PRIMA addresses questions about the origins and growth of planets, supermassive black holes, stars, and dust. Much of the radiant energy from these formation processes is obscured and only emerges in the far infrared (IR) where PRIMA observes (24–261 um). PRIMA’s PI science program (25% of its 5-year mission) focuses on three questions and feeds a rich archival Guest Investigator program: How do exoplanets form and what are the origins of their atmospheres? How do galaxies’ black holes and stellar masses co-evolve over cosmic time? How do interstellar dust and metals build up in galaxies over time? PRIMA provides access to atomic (C, N, O, Ne) and molecular lines (HD, H2O, OH), redshifted PAH emission bands, and far-IR dust emission. PRIMA’s 1.8-m, 4.5-K telescope serves two instruments using sensitive KIDs: the Far-InfraRed Enhanced Survey Spectrometer (continuous, high-resolution spectral coverage with over an order of magnitude improvement in spectral line sensitivity and 3-5 orders of magnitude improvement in spectral survey speed) and the PRIMA Imager (hyperspectral imaging, broadband polarimetry). PRIMA opens new discovery space with 75% of the time for General Observers.
The PRobe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics (PRIMA) is an actively cooled, infrared observatory for the community for the next decade.
On board, an infrared camera, PRIMAger, will provide observers with coverage of mid-infrared to far-infrared wavelengths from about 25 to 264 microns. PRIMAger will offer two imaging modes: the Hyperspectral mode will cover the 25-80 microns wavelength range with a resolution R~10 while the Polarimetric mode will have four broad-band filters, sensitive to polarization, from 80 to 264 microns. These capabilities have been specifically tailored to answer fundamental astrophysical questions such as black hole and star-formation coevolution in galaxies, the evolution of small dust grains over a wide range of redshifts, and the effects of interstellar magnetic fields in various environments, as well as opening a vast discovery space with versatile photometric and polarimetric capabilities.
PRIMA is a cryogenically-cooled, far-infrared observatory for the community for the beginning of the next decade (∼2031). It features two instruments, PRIMAger and FIRESS. The PRIMAger instrument will cover the mid-IR to far-IR wavelengths, from about 25 to 260 µm. Hyperspectral imaging can be obtained in 12 medium-resolution bands (R ∼ 10, more precisely a linear variable filter) covering the wavelength range from 25 to 80 micrometers, and broad-band (R ∼ 4) photometric and polarimetric imaging can be carried out in four bands between 80 and 260 µm. PRIMAger’s unique and unprecedented scientific capabilities will enable study, both in PI and GO programs, of black hole and star-formation coevolution in galaxies, the evolution of small dust grains over a wide range of redshift, and the effects of interstellar magnetic fields in various environments, as well as opening up a vast discovery space with its versatile imaging and polarimetric capabilities. One of the most ambitious possibilities is to carry out an all-sky far-IR survey with PRIMAger, creating a rich data set for many investigations. The design of PRIMAger is presented is an accompanying paper (Ciesla et al., SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2024).
Proposed for a late 2031 launch, PRIMA, the Probe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics, closes the gap between JWST and ALMA, offering unprecedented sensitivity and spectroscopic mapping capability in the 24-264 μm range for detailed studies of galactic evolution, planetary atmospheres, and dust-metal dynamics. Onboard PRIMA, the PRIMAger camera operates in the 25-80 μm bands utilizing advanced MKID detector modules for hyperspectral imaging enabled by Linear Variable Filters. This paper presents a graded resonant metal-mesh filter technology, demonstrating very promising efficiency in the short wavelength range. Overcoming dielectric loss limitations, an innovative dual-layer LVF design on thin membranes achieves a transmission of 80-90% at 12 THz. Rigorous electromagnetic modeling, optimization, and position-dependent spectral response measurements validate the filter performance. We present a comprehensive set of simulation and experimental results, including environmental pre-qualification tests, strongly supporting the suitability of this technology for future space applications.
