Prototyping a New Telescope Design for Unprecedented Survey Speed in the Infrared

我们的宇宙充满了烟火。像中子星碰撞这样的事件不仅壮观，而且可以解释像金这样的重元素是如何产生的。然而，就像烟花被自己的烟雾隐藏一样，科学家只能“听到”它们的引力波。此外，天文学家还需要“看到”闪光，以确切地知道这些爆炸的位置、颜色和秘密。幸运的是，红外光穿透了遮挡材料。为了在这些事件消失之前捕捉到它们，我们需要一台红外摄像机，在一张图像中记录比目前可用的更大的天空区域。在该奖项下开发的系统中，整个望远镜将被低温冷却，这样它就不会发出红外光。该项目将建造1米直径望远镜的1 / 4比例原型，计划用于红外天空较暗的南极。这样一个系统将是维拉鲁宾天文台的红外补充。该团队将通过支持本科工程和天文学学生直接从事这项技术开发来整合教育和研究。研究生将在项目科学家的指导下进行演示科学。这个项目将开发一种新的红外望远镜，它将利用一对熔融的硅半月板透镜对称地放置在瞳孔周围，以纠正由球形主透镜引入的像差。这种几何结构实现了低色差，在焦比高达f/1.2的情况下提供衍射限制图像，而不需要不同的眼镜。凸面熔融二氧化硅第二元件的强度足以承受大气压，使其作为杜瓦窗口使用的完全低温光路成为可能。探测器看到的唯一温暖的表面是透明的第一个元件和在瞳孔停止处的一个薄环，它被配置为一个低发射率的水晶镜。原型机的主要目标是确认预测的低热背景，高吞吐量和使用250 mm光圈在f/2下的良好图像质量。2.5 μm截止Teledyne H2RG探测器将覆盖17.8°2的视场，采样7.4弧秒/像素。三名本科生将参与演示关键技术。这些措施包括使入口窗口保持在露点以上，通过主镜支撑两脚架的热膨胀进行高精度聚焦和倾斜控制，以及一种新的探测器读出模式，以提高观测效率和增强动态范围。这个项目推进了“宇宙大构想之窗”的目标。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Our Universe is full of fireworks. Events like colliding neutron stars are not only spectacular but can explain how heavy elements like gold were created. However, like fireworks hidden by their own smoke, scientist can only “hear” their gravitational waves. Astronomers in addition need to “see” the flash of light to know exactly where these explosions are, their colors and their secrets. Fortunately, infrared light penetrates the obscuring material. To catch these events before they fade, we need an infrared camera that records larger sections of the sky in one image than what is available at present. In the system being developed under this award, the entire telescope will be cryogenically cooled so that it doesn't emit a glow in infrared light. This project will build a quarter-scale prototype of a 1m diameter telescope that is planned for use in the Antarctic where the infrared sky is much darker. Such a system will be an infrared complement to the Vera Rubin Observatory. The team will integrate education and research by supporting undergraduate engineering and astronomy students working directly on this technology development. Graduate students will conduct demonstration science under the supervision of the project scientist. This project will develop a new infrared telescope that will utilize a pair of fused silica meniscus lenses placed symmetrically about the pupil to correct for the aberrations introduced by the spherical primary. This geometry achieves low chromatic aberration to deliver diffraction limited images at focal ratios as fast as f/1.2, without requiring dissimilar glasses. The convex fused silica second element is strong enough to support atmospheric pressure, enabling a fully cryogenic optical path through its use as the dewar window. The only warm surfaces seen by the detector are the transparent first element and a thin annulus at the pupil stop, which is configured as a low emissivity narcissus mirror. Key goals of the prototype are to confirm the predicted low thermal background, high throughput and good image quality at f/2 using a 250 mm aperture. A 2.5 μm cutoff Teledyne H2RG detector will cover a 17.8 deg2 field of view with 7.4 arcsec/pixel sampling. Three undergraduate students will be involved in demonstrating key technologies. These include measures to keep the entrance window above dew point, high precision focus and tilt control via thermal expansion of the primary mirror support bipods, and a novel detector readout mode for higher observing efficiency and enhanced dynamic range. This project advances the goals of the Windows on the Universe Big Idea.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.