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

我们的宇宙充满了烟花。中子星碰撞等事件不仅壮观，而且可以解释金等重元素是如何产生的。然而，就像烟花隐藏在自己的烟雾中一样，科学家只能“听到”它们的引力波。天文学家还需要“看到”闪光才能准确地知道这些爆炸的位置、它们的颜色和它们的秘密。幸运的是，红外光可以穿透遮蔽材料。为了在这些事件消失之前捕捉到它们，我们需要一台红外相机，它可以在一张图像中记录比目前可用的更大的天空部分。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。该项目将建造一个四分之一比例的直径为 1m 的望远镜原型，计划用于红外天空更暗的南极地区。这样的系统将成为维拉鲁宾天文台的红外补充。该团队将通过支持直接从事这项技术开发的本科工程和天文学学生来整合教育和研究。研究生将在项目科学家的监督下进行示范科学。该项目将开发一种新型红外望远镜，该望远镜将利用一对围绕光瞳对称放置的熔融石英弯月形透镜来校正球面主镜引入的像差。这种几何形状可实现低色差，以快至 f/1.2 的焦比提供衍射受限图像，而无需使用不同的玻璃。凸面熔融石英第二元件的强度足以支撑大气压，从而通过其用作杜瓦窗实现完全低温光路。探测器看到的唯一温暖表面是透明的第一元件和光阑处的薄环，该环被配置为低发射率水仙镜。该原型的主要目标是使用 250 mm 光圈确认预测的低热背景、高吞吐量和 f/2 时的良好图像质量。 2.5 μm 截止 Teledyne H2RG 探测器将覆盖 17.8 deg2 视场，采样率为 7.4 角秒/像素。三名本科生将参与演示关键技术。其中包括将入射窗保持在露点以上的措施、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，以及用于提高观察效率和增强动态范围的新型探测器读出模式。该项目推进了“宇宙之窗”大创意的目标。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力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.