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Research paper thumbnail of Origins space telescope: from first light to life

Experimental Astronomy, 2021

The Origins Space Telescope (Origins) is one of four science and technology definition studies se... more The Origins Space Telescope (Origins) is one of four science and technology definition studies selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in preparation of the 2020 Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal survey in the US. Origins will trace the history of our origins from the time dust and heavy elements permanently altered the cosmic landscape to present-day life. It is designed to answer three major science questions: How do galaxies form stars, make metals, and grow their central supermassive black holes from reionization? How do the conditions for habitability develop during the process of planet formation? Do planets orbiting M-dwarf stars support life? Origins operates at mid- to far-infrared wavelengths from ~ 2.8 μm to 588 μm, and is more than 1000 times more sensitive than prior far-IR missions due to its cold (~ 4.5 K) aperture and state-of-the-art instruments.

Research paper thumbnail of Design and Fabrication of Two-Dimensional Superconducting Bolometer Arrays

Proceedings of SPIE, Feb 1, 2003

ABSTRACT We have been developing an architecture for producing large format, two-dimensional arra... more ABSTRACT We have been developing an architecture for producing large format, two-dimensional arrays of close-packed bolometers, which will enable far-infrared to millimeter wavelength (l= 100 m–2 mm) cameras and spectrometers to obtain images and spectra ...

Research paper thumbnail of The Balloon Experimental Twin Telescope for Infrared Interferometry (BETTII): Optical Design

AAS, 2014

ABSTRACT The Balloon Experimental Twin Telescope for Infrared Interferometry (BETTII) is a new ba... more ABSTRACT The Balloon Experimental Twin Telescope for Infrared Interferometry (BETTII) is a new balloon-borne far-infrared interferometer, being designed to provide spatially-resolved spectroscopy in the far infrared (30–90 μm). The combination of an 8-meter baseline with a double-Fourier Michelson interferometer allows the identification and separation of closely-spaced astronomical sources, while also providing a low-resolution spectrum for each source. In this wavelength range, BETTII will provide subarcsecond angular resolution, a capability unmatched by other far-infrared facilities. This paper provides an overview of the entire design of the BETTII experiment, with a short discussion of the predicted performance on flight.

Research paper thumbnail of The long-term evolution of comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) from its 1995-2002 radio spectroscopic monitoring

HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Jul 29, 2002

Research paper thumbnail of A Longitudinal Study of NASA's APRA Suborbital Program

American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of Plans for a Participating Scientist Program (PSP) for the WFIRST Coronagraph Instrument (CGI)

Research paper thumbnail of A New Population of High-z, Dusty Lyman-alpha Emitters and Blobs Discovered by WISE: Feedback Caught in the Act?

The Astrophysical Journral, Jun 1, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of The most luminous AGN in the Universe are not preferentially triggered by mergers

American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #231, 2018

Research paper thumbnail of Unveiling the Physical Structures of the Most Luminous IR Galaxies Discovered by WISE at z>1.6

HST Proposal, Oct 1, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of VizieR Online Data Catalog: First brown dwarfs discovered by WISE (Kirkpatrick+, 2011)

VizieR Online Data Catalog, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Paving the Way to Future Missions: the Roman Space Telescope Coronagraph Technology Demonstration

arXiv: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, 2020

This document summarizes how far the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Coronagraph Instrument (Ro... more This document summarizes how far the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Coronagraph Instrument (Roman CGI) will go toward demonstrating high-contrast imaging and spectroscopic requirements for potential future exoplanet direct imaging missions, illustrated by the HabEx and LUVOIR concepts. The assessment is made for two levels of assumed CGI performance: (i) current best estimate (CBE) as of August 2020, based on laboratory results and realistic end-to-end simulations with JPL-standard Model Uncertainty Factors (MUFs); (ii) CGI design specifications inherited from Phase B requirements. We find that the predicted performance (CBE) of many CGI subsystems compares favorably with the needs of future missions, despite providing more modest point source detection limits than future missions. This is essentially due to the challenging pupil of the Roman Space Telescope; this pupil pushes the coronagraph masks sensitivities to misalignments to be commensurate with future missions. In particu...

