Keck Adaptive Optics and Instrumentation
I am on the science team for the next generation of adaptive optics system KAPA for Keck Observatory and new integral-field spectrograph Liger. The combination of the new AO system and instrument will allow astronomers to study the universe in unprecedented detail. I am also co-PI on the a new Pyramid Wavefront Sensor, 'IWA for Keck (PI: A. Bouchez, Keck Observatory). The video on the right is a simulation I created to show how observations of the Galactic center will improve with the new AO system and Liger.
IRIS first-light integral-field spectrograph
The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) is a next generation extremely large optical and infrared telescope. This telescope is being built by an international collaboration. TMT will observe objects as close as our own solar system all the way to the formation of the first stars in the universe. I am part of the science team and helping to build a data simulator for the first-light adaptive optics instrument InfraRed Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS). We are using this simulator to realistically model observations using IRIS and TMT to evaluate and enhance science cases for TMT.
TMT Science Case: Measuring the mass of supermassive black holes
While supermassive black holes are found in the centers of almost all galaxies, there are many questions that we still don't understand. Some of the biggest questions are: how are supermassive black holes related to galaxy evolution? What are the origins of supermassive black holes and how do they grow over time? Using the IRIS simulator, we computed for the first time, realistic simulations of TMT's capabilities for measuring supermassive black hole masses in the universe. We find that there will be a revolutionary leap in our ability to detect black holes at every mass scale. This increase in the number of black holes accessible will help us answer long standing questions about black holes.
- Prospects for measuring supermassive black hole masses with future extremely large telescopes, Do, Tuan; et al., 2014, AJ, in press
Related Publications
- Thirty Meter Telescope Detailed Science Case: 2015 Skidmore, Warren et. al (2015)
- Prospects for Measuring Supermassive Black Hole Masses with Future Extremely Large Telescopes Do, Tuan; et al., ApJ, 2014
- The infrared imaging spectrograph (IRIS) for TMT: overview of innovative science programs, Wright et al. (2014), Proceedings of the SPIE, Volume 9147
- Thirty Meter Telescope astrometry error budget, Schöck, Matthias; Do, Tuan; et al., Proceedings of the SPIE, Volume 9148