MRI Development: Upgrading NIRSPEC for a Renaissance in IR Spectroscopy at the W. M. Keck Observatory

近红外光谱仪（NIRSPEC）是用来检测恒星和星系发出的红外光的，自1999年被委托在夏威夷茅纳基亚山顶的凯克II望远镜上使用以来，已被用于数百项科学研究。来自加州天文学研究协会和加州大学洛杉矶分校的一个科学家和工程师团队提议升级这台老化的仪器。此次升级将通过安装现代探测器来提高NIRSPEC的灵敏度，并通过对电子设备、软件和系统的升级来提高其稳定性，从而使NIRSPEC能够锁定和跟踪恒星。这将为美国天文学界提供一个独特的工具，推动众多领域的知识前沿，包括理解形成新恒星的气体云，宇宙中最古老和最遥远的部分，以及太阳系中的小行星。该项目的学生参与者将获得建造复杂光学仪器的技能，这些仪器将同样适用于天文学和商业部门的未来项目。近红外光谱仪（NIRSPEC）是一种1-5微米中等分辨率的仪器，自1999年以来一直在10米凯克II望远镜上运行，为350多篇论文和35位博士提供了数据。关于广泛主题的论文。拟议的工作将延长该仪器的寿命，以及提高其灵敏度，稳定性和光谱分辨率，通过升级主摄谱仪检测器，增加一个新的狭缝观察相机，升级控制电子和软件，并修改光栅机构。升级后的NIRSPEC将使各种科学研究成为可能，这些研究在最近的十年调查中被确定为高度优先事项，从原恒星盘和系外行星大气层到太阳系物体和高红移宇宙。这将是美国天文学界在影响最大的天文设施之一的独特能力。

The Near-Infrared Spectrometer (NIRSPEC), which is designed to examine infrared light emitted by stars and galaxies, has been used for hundreds of scientific studies since it was commissioned for use at the Keck II telescope atop Maunakea, Hawaii in 1999. A team of scientists and engineers from the California Association for Research in Astronomy and the University of California, Los Angeles propose to upgrade this aging instrument. The upgrade will improve NIRSPEC's sensitivity by installing modern detectors and improve its stability through a combination of upgrades to electronics, software, and the system that allows NIRSPEC to lock onto and track stars. This will give the U.S. astronomical community an unique tool to push the frontiers of knowledge in numerous areas, including understanding the clouds of gas that form new stars, the oldest and most distant parts of the universe, and asteroids in our solar system. The student participants in this project will gain skill in building complex optical instruments that will be equally well applied to future projects in astronomy and the commercial sector. The Near-Infrared Spectrometer (NIRSPEC), a 1-5 micron moderate resolution instrument that has been operational on the 10 m Keck II telescope since 1999, has provided data for over 350 papers and 35 Ph.D. theses on a wide range of topics. The proposed work will extend the life of this instrument as well as improve its sensitivity, stability, and spectral resolution by upgrading the main spectrograph detector, adding a new slit-viewing camera, upgrading the control electronics and software, and modifying the grating mechanism. The upgraded NIRSPEC will enable a wide variety of scientific studies identified as high priority in the most recent Decadal Survey, ranging from protostellar disks and exoplanet atmospheres to solar system objects and the high-redshift universe. It will be a unique capability for the U.S. astronomical community at one of the highest impact astronomical facilities.