting to see this impressive instrument under construction,” said Andrew Seymour, a Green Bank Observatory scientist working with the CHIME team on the project. “We are excited to welcome the world-class CHIME team to the Hat Creek Radio Observatory,” Andrew Siemion, Bernard M. Oliver, President of SETI, told SETI. “Hosting a CHIME extruder represents a stunning and complementary addition to HCRO’s scientific mission.”
Building on a successful partnership
Representing an astonishing convergence of scientists across North America, the CHIME / FRB Outriggers project is a collaboration between many Canadian and international institutes, including McGill University, the University of British Columbia, the University of Toronto, the University of Toronto and the University of Toronto. Massachusetts Institute. Technology. The project also collaborates with the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, the National Research Council of Canada, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and the Green Bank Observatory. The outrigger project has also received funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for electronics as well as salaries for faculty, postdoctoral, and graduate students based in the United States.
