High Resolution Multi-Object Fiber-Fed Spectroscopy with Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors

该项目旨在开发一种新的探测器技术，称为微波动力学电感探测器（MKIDs），它将允许建造一个光谱仪，可以同时拍摄许多物体的光谱。MKID探测器还可以确定所有到达光的颜色，而不需要额外的光学器件，从而导致一些光丢失。这个装置的应用范围甚至超越了天文学，从探测附近恒星周围行星上的生命到观察银河系和附近星系中恒星的化学成分。光谱分辨率为R10,000的光谱仪是天文学中几乎所有学科中最重要的工具之一，但在过去的几十年里，设计几乎是静态的。高分辨率光谱仪通常包括准直器、梯队光栅、交叉分散器，最后还有照相机和科学探测器。由此产生的光（回波图）的二维性质使长狭缝的实际使用，但在现代光谱观测所要求的高多重因素下，光谱覆盖范围超过了大约一个单阶。这意味着这些仪器的观测仅限于中分辨率或低分辨率（r6000），或者在高分辨率下非常窄的光谱范围，这可能妨碍对目标进行深入的化学丰度分析。本课题拟利用微波动力学电感探测器（MKIDs）建立新型高分辨率多目标光谱仪（HRMOS）的试验台。MKIDs可以在不增加读取噪声或暗电流的情况下确定每个到达光子的能量，并且具有微秒级的时间分辨率。通过使用MKID探测器实现光子的波长辨别，消除了对光学交叉分散器的需要，从而使所得到的梯队光谱仪具有相当简单的光学设计。它允许使用一系列平行的mkid线性条带同时测量许多光纤输出的全回波图。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project seeks to develop a new detector technology, called Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs), that would permit a spectrograph to be built that can take the spectra of many objects at the same time. An MKID detector also allows the color of all arriving light to be determined without the need for additional optics that result in some of the light being lost. This device has applications across and even beyond astronomy, from detecting life on planets around nearby stars to looking at the chemical compositions of stars in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies.Spectrographs with spectral resolution R10,000 are one of the most important tools for nearly every discipline in astronomy, but design has been nearly static for the last several decades. A high-resolution spectrograph usually contains a collimator, echelle grating, cross disperser, and finally a camera and science detector. The 2-d nature of the resulting light (echellogram) makes use of long slits practical but prevents spectral coverage of more than about a single order at the high multiplex factors demanded by modern spectroscopic observations. This means that observations with these instruments are limited to medium or low (R6,000) resolution, or very narrow spectral ranges at higher resolution, and this can preclude in depth chemical abundance analysis of the targets. This project proposes to build a testbed for new type of high-resolution multi-object spectrograph (HRMOS) using Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors, or MKIDs. MKIDs can determine the energy of each arriving photon without added read noise or dark current, and with microsecond temporal resolution. The wavelength discrimination of photons enabled by using MKID detectors removes the need of the optical cross disperser allowing the resulting echelle spectrograph to have a considerably simpler optical design. It allows the simultaneous measurement of the full echellogram of the output of many fibers using a series of parallel linear strips of MKIDs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.