HARMONI: Phase A study for a single field, wide band spectrograph for the European Extremely Large Telescope
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Oxford
Department Name: Oxford Physics
Abstract
The European Extremely Large Telescope is set to be the foremost facility for ground based visible and near-infrared astronomy in the next decade. Proposed to be the world's largest telescope with a primary mirror diameter of 42 metres, the E-ELT will be able to study in detail the early Universe, peering far back to the epoch of formation of the first generation of galaxies. The E-ELT's impressive light gathering power and unsurpassed spatial resolution needs a suitably capable set of instruments to harness its scientific potential effectively. We propose to carry out a Phase A design study of one of the first light instruments for the E-ELT. In November 2007, ESO released a competitive 'Call for Proposals' for a Phase A study for a 'Single Field, Wide Band Spectrograph for the European Extremely Large Telescope'. The University of Oxford led a consortium (involving four other partner institutes) that responded to the call for proposals, and in mid-December, was chosen by ESO to carry out the study (from amongst several proposals by scientists from the ESO member states). HARMONI will be able to operate at several different spatial resolutions, ranging from coarse (assisted by GLAO) to fine (sampling the E-ELT's diffraction limit at near-infrared wavelengths). It will cover the near infrared wavelength range at a spectral resolving power of about 4000, both shorter wavelength coverage and higher spectral resolution extensions will also be considered, as will be a simple coronagraphic mode. The Phase A study will consist of two Phases. In the first phase, we will carry out a trade-off study for the parameters that define the technical specifications of the instrument, such as field of view, spatial sampling, spectral resolution, simultaneous spectral coverage. A science team composed of researchers from the ESO member states, who are keen to carry out scientific programs with HARMONI, will assist in this task. Phase 2 will consist of using the results of the trade-off study to build a conceptual design for HARMONI, including an opto-mechanical concept. This will require close collaboration with ESO to define the interfaces with both the adaptive optics system and the telescope.
Organisations
- University of Oxford (Lead Research Organisation)
- European Southern Observatory (ESO) (Collaboration)
- Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (Collaboration)
- Lyon Observatory (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER (Collaboration)
- National Institute for Astrophysics (Collaboration)
- University of Hertfordshire (Collaboration)
- University of Groningen (Collaboration)
- National Office for Aerospace Studies and Research (Collaboration)
- DURHAM UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) (Collaboration)
- European Space Agency (Collaboration)
- UK Astronomy Technology Centre (ATC) (Collaboration)
- Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseile (Collaboration)
Publications
{Thatte}, N.
(2008)
The next generation IFU instrumentation
Kasper M
(2008)
EPICS: the exoplanet imager for the E-ELT
Vérinaud, C And Korkiakoskia, V And Yaitskova, N And Martinez, P And Markus, EK And Jean-Luc, B And Lyu, A And Pierr And Baudozd And Anthony, B And Kjetil, D And Raffaele, GG And Dino, M And Florian, K And Hans, MS And Lars, V And Graeme, S And Matthias, T And Niranjan, AT
(2008)
System design and analysis of the exo-planet imaging camera and spectrograph (EPICS) for the European ELT
Tecza M
(2009)
Science with the VLT in the ELT Era
Tecza M
(2010)
An image slicer-based integral-field spectrograph for EPICS
Kasper M
(2010)
EPICS: direct imaging of exoplanets with the E-ELT
Gladysz S
(2010)
Coronagraphic capability for HARMONI at the E-ELT
{Thatte}, N. And {Clarke}, F. And {Tecza}, M. And {Salter}, G. And {HARMONI Consortium}
(2010)
Follow-up spectroscopy of directly detected exo-planets with EELT/ HARMONI
Description | E-ELT instrument Phase A studies |
Amount | £81,250 (GBP) |
Organisation | European Southern Observatory (ESO) |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | Germany |
Start | 03/2008 |
End | 03/2010 |
Description | PPRP |
Amount | £530,188 (GBP) |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2008 |
End | 03/2012 |
Description | HARMONI consortium |
Organisation | Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands |
Department | Engineering & Instrumentation |
Country | Spain |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Univ. of Oxford played a pivotal role in the HARMONI Phase A study, as it was the PI institute. N. Thatte was the Principal Investigator of the instrument study, and led the consortium. |
Collaborator Contribution | DAMIR helped in the HARMONI instrument Phase A design by providing the detailed design for the calibration system of the instrument, and providing computations of sensitivity. |
Impact | The HARMONI Phase A instrument design selection of an HARMONI-like instrument as one of two first-light instruments for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) |
Start Year | 2007 |
Description | HARMONI consortium |
Organisation | Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseile |
