2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Near Infrared, High Resolution Observations Using Laser Guide Adaptive Optics System
| Project/Area Number |
14002009
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Specially Promoted Research
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Review Section |
Physics
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| Research Institution | National Astronomical Observatory of Japan |
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Principal Investigator |
IYE Masanori National Astronomical Observatory, Optical/Infrared Asdtonomy Division, Professor, 光赤外研究部, 教授 (30111446)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
ARIMOTO Nobuo National Astronomical Observatory, Optical/Infrared Asdtonomy Division, Professor, 光赤外研究部, 教授 (60242096)
TAKAMI Hideki National Astronomical Observatory, Hawaii Observatory, Associated Professor, ハワイ観測所, 助教授 (00270455)
TAKATO Naruhisa National Astronomical Observatory, Hawaii Observatory, Research Associate, ハワイ観測所, 主任研究員 (50261152)
HAYANO Yutaka National Astronomical Observatory, Hawaii Observatory, Research Associate, ハワイ観測所, 上級研究員 (80390623)
KOBAYASHI Naoto University of Tokyo, Institute of Astronomy, Associated Professor, 大学院・理学系研究科, 助教授 (50280566)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2002 – 2006
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| Keywords | adaptive optics / defoemable mirror / wavefron sensro / sodium laser / the most distant galaxy / high resolution imaging / formation of galaxies / reionization of the universe |
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| Research Abstract |
This project research aimed at developing newly a "laser guided adaptive optics system" for the 8.2m Subaru Telescope at Mauna Kea, Hawaii Island, operated by National Astronomical Observatory of Japan to promote high resolution, near infrared observations of distant galaxies.
The new adaptive optics system developed comprises of a 188-element wavefront sensor, a 188-driving element deformable mirror, and the control system. The system measures a bright guide star in real time to evaluate variation of the wavefront error produced by the turbulent atmosphere and drives the deformable mirror to compensate those errors in real time to achieve diffraction limited imaging capability of the Subaru Telescope. The first light experiment conducted in October 2006 has shown that a stellar image of 0.6 arcsec under the atmospheric turbulence can be squeezed into a 0.06 arcsec image size, 10times smaller than that obtained without using the current system. This helps much in improving the spatial r
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esolution and the sensitivity of observations.
Another key system developed is a laser guide star generating system. It comprises of an all solid-state 4W sum-frequency laser developed in collaboration with the RIKEN, a photonic crystal optical fiber to transmit the high power laser to the 50cm diameter laser launching telescope mounted at the top end of the Subaru Telescope. First laser launching experiment carried out in October 2006 also proved successful in generating an artificial laser guide star in the sodium layer at 90km above the ground where the laser beam tuned at 589nm sodium D2 line excites the sodium atoms and causes emission of sodium light bright enough to measure the atmospheric turbulence.
In the meantime the current PI found a galaxy at redshift 7.0, which turned out to be the most distant (and hence the earliest in the cosmic history) galaxy. The project team aims to make high resolution imaging observations of these galaxies to unrabel the formation and evolution of galaxies in the early universe. Less
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Research Products
(19 results)