We present a plan for sub/millimeter-wave line intensity mapping (LIM) using an imaging spectrograph based on the Terahertz Integral Field Units with Universal Nanotechnology (TIFUUN) architecture. We aim to measure the dust-enshrouded cosmic star formation rate density within the first 2 billion years by conducting LIM observations of ionized carbon [C II] 158 μm and oxygen [O III] 88 μm lines, redshifted to sub/millimeter wavelengths. The proposed imaging spectrograph will simultaneously observe two frequency bands: Band-1 (139-179 GHz) and Band-2 (248-301 GHz). Each band will feature up to ∼100 imaging pixels (spaxels), with each spaxel having 100 spectral channels, providing a modest spectral resolution (R~500). The total number of detectors (voxels) will reach ~20,000. This dual-band configuration will allow simultaneous measurement of key spectral lines, e.g., [C II] 158 μm and [O III] 88 μm lines at z = 10.2 - 12.6, and CO(4-3), (7-6), [C I](1-0) and (2-1) at z = 1.9 - 2.2, enabling cross-correlation analysis. We will develop data-scientific methods to remove atmospheric noise using sparse modeling and to extract signals from the observed data using deep learning.
KEYWORDS: Galactic astronomy, Surface conduction electron emitter displays, Spectroscopy, Signal to noise ratio, Stars, Machine learning, Signal attenuation, Photometry, Modeling, James Webb Space Telescope
CIGALE∗ means Code Investigating GALaxy Emission. This open-source code is developed in Python 3 and parallelized. It is built to study the evolution of galaxies by statistically comparing modelled galaxy Spectral Energy Distributions (SEDs) to observed ones. CIGALE can handle data from the X-rays and far ultraviolet to the far infrared and radio through several modules that model the emission of stars, gas, dust and Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs). In a recent evolution of CIGALE, we added the possibility to use both and simultaneously photometric and spectroscopic data (line fluxes, equivalent widths). In the most recent version of CIGALE, we modified the code to make it compatible with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) NIRSpec instrument. More instrumental setups are being added for other space-borne (e.g. JWST/MIRI and JWST/NIRISS) and ground-based instruments (e.g. SUBARU/PFS, VLT/MOONS or ELT/MOSAIC). This now allows to analyze the resolved emission of local galaxies to the emission of the most distant ones at z ⪆10 in a very efficient way: a simple fitting analysis can be performed for about 1200 NIRSpec spectra in three hours. CIGALE is also able to create model spectra and to predict flux densities and emission line fluxes. We show that CIGALE might be one of the fastest fitting codes on the market. It is often written in papers that SED fitting codes are much slower than machine learning. Beyond this kind of naive and not fully tested claim on the variety of fitting codes, we show that CIGALE can compete with some machine learning methods, with an inference time which is about the same order (and without any learning phase) than convolutional or deep-learning methods on very large galaxy samples.
The mid-infrared spectrometer and camera transit spectrometer (MISC-T) is one of the three baseline instruments for Origins Space Telescope (Origins) and provides the capability to assess the habitability of nearby exoplanets and search for signs of life. MISC-T employs a densified pupil optical design, and HgCdTe and Si:As detector arrays. This optical design allows the instrument to be relatively insensitive to minor line-of-sight pointing drifts and telescope aberrations, and the detectors do not require a sub-Kelvin refrigerator. MISC-T has three science spectral channels that share the same field-of-view by means of beam splitters, and all channels are operated simultaneously to cover the full spectral range from 2.8 to 20 μm at once with exquisite stability and precision (<5 ppm between 2.8 to 11 μm, <20 ppm between 11 and 20 μm). A Lyot-coronagraph-based tip–tilt sensor located in the instrument fore-optics uses the light reflected by a field stop, which corresponds to 0.3% of the light from the target, to send fine pointing information to the field steering mirror in the Origins telescope. An additional MISC Wide Field Imager (WFI) is studied as an upscope option for the Origins. MISC-WFI offers a wide field imaging (3 ′ × 3 ′ ) and low-resolution spectroscopic capability with filters and grating-prisms (grisms) covering 5 to 28 μm. The imaging capability of the MISC-WFI will be used for general science objectives. The low-resolution spectroscopic capability in MISC-WFI with a resolving power R ( = λ / Δλ) of a few hundreds will be used to measure the mid-infrared dust features and ionic lines at z up to ∼1 in the Origins mission’s Rise of Metals and Black Hole Feedback programs. The MISC-WFI also serves as a focal plane pointing and guiding instrument for the observatory, including when the MISC-T channel is performing its exoplanet spectroscopy observations.
