The Star Formation Camera (SFC; P.I. P. Scowen, ASU)
is a wide-field (~19'×15', ≥280 arcmin²), high-resolution
(0.018"×0.018" pixels), mid-UV–near-IR (190–1075 nm)
dichroic camera for a 4 m space-based telescope such as the
"THEIA" mission concept (P.I. D. Spergel, Princeton) that is
currently under study as part of NASA's ASMCS program. SFC will deliver
diffraction-limited images at λ ≥ 300 nm in
both a Blue (190–517 nm) and a Red (517–1075 nm)
Channel simultaneously. Its Design Reference Science Program consists of a
comprehensive and systematic study of the astrophysical
processes and environments relevant for the births and life cycles of stars
and their planetary systems. Our aim is to investigate and understand the
range of environments, feedback mechanisms, and other factors that most
affect the outcome of the star and planet formation process.
THEIA requires insertion into an L2 halo orbit and would be equipped
with two other primary instruments: the eXtrasolar Planet Characterizer
(XPC: P.I. D. Spergel, Princeton), a camera that works in
concert with a free-flying occulter spacecraft; and the Ultra-Violet
Spectrograph (UVS; P.I. K. Sembach, STScI), a far-UV
spectrograph that will provide high-resolution (R~100,000)
access to wavelengths as short as 100 nm. THEIA employs a
Three-Mirror Anastigmat (TMA) design. While its 4 m primary mirror
will have a Al+MgF₂ overcoat, its secondary will be Al+LiF overcoated
to provide UVS access to wavelengths shortward of 115 nm.
SFC will provide diffraction-limited imaging at
λ ≥ 300 nm and, with minimal dithering, will
allow Nyquist sampling of the 4 m PSF over the full
190–1075 nm wavelength range. Its massive Focal Plane Arrays
will employ detectors that offer substantial quantum efficiency gains and
that suffer lower losses due to cosmic rays.
The telescope and camera design under consideration will provide >100
times greater imaging efficiency than existed on previous missions and open
up a new regime in wide-field, high-angular-resolution imaging, allowing
significant resolution into stars of galaxies out to the Virgo Cluster
Additional information can be found below and at
http://sfc.asu.edu/ .
Publications
Science White Papers submitted to the 2010 NAS Decadal Survey on Astronomy
and Astrophysics that support the SFC concept:
- "Understanding Global Galactic Star Formation", P. Scowen,
R.A. Jansen, M. Beasley, D. Calzetti, S. Desch,
J. Gallagher, M. McCaughrean, R. O'Connell, S. Oey,
D. Padgett, A. Roberge, & N. Smith, White Paper
submitted to the Astro2010 Decadal Survey by the National Research
Council of the National Academy of Sciences, Feb 15 2009;
astro-ph/0904.2002
- "The Magellanic Clouds Survey: a Bridge to Nearby Galaxies",
P. Scowen, R.A. Jansen, M. Beasley, D. Calzetti,
A. Fullerton, J. Gallagher, M. McCaughrean,R. O'Connell,
S. Oey, & N.&nsbp;Smith, White Paper submitted to the Astro2010
Decadal Survey by the National Research Council of the National Academy
of Sciences, Feb 15 2009;
astro-ph/0904.1987
- "A Systematic Study of the Stellar Populations and ISM in Galaxies out
to the Virgo Cluster: near-field cosmology within a representative slice of
the local universe", R.A. Jansen, P. Scowen,
M. Beasley, J. Gallagher, R. O'Connell, D. Calzetti,
