MRI: Development of Cryogenic Infrared Spectrograph for the 1.6 Meter Solar Telescope in Big Bear

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案资助的（公法111-5）。首席研究员（PI）的团队将与国家太阳天文台（NSO）和科罗拉多大学的工作人员合作，为大熊太阳天文台的新太阳望远镜（NST）开发低温红外光谱仪（CIRS），位于加州南部圣贝纳迪诺山脉的大熊湖上。CIRS系统将是对美国目前两台太阳红外光谱仪（位于亚利桑那州的国家统计局麦克马思-皮尔斯望远镜和位于毛伊岛的夏威夷大学米斯太阳观测站）的重大改进。CIRS将允许对太阳进行高空间分辨率、高节奏的观测，并对太阳磁场具有高塞曼灵敏度。 PI将使用CIRS从光球层到色球层研究太阳的大气层，并对较暗和较困难的目标进行观测，如太阳黑子本影和边缘外特征。利用近红外光谱区对太阳的光球层和色球层进行光谱观测，将有助于解决太阳天文学中许多长期存在的问题，如可见光和红外光谱区磁场测量之间的差异以及太阳色球层的起源。超过1毫米的红外光谱对于光球磁诊断是非常有用的，并且还允许进入位于太阳光球顶部的色球层的独特窗口。由于近红外波长的高空间分辨率偏振测量需要大口径望远镜，因此这项工作强调了专门为大熊山1.6米口径NST开发CIRS的好处。在其更广泛的影响中，CIRS将成为目前正在开发的先进技术太阳望远镜（ATST）计划的更复杂红外光谱仪的重要测试平台。即使在ATST开始运行之后，NST仍然是使用CIRS进行社区指导的卫星式观测的必要条件。CIRS系统的开发还将使新泽西理工学院和大熊太阳观测站能够继续培训下一代太阳物理学家和仪器制造商。CIRS和NST获得的数据肯定会在许多博士论文中使用，并将向科学界开放。 NST上的大部分观测时间也将提供给太阳物理学界。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The Principal Investigator (PI)'s team will collaborate with personnel at the National Solar Observatory (NSO) and the University of Colorado to develop the Cryogenic InfraRed Spectrograph (CIRS) for Big Bear Solar Observatory's New Solar Telescope (NST), located on Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino mountains of southern California. The CIRS system will be a substantial improvement over the two current solar infrared spectrographs in the US (on the NSO's McMath-Pierce telescope in Arizona and at University of Hawaii's Mees Solar Observatory on Maui). CIRS will permit high spatial resolution, high cadence observations of the Sun with high Zeeman sensitivity of solar magnetic fields. The PI will use CIRS to study the Sun's atmosphere from the photosphere through the chromosphere, as well as to make observations of dimmer and more difficult targets, such as sunspot umbrae and off-limb features. Spectral observations of the Sun's photosphere and chromosphere utilizing the largely unexplored near-infrared (NIR) region of the spectrum will help solve many long-standing problems in solar astronomy, such as the disparity among magnetic field measurements in visible and infrared spectral regions and the origin of the solar chromosphere. The infrared spectrum beyond 1 mm is extremely useful for photospheric magnetic diagnostics, and also allows a unique window into the chromosphere lying atop the solar photosphere. Since high spatial resolution polarimetry at NIR wavelengths requires large aperture telescopes, this effort emphasizes the benefits of developing CIRS specifically for the 1.6 meter aperture NST at Big Bear. Among its broader impacts, CIRS will be a significant test bed for more complicated IR spectrographs being planned for the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST), which is currently under development. Even after the ATST becomes operational, the NST will remain essential for community-directed campaign-style observations using CIRS. The development of the CIRS system will also allow the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Big Bear Solar Observatory to continue training the next generation of solar physicists and instrument builders. The data obtained by CIRS and the NST will certainly be used in many PhD theses, and will be openly accessible to the scientific community. A substantial portion of observing time on the NST will also be made available to the solar physics community.