Country | France |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Univ. of Oxford played a pivotal role in the HARMONI Phase A study, as it was the PI institute. N. Thatte was the Principal Investigator of the instrument study, and led the consortium. |
Collaborator Contribution | DAMIR helped in the HARMONI instrument Phase A design by providing the detailed design for the calibration system of the instrument, and providing computations of sensitivity. |
Impact | The HARMONI Phase A instrument design selection of an HARMONI-like instrument as one of two first-light instruments for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) |
Start Year | 2007 |
Description | HARMONI consortium |
Organisation | Lyon Observatory |
Country | France |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Univ. of Oxford played a pivotal role in the HARMONI Phase A study, as it was the PI institute. N. Thatte was the Principal Investigator of the instrument study, and led the consortium. |
Collaborator Contribution | DAMIR helped in the HARMONI instrument Phase A design by providing the detailed design for the calibration system of the instrument, and providing computations of sensitivity. |
Impact | The HARMONI Phase A instrument design selection of an HARMONI-like instrument as one of two first-light instruments for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) |
Start Year | 2007 |
Description | HARMONI consortium |
Organisation | National Office for Aerospace Studies and Research |
Country | France |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Univ. of Oxford played a pivotal role in the HARMONI Phase A study, as it was the PI institute. N. Thatte was the Principal Investigator of the instrument study, and led the consortium. |
Collaborator Contribution | DAMIR helped in the HARMONI instrument Phase A design by providing the detailed design for the calibration system of the instrument, and providing computations of sensitivity. |
Impact | The HARMONI Phase A instrument design selection of an HARMONI-like instrument as one of two first-light instruments for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) |
Start Year | 2007 |
Description | HARMONI consortium |
Organisation | Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) |
Department | Department of Molecular and Infrared Astrophysics (DAMIR) |
Country | Spain |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Univ. of Oxford played a pivotal role in the HARMONI Phase A study, as it was the PI institute. N. Thatte was the Principal Investigator of the instrument study, and led the consortium. |
Collaborator Contribution | DAMIR helped in the HARMONI instrument Phase A design by providing the detailed design for the calibration system of the instrument, and providing computations of sensitivity. |
Impact | The HARMONI Phase A instrument design selection of an HARMONI-like instrument as one of two first-light instruments for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) |
Start Year | 2007 |
Description | HARMONI consortium |
Organisation | UK Astronomy Technology Centre (ATC) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Univ. of Oxford played a pivotal role in the HARMONI Phase A study, as it was the PI institute. N. Thatte was the Principal Investigator of the instrument study, and led the consortium. |
Collaborator Contribution | DAMIR helped in the HARMONI instrument Phase A design by providing the detailed design for the calibration system of the instrument, and providing computations of sensitivity. |
Impact | The HARMONI Phase A instrument design selection of an HARMONI-like instrument as one of two first-light instruments for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) |
Start Year | 2007 |
Description | HARMONI science team |
Organisation | Durham University |
Department | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We led the HARMONI science team, that came up with key science cases for this instrument, and developed those through simulations to help determine the top level requirements for the instrument |
Collaborator Contribution | Helped build the science case for the instrument |
Impact | Article in the ESO Messenger, the HARMONI Phase A study scientific analysis document, and papers in the Proceedings of the SPIE conference on Telescopes and Astronomical Instrumentation, 2010. |
Start Year | 2008 |
Description | HARMONI science team |
Organisation | European Southern Observatory (ESO) |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | We led the HARMONI science team, that came up with key science cases for this instrument, and developed those through simulations to help determine the top level requirements for the instrument |
Collaborator Contribution | Helped build the science case for the instrument |
Impact | Article in the ESO Messenger, the HARMONI Phase A study scientific analysis document, and papers in the Proceedings of the SPIE conference on Telescopes and Astronomical Instrumentation, 2010. |
Start Year | 2008 |
Description | HARMONI science team |
Organisation | European Space Agency |
Department | Science and Operations Department |
Country | France |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We led the HARMONI science team, that came up with key science cases for this instrument, and developed those through simulations to help determine the top level requirements for the instrument |