Research paper thumbnail of 2 mm GISMO Observations of the Galactic Center: Dust Emission, Nonthermal Filament in the Radio Arc, and Compact Sources

Research paper thumbnail of The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope: 100 Hubbles for the 2020s

arXiv: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, 2019

The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) is a 2.4m space telescope with a 0.281 deg^2 fi... more The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) is a 2.4m space telescope with a 0.281 deg^2 field of view for near-IR imaging and slitless spectroscopy and a coronagraph designed for > 10^8 starlight suppresion. As background information for Astro2020 white papers, this article summarizes the current design and anticipated performance of WFIRST. While WFIRST does not have the UV imaging/spectroscopic capabilities of the Hubble Space Telescope, for wide field near-IR surveys WFIRST is hundreds of times more efficient. Some of the most ambitious multi-cycle HST Treasury programs could be executed as routine General Observer (GO) programs on WFIRST. The large area and time-domain surveys planned for the cosmology and exoplanet microlensing programs will produce extraordinarily rich data sets that enable an enormous range of Archival Research (AR) investigations. Requirements for the coronagraph are defined based on its status as a technology demonstration, but its expected perfor...

Research paper thumbnail of VizieR Online Data Catalog: BCG high radio-frequency properties (Hogan+, 2015)

Research paper thumbnail of Mu-Spec - A High Performance Ultra-Compact Photon Counting spectrometer for Space Submillimeter Astronomy

We have designed and are testing elements of a fully integrated submillimeter spectrometer based ... more We have designed and are testing elements of a fully integrated submillimeter spectrometer based on superconducting microstrip technology. The instrument can offer resolving power R approximately 1500, and its high frequency cutoff is set by the gap of available high performance superconductors. All functions of the spectrometer are integrated - light is coupled to the microstrip circuit with a planar antenna, the spectra discrimination is achieved using a synthetic grating, orders are separated using planar filter, and detected using photon counting MKID detector. This spectrometer promises to revolutionize submillimeter spectroscopy from space. It replaces instruments with the scale of 1m with a spectrometer on a 10 cm Si wafer. The reduction in mass and volume promises a much higher performance system within available resource in a space mission. We will describe the system and the performance of the components that have been fabricated and tested.

Research paper thumbnail of Results from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) Future Uses Session at the WISE at 5 Meeting

arXiv: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, 2015

During the "WISE at 5: Legacy and Prospects" conference in Pasadena, CA -- which ran fr... more During the "WISE at 5: Legacy and Prospects" conference in Pasadena, CA -- which ran from February 10 - 12, 2015 -- attendees were invited to engage in an interactive session exploring the future uses of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) data. The 65 participants -- many of whom are extensive users of the data -- brainstormed the top questions still to be answered by the mission, as well as the complementary current and future datasets and additional processing of WISE/NEOWISE data that would aid in addressing these most important scientific questions. The results were mainly bifurcated between topics related to extragalactic studies (e.g. AGN, QSOs) and substellar mass objects. In summary, participants found that complementing WISE/NEOWISE data with cross-correlated multiwavelength surveys (e.g. SDSS, Pan-STARRS, LSST, Gaia, Euclid, etc.) would be highly beneficial for all future mission goals. Moreover, developing or implementing machine-learning tools to co...

Research paper thumbnail of Redshift detection of the most distant lensed starbursts

Research paper thumbnail of ACCESS Sub-system Performance

Research paper thumbnail of The Nature of 350 μ m-selected Galaxies

Research paper thumbnail of Maturing electron multiplying charge coupled device photon-counting with variable multiplication gain imaging for a coronagraphic instrument

Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, 2019

This is an introduction to a US government program that conducted high-contrast imaging experimen... more This is an introduction to a US government program that conducted high-contrast imaging experiments with an electron multiplying charge coupled device (EMCCD) in an interferometric coronagraph. This report will introduce the concepts of "charge blooming" and "starlight saturation" in the context of high-contrast astronomical imaging. These phenomena adversely effect the performance of high-contrast photon-counting instruments that do not use a mask to physically block starlight in the science channel of the coronagraph. The problems will be presented with the help of images taken with a commercial EMCCD camera in the visible nulling coronagraph at the Goddard Space Flight Center. A new clocking scheme for EMCCDs-variable multiplication gain clocking-will be proposed as a means for suppressing horizontal blooming and starlight saturation in an astronomical camera. This opening report will conclude with a discussion of design considerations for a new controller for high-contrast photon-counting with an EMCCD in a coronagraphic instrument. This controller will allow a single frame from an EMCCD to be scanned in multiple modes-photon-counting and digitization-with a variable multiplication gain clock to enable direct imaging of an exoplanet and wavefront control of a coronagraph, simultaneously.

