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

在俯瞰洛杉矶的威尔逊山顶上，有六台1米口径的y形望远镜。与其他山顶上的望远镜不同，这六台望远镜不是彼此独立使用的，而是一致使用，有效地形成了一个更大的望远镜，一个干涉阵列，其中每台望远镜的光学和近红外光与相邻望远镜的光结合在一起。6台1米望远镜作为干涉阵列运行，能够探测到天文来源中更精细的细节（空间分辨率），而不是单独使用1米望远镜。6台1米望远镜之间的物理距离从33米到331米不等，空间分辨率优于1毫角秒。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超大型望远镜（elt）的分辨率还要高一个数量级。该主题提案要求为开发和实施一个名为MYSTIC （CHARA的密歇根年轻恒星成像仪）的新后端（探测仪器）提供资金。MYSTIC是CHARA阵列的红外仪器，专门用于成像年轻太阳周围的行星形成盘，具有世界上最高的角分辨率。MYSTIC仪器的主要进步是通过利用1)高科技光束合并器和2)新技术红外探测器实现的，前者将6个1米口径望远镜发出的光合并在一起，后者将合并后的光转换成电子信号。MYSTIC仪器的核心是小格式（320x256） SELEX eAPD相机和GRAVITY光束合成器。近红外相机阵列是利用硅多路复用器的HgCdTe，读出噪声降低了一个数量级，这对于提高CHARA阵列的灵敏度以实现该计划的科学目标至关重要。MYSTIC的光学核心将是一个高度优化的集成光学组合器，通过与格勒诺布尔行星学和天体物理学研究所的战略合作提供。该计划组建了一个国际团队，为CHARA和美国社区提供成像干涉望远镜，这将为恒星天体物理学和系外行星研究开辟新的发现空间。

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.