Development of a Parallel Imager for Southern Cosmology Observations: Time Evolution of Dark Energy

该项目是为麦哲伦望远镜建造和部署一个用于南方宇宙学观测的多波段平行成像仪。该仪器将对微弱的天文源进行快速、同步、流水线式的亮度、颜色和红移测量。 该仪器包括一个摄像机，该摄像机在沿着的四个光学通带中同时获取图像，并在6.5米麦哲伦望远镜上部署紧密耦合的实时分析软件。它的目的是解决天体物理学中的一些重要问题，包括南极望远镜和阿塔卡马探路者实验的后续调查，获得这些调查发现的星系的图像和光度红移。它还将对超新星进行精确的测光，以绘制出宇宙膨胀的历史。 这些测量将有助于理解暗能量的性质。 该仪器还将用于使用四种颜色测量系外行星凌日，这四种颜色可以限制行星轨道和物理参数，该仪器将提供给麦哲伦财团的许多用户，使其能够广泛进入天文学界，并将大量吸收学生参与仪器的设计、建造和部署及其使用。

This project is to construct and deploy a multiband Parallel Imager for Southern Cosmology Observations for the Magellan telescope. This instrument will make fast, simultaneous, pipelined measurements of brightness, color, and redshift toward faint astronomical sources. The instrument comprises a camera that acquires simultaneous images in four optical passbands along with tightly coupled real-time analysis software to be deployed on the 6.5 meter Magellan telescope. It is designed to address a number of important questions in astrophysics including follow up to surveys by the South Pole Telescope and the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment obtaining images and photometric redshifts of galaxies discovered with these surveys. It will also perform precision photometry of supernovae in order to map out the history of cosmic expansion. These measurements will help to understand the nature of Dark Energy. It would also be used to measure exoplanet transits using the four colors which can constrain planetary orbits and physical parameters.The instrument will be available to the many users of the Magellan consortium giving broad access to the astronomical community and will heavily involve student participation in the design, construction and deployment of the instrument as well as in its use.