Collaborative Research: A New Instrument for the Large Binocular Telescope to Expand Study of the Composition of Exoplanetary Atmospheres

在过去的20年里，天文学家已经发现了数千颗围绕其他恒星的行星。 研究这些所谓的“系外行星”是非常困难的，因为它们的母星发出的强光将它们隐藏起来。 地球大气中的湍流使使用大型地面望远镜的研究变得非常复杂。 为了抵消这种影响，现在大多数大型望远镜都采用了一种称为“自适应光学”（AO）的技术来稳定星星的图像。 随着图像的稳定，天文学家可以使用其他设备来抑制大部分星光，使他们能够研究周围更暗的系外行星。 许多巨大的系外行星辐射热红外波长。 利用这一事实，研究人员将开发一种光谱仪，用于安装在大型双目望远镜（LBT）上。 LBT位于亚利桑那州的一个山顶上，由一对8.4米直径的望远镜组成，已经使用了AO。 新光谱仪的原型已经在LBT上运行。 该项目通过开发一种最先进的仪器服务于国家利益，该仪器将用于促进我们对系外行星组成的了解。该项目的智力价值来自于新光谱仪对太阳系外行星、年轻恒星周围的圆盘和天体进行研究的能力。 更广泛的影响包括培训研究生，他们将成为下一代仪器开发人员。研究人员将开发世界上第一台自适应光学馈电的热红外积分场光谱仪，并将其集成到双8.4米大双筒望远镜中。 该仪器的原型，被称为“ALES”，由同一团队开发，已经在运行，并产生高对比度成像和光谱。 该仪器的模块化方面，这是由包含各种光学组件的滤光轮提供，是一个新颖和灵活的功能。 该项目的智力价值来自于其获得气体巨型系外行星和其他天文物体在热红外辐射光谱的潜力，为未来有趣的科学观测指明了方向。 更广泛的影响的重点是发展研究生的必要技能，设计下一代天文仪器。

During the past 20 years, astronomers have discovered thousands of planets around other stars. It is extremely hard to study these so-called "exoplanets," because the glare of light from their parent stars hides them. Turbulence in Earth's atmosphere greatly complicates studies using large ground-based telescopes. To counteract this effect, most large telescopes now employ a technique called "adaptive optics," or AO, to stabilize the image of a star. With the image stabilized, astronomers can use other devices to suppress most of the starlight, enabling them to study the much fainter exoplanets around them. Many of the giant exoplanets radiate at thermal infrared wavelengths. Capitalizing on this fact, the Investigators will develop a spectrograph to operate at these wavelengths for installation on the Large Binocular Telescope, or LBT. The LBT, located on a mountaintop in Arizona, consists of twin 8.4-meter-diameter telescopes that already use AO. A prototype of the new spectrograph is already in operation on the LBT. This project serves the national interest by developing a state-of-the-art instrument that will be used to promote our knowledge of the composition of exoplanets. The Intellectual Merit of the project comes from the ability of the new spectrograph to carry out studies of exoplanets, disks around young stars, and bodies in our Solar System. The Broader Impacts involve the training of graduate students who will become the next generation of instrument developers.The Investigators will develop the world's first adaptive-optics-fed, integral-field spectrograph for the thermal infrared and integrate it into the twin 8.4-meter Large Binocular Telescope. A prototype of the instrument, dubbed "ALES," developed by the same team, is already in operation and producing high-contrast imaging and spectroscopy. The modular aspect of the instrument, which is afforded by filter wheels that contain a variety of optical components, is a novel and flexible feature. The Intellectual Merit of the project derives from its potential to obtain spectra of gas-giant exoplanets and other astronomical objects that radiate in the thermal infrared, pointing the way to interesting science observations in the future. The Broader Impacts are focused on developing graduate students with the skills necessary to design the next generation of astronomical instrumentation.