Collaborator Contribution | Helped build the science case for the instrument |
Impact | Article in the ESO Messenger, the HARMONI Phase A study scientific analysis document, and papers in the Proceedings of the SPIE conference on Telescopes and Astronomical Instrumentation, 2010. |
Start Year | 2008 |
Description | HARMONI science team |
Organisation | Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands |
Country | Spain |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We led the HARMONI science team, that came up with key science cases for this instrument, and developed those through simulations to help determine the top level requirements for the instrument |
Collaborator Contribution | Helped build the science case for the instrument |
Impact | Article in the ESO Messenger, the HARMONI Phase A study scientific analysis document, and papers in the Proceedings of the SPIE conference on Telescopes and Astronomical Instrumentation, 2010. |
Start Year | 2008 |
Description | HARMONI science team |
Organisation | Lyon Observatory |
Country | France |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We led the HARMONI science team, that came up with key science cases for this instrument, and developed those through simulations to help determine the top level requirements for the instrument |
Collaborator Contribution | Helped build the science case for the instrument |
Impact | Article in the ESO Messenger, the HARMONI Phase A study scientific analysis document, and papers in the Proceedings of the SPIE conference on Telescopes and Astronomical Instrumentation, 2010. |
Start Year | 2008 |
Description | HARMONI science team |
Organisation | National Institute for Astrophysics |
Department | Bologna Observatory |
Country | Italy |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | We led the HARMONI science team, that came up with key science cases for this instrument, and developed those through simulations to help determine the top level requirements for the instrument |
Collaborator Contribution | Helped build the science case for the instrument |
Impact | Article in the ESO Messenger, the HARMONI Phase A study scientific analysis document, and papers in the Proceedings of the SPIE conference on Telescopes and Astronomical Instrumentation, 2010. |
Start Year | 2008 |
Description | HARMONI science team |
Organisation | Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) |
Department | Department of Molecular and Infrared Astrophysics (DAMIR) |
Country | Spain |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | We led the HARMONI science team, that came up with key science cases for this instrument, and developed those through simulations to help determine the top level requirements for the instrument |
Collaborator Contribution | Helped build the science case for the instrument |
Impact | Article in the ESO Messenger, the HARMONI Phase A study scientific analysis document, and papers in the Proceedings of the SPIE conference on Telescopes and Astronomical Instrumentation, 2010. |
Start Year | 2008 |
Description | HARMONI science team |
Organisation | University of Groningen |
Department | Kapteyn Astronomical Institute |
Country | Netherlands |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We led the HARMONI science team, that came up with key science cases for this instrument, and developed those through simulations to help determine the top level requirements for the instrument |
Collaborator Contribution | Helped build the science case for the instrument |
Impact | Article in the ESO Messenger, the HARMONI Phase A study scientific analysis document, and papers in the Proceedings of the SPIE conference on Telescopes and Astronomical Instrumentation, 2010. |
Start Year | 2008 |
Description | HARMONI science team |
Organisation | University of Hertfordshire |
Department | School of Physics and Astronomy |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We led the HARMONI science team, that came up with key science cases for this instrument, and developed those through simulations to help determine the top level requirements for the instrument |
Collaborator Contribution | Helped build the science case for the instrument |
Impact | Article in the ESO Messenger, the HARMONI Phase A study scientific analysis document, and papers in the Proceedings of the SPIE conference on Telescopes and Astronomical Instrumentation, 2010. |
Start Year | 2008 |
Description | HARMONI science team |
Organisation | University of Leicester |
Department | Department of Physics & Astronomy |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We led the HARMONI science team, that came up with key science cases for this instrument, and developed those through simulations to help determine the top level requirements for the instrument |
Collaborator Contribution | Helped build the science case for the instrument |
Impact | Article in the ESO Messenger, the HARMONI Phase A study scientific analysis document, and papers in the Proceedings of the SPIE conference on Telescopes and Astronomical Instrumentation, 2010. |
Start Year | 2008 |
Description | Royal Society exhibition |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | the E-ELT stand at the Royal Society exhibition was attended by over 1000 people, who participated in a 3D video animation of the E-ELT, amongst other activities. unknown |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |