A method for arc-second determination of solar burst emission centers with high time resolution and sensitivity at 48 GHz

A 48 GHz five-radiometer front end was installed at the Cassegrain focus of the 13.7-m Itapetinga antenna for the observation of solar bursts. The system works with five beam patterns partly overlapping. The five antenna temperatures are recorded with a temporal resolution of 1 millisecond, including time and antenna position. The ratios of the incoming antenna signals are used to determine the centroid of burst emission. Its coordinates are determined from groups of three receivers by using a least-square fit. In favourable observing conditions we obtain an angular accuracy of about 2 arc sec (r.m.s.), with a time resolution of 1 ms and a sensitivity of 0.05 s.f.u. The accuracy of the antenna tracking, the absolute pointing and the quality of radio seeing at Itapetinga are discussed. A preliminary analysis of an impulsive solar burst event is used to illustrate the capabilities of the method described here.