13 May 2022 Emu: a case study for TDI-like imaging for infrared observation from space
Joice Mathew, James Gilbert, Robert G. Sharp, Alexey Grigoriev, Adam D. Rains, Anna M. Moore, Annino Vaccarella, Aurelie Magniez, David Chandler, Ian Price, Luca Casagrande, Maruša Žerjal, Michael J. Ireland, Michael S. Bessell, Nicholas Herrald, Shanae King, Thomas Nordlander
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

A wide-field zenith-looking telescope operating in a mode similar to time-delay-integration (TDI) or drift scan imaging can perform an infrared sky survey without active pointing control, but it requires a high-speed, low-noise infrared detector. Operating from a hosted payload platform on the International Space Station (ISS), the Emu space telescope employs the paradigm-changing properties of the Leonardo SAPHIRA electron avalanche photodiode array to provide powerful new observations of cool stars at the critical water absorption wavelength (1.4  μm) largely inaccessible to ground-based telescopes due to the Earth’s own atmosphere. Cool stars, especially those of spectral-type M, are important probes across contemporary astrophysics, from the formation history of the Galaxy to the formation of rocky exoplanets. Main sequence M-dwarf stars are the most abundant stars in the Galaxy and evolved M-giant stars are some of the most distant stars that can be individually observed. The Emu sky survey will deliver critical stellar properties of these cool stars by inferring oxygen abundances via measurement of the water absorption band strength at 1.4  μm. Here, we present the TDI-like imaging capability of Emu mission, its science objectives, instrument details, and simulation results.

© 2022 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) 2329-4124/2022/$28.00 © 2022 SPIE
Joice Mathew, James Gilbert, Robert G. Sharp, Alexey Grigoriev, Adam D. Rains, Anna M. Moore, Annino Vaccarella, Aurelie Magniez, David Chandler, Ian Price, Luca Casagrande, Maruša Žerjal, Michael J. Ireland, Michael S. Bessell, Nicholas Herrald, Shanae King, and Thomas Nordlander "Emu: a case study for TDI-like imaging for infrared observation from space," Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems 8(2), 024002 (13 May 2022). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JATIS.8.2.024002
Received: 17 January 2022; Accepted: 14 April 2022; Published: 13 May 2022
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KEYWORDS
Stars

Sensors

Infrared radiation

Infrared imaging

Telescopes

Absorption

Infrared detectors

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