This $505,312 Project Grant awarded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CFDA 47.049) program will fund research to develop and demonstrate a new photonics-based technique for observing distant galaxies in the near-infrared (NIR) spectrum from ground-based telescopes. The project team at the University of Maryland, College Park will construct a specialized instrument called the Maryland OH Suppression Infrared System (MOHSIS) that uses fiber Bragg gratings to filter out the bright, variable emission lines from atmospheric hydroxyl (OH) molecules that currently limit NIR observations. This new instrument will be deployed on the Lowell Discovery Telescope to conduct follow-up spectroscopic observations of transient, luminous stellar explosions known as gamma-ray bursts. The research aims to improve the ability to study the properties of distant galaxies and gain insights into the early universe. The grant will also provide hands-on training opportunities for graduate and undergraduate astronomy students, including those from minority-serving institutions.
Generated 1/28/25, 7:08 AM