Descripción del proyecto
Innovación en el desplazamiento al rojo para analizar el fondo cósmico infrarrojo
Recientemente, se ha realizado un emocionante descubrimiento utilizando instrumentos submilimétricos en el Observatorio Espacial Herschel. Estos instrumentos revelaron la presencia de miles de galaxias submilimétricas, cuya emisión colectiva contribuye a lo que se conoce como fondo cósmico infrarrojo. Sin embargo, es difícil determinar con precisión la distancia o la edad de estas galaxias. Con esta idea, el equipo del proyecto MOSAIC, financiado por el Consejo Europeo de Investigación, desarrollará un nuevo instrumento diseñado específicamente para realizar sondeos de desplazamiento al rojo. La innovación clave de este proyecto es la implementación de un espectrómetro multiobjeto con un conjunto de circuitos integrados superconductores. Contará con un espectrógrafo de campo integrado tridimensional equipado con una matriz bidimensional de 25 píxeles estratégicamente situados para cubrir el plano focal reimaginado del observatorio.
Objetivo
Recent sub-millimeter instruments on the Herschel Space Observatory, operational from 2009-2013, have discovered thousands of sub-millimeter galaxies, whose combined emission forms the cosmic infrared background. A major challenge is to measure their distance, or age, by determining their redshifts, which also has to be based on the sub-millimeter signals (because they do not have an optical counterpart).
I propose to develop a new redshift survey instrument, using recent progress in superconducting nanotechnology, which can spectrally resolve a large fraction of the cosmic infrared background from the ground. The instrument is a Multi-Object Spectrometer with an Array of superconducting Integrated Circuits. It consists of a 3D integrated field spectrograph with a 2D array of 25 pixels sparsely filling the re-imaged focal plane of the observatory. For each pixel the instrument measures the radiation spectrum in a 325-905 GHz window with a resolution R=F/δF=500. Additionally the beam of each pixel can be steered electrically to lock onto an individual astronomical object. This allows fast, high accuracy redshift determination of 25 objects simultaneously by measuring the frequency shift of the CII and CO lines. I will develop the instrument, build it, install it on the 10 m Japanese ASTE observatory in Chile and facilitate its use.
MOSAIC will be fully based on novel superconducting circuits: a broad-band antenna with electrical beam steering and an on-chip spectrometer, combined on a single chip. The design of the instrument is based on recent developments in superconducting nanotechnology, for signals in the GHz to THz range, in which I am currently playing a leading role. The instrument will be developed with a team of experts in the fields of antennas, spectrometer and readout electronics.
Ámbito científico
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringanalogue electronics
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsignal processing
- engineering and technologynanotechnology
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomy
- natural sciencesphysical scienceselectromagnetism and electronicssuperconductivity
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-COG - Consolidator GrantInstitución de acogida
3526 KV Utrecht
Países Bajos