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运行的行星。研究这些所谓的“系外行星”是非常困难的，因为它们的母恒星发出的强光掩盖了它们。地球大气中的湍流使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一种叫做“自适应光学”（AO）的技术来稳定恒星的图像。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微弱的系外行星。许多巨大的系外行星以热红外波长辐射。利用这一事实，研究人员将开发一种摄谱仪，用于安装在大型双筒望远镜（LBT）上的这些波长。LBT位于亚利桑那州的山顶，由一对直径8.4米的望远镜组成，它们已经使用了AO。新光谱仪的原型已经在LBT上运行。这个项目通过开发一种最先进的仪器来促进我们对系外行星组成的了解，从而符合国家利益。该项目的智力价值来自于新光谱仪对系外行星、年轻恒星周围的圆盘和太阳系天体进行研究的能力。更广泛的影响包括培养将成为下一代仪器开发人员的研究生。研究人员将开发世界上第一个用于热红外的自适应光学馈电积分场光谱仪，并将其集成到双8.4米大型双目望远镜中。该仪器的一个原型，被称为“ALES”，由同一个团队开发，已经投入使用，并产生高对比度成像和光谱学。该仪器的模块化方面是由包含各种光学元件的滤光轮提供的，是一种新颖而灵活的功能。该项目的智力价值在于，它有可能获得气态巨行星和其他热红外天体的光谱，为未来有趣的科学观测指明道路。“更广泛的影响”侧重于培养具有设计下一代天文仪器所需技能的研究生。

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.