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A New Insight into Galaxy Formation and Evolution (Forwarded)



 
 
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Old February 3rd 06, 04:37 PM posted to sci.space.news
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Default A New Insight into Galaxy Formation and Evolution (Forwarded)

Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council
Swindon, U.K.

Press Contacts:

Gill Ormrod, PPARC Press Office
Tel: 01793 442 012

Eleanor Gilchrist, UK ATC Press Office
Tel: 0131 668 8397

Henri Bofffin, ESO Press Office
Tel: +49 89 3209 6222

Science Contacts:

Prof Ray Sharples, University of Durham
Tel: 0191 334 3719

Prof Roger Davies, University of Oxford
Tel: 01865 273 305

Dr Suzie Ramsay Howat, UK ATC
Tel: 0131 668 8317

Dr Malcolm Bremer, University of Bristol
Tel: 0117 928 8764

03 February 2006

A New Insight into Galaxy Formation and Evolution

Instrumentation advances over the last 10 years have allowed astronomers
to detect massive star forming galaxies in distant corners of the
universe. However, much of the precise detail about the processes that
drive galaxy formation and evolution remain elusive. This is set to change
with the development, by UK and German researchers, of a unique infrared
survey instrument for the European Southern Observatory's Very Large
Telescope (VLT) in Chile.

KMOS (K-band Infrared Multi-Object Spectrometer), will be able to observe
many galaxies simultaneously and it is the first VLT instrument in which
the UK takes a leading role employing state-of-the-art technology to probe
how the first galaxies formed and evolved. By analyzing the spectra of
these distant galaxies, using the next phase of advanced instrumentation
such as KMOS, we can determine a great deal about their structure and
history.

Prof Richard Wade, PPARC Director of Programmes and the current President
of ESO's Council, said "The leading role of UK scientists and engineers in
the design and development of KMOS presents a great opportunity to be
involved in the next phase of the development of ESO's world class
telescope facilities. Furthermore, such investment will provide UK
astronomers with increased access to the VLT -- ensuring they remain in
the forefront of scientific discoveries."

Having identified the need for a near infrared multi-object spectrometer
ESO considered competitive design studies by several European research
groups, and selected a proposal from a consortium of UK and German
institutes.

KMOS will be one of the first of a suite of second-generation instruments
being developed for the VLT. It will be built by research groups at the
Universities of Durham, Oxford, and the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UK
ATC), together with the University Observatory Munich and the Max Planck
Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics; ESO will provide the sensitive
infrared detectors together with the control electronics and software.
Further support for the science case for the instrument has been provided
by Dr Malcolm Bremer at the University of Bristol, building on his work
already carried out using the first generation of VLT instrumentation.
Funding for the UK participation was approved by PPARC in May 2005, and
the design is now being finalized with a preliminary design review set to
take place in May 2006.

The instrument will incorporate many novel features specifically optimized
to address key questions in the formation and assembly of galaxies. To
enable surveys of statistically significant samples of galaxies, KMOS will
be able to observe up to 24 targets simultaneously, selected from a larger
field by robotic pick-off arms that relay the light to the integral field
units.

Prof Ray Sharples from the University of Durham, Principal Investigator
for KMOS, explains, "The arms must be capable of extremely reliable and
accurate positioning, and have never before been implemented in an
infrared instrument like KMOS -- making this one of the most challenging
and complex parts of the instrument."

Prof Sharples continues, "When it is delivered to the VLT in Chile in
2010, KMOS will be one of the most complex infrared instruments operating
on a ground-based telescope. It will provide UK astronomers with one of
the key tools to address some of the outstanding issues in galaxy
formation and evolution."

Notes to Editors

In order to deal with the complex shapes and multiple components of
forming galaxies, KMOS will use the new technique of integral field
spectroscopy in which the light from every point in the image of a galaxy
is dispersed in wavelength to produce a spectrum. The data are then
reassembled into a 'data cube' with two spatial coordinates and one
spectral (wavelength or velocity) dimension. KMOS will use a technique
known as image-slicing to produce the data cubes. This relies on novel
manufacturing methods based on precision diamond-machined optics pioneered
in the UK.

In order see the most distant galaxies as they formed, KMOS will observe
in the near infrared part of the spectrum between 1.0 and 2.4 micrometres
wavelength. As this is the part of the spectrum dominated by the heat
radiation from warm bodies, the entire KMOS instrument will have to be
cooled to cryogenic temperatures (-150 C).

Role of UK Institutions in KMOS

The KMOS construction project is divided into a number of separate work
packages which are divided between the different institutes in the
consortium. The main work package responsibilities for the UK institutions
a

The University of Durham is responsible for providing the front-end
pickoff module for KMOS including procurement of the 24 pickoff arms,
manufacture of the integral field units and design of the calibration
unit.

The University of Oxford is responsible for providing the 3 back-end unit
spectrographs which disperse the light into its constituent wavelengths
within KMOS, using optical design work carried out at Rutherford Appleton
Laboratory. Prof Roger Davies will use KMOS to explore galaxy evolution
and measure masses of galaxies when they were only half of their current
age (7 million years ago) in order to determine how galaxies have
assembled over cosmic time. KMOS will also be used to look even further
back in time when the first galaxies were forming.

The UK ATC provides overall project management and systems engineering for
KMOS and will host the assembly, integration and test phase prior to KMOS
shipping to Chile, under the direction of the Instrument Scientist Dr
Suzie Ramsay Howat. In addition, UK ATC is responsible for the design of
the robotic pickoff arms and will test the first prototype this year. The
cryostat and infrastructure which will be used to cool KMOS to cryogenic
temperatures and the detector mount are also being designed in Edinburgh.

Dr Malcolm Bremer from the University of Bristol has been primarily
involved in forming the scientific case for the instrument through his
work on high redshift clusters of galaxies and observations of the most
distant galaxies. Questions and issues arising from his work on these
topics using the current first generation of ESO instrumentation has
helped shape the capabilities of KMOS so that it can make real advances in
the understanding of galaxy formation and evolution.

Images relating to the design of KMOS,
http://www.pparc.ac.uk/Nw/KMOS_images.asp

ESO is the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern
Hemisphere. Whilst the headquarters (comprising the scientific, technical
and administrative centre of the organization) are located in Garching
near Munich, Germany, ESO operates three observational sites in the
Chilean Atacama desert. The Very Large Telescope (VLT), is located on
Paranal, a 2,600m high mountain south of Antofagasta. At La Silla, 600 km
north of Santiago de Chile at 2,400 m altitude, ESO operates several
medium sized optical telescopes. The third site is the 5,000 m high Llano
de Chajnantor, near San Pedro de Atacama. Here a new submillimetre
telescope (APEX) is in operation, and a giant array of 12 m submillimetre
antennas (ALMA) is under development. Over 1600 proposals are made each
year for the use of the ESO telescopes.

About PPARC,
http://www.pparc.ac.uk/Ap/intro.asp


 




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