Submitted Abstracts
NIRPS: finding M dwarf exoplanets through near-infrared velocimetry
By: Etienne Artigau
Abstract: NIRPS is a near-infrared (1-1.8µm) radial-velocity instrument that has recently undertaken construction under the leadership of the Université de Montréal and the Geneva observatory, and in collaboration with institutions in France, Spain, Portugal and Brazil. NIRPS will be installed on the ESO 3.6-m telescope, and will operate in parallel with the HARPS spectrograph, effectively enabling a 0.4-1.8µm coverage. The NIRPS consortium has been awarded 700 nights of Guaranteed Time Observation over the first 5 years of operation, and it will undertake ambitious programs that will have a significant bearing on TMT science. Part of the NIRPS GTO time will be dedicated to the characterization of planetary systems around the very nearest M dwarfs, with the goal of providing a list of planets for which direct imaging in reflected light will be possible with future high-contrast imagers. GTO time will also be dedicated toward the radial-velocity follow-up of transit discoveries, either from space-based missions (TESS, K2) or ground-based experiments (e.g., NGTS, Mearth), in order to determine planetary masses, densities and constrain bulk planet composition. Finally, NIRPS will be used for the study of planetary atmosphere through high-resolution transit spectroscopy. While the 4-m aperture will mostly enable the study of hot-Jupiters and hot-Neptunes around M dwarfs, this effort will pave to way to the study of much smaller planets with similar methods on the TMT.
Co-Authors: Étienne Artigau, François Bouchy, René Doyon and the NIRPS consortium
On the high-resolution spectroscopic requirements for the studies of the cosmological variation of fundamental constants
By: Hum Chand
Abstract: In this talk, we will first briefly summarize the TMT
science case on the cosmological variation of fundamental constants.
We will then discuss the key systematics involved in these studies.
Finally, we will summarize the wish list of the high resolution
spectroscopic requirements of TMT for such studies, based on
our analysis with the existing high-resolution spectroscopy using
8-10 m class telescopes.
Performance Estimates for Ground Layer Adaptive Optics at TMT
By: Brent Lee Ellerbroek
Abstract: In this presentation we will summarize recent adaptive optics performance modeling of ground layer adaptive optics (GLAO) at TMT. GLAO can provide a significant improvement to enclosed and enslitted energy over the WFOS field-of-view over a wide wavelength range and at both potential TMT sites. We present results on how the h=-280 m conjugate range of the TMT adaptive secondary mirror (AM2) impacts the uniformity of the GLAO correction across the WFOS field-of-view, and how the GLAO asterism can be adjusted to minimize the non-uniformity. We conclude with several comments on potential AM2 design concepts.
Co-Authors: B. L. Ellerbroek, L. Wang
Graduate student and postdoc roles in TMT: Status of the International Future Leaders Program and Utilizing the TMT Science Forum
By: Lisa Hunter
Abstract: This August, 42 graduate students and postdocs from Canada, China, India, Japan, Caltech, and the University of California (UC) attended the Preparing TMT Future Science and Technology Leaders workshop at UC Santa Cruz (UCSC), in Santa Cruz, California, USA. The workshop was sponsored by the TMT, co-sponsored by UC Observatories, and developed and hosted by the UCSC-based Institute for Scientist & Engineer Educators (ISEE). The 2017 workshop expanded the pilot workshop held in 2016 in Hilo, Hawaii, adding nearly three days’ worth of new content and offering participants deeper experiences defining requirements for future TMT instruments and advancing projects posed by members of the TMT Project Office. The successful Future Leaders workshop is one aspect of an ambitious international program TMT and ISEE are developing to increase the involvement of graduate students, postdocs, and junior-level professionals in international collaborations spanning the TMT partnership. In future years, we need to further develop mechanisms for building upon ideas and projects sparked at the workshop, and thereby continue participants’ engagement in TMT. In this session, we will report on the status of the program in development, and stimulate discussion on how to utilize future TMT Forums and other TMT activities for the International Future Leaders Program.
