The Mid-Infrared ELT Imager and Spectrograph (METIS) is one of the first generation science instruments on ESO's 39m Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). METIS will provide diffraction-limited imaging and medium resolution slit-spectroscopy from 3 – 13 microns (L, M, and N bands), as well as high resolution (R ~ 100,000) integral field spectroscopy from 2.9 – 5.3 microns. After passing its preliminary design review (PDR) in May 2019, and the final design review (FDR) of its optical system in June 2021, METIS is now preparing for the FDR of its entire system in the fall of 2022, while the procurements of many optical components have already started. First light at the telescope is expected in 2028, after a comprehensive assembly integration and test phase. We describe the conceptual setup of METIS, its key functional components, and the resulting observing modes. Last but not least, we present the expected sensitivity, adaptive optics, and high contrast imaging performance.
HARMONI is the first light, adaptive optics assisted, integral field spectrograph for the European Southern Observatory’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). A work-horse instrument, it provides the ELT’s diffraction limited spectroscopic capability across the near-infrared wavelength range. HARMONI will exploit the ELT’s unique combination of exquisite spatial resolution and enormous collecting area, enabling transformational science. The design of the instrument is being finalized, and the plans for assembly, integration and testing are being detailed. We present an overview of the instrument’s capabilities from a user perspective, and provide a summary of the instrument’s design. We also include recent changes to the project, both technical and programmatic, that have resulted from red-flag actions. Finally, we outline some of the simulated HARMONI observations currently being analyzed.
We present the fifth incarnation of the Mid-Infrared Array Camera (MIRAC-5) instrument which will use a new GeoSnap (3 – 13 microns) detector. Advances in adaptive optics (AO) systems and detectors are enabling ground based mid-infrared systems capable of high spatial resolution and deep contrast. As one of the only 3 – 13 micron cameras used in tandem with AO, MIRAC-5 will be complementary to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and capable of characterizing gas giant exoplanets and imaging forming protoplanets (helping to characterize their circumplanetary disks). We describe key features of the MIRAC-5 GeoSnap detector, a long-wave Mercury-Cadmium-Telluride (MCT) array produced by Teledyne Imaging Sensors (TIS), including its high quantum efficiency (> 65%), large well-depth, and low noise. We summarize MIRAC-5’s important capabilities, including prospects for obtaining the first continuum mid-infrared measurements for several gas giants and the first 10.2-10.8 micron NH3 detection in the atmosphere of the warm companion GJ 504b (Teff ~ 550 K) within 8 hours of observing time. Finally, we describe plans for future upgrades to MIRAC-5 such as adding a coronagraph. MIRAC5 will be commissioned on the MMT utilizing the new MAPS AO system in late 2022 with plans to move to Magellan with the MagAO system in the future.
The direct characterization of exoplanetary systems with high contrast imaging is among the highest priorities for the broader exoplanet community. As large space missions will be necessary for detecting and characterizing exo-Earth twins, developing the techniques and technology for direct imaging of exoplanets is a driving focus for the community. For the first time, JWST will directly observe extrasolar planets at mid-infrared wavelengths beyond 5 μm, deliver detailed spectroscopy revealing much more precise chemical abundances and atmospheric conditions, and provide sensitivity to analogs of our solar system ice-giant planets at wide orbital separations, an entirely new class of exoplanet. However, in order to maximise the scientific output over the lifetime of the mission, an exquisite understanding of the instrumental performance of JWST is needed as early in the mission as possible. In this paper, we describe our 55-hour Early Release Science Program that will utilize all four JWST instruments to extend the characterisation of planetary mass companions to ∼15-20 μm as well as image a circumstellar disk in the mid-infrared with unprecedented sensitivity. Our program will also assess the performance of the observatory in the key modes expected to be commonly used for exoplanet direct imaging and spectroscopy, optimize data calibration and processing, and generate representative datasets that will enable a broad user base to effectively plan for general observing programs in future cycles.
KEYWORDS: James Webb Space Telescope, Data processing, Image processing, Human-computer interaction, Exoplanets, Planets, Point spread functions, Control systems, Coronagraphy, Environmental sensing
The JamesWebb Space Telescope (JWST) will probe circumstellar environments at an unprecedented sensitivity. However, the performance of high-contrast imaging instruments is limited by the residual light from the star at close separations (<2-3"), where the incidence of exoplanets increases rapidly. There is currently no solution to get rid of the residual starlight down to the photon noise level at those separations, which may prevent some crucial discoveries. JWST's launch is planned for October 2021 with a planned baseline science mission lifetime of only five years. Thus, it is crucial to start developing a solution to this problem before its launch. We are investigating an innovative approach of post-processing built on a Bayesian framework that provides a more robust determination of faint astrophysical structures around a bright source. This approach uses a model of high-contrast imaging instrument that takes advantage of prior information, such as data from wavefront sensing (WFS) operations on JWST, to estimate simultaneously instrumental aberrations and the circumstellar environment. With this approach, our goal is to further improve the contrast gain over the contrast that can be achieved with JWST instruments, starting with NIRCam direct imaging and coronagraphic imaging. This work will pave the way for the future space-based high-contrast imaging instruments such as the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope_ Coronagraph Instrument (Roman CGI). This technique will be crucial to make the best use of the telemetry data that will be collected during the CGI operations.
