OMAyA - a 1mm wavelength focal-plane array receiver for the Large Millimeter Telescope

OMAyA - 用于大型毫米望远镜的 1mm 波长焦平面阵列接收器

• 批准号: 2307371
• 负责人: Gopal Narayanan
• 金额: $ 69.08万
• 依托单位: University of Massachusetts Amherst
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-01 至 2025-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2307371&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: OMAyA; 1mm; wavelength; focal; plane

New stars are formed in enormous regions of cold gas and dust called giant molecular clouds. The properties of such regions can be studied using radio spectroscopic observations. These gas clouds contain many atomic species and simple molecules that produce spectral lines in this wavelength range. Spectroscopic observations not only reveal the physical and chemical properties of star-forming regions but can also measure the complex gas motions. This project will complete the construction of a sensitive multi-pixel receiver system called OMAyA (One Millimeter-wave Array for Astronomy), which will be installed and commissioned on the 50-meter diameter Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT) in Mexico. The additional advantage of a low atmospheric loss provided by the high mountain-top location will enable sensitive scientific observations of distant galaxies, clouds in our own galaxy and comet flybys in the solar system. The receiver will be available to all LMT observers, and 15% of the LMT observing time is freely accessible to any US–based astronomer. This project will complete the construction, installation, and commissioning of OMAyA, a powerful heterodyne focal-plane array receiver system that is designed to operate in the 210 – 280 GHz (~1mm wavelength) atmospheric window. OMAyA will have 8 pixels, each capable of simultaneously measuring 2 spectral lines in 2 polarizations, thus generating 32 distinct spectra with one pointing. Each pixel of OMAyA features a novel mixer block with a high level of integration and is equipped with the ability to detect two orthogonal polarizations, and contains sideband-separation super-conducting mixers. The design and construction of a significant portion of the OMAyA receiver has been completed. In this project, the receiver will be finished and installed on the LMT. As a purely technical advance, this project will implement a high level of integration of mixer, amplifier, local oscillator injection components in an innovative dual-polarized sideband separation system that will be used throughout the field of heterodyne focal-plane arrays. As a facility instrument on the LMT available for American and Mexican astronomers, OMAyA will enable exciting new scientific observing programs.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.

新的恒星形成于巨大的冷气体和尘埃区域，称为巨型分子云。这些区域的性质可以用射电光谱观测来研究。这些气体云包含许多原子种类和简单分子，它们在这个波长范围内产生光谱线。光谱观测不仅揭示了恒星形成区的物理和化学性质，而且还可以测量复杂的气体运动。 该项目将完成一个名为OMAyA（天文学毫米波阵列）的敏感多像素接收器系统的建设，该系统将安装在墨西哥50米直径的大型毫米波望远镜（LMT）上并投入使用。高山顶位置提供的大气损失低的额外优势将使我们能够对遥远的星系、我们银河系中的云和太阳系中的彗星进行敏感的科学观测。接收器将提供给所有LMT观测者，15%的LMT观测时间可供任何美国天文学家免费使用。该项目将完成OMAyA的建造、安装和调试，OMAyA是一种功能强大的外差式焦平面阵列接收机系统，设计用于在210 - 280 GHz（~ 1 mm波长）大气窗口中工作。OMAyA将有8个像素，每个像素能够同时测量2个偏振的2条光谱线，从而产生32个不同的光谱。OMAyA的每个像素都具有高集成度的新型混频器块，并具有检测两个正交偏振的能力，并包含边带分离超导混频器。OMAyA接收机的大部分设计和建造已经完成。在本项目中，接收器将完成并安装在LMT上。作为一项纯粹的技术进步，该项目将在一个创新的双极化边带分离系统中实现混频器、放大器、本振注入元件的高度集成，该系统将在整个外差焦平面阵列领域中使用。OMAyA是美国和墨西哥天文学家可使用的LMT上的一种设施仪器，它将使令人兴奋的新科学观测计划成为可能。该奖项反映了NSF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。