Collaborative Research: RUI: Integral Field Unit Speckle Imager

该项目将建立一种新的天文观测成像系统。创新的新成像仪将能够消除地球大气中的湍流影响，获得极其精细的图像，同时同时收集图像中每个点的所有波长的可见光。该仪器将每个点的光分离成其组成颜色，以便进一步进行全面分析。这些设计特征将导致对近距离双星系统中恒星的性质进行极其精确的测量，包括能够识别双星系统中的一颗行星围绕引力约束对中较亮或较暗的恒星运行。开普勒和TESS卫星任务导致发现了越来越多的行星存在于双星系统中的情况，而这台仪器将是唯一能够表征这些系统的仪器。这类拥有行星的双星的统计数据将有助于了解恒星和行星的形成过程，可能包括类地行星的形成。该项目的教育和公共宣传部分将为适合康涅狄格州公立学校和其他地方的科学课程的教师创建和传播三个教学单元。这些模块将突出该项目的技术方面。调查人员寻求建立第一台高光谱散斑成像仪，方法是使用定制的积分场单元，并利用大幅面EMCD读出的速度来捕获图像平面上已分辨散斑的光谱。该仪器将收集大约450至770 nm之间的所有可见光，并允许完全灵活地重组和分析所有所需波长的原始数据的散斑图像。这一创新消除了色散校正的需要，并消除了限制散斑光度测量的主要系统误差。该仪器将没有移动部件，并且足够灵活，可以用于从1米级到4米级的望远镜。这台仪器的建立将使恒星天文学和行星外天文学的两个主要领域成为可能。首先，它将解析双星成分的可见光光谱，精确到衍射极限。这意味着将有可能以一种比目前的散斑成像仪或诸如Gaia等空间调查更可靠的方式来测量近距离双星的有效温度和光度。其次，现在在双星系统中发现了许多已知的系外行星。这台仪器将唯一能够通过测量行星在凌日时双星的星等差，并将结果与不是双星时的结果进行比较，来确定行星在双星系中绕着哪个恒星运行，以便凌日系外行星。得出的统计数据将有助于更好地了解恒星和行星的形成机制，以及更准确地描述行星的半径和密度。该项目的教育和公众推广部分将创建和传播符合K-12教育下一代科学标准的高中科学课程模块。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will build a new kind of imaging system for astronomical observations. The innovative new imager will be capable of removing the effect of turbulence in the Earth’s atmosphere, leading to images with extremely fine detail, while simultaneously collecting all wavelengths of visible light at every point in the image. The instrument will separate the light from each point into its constituent colors for further, comprehensive analysis. These design features will lead to extremely precise measurements of the properties of stars in close binary systems, including being able to identify whether a planet in a binary star system is orbiting the brighter or the fainter star of the gravitationally-bound pair. The Kepler and TESS satellite missions have led to the discovery of a growing number of cases where planets exist in binary star systems, and this instrument will be uniquely capable of characterizing these systems. The statistics of such planet-hosting binary stars will help provide an understanding of star and planet formation processes, potentially including the formation of Earthlike planets. An education and public outreach portion of the project will create and disseminate three teaching modules for teachers suitable for science classes in Connecticut public schools and beyond. These modules will highlight the technology aspects of the project.The investigators seek to build the first hyperspectral speckle imaging instrument by using a custom-made integral field unit and taking advantage of the speed at which large-format EMCCDs can read out to capture spectra of resolved speckles on the image plane. The instrument will collect all visible light between approximately 450 and 770 nm and allow for complete flexibility in reassembling and analyzing speckle images from the raw data at all desired wavelengths. This innovation obviates the need for dispersion correction and removes the main systematic errors that limit speckle photometry. The instrument will have no moving parts and be flexible enough to use at telescopes from the 1-m class up to 4-m class. The creation of this instrument will enable two main areas in stellar and exoplanetary astronomy. First, it will resolve visible spectra of components of binary stars down to the diffraction limit. This means it will be possible to measure effective temperatures and luminosities of close binary stars in a much more robust way than with current speckle imagers or space-based surveys such as Gaia. Second, there are now many exoplanets known that are found in binary star systems. This instrument will be uniquely capable of determining which star in a binary system the planet orbits for transiting exoplanets by measuring the magnitude difference of the binary while the planet is in transit and comparing the result to when it is not. The derived statistics will lead to a better understanding of star and planet formation mechanisms as well as more accurate characterization of planetary radii and densities. An education and public outreach portion of the project will create and disseminate curriculum modules for high school science classes consistent with the Next Generation Science Standards for K-12 education.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.