We conducted the evaluation testing of the InGaAs image sensor for the future JASMINE mission. The InGaAs image sensor, which is manufactured by Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., has been updated with substrate removal to avoid fluorescence caused by cosmic rays. We introduce preliminary performance reports of the 128×128 arrayed small prototype at 170K, assuming space use, including dark current and relative quantum efficiency in the near-infrared. Notably, we confirmed that fluorescence is significantly mitigated with an exposure of about 10 minutes. Furthermore, the relative quantum efficiency in the visible wavelength is enhanced compared to previous evaluations in the literature. These results provide a good configuration for the test of the sensor for deployment and play an important role in the future development of infrared astronomical instruments.
To investigate the evolution of our Galaxy, we plan to measure the distances and motions of stars in the Galactic center region. Additionally, our goal is to detect planets within the habitable zone around mid-M-type stars using transit phenomena. To achieve these objectives, we initiated the Japan Astrometry Satellite Mission for Infrared Exploration (JASMINE) project, targeting a 40 microarcsecond annual parallax measurement and aiming photometric accuracy of less than 0.3% for mid-M-type stars. A conceptual study of the observation instrument was conducted. As a result, the telescope is designed with high stability in orbit through carefully chosen materials and a special thermal design. A three-year operation is planned to collect sufficient data for annual parallax measurements. The telescope, with a diameter of 36 cm, covers wavelengths from 1.0 to 1.6 microns using InGaAs detectors. This paper will detail how instrument parameters were selected based on scientific objectives.
The South Africa Near-infrared Doppler instrument (SAND) is a time-stable high-dispersion spectrograph, covering the z- and Y-bands simultaneously (849 - 1085 nm) with the maximum spectral resolution of ∼60,000. We aim to monitor the radial velocity of M-dwarfs with the precision of a few m/s level, which enables us to search for habitable exoplanets. Our another scientific motivation is the statistical investigation of young planets and stellar atmosphere to comprehensively understand the formation senario of stellar systems. We are planning to install the SAND to telescopes at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in Sutherland, since the Southern sky covers plentiful stellar associations with young stars. The SAND is a fiber-fed spectrograph, and we can change telescope used to collect the star light by switching the fiber connection. It will be operated mainly with two telescopes: the Prime-focus Infrared Microlensing Experience telescope (PRIME) and the InfraRed Survey Facility (IRSF), which both are managed by universities in Japan. This strategy of using multiple telescopes gives us opportunities of frequent and long-term observations, which provides well phase coverage in radial velocity monitoring and results in non-bias search for exoplanets. Most of the components used in the spectrograph and the fiber injection module have been fabricated. We will present the detailed status and recent progress: designing the fiber injection module and the thermal control system, examination of fiber characteristics, and estimating our target candidates.
Although astronomers have confirmed the existence of 4,000 exoplanets to date, it is still difficult to directly compare exoplanets with the planets in our solar system because most of the known transiting exoplanets have an orbital period shorter than 1 year. Recent analyses of the 4-year data from the Kepler spacecraft revealed dozens of long-period transiting exoplanets and showed that their abundance is of order unity around Sun-like stars. However, the stars targeted by Kepler are too faint to conduct follow-up observations. The on-going all-sky survey mission TESS, with four 10.5 cm cameras with a field of view of 24 deg x 24 deg, is finding nearby transiting planets; however, the nominal observation period (1 month{1 year) is too short to find long-period planets with au-scale orbits. Herein, we propose using the LOng-period Transiting exoplanet sUrvey Satellite (LOTUS) mission, which employs a 7.5 cm wide-field (33 deg x 33 deg) camera placed on a nanosatellite, to continuously monitor the same sky region and find long-period planets transiting nearby bright stars. We present a conceptual design for the optics and bus system of LOTUS. Our optical system has a uniform point spread function over the entire field of view and a wide wavelength range (0.5{1.0 um). The bus system is designed to ensure that the pointing precision is sufficient to achieve the sub-percent photometry required for the detection of transiting exoplanets.
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