Co-Authors: Austin Barnes, Nicholas McConnell
The gas mass and star formation rate of star-forming galaxies at z>1
By: Nissim Kanekar
Abstract: Optical and radio imaging and spectroscopy provide complementary views of galaxies,
probing, respectively, the stars and the gas. While optical studies of various deep fields
have yielded detailed information on the stellar properties of star-forming galaxies out to high redshifts, z>>1, little is known about the atomic gas in galaxies at z>~0.25, due to the weakness of the HI 21cm line. For large galaxy samples, ``stacking'' of the redshifted HI 21cm emission from the different galaxies allows us to achieve a far higher HI mass sensitivity than would be possible for individual objects. After outlining the requirements for HI 21cm stacking experiments, I will describe results from the first such study at z>1, using Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) HI 21cm spectroscopy of the DEEP2 Survey fields to probe the atomic gas mass of star-forming galaxies at z~1.3. I will also discuss results from our stacking of the rest-frame 1.4 GHz radio continuum from the DEEP2 galaxies, which allows us to determine the total median star formation rate (SFR) of the DEEP2 galaxies from the radio-far infrared correlation, and to study the dependence of the median SFR on various galaxy properties. Finally, I will discuss prospects for such studies over the next decade,
using the new receivers and backend of the upgraded GMRT and spectroscopic studies with the Wide Field Optical Spectrograph on the Thirty Meter Telescope.
Co-Authors: Shiv Sethi (Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru, India) Apurba Bera (National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, Pune, India) K. S. Dwarakanath (Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru, India) Ben Weiner (University of Arizona, Tucson, USA)
What TMT will (hopefully) tell us about AGNs and SMBHs
By: Yoshiki Matsuoka
Abstract: Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and their putative engine, supermassive black holes (SMBHs), have been major targets of astronomical observations for several decades. An arrival of a new technology has always revolutionized our view of these objects, in various aspects from the internal structure to cosmological evolution to their physical link to the host galaxies. In this talk I will discuss a few topics that TMT will (hopefully) bring a qualitatively new view, with its 1st- and next-generation instruments.
Characterizing Exoplanets with High Dispersion Coronagraphy on TMT
By: Dimitri Mawet
Abstract: High-dispersion coronagraphy (HDC) optimally combines high-contrast imaging techniques such as adaptive optics/wavefront control plus coronagraphy to high spectral resolution spectroscopy. HDC enables the full characterization of exoplanet atmospheres across a broad range of masses from giant gaseous planets down to Earth-like planets. In addition to determining molecular compositions, HDC also enables Doppler mapping of atmosphere inhomogeneities (temperature, clouds, wind), as well as precise measurements of exoplanet rotational velocities (length of day). Here, we present results from end-to-end numerical simulations and the laboratory demonstration of an innovative concept for injecting the directly imaged planet light into a single-mode fiber, linking a high-contrast adaptively corrected coronagraph to a high-resolution spectrograph. Our proof of concept in the Caltech Exoplanet Technology Laboratory includes three key milestones: close-to-theoretical injection efficiency, accurate pointing and tracking, and on-fiber coherent modulation and speckle nulling of spurious starlight signal coupling into the fiber. Using the extreme modal selectivity of single-mode fibers, we also demonstrated speckle suppression gains that outperform conventional image-based speckle nulling. A Fiber Injection Unit demonstrator based on the HDC concept will soon be deployed at W.M. Keck Observatory, as part of the Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer (KPIC). The KPIC FIU will proof-test HDC on segmented telescopes, a stepping stone towards the future TMT Planetary System Imager (PSI).
Co-Authors: J. Wang, N. Jovanovic, G. Ruane, J.R. Delorme, N. Klimovich, D. Echeverri, J.K. Wallace, J. Llop, W. Xuan, Y.Yeyuan
Solar System Small Body Science and the TMT
By: Karen Jean Meech
Abstract:
Small solar system bodies (asteroids, comets, small moons, Centaurs and Kuiper belt objects) hold keys to understanding the solar system’s formation. They are also frequently targets of small missions, and play a role in astrobiological habitability, in hazards to Earth’s biosphere, and represent potential future space resources. After more than four decades of work, the asteroid population is yielding information about compositional gradients in the protosolar nebula, aqueous alteration processes in the protoplanetary disk and the early dynamic environment as the giant planets formed. Similarly, large surveys of Kuiper belt objects have led to new dynamical models of the solar system’s architecture and a mapping of volatiles outgassed from small bodies are providing chemical clues to this process. Large all-sky small body surveys are discovering new populations of small bodies, and this will significantly increase with LSST. Space missions have demonstrated the type of transformative science gained from detailed understanding of the structure and chemistry of small bodies. This talk will show how both TMT’s first light instruments and the next-generation of instrumentation will transform our understanding of in the context of missions and future large surveys and space facilities.