S. Oey, R. Windhorst, & R. Woodruff, White Paper
submitted to the Astro2010 Decadal Survey by the National Research
Council of the National Academy of Sciences, Feb 15 2009;
astro-ph/0904.2021
- "Galaxy Assembly and SMBH/AGN-growth from Cosmic Dawn to the End of
Reionization", R.A. Jansen, R. Windhorst,
J. Rhoads, S. Malhotra, D. Stern, R. O'Connell,
P. Scowen, M. Beasley, et al., White Paper submitted to the
Astro2010 Decadal Survey by the National Research Council of the
National Academy of Sciences, Feb 15 2009;
astro-ph/0904.2032
- "From Protostars to Planetary Systems: FUV Spectrocopy of YSOs,
Protoplanetary Disks, and Extrasolar Giant Planets", P. Scowen,
R.A. Jansen, M. Beasley, S. Desch, A. Fullerton,
M. McCaughrean, S. Oey, D. Padgett, A. Roberge, &
N. Smith, White Paper submitted to the Astro2010 Decadal Survey
by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences,
Feb 15 2009; astro-ph/0904.2003
Technology and Mission Activity White Papers submitted to the Decadal Survey
as part of this work:
- "The Star Formation Camera", P. Scowen, R.A. Jansen,
M. Beasley, D. Calzetti, S. Desch, A. Fullerton,
J. Gallagher, D. Lisman, S. Macenka,
S. Malhotra, M. McCaughrean, S. Nikzad,
R. O'Connell, S. Oey, D. Padgett, J. Rhoads,
A. Roberge, O. Siegmund, S. Shaklan, N. Smith,
D. Stern, J. Tumlinson, R. Windhorst, &
R. Woodruff, Activity White Paper submitted to the Astro2010
Decadal Survey by the National Research Council of the National
Academy of Sciences, Apr 3 2009;
astro-ph/0904.1992
- "Large Focal Plane Arrays for Future Missions", P. Scowen,
S. Nikzad, M. Hoenk, I. Gontijo, A. Shapiro,
F. Greer, T. Jones, S. Seshadri, B. Jacquot,
S. Monacos, D. Lisman, M. Dickie, &
J. Blacksberg, Technology White Paper submitted to the Astro2010
Decadal Survey by the National Research Council of the National
Academy of Sciences, Apr 3 2009;
astro-ph/0904.1991
- "The HORUS Origins Science Probe Mission", P. Scowen,
R.A. Jansen, M. Beasley, D. Calzetti, B. Cooke,
S. Desch, A. Fullerton, J. Gallagher,
S. Malhotra, M. McCaughrean, S. Nikzad,
R. O'Connell, S. Oey, D. Padgett, J. Rhoads,
A. Roberge, O. Siegmund, N. Smith, D. Stern,
J. Tumlinson, R. Windhorst, & R. Woodruff,
Activity White Paper submitted to the Astro2010 Decadal Survey by
the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, Apr 3
2009.
Mission/Instrument Design and Mission/Instrument Science Peer Reviewed Papers:
- "Design and
Implementation of the NUV/Optical Widefield Star Formation Camera
for the THEIA Observatory",
P.A. Scowen, R.A. Jansen, M.N. Beasley, D. Calzetti,
S. Desch, A.W. Fullerton, J.S. Gallagher III,
P.D. Lisman, S.A. Macenka, S. Malhotra,
M.J. McCaughrean, S. Nikzad, R.W. O'Connell, S. Oey,
D.L. Padgett, J.E. Rhoads, A. Roberge, O.H.W. Siegmund,
S.B. Shaklan, N. Smith, D. Stern, J. Tumlinson,
R.A. Windhorst, & R.A. Woodruff, 2010, in: `Space Telescopes
and Instrumentation 2010: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave',
Eds. J.M. Oschmann Jr., M.C. Clampin, &
H.A. MacEwen, Proc. SPIE Vol. 7731, 77314Y(1–10)
Mission/Instrument Design and Mission/Instrument Science Poster Papers:
- "THEIA:
Telescope for Habitable Exoplanets and Interstellar/Intergalactic
Astronomy", D.N. Spergel, & the THEIA Collaboration,
2010, poster #421.27, presented at the 215th AAS Meeting,
