A multibeam antenna for solar MM-wave burst observations with high spatial and temporal resolution

In this paper a new method for the determination of the position of microwave burst sources on the Sun, its implementation and first observational results, are presented. The 13.7 m antenna at Itapetinga with a five-channel receiver operating at 48 GHz and with a time resolution of 1 ms is used. Five horn antennas clustered around the focus of the Cassegrain reflector provide 5 beams diverging by about 2. This configuration allows the observation of different parts of an active region and the determination of the center of the burst position with an accuracy of 5 to 20 depending on the angular distance relative to the antenna axis. The field of view is 2 by 4. The time resolution of 1 ms is suitable to search for fast structures at 48 GHz. A total bandwidth of 400 MHz is used in order to achieve a sensitivity of 0.04 s.f.u. sufficient for the detection of weak bursts. First observational results of the flare on May 11, 1991 show a well-located source position during all stages.Paper presented at the 4th CESRA workshop in Ouranopolis (Greece) 1991.