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A European vision for a “Polar Large Telescope” project

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 January 2013

Lyu Abe
Affiliation:
Laboratoire J.-L. Lagrange, Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis, CNRS, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Nice, France email: Lyu.Abe@oca.eu
Nicolas Epchtein
Affiliation:
Laboratoire J.-L. Lagrange, Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis, CNRS, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Nice, France email: Lyu.Abe@oca.eu
Wolfgang Ansorge
Affiliation:
RAMS-CON Management Consultants, Assling, Germany
Stefania Argentini
Affiliation:
CNR-ISAC, Rome, Italy
Ian Bryson
Affiliation:
UKTC, Edinburgh, UK
Marcel Carbillet
Affiliation:
Laboratoire J.-L. Lagrange, Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis, CNRS, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Nice, France email: Lyu.Abe@oca.eu
Gavin Dalton
Affiliation:
UKTC, RAL, UK
Christine David
Affiliation:
Institut Polaire Français (IPEV), Brest, France
Igor Esau
Affiliation:
Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NERSC), Bergen, Norway
Christophe Genthon
Affiliation:
LGGE, Grenoble, France
Maud Langlois
Affiliation:
CRAL Lyon, Université Lyon 1, France
Thibault Le Bertre
Affiliation:
LERMA, Observatoire de Paris, France
Rachid Lemrani
Affiliation:
CNRS-IN2P3, CC, Lyon, France
Brice Le Roux
Affiliation:
LAM, Marseille, France
Gianpietro Marchiori
Affiliation:
EIE Group, Mestre, Italy
Djamel Mékarnia
Affiliation:
Laboratoire J.-L. Lagrange, Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis, CNRS, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Nice, France email: Lyu.Abe@oca.eu
Joachim Montnacher
Affiliation:
Fraunhofer Institute (IPA), Stuttgart, Germany
Gil Moretto
Affiliation:
IPNL, Lyon, France
Philippe Prugniel
Affiliation:
CRAL Lyon, Université Lyon 1, France
Jean-Pierre Rivet
Affiliation:
Laboratoire J.-L. Lagrange, Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis, CNRS, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Nice, France email: Lyu.Abe@oca.eu
Eric Ruch
Affiliation:
SAGEM-REOSC, France
Charling Tao
Affiliation:
CNRS-IN2P3-CPPM, Marseille, France Tsinghua Center for Astrophysics, Tsinghua University, HaiDian district, BeiJing 100084, China
André Tilquin
Affiliation:
CNRS-IN2P3-CPPM, Marseille, France
Isabelle Vauglin
Affiliation:
CRAL Lyon, Université Lyon 1, France
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Abstract

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The Polar Large Telescope (PLT) project is primarily aimed at undertaking large, wide band synoptic astronomical surveys in the infrared in order to provide critical data to the forthcoming generation of observational facilities such as ALMA, JWST, LSST and the E–ELT, and to complement the observations obtained with them. Sensitive thermal IR surveys beyond 2.3 μm cannot be carried out from any existing ground based observatory and the Antarctic Plateau is the only place on the ground where it can be envisaged, thanks to its unique atmospheric and environmental properties, such as the turbulence profile (image quality), the low opacity and the reduced thermal background emission of the sky. These unique conditions enable high angular resolution wide field surveys in the near thermal infrared (2.3–5 μm). This spectral range is particularly well suited to tackling key astrophysical questions such as: i) investigating the nature of the distant universe, the first generation of stars and the latest stages of stellar evolution, ii) understanding transient phenomena such as gamma ray-bursts and Type Ia supernovae, iii) increasing our knowledge of extra-solar planets. Further instruments may broaden the expected science outcomes of such a 2–4 m class telescope especially for the characterization of galaxies at very large distance to provide new clues in the mysteries of dark matter and energy. Efforts will be made to merge this project with other comparable projects within an international consortium.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2013

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