Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) Construction under the Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC) Account

重大研究设备设施建设（MREFC）账户下的先进技术太阳望远镜（ATST）建设

• 批准号: 1011851
• 负责人: Charles Mattias Mountain
• 金额: $ 19812.88万
• 依托单位: Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Cooperative Agreement
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-01-01 至 2022-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1011851&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Advanced; Technology; Solar; Telescope; ATST

AbstractAST 1011851This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).Magnetic fields control the inconstant Sun. The key to understanding solar variability and its direct impact on the Earth rests with understanding all aspects of these magnetic fields. This is the ?dark energy? problem of solar physics since the magnetic fields lie beyond the resolution limits of current solar telescopes, are obscured by Earth's atmosphere, or hidden by the glare of the solar disk in the outer solar atmosphere. The Sun provides the laboratory where crucial properties of non-linear dynamics in highly ionized magnetic plasma can be observed and understood, and models can be tested and refined. The technology now exists to resolve and measure the Sun?s magnetic fields and how they control the solar atmosphere. All aspects of the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) design are optimized to study these fields in our astrophysical backyard. With it, we will understand the life cycle of magnetic fields, how they are born by dynamo mechanisms, evolve by convective and explosive phenomena, and dissipated by resistive and reconnective magnetic events.The ATST will be a 4-m aperture, off-axis solar telescope with integrated adaptive optics, low-scattered light, infrared, coronagraphic, and polarimetric capabilities. It will resolve the essential, fine-scale magnetic features and their dynamics that dictate the varying release of energy from the Sun?s atmosphere. The ATST design is optimized (throughput, scattered light and instrumental polarization properties) to make vector magnetograms down to its diffraction limit (0.03 arcseconds at 500 nm). Its collecting area, which is a factor of 16 greater than today?s solar telescopes, will provide the sensitivity to measure both weak fields and rapidly evolving stronger fields. It has a factor of 64 greater collecting area than the largest existing coronagraph, and will provide the sensitivity and coronagraphic capability needed to measure the weak, fine-scale coronal magnetic fields. The new technologies, and our increased awareness of what we know we must learn, make ATST the necessary and logical successor to the solar telescopes built in the 1960s and 1970s, and is a natural complement to space missions such the Solar Dynamics Observatory, STEREO, and Solar Orbiter.The ATST offers tremendous opportunity for the training of students and recruitment of post-docs and faculty in solar physics who will become users of the ATST and the instrument builders and theoreticians of the future. ATST plans to establish a strong synergy with the education and outreach programs at the collaborating institutions, including programs for the K-12 classroom, internships, public outreach through tours, hands-on exhibits, and displays. The ATST program has and will continue to actively involve large segments of the US and international solar physics community, helping to strengthen solar astronomy programs at universities and national centers.

本奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公法117-2)。磁场控制着不恒定的太阳。理解太阳的可变性及其对地球的直接影响的关键在于理解这些磁场的所有方面。这就是？暗能量？这是一个太阳物理问题，因为磁场超出了目前太阳望远镜的分辨率极限，被地球大气层遮挡住了，或者被太阳大气层外的太阳圆盘的耀眼光遮住了。太阳提供了一个实验室，在那里可以观察和了解高度电离磁性等离子体中非线性动力学的关键特性，并可以测试和改进模型。这项技术现在可以解决和测量太阳S磁场以及它们如何控制太阳大气。先进技术太阳望远镜(ATST)设计的各个方面都经过了优化，以便在我们的天体物理后院研究这些领域。通过它，我们将了解磁场的生命周期，它们是如何由发电机机制产生的，如何通过对流和爆炸现象演变，如何被阻性和重联磁事件消散。ATST将是一个4米口径的离轴太阳望远镜，具有集成的自适应光学、低散射光、红外、日冕和偏振测量能力。它将解决基本的，精细尺度的磁场特征及其动力学，这些特征决定了太阳S大气中能量的不同释放。ATST的设计经过优化(吞吐量、散射光和仪器偏振特性)，使矢量磁图降至其衍射极限(500 nm处的0.03角秒)。它的收集面积比今天大16倍？S太阳望远镜将提供测量弱场和快速演化的强场的灵敏度。它比现有最大的日冕仪具有更大的收集面积，并将提供测量微弱、精细日冕磁场所需的灵敏度和日冕摄影能力。新技术和我们对必须学习的知识的认识的增强，使ATST成为20世纪60年代和70年代建造的太阳望远镜的必要和合乎逻辑的继任者，是对太阳动力学天文台、STEREO和太阳轨道器等空间任务的自然补充。ATST为培养学生和招募太阳物理学博士后和教职员工提供了巨大的机会，他们将成为ATST的用户和未来的仪器建造者和理论家。ATST计划与合作机构的教育和外展项目建立强大的协同效应，包括K-12课堂、实习、通过参观、动手展览和展示进行公共外展的项目。ATST计划已经并将继续积极地让美国和国际太阳物理界的大部分人参与，帮助加强大学和国家中心的太阳天文学计划。