Liger: Initiating Fabrication of Next Generation Keck Imager and Spectrograph

Liger仪器将使天文学家能够研究其他恒星周围的太阳系、其他星系和黑洞附近的区域。这台仪器是一个大型的复杂装置。该项目将允许开发这一概念的团队继续他们的设计工作，并构建在低温下运行的系统的重要组成部分。此外，参与者计划扩大便携式天文馆外展项目“宇宙之旅”（Cosmic Tours），以更好地支持圣地亚哥县小学和中学，举办包含“下一代科学标准”的策划展览。预计部署在凯克天文台的Liger仪器将结合自适应光学馈电积分场光谱仪和成像相机，同时在近红外（0.81-2.45 μm）范围内工作。该项目将保持利格尔的制造势头，并为整个仪器的子系统提供必要的研究和开发。具体来说，该计划是制造、集成和低温表征成像探测器组件，该组件包含Teleydne夏威夷- 2rg探测器和将光线引导到每个透镜和切片机积分场光谱仪组件的拾取镜。将制造并集成一个低温室，用于校准利格尔成像仪和测试探测器组件。同时，将开发软件，使用最新的MACIE控制器与Teledyne夏威夷- 2rg。这个测试将是研究生论文工作的主要组成部分。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。

The Liger instrument will allow astronomers to study solar systems around other stars, other galaxies and the regions near black holes. This instrument is a large complex unit. This project will allow the team developing this concept to continue their design work and build an important component of that system that operates at low temperature. In addition, the participants plan to expand a portable planetarium outreach program, Cosmic Tours, to better support San Diego County elementary and middle schools with curated shows that incorporate the Next Generation Science Standards.The Liger instrument envisaged for deployment at the Keck Observatory will combine an adaptive optics-fed integral field spectrograph and imaging camera that operate simultaneously in the near-infrared (0.81-2.45 μm). This project will maintain Liger’s fabrication momentum and provide the necessary research and development on a subsystem of the full instrument. Specifically, the plan is to fabricate, integrate, and cryogenically characterize the imager detector assembly that houses both the Teleydne Hawaii-2RG detector and pick-off mirrors that direct light to each of the lenslet and slicer integral field spectrograph components. A cryogenic chamber will be fabricated and integrated for alignment of the Liger imager and for testing the detector assembly. In parallel, software will be developed that uses the latest MACIE controllers with the Teledyne Hawaii-2RG. This testing will be the main component of a graduate student’s thesis work.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.