Science with Ground Layer Adaptive Optics at Subaru and TMT
By: Yosuke Minowa
Abstract: Ground Layer Adaptive Optics (GLAO) can potentially provide a significant seeing improvement over wide field and wide wavelength coverage by correcting only for the turbulence at the ground layer of the Earth’s atmosphere. Subaru telescope is currently developing a conceptual design of GLAO system, which will uniformly improve image quality over ~20 arcmin field of view. In this presentation, we will introduce our GLAO project at Subaru, its science cases, and its synergy with TMT instruments. We will also discuss science cases that will be benefited by GLAO at TMT with WFOS and next generation instruments.
Co-Authors: Yusei Koyama (Subaru Telescope)
High energy transients in the TMT era
By: Kuntal Misra
Abstract: Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) and stripped core collapse supernovae (SNe) are the spectacular stellar explosions that mark the death of massive stars when their iron core collapses to form a neutron star or black hole releasing enormous amount of energy. It is believed that long duration GRBs result from the collapse of massive stars mainly due to their association to a sub-class of stripped core collapse SNe, the `broad lined' type Ic SNe. However, the number of high redshift GRBs or the “true” cosmological GRBs with a SN association is only handful mainly due to observational limitations. In the era of TMT we hope to study the universality of GRB-SN connection extending out to high redshift GRBs. The capabilities of TMT will also allow to characterize the host environment, study the chemical abundances and the gas-to-dust ratio of the intervening systems. CCSNe at high redshift also remain unexplored with the current observational facilities. The high redshift gap of CCSNe will be filled with the detection of new SNe with LSST and follow-up with TMT. Supernovae, being the end products of end stellar evolution, can be considered as direct tracers of star formation than any other method and the discovery of high redshift supernovae can probe earlier epochs of star formation.
Co-Authors: Kuntal Misra on behalf of a larger collaboration
MICHI, A Thermal-Infrared Instrument for the TMT
By: Chris Packham
Abstract: With the 2018 launch of the JWST, the field of thermal-IR astronomy will enjoy a revolution. It is easy to imagine that all areas of IR astronomy will be greatly advanced, but perhaps impossible to conceive of the new vistas that will be opened. To allow both follow-up JWST observations and a continuance of work started on the ground-based 8m’s, we continue to plan the science cases and instrument design for a thermal-IR imager and spectrometer for early operation on the TMT. When combined with the mid-IR adaptive optics (AO) system (MIRAO), the instrument will afford ~15 times higher sensitivity and ~ 4 times better spatial resolution (0.07”) with a greatly improved and stable Strehl ratio at 10um compared to 8m-class telescopes. Compared to the JWST, MICHI will afford ~4.5 times improved spatial resolution and improved high-contrast imaging. Further, through exploiting the TMT’s large collecting area we plan a high-dispersion spectroscopy mode, unrivaled by the JWST and other space-based observatories. Such capabilities offer the possibility for transformative science, as well as ‘workhorse’ observing modes of imaging and low/moderate spectral resolution. New technology advances hold great promise to significantly improve previous instrument concepts. We present the current status of our science cases and the instrumentation plans, harnessing expertise across the TMT partnership. This instrument will be proposed by the MICHI team as a second-generation instrument in the upcoming call for proposals.
Co-Authors: M. Honda, M. Chun, I. Sakon, M. Richter, Y. Okamoto, M. Puravankara, H. Kataza, C. Marois, M. Meyer, and the MICHI Team
Finding bio-signatures on extrasolar planets, how close are we?
By: Enric Palle
Abstract: Ongoing searches for exoplanetary systems have revealed a wealth of planetary systems with extremely diverse physical properties. Earth-size planets have already been detected around many stellar types, including some interesting planets within the habitable zone of cool M-type stars. Over the coming decades, the efforts of future space missions and large telescope facilities will be aimed at the discovery of small rocky exoplanets within the habitable zones of the brighter stars in the sky providing key targets for further followup.
