Related papers: VITRUV - Science Cases
Here we report some results from an ESO-VLT programme to observe individual stars in nearby dwarf galaxies at high resolution with the UVES spectrograph (Tolstoy, Venn, Shetrone, Primas, Hill, Kaufer & Szeifert 2002, submitted to AJ). We…
Interferometric techniques are at the forefront of modern astronomical instrumentation. A new generation of instruments are either operating or nearing completion, including arrays of small telescopes as well as the ``big guns'' (VLTI and…
Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes have long been viewed as potential light collectors to be used for long baseline optical intensity interferometry observations. Intensity interferometry, as implemented with Cherenkov telescopes, is…
We discuss the astrophysical science case for a decihertz gravitational-wave mission. We focus on unique opportunities for scientific discovery in this frequency range, including probes of type IA supernova progenitors, mergers in the…
The new generation of ground-based, large-aperture solar telescopes promises to significantly increase our capabilities to understand the many basic phenomena taking place in the Sun at all atmospheric layers and how they relate to each…
Very-high-energy astronomy studies the Universe at energies between 30 GeV and 100 TeV. The past decade has seen enormous progress in this field. There are now at least seven known sources of VHE photons. By studying these objects in the…
VIPA-based spectrometers have enabled rapid Brillouin spectrum measurements and current designs of multi-stage VIPA spectrometers offer enough spectral extinction to probe transparent tissue, cells and biomaterials. However, in highly…
During the last two decades, the first generation of beam combiners at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer has proved the importance of optical interferometry for high-angular resolution astrophysical studies in the near- and…
Neutrino telescopes provide a unique observational gateway to the high-energy universe, enabling the study of cosmic accelerators and extreme environments that remain inaccessible to the other high-energy messengers. Although they share…
The HEGRA collaboration has achieved outstanding results during the operation of the six imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes from 1996 to 2002. The experimental work pioneered the field of TeV gamma-ray astronomy with observations…
Low-cost mass-produced sensors and optics have recently made it feasible to build telescope arrays which observe the entire accessible sky simultaneously. In this article we discuss the scientific motivation for these telescopes, including…
Low-mass objects are ubiquitous in our Galaxy. Their low temperature provides them with complex atmospheres characterised by the presence of strong molecular absorption bands which, together with their faintness, have made their accurate…
Intensity interferometry permits very long optical baselines and the observation of sub-milliarcsecond structures. Using planned kilometric arrays of air Cherenkov telescopes at short wavelengths, intensity interferometry may increase the…
We present the optical and cryo-mechanical solutions for the Spectrograph of VSI (VLTI Spectro-Imager), the second generation near-infrared (J, H and K bands) interferometric instrument for the VLTI. The peculiarity of this spectrograph is…
The Suborbital Imaging Spectrograph for Transition region Irradiance from Nearby Exoplanet host stars (SISTINE) is a rocket-borne ultraviolet (UV) imaging spectrograph designed to probe the radiation environment of nearby stars. SISTINE…
Investigations that were carried out over the last two decades with novel and more sensitive instrumentation have dramatically improved our knowledge of the more violent physical processes taking place in galactic and extra-galactic…
After several years of intensive technological development Virtual Observatory resources have reached a level of maturity sufficient for their routine scientific exploitation. The Virtual Observatory is starting to be used by astronomers in…
The Mitchell Spectrograph (a.k.a. VIRUS-P) on the 2.7m Harlan J. Smith telescope at McDonald Observatory is currently the largest field of view (FOV) integral field unit (IFU) spectrograph in the world (1.7'x1.7'). It was designed as a…
Understanding the solar outer atmosphere requires concerted, simultaneous solar observations from the visible to the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) and soft X-rays, at high spatial resolution (between 0.1" and 0.3"), at high temporal resolution…
In this white paper, we propose an upgrade to the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) consisting of the addition of a new 8m Unit Telescope (UT5). The primary goal of this upgrade is to optimise the VLTI for exoplanet detection by…