Overview of the SuperNova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP)

Greg Aldering; Carl W. Akerlof; R. Amanullah; Pierre Astier; E. Barrelet; Christopher Bebek; Lars Bergstrom; John Bercovitz; Gary M. Bernstein; Manfred Bester; Alain Bonissent; Charles Bower; William C. Carithers Jr.; Eugene D. Commins; C. Day; Susana E. Deustua; Richard S. DiGennaro; Anne Ealet; Richard S. Ellis; Mikael Eriksson; Andrew Fruchter; Jean-Francois Genat; Gerson Goldhaber; Ariel Goobar; Donald E. Groom; Stewart E. Harris; Peter R. Harvey; Henry D. Heetderks; Steven E. Holland; Dragan Huterer; Armin Karcher; Alex G. Kim; William F. Kolbe; B. Krieger; R. Lafever; James C. Lamoreux; Michael L. Lampton; Michael E. Levi; Daniel S. Levin; Eric V. Linder; Stewart C. Loken; Roger Malina; R. Massey; Timothy McKay; Shawn P. McKee; Ramon Miquel; E. Moertsell; N. Mostek; Stuart Mufson; J. A. Musser; Peter E. Nugent; Hakeem M. Oluseyi; Reynald Pain; Nicholas P. Palaio; David H. Pankow; Saul Perlmutter; R. Pratt; Eric Prieto; Alexandre Refregier; J. Rhodes; Kem Edward Robinson; N. Roe; Michael Sholl; Michael S. Schubnell; G. Smadja; George F. Smoot; Anthony Spadafora; Gregory Tarle; Andrew D. Tomasch; H. von der Lippe; D. Vincent; J.-P. Walder; Guobin Wang

doi:10.1117/12.456562

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16 December 2002 Overview of the SuperNova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP)

Greg Aldering, Carl W. Akerlof, R. Amanullah, Pierre Astier, E. Barrelet, Christopher Bebek, Lars Bergstrom, John Bercovitz, Gary M. Bernstein, Manfred Bester, Alain Bonissent, Charles Bower, William C. Carithers Jr., Eugene D. Commins, C. Day, Susana E. Deustua, Richard S. DiGennaro, Anne Ealet, Richard S. Ellis, Mikael Eriksson, Andrew Fruchter, Jean-Francois Genat, Gerson Goldhaber, Ariel Goobar, Donald E. Groom, Stewart E. Harris, Peter R. Harvey, Henry D. Heetderks, Steven E. Holland, Dragan Huterer, Armin Karcher, Alex G. Kim, William F. Kolbe, B. Krieger, R. Lafever, James C. Lamoreux, Michael L. Lampton, Michael E. Levi, Daniel S. Levin, Eric V. Linder, Stewart C. Loken, Roger Malina, R. Massey, Timothy McKay, Shawn P. McKee, Ramon Miquel, E. Moertsell, N. Mostek, Stuart Mufson, J. A. Musser, Peter E. Nugent, Hakeem M. Oluseyi, Reynald Pain, Nicholas P. Palaio, David H. Pankow, Saul Perlmutter, R. Pratt, Eric Prieto, Alexandre Refregier, J. Rhodes, Kem Edward Robinson, N. Roe, Michael Sholl, Michael S. Schubnell, G. Smadja, George F. Smoot, Anthony Spadafora, Gregory Tarle, Andrew D. Tomasch, H. von der Lippe, D. Vincent, J.-P. Walder, Guobin Wang

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Proceedings Volume 4835, Future Research Direction and Visions for Astronomy; (2002) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.456562
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2002, Waikoloa, Hawai'i, United States

Abstract

The SuperNova / Acceleration Probe (SNAP) is a space-based experiment to measure the expansion history of the Universe and study both its dark energy and the dark matter. The experiment is motivated by the startling discovery that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating. A 0.7~square-degree imager comprised of 36 large format fully-depleted n-type CCD's sharing a focal plane with 36 HgCdTe detectors forms the heart of SNAP, allowing discovery and lightcurve measurements simultaneously for many supernovae. The imager and a high-efficiency low-resolution integral field spectrograph are coupled to a 2-m three mirror anastigmat wide-field telescope, which will be placed in a high-earth orbit. The SNAP mission can obtain high-signal-to-noise calibrated light-curves and spectra for over 2000 Type Ia supernovae at redshifts between z = 0.1 and 1.7. The resulting data set can not only determine the amount of dark energy with high precision, but test the nature of the dark energy by examining its equation of state. In particular, dark energy due to a cosmological constant can be differentiated from alternatives such as "quintessence", by measuring the dark energy's equation of state to an accuracy of ± 0.05, and by studying its time dependence.

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Greg Aldering, Carl W. Akerlof, R. Amanullah, Pierre Astier, E. Barrelet, Christopher Bebek, Lars Bergstrom, John Bercovitz, Gary M. Bernstein, Manfred Bester, Alain Bonissent, Charles Bower, William C. Carithers Jr., Eugene D. Commins, C. Day, Susana E. Deustua, Richard S. DiGennaro, Anne Ealet, Richard S. Ellis, Mikael Eriksson, Andrew Fruchter, Jean-Francois Genat, Gerson Goldhaber, Ariel Goobar, Donald E. Groom, Stewart E. Harris, Peter R. Harvey, Henry D. Heetderks, Steven E. Holland, Dragan Huterer, Armin Karcher, Alex G. Kim, William F. Kolbe, B. Krieger, R. Lafever, James C. Lamoreux, Michael L. Lampton, Michael E. Levi, Daniel S. Levin, Eric V. Linder, Stewart C. Loken, Roger Malina, R. Massey, Timothy McKay, Shawn P. McKee, Ramon Miquel, E. Moertsell, N. Mostek, Stuart Mufson, J. A. Musser, Peter E. Nugent, Hakeem M. Oluseyi, Reynald Pain, Nicholas P. Palaio, David H. Pankow, Saul Perlmutter, R. Pratt, Eric Prieto, Alexandre Refregier, J. Rhodes, Kem Edward Robinson, N. Roe, Michael Sholl, Michael S. Schubnell, G. Smadja, George F. Smoot, Anthony Spadafora, Gregory Tarle, Andrew D. Tomasch, H. von der Lippe, D. Vincent, J.-P. Walder, and Guobin Wang "Overview of the SuperNova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP)", Proc. SPIE 4835, Future Research Direction and Visions for Astronomy, (16 December 2002); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.456562

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