Once these prime targets are found, efforts will shift toward the characterization of their atmospheres, and the search for possible bio-signatures. This is a daunting task that will require bringing to the limit the capabilities of the largest telescopes in search for faint signatures, that once detected will quite likely become a subject of controversy for several years.
In this talk I will review the subject of planetary-scale detectable biomarkers, their evolution in time, and what are the likely scenarios that TMT and other very large aperture telescopes will face trying to detect these signatures.
Co-Authors: Enric Palle
Systems engineering for future TMT instrumentation
By: Scott C Roberts
Abstract: This talk will present an overview of the TMT system design with a focus on how instruments are integrated into the TMT design. I will present requirements, interfaces and services provided for implementing instruments on the Nasmyth Platforms. This talk will also provide instrument developers with an insight into how top level science and operational requirements flow down to specific instrument requirements at the system and subsystem level requirements. I will also describe the key elements of systems engineering for instrumentation projects.
Gemini IRMOS - The scientific and technical pathfinder for AO-fed multi-IFU spectroscopy
By: Suresh Sivanandam
Abstract: We have been recently funded to construct the Gemini Infrared Multi-Object Integral Field Spectrograph (GIRMOS), which will carry out simultaneous high-angular-resolution, spatially-resolved infrared spectroscopy of four objects within a two arcminute field of regard. This capability does not currently exist anywhere in the world and offers significant gains over a very broad range of scientific topics in astronomical research. For example, current scientific programs for high redshift galaxies are pushing the limits of what is possible with infrared spectroscopy at 8-10-meter class facilities by requiring several hours of observing time per target. When combined with adaptive optics, multiplexing, the observation of multiple objects simultaneously, is absolutely necessary to make effective use of telescope time and obtain statistically significant samples for high redshift science. With an expected commissioning date of 2023, GIRMOS’s capabilities will also make it a key follow-up instrument for the James Webb Space Telescope when it is launched in 2019, as well as a true pathfinder for second generation TMT multi-IFU spectroscopic instruments like IRMOS.
Co-Authors: Scott Chapman, Adam Muzzin, Raymond Carlberg, Howard Yee, Paul Hickson, Kim Venn, Luc Simard, Simon Thibault, Marcin Sawicki, David Andersen, Roberto Abraham, Tim Davidge, Jean-Pierre Veran, Carlos Correia, Olivier Lardiere, Norman Murray, Sara Ellison, Colin Bradley, Kamal El-Sankary, Cyrus Shafai, Masayuki Akiyama
Making the Case: Workforce, Education, Public Outreach and Communications as Mission-Critical Activities
By: Gordon Squires
Abstract: Arguably, TMT would no longer be a viable project if not for the efforts of the international TMT team for Workforce, Education, Public Outreach and Communications (WEPOC). This is not unique to TMT; several other large, international science projects are facing situations, while perhaps not as significant as TMT's, still pose significant challenges. In this talk I will update the latest WEPOC efforts in Hawaii, La Palma, and around the world, and highlight how WEPOC has entered the critical path for next-generation science projects. I will also present a draft manifesto from many of the world's largest astronomy and high-energy physics WEPOC leaders as an outcome from a "Making the Case" conference held at Caltech in spring 2017.
Co-Authors: S. Dawson (TMT), J. Brewer (23.4 Degrees), M. Aikens (Caltech), W. Aoki (NAOJ), E. Chisholm (TMT), S. Dhurde (IUCAA), L. Hunter (UCSC) and Y. Wang (NAOC)
Star cluster physics and stellar population synthesis beyond the Local Group's "comfort zone"
By: Richard de Grijs
Abstract: Stars, and in particular the most massive stars, rarely form in isolation. It is now well established that the vast majority of active star formation occurs in clusters of some sort. Star clusters are both current and fossil records of episodes of higher-than-average star formation in their host galaxies. Using Thirty Meter Telescope-sized apertures will allow us to probe both the stellar initial mass functions, the dynamics and the luminosity function of young and intermediate-age star clusters as well as the detailed physical properties of their their host systems out to cosmologically interesting distances, where we can obtain statistically significant samples of galaxy types spanning the entire Hubble sequence, and of their young massive cluster systems.