Research paper thumbnail of Origins space telescope: from first light to life

Experimental Astronomy, 2021

The Origins Space Telescope (Origins) is one of four science and technology definition studies se... more The Origins Space Telescope (Origins) is one of four science and technology definition studies selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in preparation of the 2020 Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal survey in the US. Origins will trace the history of our origins from the time dust and heavy elements permanently altered the cosmic landscape to present-day life. It is designed to answer three major science questions: How do galaxies form stars, make metals, and grow their central supermassive black holes from reionization? How do the conditions for habitability develop during the process of planet formation? Do planets orbiting M-dwarf stars support life? Origins operates at mid- to far-infrared wavelengths from ~ 2.8 μm to 588 μm, and is more than 1000 times more sensitive than prior far-IR missions due to its cold (~ 4.5 K) aperture and state-of-the-art instruments.

Research paper thumbnail of Design and Fabrication of Two-Dimensional Superconducting Bolometer Arrays

Proceedings of SPIE, Feb 1, 2003

ABSTRACT We have been developing an architecture for producing large format, two-dimensional arra... more ABSTRACT We have been developing an architecture for producing large format, two-dimensional arrays of close-packed bolometers, which will enable far-infrared to millimeter wavelength (l= 100 m–2 mm) cameras and spectrometers to obtain images and spectra ...

Research paper thumbnail of The Balloon Experimental Twin Telescope for Infrared Interferometry (BETTII): Optical Design

AAS, 2014

ABSTRACT The Balloon Experimental Twin Telescope for Infrared Interferometry (BETTII) is a new ba... more ABSTRACT The Balloon Experimental Twin Telescope for Infrared Interferometry (BETTII) is a new balloon-borne far-infrared interferometer, being designed to provide spatially-resolved spectroscopy in the far infrared (30–90 μm). The combination of an 8-meter baseline with a double-Fourier Michelson interferometer allows the identification and separation of closely-spaced astronomical sources, while also providing a low-resolution spectrum for each source. In this wavelength range, BETTII will provide subarcsecond angular resolution, a capability unmatched by other far-infrared facilities. This paper provides an overview of the entire design of the BETTII experiment, with a short discussion of the predicted performance on flight.

Research paper thumbnail of The long-term evolution of comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) from its 1995-2002 radio spectroscopic monitoring

HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Jul 29, 2002

Research paper thumbnail of A Longitudinal Study of NASA's APRA Suborbital Program

American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of Plans for a Participating Scientist Program (PSP) for the WFIRST Coronagraph Instrument (CGI)

Research paper thumbnail of A New Population of High-z, Dusty Lyman-alpha Emitters and Blobs Discovered by WISE: Feedback Caught in the Act?

The Astrophysical Journral, Jun 1, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of The most luminous AGN in the Universe are not preferentially triggered by mergers

American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #231, 2018

Research paper thumbnail of Unveiling the Physical Structures of the Most Luminous IR Galaxies Discovered by WISE at z>1.6

HST Proposal, Oct 1, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of VizieR Online Data Catalog: First brown dwarfs discovered by WISE (Kirkpatrick+, 2011)

VizieR Online Data Catalog, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Paving the Way to Future Missions: the Roman Space Telescope Coronagraph Technology Demonstration

arXiv: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, 2020

This document summarizes how far the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Coronagraph Instrument (Ro... more This document summarizes how far the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Coronagraph Instrument (Roman CGI) will go toward demonstrating high-contrast imaging and spectroscopic requirements for potential future exoplanet direct imaging missions, illustrated by the HabEx and LUVOIR concepts. The assessment is made for two levels of assumed CGI performance: (i) current best estimate (CBE) as of August 2020, based on laboratory results and realistic end-to-end simulations with JPL-standard Model Uncertainty Factors (MUFs); (ii) CGI design specifications inherited from Phase B requirements. We find that the predicted performance (CBE) of many CGI subsystems compares favorably with the needs of future missions, despite providing more modest point source detection limits than future missions. This is essentially due to the challenging pupil of the Roman Space Telescope; this pupil pushes the coronagraph masks sensitivities to misalignments to be commensurate with future missions. In particu...

