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T. S. Bastian (National Radio Astronomy Observatory)
The Frequency Agile Solar Radiotelescope (FASR) is a Fourier synthesis telescope designed to perform broadband imaging spectroscopy over an extremely broad frequency range (~0.1-30 GHz). The frequency, temporal, and angular resolution of the instrument will be optimized for the many and varied radio phenomena produced by the Sun. Consequently, FASR will the most powerful and versatile radioheliograph ever built. FASR was recommended by the NAS/NRC Astronomy and Astrophysics Survey Committee for construction in the coming decade and is currently under review by the decadal survey of Solar and Space Physics. An NSF-funded study of the instrument concept is currently under way.
FASR will probe all phenomena in the solar atmosphere from the mid-chromosphere to the outer corona. The range of science that FASR will address is correspondingly broad. The design and function of FASR offer several unique capabilities, to which several key science goals are well-matched:
1- The nature and evolution of coronal magnetic fields, including direct measurement of coronal magnetic fields; the temporal and spatial evolution of coronal fields; inference of coronal electric currents; the storage and release of magnetic energy.
2- Transient energetic phenomena such as energy release in flares; plasma heating; particle acceleration; electron transport; the formation and destabilization of large scale structures (filaments, coronal mass ejections).
3- Quantitative diagnostics of the three-dimensional solar atmosphere; the quiet Sun and coronal holes; origin of the solar wind; coronal heating; formation of filaments.
In addition, FASR will be a powerful tool for synoptic programs and for forecasting activities. The operational model for FASR will make the data widely available for immediate use by the wider scientific community. This talk will introduce the instrument, the science drivers, and the current status and plans for the project.
If you would like more information about this abstract, please follow the link to http://www.ovsa.njit.edu/fasr. This link was provided by the author. When you follow it, you will leave the Web site for this meeting; to return, you should use the Back comand on your browser.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: tbastian@nrao.edu
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 34
© 2002. The American Astronomical Soceity.