The Origins Space Telescope (Origins) concept is designed to investigate the creation and dispersal of elements essential to life, the formation of planetary systems, and the transport of water to habitable worlds and the atmospheres of exoplanets around nearby K- and M-dwarfs to identify potentially habitable—and even inhabited—worlds. These science priorities are aligned with NASA’s three major astrophysics science goals: How does the Universe work? How did we get here? and Are we alone? We briefly describe the science case that arose from the astronomical community and the science traceability matrix for Origins. The science traceability matrix prescribes the design of Origins and demonstrates that it will address the key science questions motivated by the science case.
The Origins Space Telescope will trace the history of our origins from the time dust and heavy elements permanently altered the cosmic landscape to present-day life. How did galaxies evolve from the earliest galactic systems to those found in the Universe today? How do habitable planets form? How common are life-bearing worlds? To answer these alluring questions, Origins will operate at mid- and far-infrared (IR) wavelengths and offer powerful spectroscopic instruments and sensitivity three orders of magnitude better than that of the Herschel Space Observatory, the largest telescope flown in space to date. We describe the baseline concept for Origins recommended to the 2020 US Decadal Survey in Astronomy and Astrophysics. The baseline design includes a 5.9-m diameter telescope cryocooled to 4.5 K and equipped with three scientific instruments. A mid-infrared instrument (Mid-Infrared Spectrometer and Camera Transit spectrometer) will measure the spectra of transiting exoplanets in the 2.8 to 20 μm wavelength range and offer unprecedented spectrophotometric precision, enabling definitive exoplanet biosignature detections. The far-IR imager polarimeter will be able to survey thousands of square degrees with broadband imaging at 50 and 250 μm. The Origins Survey Spectrometer will cover wavelengths from 25 to 588 μm, making wide-area and deep spectroscopic surveys with spectral resolving power R ∼ 300, and pointed observations at R ∼ 40,000 and 300,000 with selectable instrument modes. Origins was designed to minimize complexity. The architecture is similar to that of the Spitzer Space Telescope and requires very few deployments after launch, while the cryothermal system design leverages James Webb Space Telescope technology and experience. A combination of current-state-of-the-art cryocoolers and next-generation detector technology will enable Origins’ natural background-limited sensitivity.
The Origins Space Telescope will trace the history of our origins from the time dust and heavy elements permanently altered the cosmic landscape to present-day life. How did galaxies evolve from the earliest galactic systems to those found in the universe today? How do habitable planets form? How common are life-bearing worlds? To answer these alluring questions, Origins will operate at mid- and far-infrared wavelengths and offer powerful spectroscopic instruments and sensitivity three orders of magnitude better than that of Herschel, the largest telescope flown in space to date. After a 3 ½ year study, the Origins Science and Technology Definition Team will recommend to the Decadal Survey a concept for Origins with a 5.9-m diameter telescope cryocooled to 4.5 K and equipped with three scientific instruments. A mid-infrared instrument (MISC-T) will measure the spectra of transiting exoplanets in the 2.8 – 20 μm wavelength range and offer unprecedented sensitivity, enabling definitive biosignature detections. The Far-IR Imager Polarimeter (FIP) will be able to survey thousands of square degrees with broadband imaging at 50 and 250 μm. The Origins Survey Spectrometer (OSS) will cover wavelengths from 25 – 588 μm, make wide-area and deep spectroscopic surveys with spectral resolving power R ~ 300, and pointed observations at R ~ 40,000 and 300,000 with selectable instrument modes. Origins was designed to minimize complexity. The telescope has a Spitzer-like architecture and requires very few deployments after launch. The cryo-thermal system design leverages JWST technology and experience. A combination of current-state-of-the-art cryocoolers and next-generation detector technology will enable Origins’ natural backgroundlimited sensitivity.