HARMONI is the adaptive optics assisted, near-infrared and visible light integral field spectrograph for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). A first light instrument, it provides the work-horse spectroscopic capability for the ELT. As the project approaches its Final Design Review milestone, the design of the instrument is being finalized, and the plans for assembly, integration and testing are being detailed. We present an overview of the instrument’s capabilities from a user perspective, provide a summary of the instrument’s design, including plans for operations and calibrations, and provide a brief glimpse of the predicted performance for a specific observing scenario. The paper also provides some details of the consortium composition and its evolution since the project commenced in 2015.
We introduce the Michigan Infrared Test Thermal ELT N-band (MITTEN) Cryostat, a new facility for testing infrared detectors with a focus on mid-infrared (MIR) wavelengths (8-13 microns). New generations of large format, deep well, fast readout MIR detectors are now becoming available to the astronomical community. As one example, Teledyne Imaging Sensors (TIS) has introduced a long-wave Mercury-Cadmium-Telluride (MCT) array, GeoSnap, with high quantum efficiency (< 65 %) and improved noise properties compared to previous generation Si:As blocked impurity band (BIB) detectors. GeoSnap promises improved sensitivities, and efficiencies, for future background-limited MIR instruments, in particular with future extremely large telescopes (ELTs). We describe our new test facility suitable for measuring characteristics of these detectors, such as read noise, dark current, linearity, gain, pixel operability, quantum efficiency, and point source imaging performance relative to a background scene, as well as multiple point sources of differing contrast. MITTEN has an internal light source, and soon an accompanying filter wheel and aperture plate, reimaged onto the detector using an Offner relay. The baseline temperature of the cryostat interior is maintained is < 40 K and the optical bench maintains a temperature of 16 K using a two-stage pulse-tube cryocooler package from Cryomech. No measurable background radiation from the cryostat interior has yet been detected.
The TIKI instrument is a next generation 10-micron cryogenic extreme adaptive optics (ExAO) imager being designed for the Gemini South telescope. Its goal is to detect the thermal emission of Earth-like planets in orbit around Alpha Centauri A or B. TIKI is also a prototype for future TMT instruments capable of imaging Earth- like planets around a larger star sample, and performing low spectral resolution characterization to search for biomarkers on detected planets. The science module will operate at cryogenic temperature in order to minimize thermal background, dominant in the 10-micron wavelength range. The instrument will use Adaptive Optics, a vortex coronagraph, focal plane wavefront sensing, and advanced post-processing techniques to reach a 1E-7 contrast in less than 200 hours of observing time. It aims to be background-limited in the 2-5λ/D zone, which corresponds to the habitable zone around the two Sun-like stars of the Alpha Centauri system. In this paper, we give an overview of the project goals, present TIKI's conceptual optical design, and summarize preliminary simulation results.
With the imminent launch of the JWST, the field of thermal-infrared (TIR) astronomy will enjoy a revolution. It is easy to imagine that all areas of infrared (IR) astronomy will be greatly advanced, but perhaps impossible to conceive of the new vistas that will be opened. To allow both follow-up JWST observations and a continuance of work started on the ground-based 8m’s, we continue to plan the science cases and instrument design for a TIR imager and spectrometer for early operation on the TMT. We present the current status of our science cases and the instrumentation plans, harnessing expertise across the TMT partnership. This instrument will be proposed by the MICHI team as a second-generation instrument in any upcoming calls for proposals.
We present results from a cryogenic characterization of the grating vector Apodizing Phase Plate (gvAPP) coro- nagraph that will be used in the upcoming instrument ERIS (Enhanced Resolution Imager and Spectrograph) at the VLT. ERIS consists of a 1-5 μm imager (NIX) and a 1 2.5 μm integral field spectrograph (SPIFFIER), both fed by the Adaptive Optics Facility of UT4 to yield diffraction-limited spatial resolution. A gvAPP coronagraph will be included in the NIX imager to enable high-contrast imaging observations, which will be particularly powerful for the direct imaging of exoplanets at L and M bands (~3-5 μm) and will compliment the current capabilities of VLT/SPHERE and surpass the capabilities of VLT/NACO. We utilize the near-infrared test bench of the Star and Planet Formation group at ETH Zurich to measure key properties of the gvAPP coronagraph at its operating wavelengths and under the vacuum/cryogenic (~70 K) conditions of the future ERIS instrument.
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