The Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS): Operations 2022-2025

在本提案中，我们要求STFC继续支持下一代过境调查（NGTS）项目的运营，涵盖2022年4月至2025年3月。NGTS在智利的ESO帕拉纳天文台使用了一组由12架专门建造的望远镜组成的阵列，这些望远镜被优化为系外行星凌日观测。对于9等或更暗的恒星，我们可以与TESS任务的天基光度精度相匹配（用12台望远镜在9等下30分钟内达到100ppm），这对于地面仪器来说是前所未有的。我们的主要目标是找到并描述那些非常适合用大型设备进行详细研究的系外行星，比如ESO的VLT和ELT望远镜。NGTS由英国牵头，其联盟成员包括来自英国8个机构的成员，以及日内瓦、柏林和智利的国际合作伙伴。资本费用由财团研究所提供资金，业务由STFC以及ESO的实物捐助支持。该设施自2016年以来一直在运行，NGTS数据已被用于50多篇涉及广泛科学主题的评审出版物中。我们在2022-2025年期间的科学计划将集中在两个主要主题上：1)发现和表征从TESS数据中的单次过境事件确定为候选的长周期系外行星；2)通过在疏散星系团中寻找年轻的系外行星来探测行星的演化，因为疏散星系团对TESS来说太拥挤了。NGTS的数据还将支持广泛的非系外行星科学，包括恒星旋转的演化，超冷矮星上的恒星耀斑，纳米耀斑的日冕加热，白矮星的凌日和日食，以及灾难性变量和年轻恒星物体的可变性。这些科学目标将由NGTS联盟的成员追求，该联盟已经包括来自8个研究所的47名英国天文学家，新成员将继续通过公开征集英国合作者的方式加入。更广泛的天文学界也有机会利用NGTS数据，这些数据通过ESO档案公开提供。我们要求为NGTS业务所需的三项主要任务提供资金。除了项目管理（WP1）外，还有：设施的日常运作，包括观测安排（WP2）；维护智利的望远镜和建筑物（WP3）；以及数据的处理和管理（WP4）。该项目的主要成本是WPs 2-4所需的PDRA。我们还要求调查人员有时间支持WPs 1-4，以及操作远程设施所需的差旅和消耗品。我们的项目支持广泛的英国社区，包括培训新一代科学家，为PLATO和ARIEL做准备。

In this proposal we request continued STFC support for operations of the Next-Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) project, covering the period April 2022 to March 2025. NGTS employs an array of twelve purpose-built telescopes at the ESO Paranal Observatory, Chile, that are optimised for exoplanet transit observations. For stars of 9th magnitude and fainter we match the space-based photometric precision of the TESS mission (as good as 100ppm in 30min at 9th magnitude with 12 telescopes), which is unprecedented for a ground-based instrument. Our primary goal is to find and characterise exoplanets that are well suited to detailed studies with large facilities, such as ESO's VLT and ELT telescopes.NGTS is led from the UK, with a consortium that includes members from eight UK institutions together with international partners in Geneva, Berlin and Chile. Capital costs were funded by the consortium institutes, and operations are supported by STFC together with in-kind contributions from ESO. The facility has been operational since 2016, and NGTS data have been used in more than fifty refereed publications across a wide range of science topics.Our science programme for the period 2022-2025 will focus on two main topics: 1) the discovery and characterisation of long-period exoplanets identified as candidates from single-transit events in TESS data; and 2) probing planetary evolution by searching for young exoplanets in open clusters where the fields are too crowded for TESS. NGTS data will also support a wide range of non-exoplanet science, including the evolution of stellar rotation, stellar flares on ultracool dwarfs, coronal heating by nano-flares, transits and eclipses of white dwarfs, and the variability of cataclysmic variables and young stellar objects. These science goals will be pursued by members the NGTS consortium, which already includes 47 UK astronomers from 8 institutes, and with new members continuing to join via an open call for UK collaborators. The wider astronomical community also has the opportunity to exploit NGTS data, which is made publicly available through the ESO archive. We request funding for three main tasks that are required for NGTS operations. In addition to project management (WP1), these are: the daily operation of the facility, including scheduling of observations (WP2); the maintenance of the telescopes and buildings in Chile (WP3); and the processing and curation of the data (WP4). The main cost for the project is the PDRA needed for WPs 2-4. We also request investigator time to support WPs 1-4, and the travel and consumables needed to operate the remote facility. Our project supports a broad UK community including the training of a new generation of scientists in preparation for PLATO and ARIEL.