The Mid-infrared Imager, Spectrometer, Coronagraph (MISC) is one of the instruments studied both for the Origins Space Telescope (OST) Mission Concept 1 and 2. The MISC for OST Mission Concept 1 consists of the MISC imager and spectrometer module (MISC I and S), the MISC coronagraph module (MISC COR) and the MISC transit spectrometer module (MISC TRA). The MISC I and S offers (1) a wide field (3 arcminx3 arcmin) imaging and low-resolution spectroscopic capability with filters and grisms for 6-38 μm, (2) a medium-resolution (R~1,000) Integral Field Unit (IFU) spectroscopic capability for 5- 38 μm and (3) a high-resolution (R~25,000) slit spectroscopic capability for 12-18 μm and 25-36 μm. The MISC COR module employs PIAACMC coronagraphy method and covers 6-38 μm achieving 10-7 contrast at 0.5 arcsec from the central star. The MISC TRA module employs a densified pupil spectroscopic design to achieve 3-5 ppm of spectro-photometric stability and covers 5-26 μm with R=100-300. The MISC for OST Mission Concept 2 consists of the MISC wide field imager module (MISC WFI) and the MISC transit Spectrometer module (MISC TRA). The MISC WFI offers a wide field (3 arcmin ×3 arcmin) imaging and low-resolution spectroscopic capabilities with filters and grisms for 6-28μm. The MISC TRA module in the OST Mission Concept 2 also employs the densified pupil spectroscopic design to achieve <5 ppm of spectro-photometric stability and covers 4-22 μm with R=100-300. The highest ever spectrophotometric stability achieved by MISC TRA enables to detect bio-signatures (e.g., ozone, water, and methane) in habitable worlds in both primary and secondary transits of exoplanets and makes the OST a powerful tool to bring an revolutionary progress in exoplanet sciences. Combined with the spectroscopic capability in the FIR provided by other OST instruments, the MISC widens the wavelength coverage of OST down to 5μm, which makes the OST a powerful tool to diagnose the physical and chemical condition of the ISM using dust features, molecules lines and atomic and ionic lines. The MISC also provides the OST with a focal plane guiding function for the other OST science instruments as well as its own use.
The Origins Space Telescope (OST) mission concept study is the subject of one of the four science and technology definition studies supported by NASA Headquarters to prepare for the 2020 Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey. OST will survey the most distant galaxies to discern the rise of metals and dust and to unveil the co-evolution of galaxy and blackhole formation, study the Milky Way to follow the path of water from the interstellar medium to habitable worlds in planetary systems, and measure biosignatures from exoplanets. This paper describes the science drivers and how they drove key requirements for OST Mission Concept 2, which will operate between ~5 and ~600 microns with a JWST sized telescope. Mission Concept 2 for the OST study optimizes the engineering for the key science cases into a powerful and more economical observatory compared to Mission Concept 1.
The Origins Space Telescope (OST) will trace the history of our origins from the time dust and heavy elements permanently altered the cosmic landscape to present-day life. How did the universe evolve in response to its changing ingredients? How common are life-bearing planets? To accomplish its scientific objectives, OST will operate at mid- and far-infrared wavelengths and offer superlative sensitivity and new spectroscopic capabilities. The OST study team will present a scientifically compelling, executable mission concept to the 2020 Decadal Survey in Astrophysics. To understand the concept solution space, our team studied two alternative mission concepts. We report on the study approach and describe both of these concepts, give the rationale for major design decisions, and briefly describe the mission-enabling technology.
This paper, “The micro-mirror technology applied to astronomy: ANIS adaptive-slit near Infrared spectrograph," was presented as part of International Conference on Space Optics—ICSO 1997, held in Toulouse, France.
Based on the micro-electronics fabrication process, MicroOpto-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MOEMS) are under study, in order to be integrated in next-generation astronomical instruments and telescopes, especially for space missions. The main advantages of micro-optical components are their compactness, scalability, specific task customization using elementary building blocks, and they allows remote control. As these systems are easily replicable, the price of the components is decreasing dramatically when their number is increasing. The two major applications of MOEMS are Multi-Object Spectroscopy masks and Deformable Mirror systems.
