Brazilian Decimetric Array Original Research Article

A radio heliograph operating in the frequency range of 1200–1700 MHz is planned by INPE, Brazil, for investigations of time evolution of active regions, which will lead to better understanding of the physics of the flares energy release and particle acceleration, in order to suggest better criteria for the prediction of solar flares, Coronal Mass Ejections (CME), and solar terrestrial relations, such as geomagnetic storms and radio blackouts. In the first phase, the Brazilian Decimetric Array (BDA) will be a T shaped array 256 m by 144 m, consisting of 26 parabolic dish antennas of 4 m diameter. This array will produce full disk images of the sun with a spatial resolution of 3 by 5 arc minutes at 1420 MHz with a time resolution of 100 ms and sensitivity of ∼ 10 Jy. In the second phase, in addition to the compact T array there will be 6 more 7 m diameter antennas on an East-West baseline of 2560 m to obtain higher spatial resolution and better sensitivity. Thus, finally this radioheliograph will have wide field of view and couple of arcsec spatial resolution and high time resolution (100 ms).