MRI: Development of the Gemini Planet Imager Upgrade

University Of Notre Dame, Notre Dame IN

Investigators

Abstract

The Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) is an instrument designed to image giant, extrasolar planets and rings of asteroids orbiting nearby, young stars. It is the most advanced exoplanet imaging instrument available to the entire US astronomical community. GPI uses advanced technologies to correct for the blurring of stars due to turbulence in earth's atmosphere, to block the light of bright stars, and to reveal an infrared image and spectra of distant faint planets. This project will relocate and extensively upgrade GPI to incorporate the latest cutting-edge technology into the design. These upgrades will enable GPI to observe fainter, younger stars and study planets earlier in their formation, to detect planets with masses similar to our own Jupiter, and to operate more efficiently to support studies by the entire astronomical community. This project will also support training of graduate and undergraduate students. An innovative exchange program for graduate students, a mentoring program as well as professional development programs and activities will be made available to students participating in this project. GPI was originally installed on the Gemini South telescope in Chile in 2013. GPI uses adaptive optics (AO) to correct for blurring due to atmospheric turbulence, coronagraphic masks to block the light of bright stars, and an infrared integral field spectrograph (IFS) to image and study the faint planets that are discovered by it. This project will improve all three of these components. These upgrades will improve GPI's contrast, sensitivity, and observing efficiency. AO upgrades will improve GPI's limiting magnitude to allow observations of significantly fainter target stars and younger stars to study planets earlier in their formation. IFS and coronograph mask upgrades will improve GPI's sensitivity to fainter planets at the peak of the period distribution, have the potential to significantly increase the number of directly-imaged planets that can be subject to detailed atmospheric characterization. Along with the relocation of GPI to Gemini North in Hawaii, these upgrades will enable GPI to address key questions about planet formation, evolution and atmospheric composition, as well as open up new areas of high-contrast imaging of other sources from our solar system to extragalactic scales. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.