FLARE (First Light And Reionization Explorer) is a space mission that will be submitted to ESA (M5 call). Its primary goal (~80% of lifetime) is to identify and study the universe before the end of the reionization at z > 6. A secondary objective (~20% of lifetime) is to survey star formation in the Milky Way.
FLARE's strategy optimizes the science return: imaging and spectroscopic integral-field observations will be carried out simultaneously on two parallel focal planes and over very wide instantaneous fields of view.
FLARE will help addressing two of ESA’s Cosmic Vision themes: a) << How did the universe originate and what is it made of? » and b) « What are the conditions for planet formation and the emergence of life? >> and more specifically, << From gas and dust to stars and planets >>.
FLARE will provide to the ESA community a leading position to statistically study the early universe after JWST’s deep but pin-hole surveys. Moreover, the instrumental development of wide-field imaging and wide-field integral-field spectroscopy in space will be a major breakthrough after making them available on ground-based telescopes.
Ground-layer adaptive optics (GLAO) has the potential to dramatically increase the efficiency and capabilities of
existing ground-based telescopes over a broad range of astronomical science. Recent studies of the optical turbulence
above several astronomical sites (e.g. Mauna Kea, Paranal, and Antarctica) show that GLAO can be extended to fields of
view of several tens of arcminutes in diameter, larger than previously thought, with angular resolutions close to the freeatmosphere
seeing. This is a pivotal result since GLAO science cases benefit from the largest possible corrected fields
of view. The corrected areal field of a GLAO system is potentially 2-3 orders of magnitude larger than has been
demonstrated to date. The 'Imaka team is working toward an instrument that takes advantage of the one-degree field
afforded by Mauna Kea. In this paper we summarize the design/simulation work to date along with our plan to develop
an instrument that reaches for this wide field of view.
At Dome C, Antarctica, the whole turbulence is reduced to a boundary layer of about 50 meters. WHITE is a project of an infrared survey based on a 2-m telescope using a ground-layer adaptive-optics instrument to obtain high angular resolution on a wide field of view. Simulation results obtained both analytically and from a numerical end-to-end approach are presented and then compared.
What is a good astronomical site? It must be cold, dry, stable, dark. There is one site on Earth that qualifies : Antarctica.
To make the best use of these characteristics, we propose a
Wide-field (0.5-degree in diameter) High-resolution (~0.3
arcsec using GLAO from the ice), IR (0.8-5 μm) 2.4-m TElescope (WHITE). WHITE will be dedicated to carrying out
surveys: a deep extragalactic field over a few square degrees, a survey of the Magellanic Clouds. By adding one more
year, WHITE would be able to add one kilo-degree survey.
In May 2000, the Canada-France-Hawaii (CFHT) Telescope Science Advisory Committee solicited the Canadian, Hawaiian and French communities to propose concepts to replace the present CFH telescope by a larger telescope. Three groups were selected: Carlberg et al. (2001) in Canada, Khun et al. (2001) in Hawaii and Burgarella et al. (2001a) in France. The reports were delivered to CFHT in May 2001 and are now available throughout the CFHT website. One of the main constraints was due to the fact that the new and larger telescope should use as much as possible the existing site and be compliant with the Mauna Kea Science reserve Master Plan (2000). This plan analyses all aspects of the Mauna Kea summit but most of them are related to the facts that the mountain must be considered as a sacred area for indigenous Hawaiian people and that the ecosystem is fragile. But in addition, the plan also tries to account for the fact that the summit of Mauna Kea is a world famous site for astronomy. The points that we can highlight in the context of our project are of two types. Since then, the project evolved and Hawaii is not considered as the one and only site to build an Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). Moreover, the size of the primary mirror, which was strongly dependent on the above constraints, is no more limited to the 16 - 20 m which was our conclusion at this time. Nevertheless, the three points of the resolution are still valid and since then, we have kept on working on the concept by launching differnt follow-up studies that are necessary to start such a project. Of course, the main point is the Science Objectives which drive the main specifications for an ELT. But related technical studies are also mandatory e.g. Adaptive Optics, Building of a primary mirror larger than 30 m in diameter, Image Quality as a function of the segment size and shape.
