Wide-Field Imaging Spectroscopy in the Submillimeter: SPIFI on AST/RO

亚毫米级广域成像光谱：AST/RO 上的 SPIFI

• 批准号: 0338149
• 负责人: Gordon Stacey
• 金额: $ 30.02万
• 依托单位: Cornell University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-07-01 至 2006-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0338149&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Wide; Field; Imaging; Spectroscopy; Submillimeter

This proposal is to map the Milky Way Galactic Center and nearby galaxies in their bright CO, CI, and NII emission lines using the SPIFI (South Pole Fabry-Perot Interferometer) on the AST/RO telescope at the South Pole Station. SPIFI was deployed for the first time on AST/RO during the 2003-04 summer season and is now observing (through winter of 2004) the [NII] and high-J CO lines using the current 5 x 5 pixel array of thermister-sensed (TES) bolometers. Meanwhile, the Cornell group is developing a 16 x 32 pixel array of TES bolometers, which will be installed on SPIFI during the austral summer of 2004-05. Thus, during the 2005 and 2006 winters, SPIFI will be able to image Galactic and extragalactic sources in these spectral lines using the larger format array. The project's objectives are the following: (1) To map the Large Magellanic Cloud in the [CI] 370 microns, CO(7-6), and [NII] lines. The low metalicity environment in this dwarf galaxy may mimic that of protogalaxies, so that investigating the interaction between star formation and the interstellar medium (ISM) in these galaxies is key to understanding the star formation process in the early Universe. (2) Characterize the physical conditions of the ISM in nearby galaxies with the first fully sampled maps in the [CI], CO(7-6), and [NII] 205microns lines. These data are unique -- large-scale spatial and velocity information in transitions that are energetically important -- and will be key to understanding the relationships between density waves, bar potentials, and galaxy-wide star formation. (3) Image the inner 1.5 x 5.0 degrees regions of the Milky Way Galaxy (108,000 spectra/map) in the [CI] 370 microns, CO(7-6) 372 microns, and [NII] 205 microns lines, and smaller regions in the high J CO lines, thereby characterizing the excitation of the molecular, photodissociated, and ionized ISM in the "Central Molecular Zone" (CMZ) and tracing the gas dynamics. Comparing to SPIFI, the "state-of-the-art" heterodyne systems would take ~300 times longer (~1 day of SPIFI observations translates to ~1 year of heterodyne observations) to reach the same sensitivity over the same size maps. The results will be promptly published in scientific journals, and the large maps will be released within a year of data verification. Students (both undergraduate, and graduate), and post-docs are vitally important to the research presented in the proposal. Along the way, they design and develop many pieces of SPIFI's equipment, and learn how to use scientific and engineering software packages, including IDL, Mechanical Desktop, Adobe Photoshop, and Zeemax. Three Cornell graduate students and two post-docs have already worked on SPIFI.

该提案是使用南极站AST/RO望远镜上的SPIFI（南极法布里-佩罗干涉仪）在明亮的CO、CI和NII发射线中绘制银河系银河中心和附近星系的地图。SPIFI在2003 - 04年夏季首次部署在AST/RO上，现在正在使用当前的5 x 5像素热敏电阻传感（TES）测辐射热计阵列观测（通过2004年冬季）[NII]和高J CO线。与此同时，康奈尔大学小组正在开发一个16 x 32像素的TES辐射热计阵列，将于2004 - 05年南夏季安装在SPIFI上。因此，在2005年和2006年冬季，SPIFI将能够使用更大格式的阵列对这些谱线中的银河系和河外源进行成像。该项目的目标如下：（1）在[CI] 370微米，CO（7 - 6）和[NII]线上绘制大麦哲伦星云。该矮星系的低金属度环境可能与原星系相似，因此研究这些星系中星星形成与星际介质（ISM）的相互作用是理解早期宇宙中星星形成过程的关键。(2)用[CI]、CO（7 - 6）和[NII] 205微米线上的第一个完全采样图来表征邻近星系中ISM的物理条件。这些数据是独特的-大规模的空间和速度信息的过渡，是非常重要的-将是关键，以了解密度波，酒吧的潜力，和星系范围内的星星形成之间的关系。(3)银河系内部1.5 x 5.0度区域的图像（108，000个光谱/图），以及高J CO线中的较小区域，从而表征分子的激发，光解离，在“中央分子区”（CMZ）进行电离ISM，并追踪气体动力学。与SPIFI相比，"最先进的"外差系统将需要长约300倍的时间（SPIFI观测的约1天相当于外差观测的约1年）才能在相同大小的地图上达到相同的灵敏度。研究结果将及时发表在科学期刊上，大型地图将在数据验证后一年内发布。学生（本科生和研究生）和博士后对于提案中提出的研究至关重要。沿着，他们设计和开发许多件SPIFI的设备，并学习如何使用科学和工程软件包，包括IDL，机械桌面，Adobe Photoshop和Zeemax。三名康奈尔大学的研究生和两名博士后已经在SPIFI上工作。