Integration of the Supercam Heterodyne Array onto the APEX Telescope

将 Supercam 外差阵列集成到 APEX 望远镜上

• 批准号: 1453622
• 负责人: Craig Kulesa
• 金额: $ 3.14万
• 依托单位: University of Arizona
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-08-15 至 2015-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1453622&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Integration; Supercam; Heterodyne; Array; onto

In recent years, much has been learned from survey observations of interstellar clouds that harbor star formation in our Galaxy. These surveys have been conducted at infrared and submillimeter wavelengths, measuring light emitted at wavelengths invisible to the human eye. A key piece of the puzzle, information about cloud motions that can only be found with instruments that observe spectral lines, is needed to transform these surveys into a comprehensive understanding of the structure and dynamics of our Galaxy. The proposal sponsored here will allow integration of the Supercam submillimeter-wavelength heterodyne array receiver with the 12-meter-diameter APEX telescope in Chile.The technology that enables this investigation is the 64-element Supercam camera, whose design and construction was funded by NSF. It uses superconducting SIS detectors to observe the sky at a wavelength of around 850 microns. The Supercam features superconducting SIS junctions in mixer blocks, and these components are modularized into 1x8 rows with bias electronics, IF processors, and digital FFT spectrometers integrated into the modules. The observations are particularly topical and important to modern astronomy, and were indeed recommended in the Astro2010 decadal survey.This project will involve and train students in many aspects of the work. It also has potentially large broader impacts, as a survey, on progress in its field.Funding for this project is being provided by NSF's Division of Astronomical Sciences through its Advanced Technologies and Instrumentation program.

近年来，我们从对银河系中孕育恒星形成的星际云的调查观测中学到了很多东西。这些调查是在红外线和亚毫米波波段进行的，测量的是人眼看不见的波长发出的光。这个谜题的关键部分是云运动的信息，这些信息只能通过观察光谱线的仪器来发现，需要将这些调查转化为对银河系结构和动力学的全面理解。这里提出的提案将允许将Supercam亚毫米波长外差阵列接收器与智利12米直径的APEX望远镜集成。使这项调查成为可能的技术是64单元Supercam相机，其设计和建造由美国国家科学基金会资助。它使用超导SIS探测器在大约850微米的波长下观察天空。Supercam在混频器块中具有超导SIS结，这些组件模块化成1x8行，偏置电子元件，中频处理器和数字FFT光谱仪集成到模块中。这些观测结果对现代天文学来说是特别重要的，并且确实在Astro2010年的十年调查中得到了推荐。这个项目将涉及和训练学生在许多方面的工作。作为一项调查，它还可能对该领域的进展产生更广泛的影响。该项目由美国国家科学基金会天文科学部通过其先进技术和仪器计划提供资金。