Washington DC, Jan 7
- "From Cosmic Dawn to Our Solar System:
A Next-Generation UV--Optical Space Facility for the Study of Star
Formation",
R.A. Jansen, P. Scowen, M. Beasley, D. Calzetti,
S. Desch, A. Fullerton, J. Gallagher, S. Malhotra,
M. McCaughrean, S. Nikzad, R. O'Connell, S. Oey,
D. Padgett, J. Rhoads, A. Roberge, O. Siegmund,
N. Smith, D. Stern, J. Tumlinson, R. Windhorst,
R. Woodruff, K. Sembach, & D. Spergel, 2009, presented
at the "Beyond JWST: The Next Steps in UV-Optical-NIR Astronomy" workshop
held at STScI, Baltimore MD, Mar 26–27
- "Design and
Implementation of the Widefield High-Resolution UV/Optical Star
Formation Camera for the THEIA Mission",
P.A. Scowen, R.A. Jansen, M. Beasley, S. Macenka,
S. Shaklan, D. Calzetti, S. Desch, A. Fullerton,
J. Gallagher, S. Malhotra, M. McCaughrean, S. Nikzad,
R. O'Connell, S. Oey, D. Padgett, J. Rhoads,
A. Roberge, O. Siegmund, N. Smith, D. Stern,
J. Tumlinson, R. Windhorst, R. Woodruff, D. Spergel,
& K. Sembach, 2009, presented at the 213th Meeting of the
AAS, Long Beach CA, Jan 4–8;
PDF
- "Design Reference Science Program for the
Star Formation Camera aboard the THEIA Space Telescope",
R.A. Jansen, P. Scowen, M. Beasley, D. Calzetti,
S. Desch, A. Fullerton, J. Gallagher, S. Malhotra,
M. McCaughrean, S. Nikzad, R. O'Connell, S. Oey,
D. Padgett, J. Rhoads, A. Roberge, O. Siegmund,
N. Smith, D. Stern, J. Tumlinson, R. Windhorst,
R. Woodruff, K. Sembach, & D. Spergel, 2009, presented
at the 213th Meeting of the AAS, Long Beach CA, Jan 4–8;
PDF
- "THEIA:
Telescope for Habitable Exoplanets and Interstellar/Intergalactic
Astronomy", D.N. Spergel, J. Kasdin, R. Belikov,
P. Atcheson, M. Beasley, D. Calzetti, B. Cameron,
C. Copi, S. Desch, A. Dressler, D. Ebbets,
R. Egerman, A. Fullerton, J. Gallagher, J. Green,
O. Guyon, S. Heap, R. Jansen, E. Jenkins,
J. Kasting, R. Keski-Kuha, M. Kuchner, R. Lee,
D. Lindler, R. Linfield, D. Lisman, R. Lyon,
S. Malhotra, G. Mathews, M. McCaughrean, J. Mentzel,
M. Mountain, S. Nikzad, R. O'Connell, S. Oey,
D. Padgett, B. Parvin, J. Procashka, W. Reeve,
I.N. Reid, J. Rhoads, A. Roberge, B. Saif,
P. Scowen, S. Seager, O. Seigmund, K. Sembach,
S. Shaklan, M. Shull, & R. Soummer, 2009, presented at
the 213th Meeting of the AAS, Long Beach CA, Jan 4–8;
PDF
- "The
THEIA Mission Science and General Astrophysics",
S. Seager, D. Spergel, P. Scowen, R. Jansen,
K. Sembach, A. Dressler, S. Heap, E. Jenkins,
J. Kasdin, M. Kuchner, D. Lindler, R. O'Connell,
X. Prochaska, J. Rhoads, A. Roberge, M. Shull,
and the THEIA Team, 2009, presented at the 213th Meeting of
the AAS, Long Beach CA, Jan 4–8;
PDF
- "A High
Sensitivity Ultraviolet Spectrograph for the THEIA Misison",
K. Sembach, D. Ebbets, V. Argabright, M. Beasley,
M. Blouke, J. Green, E. Jenkins, J. MacKenty,
W. Oegerle, J.X. Prochaska, J.M. Shull,
O. Siegmund, T. Tripp, B. Woodgate, P. Scowen,
& D. Spergel, 2009, presented at the 213th Meeting of
the AAS, Long Beach CA, Jan 4–8;
PDF
- "From Cosmic Dawn to Our Solar System",
R.A. Jansen, P. Scowen, M. Beasley, and the SFC
Science Team, 2008, presented at the JENAM2008 conference, Vienna (Austria),
Sep 8–12
Technical Information for SFC Team
More information will be posted on this page as it becomes available.
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