The Small Phased Array DEmonstrator (SPADE) -- Description and first results

TL;DR

SPADE is a compact, digitally operated phased array spectrograph for solar activity monitoring in the decameter range, enabling high-resolution observations with open source software and commercial hardware.

Contribution

This paper introduces SPADE, a novel small phased array spectrograph utilizing digital operations and open source software for solar and space weather observations.

Findings

First observations of the Sun and jovian magnetosphere from SPADE.

Demonstrated high temporal and frequency resolution capabilities.

Addressed science topics like coronal turbulence and radio wave propagation.

Abstract

We present the Small Phased Array DEmonstrator (SPADE), a compact phased array spectrograph designed for the monitoring of solar activity in the decameter range, where a majority of bursts of interest for solar physics and space weather occur. Unlike other existing phased arrays, SPADE operations like Sun tracking and spectra productions are made entirely digitally, and rely on the use of open source library software and commercial generic software defined radio receivers. In this paper, we describe the instrument and its associated software and present the first observations of the Sun and of the jovian magnetosphere performed between September and December 2024. For the solar observations, in particular, we highlight the capacities of the instrument in terms of temporal and frequency resolution, making it capable of addressing science topics like turbulence in the coronal medium and propagation effects affecting radio waves, which are currently only accessible by larger but non-solar dedicated phased arrays.