Research paper thumbnail of 2 mm GISMO Observations of the Galactic Center: Dust Emission, Nonthermal Filament in the Radio Arc, and Compact Sources

Research paper thumbnail of The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope: 100 Hubbles for the 2020s

arXiv: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, 2019

The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) is a 2.4m space telescope with a 0.281 deg^2 fi... more The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) is a 2.4m space telescope with a 0.281 deg^2 field of view for near-IR imaging and slitless spectroscopy and a coronagraph designed for > 10^8 starlight suppresion. As background information for Astro2020 white papers, this article summarizes the current design and anticipated performance of WFIRST. While WFIRST does not have the UV imaging/spectroscopic capabilities of the Hubble Space Telescope, for wide field near-IR surveys WFIRST is hundreds of times more efficient. Some of the most ambitious multi-cycle HST Treasury programs could be executed as routine General Observer (GO) programs on WFIRST. The large area and time-domain surveys planned for the cosmology and exoplanet microlensing programs will produce extraordinarily rich data sets that enable an enormous range of Archival Research (AR) investigations. Requirements for the coronagraph are defined based on its status as a technology demonstration, but its expected perfor...

Research paper thumbnail of VizieR Online Data Catalog: BCG high radio-frequency properties (Hogan+, 2015)

Research paper thumbnail of Mu-Spec - A High Performance Ultra-Compact Photon Counting spectrometer for Space Submillimeter Astronomy

We have designed and are testing elements of a fully integrated submillimeter spectrometer based ... more We have designed and are testing elements of a fully integrated submillimeter spectrometer based on superconducting microstrip technology. The instrument can offer resolving power R approximately 1500, and its high frequency cutoff is set by the gap of available high performance superconductors. All functions of the spectrometer are integrated - light is coupled to the microstrip circuit with a planar antenna, the spectra discrimination is achieved using a synthetic grating, orders are separated using planar filter, and detected using photon counting MKID detector. This spectrometer promises to revolutionize submillimeter spectroscopy from space. It replaces instruments with the scale of 1m with a spectrometer on a 10 cm Si wafer. The reduction in mass and volume promises a much higher performance system within available resource in a space mission. We will describe the system and the performance of the components that have been fabricated and tested.

Research paper thumbnail of Results from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) Future Uses Session at the WISE at 5 Meeting

arXiv: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, 2015

During the "WISE at 5: Legacy and Prospects" conference in Pasadena, CA -- which ran fr... more During the "WISE at 5: Legacy and Prospects" conference in Pasadena, CA -- which ran from February 10 - 12, 2015 -- attendees were invited to engage in an interactive session exploring the future uses of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) data. The 65 participants -- many of whom are extensive users of the data -- brainstormed the top questions still to be answered by the mission, as well as the complementary current and future datasets and additional processing of WISE/NEOWISE data that would aid in addressing these most important scientific questions. The results were mainly bifurcated between topics related to extragalactic studies (e.g. AGN, QSOs) and substellar mass objects. In summary, participants found that complementing WISE/NEOWISE data with cross-correlated multiwavelength surveys (e.g. SDSS, Pan-STARRS, LSST, Gaia, Euclid, etc.) would be highly beneficial for all future mission goals. Moreover, developing or implementing machine-learning tools to co...

Research paper thumbnail of Redshift detection of the most distant lensed starbursts

Research paper thumbnail of ACCESS Sub-system Performance

Research paper thumbnail of The Nature of 350 μ m-selected Galaxies

Research paper thumbnail of Maturing electron multiplying charge coupled device photon-counting with variable multiplication gain imaging for a coronagraphic instrument

Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, 2019

This is an introduction to a US government program that conducted high-contrast imaging experimen... more This is an introduction to a US government program that conducted high-contrast imaging experiments with an electron multiplying charge coupled device (EMCCD) in an interferometric coronagraph. This report will introduce the concepts of "charge blooming" and "starlight saturation" in the context of high-contrast astronomical imaging. These phenomena adversely effect the performance of high-contrast photon-counting instruments that do not use a mask to physically block starlight in the science channel of the coronagraph. The problems will be presented with the help of images taken with a commercial EMCCD camera in the visible nulling coronagraph at the Goddard Space Flight Center. A new clocking scheme for EMCCDs-variable multiplication gain clocking-will be proposed as a means for suppressing horizontal blooming and starlight saturation in an astronomical camera. This opening report will conclude with a discussion of design considerations for a new controller for high-contrast photon-counting with an EMCCD in a coronagraphic instrument. This controller will allow a single frame from an EMCCD to be scanned in multiple modes-photon-counting and digitization-with a variable multiplication gain clock to enable direct imaging of an exoplanet and wavefront control of a coronagraph, simultaneously.