In this paper, we show that the determination of the morphological type could be difficult when we observe galaxies in the rest-frame ultraviolet. This could be crucial as soon as we wish to study galaxies at redshifts beyond z~1 since the visible wavelength range corresponds to the rest-frame ultraviolet. In order to address the problem of performing a morphological analysis on a large number of galaxies as the very large samples that will be secured by GALEX, SLOAN, ASTRO-F in the near- to mid-term and from NGST, ALMA and ELT's later on, we need to define a simple quantitative and automatic method. We propose a quantitative multi-wavelength classification that would take into account the various stellar populations lying in the observed galaxies. This method makes use of multi-wavelength data but such databases are already needed to estimate the distance through photometric redshifts. SpectroMorphology allows to perform an automatic analysis of the nature of galaxies.
Considered until recently one of the best telescopes in the world, the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) is now bypassed by larger telescopes. Aware of this problem, the CFHT Science Advisory Council (SAC) solicited proposals from the CFH community groups to replace the present telescope by a world-class research facility before the end of the decade. A report describing our proposal is available on our web site (www.astrsp-mrs.fr/denis/ngcfht/ngcfht.html). The motivation to design and build a new telescope is often driven by the astronomers need to observe fainter and fainter sources. The basis of the next generation CFHT (NG-CFHT) is therefore to increase the size of the primary mirror to reach fainter and more remote objects in the luminosity functions. But beyond this photon quest , the way we use the photons is also very important. The development of new technologies will permit an optimization of performances and a better image quality thanks to state-of-the-art instruments on state-of-the-art telescopes.
A Multi-Object Spectrograph (MOS) based on micro-opto- electro-mechanical systems is one of the three core instruments selected for the NGST. Our group is involved in the preliminary studies on a promising solution for this instrument using a Micro-Mirror Array (MMA). We have focused our work towards three main topics: surface characterization of the micro-mirrors, MMA optical modeling, and optical design for the MOS. An accurate surface characterization method, based upon Foucault's knife-edge test has been developed, for measuring sub-nanometer deformations. Using the non-sequential ray tracing ability of our ray-tracing program, we have simulated a block of nine micro-mirrors with individual tilt angles, for properly designing an MMA- MOS. Finally, two different concepts for the MOS have been studied: a spectrograph with focal reduction, and a unit- magnification spectrograph preceded by a focal adaptator. The unit-magnification all-reflecting spectrograph is very promising, with a compact design, a perfectly plane image surface, and geometrical spots smaller than the detector pixels.
Development of accurate surface characterization methods is essential for testing micro-optical components, such as micro- opto-electro-mechanical systems (MOEMS), for use in complex optical systems. We consider using an array of 16 micrometer- wide micro-mirrors as programmable slits for astronomical multi-object spectroscopy, and propose a new method based upon Foucault's knife-edge test to characterize local surface deformations of individual micro-mirrors. By measuring local slopes, the surface shape of each mirror in a micro-mirror array has been reconstructed with a sub-nanometer accuracy. In addition to low-order deformation (tilt, curvature, astigmatism), each mirror is seen to be palm-tree shaped. We have checked the validity of our knife-edge test by the micro- characterization of a conventional spherical mirror.
This paper analyses the various ways of carrying out near IR multi-object spectroscopic studies in space. We show that ground-based observations would have limited results except in the 1-1.5 micrometers wavelength where large telescope of the 8m class would be approximately equivalent to a 1m in space. Beyond 2m, even an instrument such as the adaptive-slit near IR (ANIS) would be much more efficient. Due to their position in space, the traditional masks used in ground- based telescopes cannon be used. New technologies must be developed. Here, we present a multi-object spectrograph called ANIS based on micro-mirror arrays and designed for NGST PathFinder3. It would be able to perform a near IR spectroscopic/photometric mini-survey of the sky over a few square degrees. Thanks to its large field of view, ANIS would be complementary to NGST. Its goal would be to probe the Universe in the 0 < z < 5 range and we can consider ANIS as a scientific precursor for the NGST.
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