High Performance Near Infrared Spectrometers

近红外探测器和电子读出器的最新发展使近红外光谱仪的灵敏度提高了近100倍。根据该合同，将建造两台仪器来实现这一进步，一台在环境温度下，另一台在低温下冷却。总之，这些仪器应该在OH（氢氧化物）气流或望远镜热辐射设定的1至2.5微米的本底限制下工作；这些是该光谱区域灵敏度的基本限制。将研究将工作范围扩展到6微米。光谱仪将为研究外太阳系的行星和卫星表面、低光度恒星、褐矮星、恒星形成、星际介质的过程、我们的银河系中心、其他星系中的恒星种群、星暴星系中的恒星形成以及活跃星系核中的气体状态提供多功能的能力。

Recent developments in near infrared detectors and electronic readouts allow improvements in the sensitivity of near infrared spectrometers by nearly a factor of 100. Under this award, two instruments will be built to realize this advance, one at ambient temperature and the other cooled cryogenically. Together, the instruments should operate at the back-ground limit set by OH (Hydroxide) airflow or telescope thermal emission from 1 to 2.5 microns; these are the fundamental limits to the sensitivity in this spectral region. The extension of the operating range to 6 microns will be investigated. The spectrometers will provide versatile capabilities for studies of the surfaces of planets and satellites in the outer solar system, low luminosity stars, brown dwarfs, star formation, processes in the interstellar medium, our Galactic Center, stellar populations in other galaxies, star formation in starburst galaxies, and the state of the gas in active galaxy nuclei.