Toward the autonomous radio-detection of ultra high energy cosmic rays with CODALEMA

The CODALEMA experiment aims to study the radio-detection of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays in the energy range of 1017 eV. Spread over an area of 0.25 km2, the original device hosted at Nançay (France) has mainly benefited of an array of short dipoles, connected by cables up to a centralized acquisition room. Since 2010, a major evolution has been initiated to add 60 autonomous radio-detection stations, covering a surface of 1.5 km2. This enlarged configuration should help refine the studies and serve as a bench test for the mastery of autonomous detection. The main characteristics of this new mode of operation is presented in the light of recent results obtained by the original CODALEMA setup.