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Development of CHORD: the Canadian Hydrogen Observatory and Radio-transient Detector

The Canadian Hydrogen Observatory and Radio-transient Detector (CHORD) is a next-generation radio observatory expected to perform cutting-edge measurements for cosmology and astrophysics purposes, currently being developed by a pan-Canadian collaboration of research institutions. CHORD will expand the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) into “large-N, small-D” ultra wideband (UWB) very-long-baseline interferometer. The goals are to create a three-dimensional map of the low-redshift universe (z < 3.7), along with detecting and precisely locating fast radio bursts (FRBs), a new type of radio transients of nature yet unknown. This data would allow a new measurement of the acceleration of cosmic expansion in the last 12Gyr, thus setting tighter constraints on the properties of dark energy, and it would create an immense catalog of bright probes at cosmic distances. An UWB antenna feed was designed, built, and tested here at University of Toronto, and the design of rest of the system is currently underway. In this talk, I will present the science case, the expected final configuration and properties of the observatory, and the main scientific and technical challenges to the project.