Collaborative Research: Imaging planet-forming disks around young Suns using a revolutionary infrared detector

在山顶上。威尔逊俯瞰洛杉矶坐落在一个Y形阵列的六个1米口径的望远镜。与位于其他山顶的望远镜不同，这六个望远镜不是彼此独立使用的，而是统一使用，有效地形成一个更大的望远镜，即干涉阵列，其中每个望远镜的光学和近红外光与相邻望远镜的光相结合。6台1米望远镜作为干涉仪阵列运行，能够探测到天文学来源中的更精细细节（空间分辨率），而如果单独使用1米望远镜则无法探测到。六个1米望远镜之间的物理距离从33米到331米不等，空间分辨率优于1毫角秒。这远远超过了最大的地面和轨道望远镜的分辨率，甚至比目前正在开发的超大望远镜（ELT）的分辨率还要高出一个数量级。该主题提案要求提供资金，用于开发和实施一种名为MYSTIC（CHARA的密歇根青年星星成像仪）的新后端（检测仪器）。MYSTIC是CHARA阵列的红外仪器，专门设计用于以世界上最高的角分辨率对年轻太阳周围的行星形成盘进行成像。MYSTIC仪器的主要进步是通过使用1）一个高科技光束组合器来实现的，它将来自六个1米口径望远镜的光组合在一起，2）一个新技术的红外探测器，它将组合的光转换为电子信号。MYSTIC仪器的核心是小格式（320x256）的SELEX eAPD相机和重力光束组合器。近红外相机阵列是HgCdTe，利用Si多路复用器，读出噪声降低一个数量级，这对于提高CHARA阵列的灵敏度以实现该计划的科学目标至关重要。MYSTIC的光学核心将是一个高度优化的集成光学组合器，通过与格勒诺布尔行星学和天体物理学研究所的战略合作提供。拟议的计划将组建一个国际团队，为CHARA和美国社区提供成像干涉望远镜，这将为恒星天体物理学和系外行星研究开辟新的发现空间。

On the summit of Mt. Wilson overlooking Los Angeles sits a Y-shaped array of six 1-m aperture telescopes. Unlike telescopes located on other mountaintops, these six are not used independently of each other, but are instead used in unison to effectively form a single larger telescope, an interferometric array, in which the optical and near-infrared light from each of the telescopes is combined with the light from its neighbors. Operation of the six 1-m telescopes as an interferometric array results in the ability to detect finer details (spatial resolution) in astronomical sources than would be possible if the 1-m telescopes were utilized individually. With physical separations between the six 1-m telescopes ranging from 33 to 331 meters, spatial resolutions better than 1 milliarcsecond are achieved. This far exceeds the resolution of the largest ground-based and orbiting telescopes, and is even an order of magnitude better than will be possible with the extremely large telescopes (ELTs) currently under development. The subject proposal requests funding for the development and implementation of a new backend (detection instrument) called MYSTIC (Michigan Young STar Imager for CHARA). MYSTIC is an infrared instrument for the CHARA Array specifically designed to image planet-forming disks around young Suns with the highest angular resolution in the world. The major advances of the MYSTIC instrument are realized through the utilization of 1) a high tech beam combiner, which combines the light from the six 1-m aperture telescopes, and 2) a new technology infrared detector, which converts the combined light into an electronic signal.The heart of the MYSTIC instrument is the small format (320x256) SELEX eAPD camera and GRAVITY optical beam combiners. The near-IR camera array is HgCdTe utilizing a Si multiplexer with an order of magnitude reduction in readout noise, which is critical improving the sensitivity of the CHARA array to achieve the science goals of the program. The optical core of MYSTIC will be a highly optimized integrated optics combiner made available through a strategic collaboration with the Institut de Planetologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble. The proposed program assembles an international team to provide the CHARA and US communities with an imaging interferometric telescope that will open up new discovery space for stellar astrophysics and exoplanet studies.