A High-Speed Multi-beam Camera for Time-Domain Astrophysics

用于时域天体物理的高速多光束相机

• 批准号: ST/X005011/1
• 负责人: Diego Altamirano
• 金额: $ 16.37万
• 依托单位: University of Southampton
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ST%2FX005011%2F1
• 关键词: Speed; Multi; beam; Camera; Time

From the precise motion of a hummingbird's wings, how a bullet passes through an apple, to how some of everyday objects vibrate, some processes in nature happen so fast that the eye cannot appreciate their beauty nor understand the details of what and how they work. To be able to understand them we need to slow down their motion by factors of tens to thousands using state-of-the-art equipment. The study of many astrophysical processes suffers from the same problem: they are happening or evolving so fast that standard instruments and techniques are not good enough to study them. With the funds requested we will build OPTICAM-ARG, a state-of-the-art camera to virtually "slow-down time". This high-time resolution camera will be capable of making 10,000 photos per second of the changing sky. This amazing high frame rate will allow us to study how black holes and neutron stars devour nearby stars, helping to understand what happens with the gas that is ripped off from the stars, as it travels through those tiny (few km) regions of the most strongly curved space-time known to exist in Nature. OPTICAM-ARG is part of our prototypes for a much ambitious vision we call eNFOCAR (Network of Fast-Optical Cameras for AstRophysics). With eNFOCAR we aim to provide a new standard (low-cost) imager for mid- to large-size observatories with unprecedented time-resolution capabilities. By building a network of telescopes around the globe we can achieve unparalleled continuous coverage of the rapidly changing sky, opening up a new window of opportunities to understand some of the most mysterious astrophysical phenomena.

从蜂鸟翅膀的精确运动，子弹如何穿过苹果，到一些日常物体如何振动，自然界中的一些过程发生得如此之快，以至于眼睛无法欣赏它们的美丽，也无法理解它们是如何工作的。为了能够理解它们，我们需要使用最先进的设备将它们的运动减慢数十到数千倍。许多天体物理过程的研究都面临着同样的问题：它们发生或发展得如此之快，以至于标准仪器和技术不足以研究它们。有了所需的资金，我们将建立OPTICAM-ARG，一个国家的最先进的相机，以实际上“放慢时间”。这种高时间分辨率相机将能够每秒拍摄10，000张变化的天空照片。这种惊人的高帧率将使我们能够研究黑洞和中子星如何吞噬附近的恒星，帮助理解从恒星上剥离的气体在穿过自然界中已知的最强烈弯曲的时空的微小（几公里）区域时会发生什么。 OPTICAM-ARG是我们雄心勃勃的愿景的原型的一部分，我们称之为eNFOCAR（天体物理学快速光学相机网络）。通过eNFOCAR，我们的目标是为中型到大型天文台提供一种新的标准（低成本）成像仪，具有前所未有的时间分辨率能力。通过在地球仪周围建立望远镜网络，我们可以实现对快速变化的天空的无与伦比的连续覆盖，为了解一些最神秘的天体物理现象打开了一扇新的机会之窗。