Collaborative Research: Imaging planet-forming disks around young Suns using a revolutionary infrared detector

合作研究：使用革命性的红外探测器对年轻太阳周围的行星形成盘进行成像

• 批准号: 1508549
• 负责人: Theo ten Brummelaar
• 金额: $ 3.55万
• 依托单位: Georgia State University Research Foundation, Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-09-01 至 2019-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1508549&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Imaging; planet; forming

On the summit of Mt. Wilson overlooking Los Angeles sits a Y-shaped array of six 1-m aperture telescopes. Unlike telescopes located on other mountaintops, these six are not used independently of each other, but are instead used in unison to effectively form a single larger telescope, an interferometric array, in which the optical and near-infrared light from each of the telescopes is combined with the light from its neighbors. Operation of the six 1-m telescopes as an interferometric array results in the ability to detect finer details (spatial resolution) in astronomical sources than would be possible if the 1-m telescopes were utilized individually. With physical separations between the six 1-m telescopes ranging from 33 to 331 meters, spatial resolutions better than 1 milliarcsecond are achieved. This far exceeds the resolution of the largest ground-based and orbiting telescopes, and is even an order of magnitude better than will be possible with the extremely large telescopes (ELTs) currently under development. The subject proposal requests funding for the development and implementation of a new backend (detection instrument) called MYSTIC (Michigan Young STar Imager for CHARA). MYSTIC is an infrared instrument for the CHARA Array specifically designed to image planet-forming disks around young Suns with the highest angular resolution in the world. The major advances of the MYSTIC instrument are realized through the utilization of 1) a high tech beam combiner, which combines the light from the six 1-m aperture telescopes, and 2) a new technology infrared detector, which converts the combined light into an electronic signal.The heart of the MYSTIC instrument is the small format (320x256) SELEX eAPD camera and GRAVITY optical beam combiners. The near-IR camera array is HgCdTe utilizing a Si multiplexer with an order of magnitude reduction in readout noise, which is critical improving the sensitivity of the CHARA array to achieve the science goals of the program. The optical core of MYSTIC will be a highly optimized integrated optics combiner made available through a strategic collaboration with the Institut de Planetologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble. The proposed program assembles an international team to provide the CHARA and US communities with an imaging interferometric telescope that will open up new discovery space for stellar astrophysics and exoplanet studies.

在威尔逊山的山顶上，俯瞰洛杉矶的山顶是六个1-m的远程望远镜的Y形阵列。与位于其他山顶上的望远镜不同，这六个不是彼此独立使用，而是一致地使用了一个较大的望远镜，即一个较大的望远镜，即一个干涉阵列，其中每个望远镜的光学和近红外光与邻居的光相结合。六个1-m望远镜作为干涉阵列的操作可以使在天文来源中检测更细节（空间分辨率）的能力，如果单独使用1-M望远镜，则可以检测到可能的能力。六个1-m望远镜之间的物理分离范围为33至331米，空间分辨率比1毫米秒更好。这远远超过了最大的地面和轨道望远镜的分辨率，甚至比目前正在开发的极大望远镜（ELT）的数量级要好得多。该主题提案要求资金用于开发和实施新的后端（检测工具），称为Mystic（Michigan Young Star Imager for Chara）。 Mystic是一种用于Chara阵列的红外仪器，专门设计用于在世界上具有最高角度分辨率的年轻太阳周围形象化行星磁盘。神秘仪器的主要进步是通过使用1）高科技梁组合仪实现的，该组合仪结合了六个1米的光圈望远镜的光和2）2）新技术红外探测器，将组合光转换为电子信号。近红外摄像头阵列是利用Si多路复用器的读数噪声降低的命中级，这至关重要，这至关重要地提高Chara阵列的灵敏度以实现该程序的科学目标。 Mystic的光学核心将是通过与Planetologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble进行战略合作提供的高度优化的集成光学组合仪。拟议的计划组装了一个国际团队，为Chara和美国社区提供成像干涉望远镜，该望远镜将为出色的天体物理学和系外行星研究开辟新的发现空间。