SCIENCE OF GSMTS

MEGAN DONAHUE MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

30-M PROJECTS

▸ GIANT MAGELLAN TELESCOPE (GMT)

▸ 7 mirrors, 8.5 m (24.5M eff. diameter) ▸ Chile

▸ THIRTY METER TELESCOPE (TMT) ▸ 30 m, segmented primary ▸ Canary Islands or Maunakea

▸ EUROPEAN EXTREMELY LARGE TELESCOPE (E-ELT) ▸ 39 m, segmented segmented

▸ Chile

MEGAN DONAHUETHE SCIENCE OF GSMTS

INSTRUMENTATION TABLE

Type of Instrument GMT TMT E-ELT

Near-IR, AO-assisted Imager + IFU GMTIFS IRIS HARMONI

Wide-Field, Optical Multi-Object Spectrometer

GMACS WFOS MOSAIC-HMM

Near-IR Multislit Spectrometer NIRMOS IRMS MOSAIC-HMM

Deployable, Multi-IFU Imaging Spectrometer

IRMOS MOSAIC-HDM

Mid-IR, AO-assisted Echelle Spectrometer

MIRES METIS

High-Contrast Exoplanet Imager TIGER PFI EPICS

Near-IR, AO-assisted Echelle Spectrometer

GMTNIRS NIRES SIMPLE

High-Resolution Optical Spectrometer

G-CLEF HROS HIRES

“Wide”-Field AO-assisted Imager WIRC MICADO

courtesy Luc Simard, via Mark Dickinson

EARLY-LIGHT INSTRUMENTS UNDERLINED & HIGHLIGHTED

ANGULAR RESOLUTION WITH ADAPTIVE OPTICS AND LARGE APERTURE

Natural 0.5” HST 0.2” JWST 0.07” GMT 0.02”

GMT Science Book

MEGAN DONAHUETHE SCIENCE OF GSMTS

SPECTROSCOPIC SENSITIVITY

5-sigma limits for some extragalactic imaging surveys GMT Science Book

20-hr I-band spectroscopic limits for large telescopesLarge telescopes will be able to study many LSST detections

MEGAN DONAHUETHE SCIENCE OF GSMTS

RESOLUTION AND DISCOVERY SPACE

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MEGAN DONAHUE

Slide content from M.Dickinson/TMT

THE SCIENCE OF GSMTS

LARGE TELESCOPES

▸ Take us from colors to precision, from consistency checks to verification…

▸ radial velocities of planets, of stars near central black holes, of the most distant galaxies

▸ abundances: yields of neutron star mergers, Pop III supernovae captured in low-metallicity stars, intergalactic gas metallicities

▸ sensitivity to diffuse gas (emission & absorption lines)

▸ Capture high S/N observations of distant, faint, and/or short-lived radiation sources.

▸ Explore a larger volume of the ‘local’ universe, resolved study of not only more sources, but rarer and more extreme sources

MEGAN DONAHUETHE SCIENCE OF GSMTS

ASTRO-SCIENCE HEADLINES OF 2020-2030?▸ Precious metals created by neutron-star mergers

▸ Biology on other worlds: Ozone detected in the atmosphere of an Earth-like planet

▸ Astronomical records: most distant galaxy in the universe/most massive black hole/most massive star/smallest planet

▸ Surprises? The nature of dark matter and dark energy? Non-equilibrium biology on a planet unlike Earth?

MEGAN DONAHUE

Slide graphic courtesy Rebecca Bernstein/GMT

THE SCIENCE OF GSMTS

MEGAN DONAHUE

GALAXIES AS SYSTEMS

dark matter

baryons/gas

baryons/stars

supermassive black holes

How do galaxies form and regulate their own growth?

THE SCIENCE OF GSMTS

MEGAN DONAHUE

CLUSTERS AND GROUPS OF GALAXIES AS SYSTEMS

dark matter

baryons

stars

supermassive black holes

THE SCIENCE OF GSMTS

MEGAN DONAHUE

GALAXIES AS SYSTEMS

dark matter

baryons

stars

supermassive black holes

THE SCIENCE OF GSMTS

IGM TOMOGRAPHY▸ TMT/WFOS spectroscopy

down to R=24.5 with spectral resolution 5000 and S/N>30

▸ 100x more background galaxies than QSOs.

Graphics from TMT

THE SCIENCE OF GSMTS

CIRCUMGALACTIC GAS IN EMISSION

Low-redshift (z~0.3) brightest cluster galaxies in rest-frame UV

Donahue+15, Tremblay+15

THE SCIENCE OF GSMTS

THE EARLY UNIVERSE

▸ <200 pc at any redshift and ~10 pc or better when taking advantageof gravitationally-lensed galaxies

Gravitationally-lensed galaxy at z~3

THE SCIENCE OF GSMTS

RESOLVED STELLAR POPULATIONS TO THE VIRGO CLUSTER

Keck AO: Brightest AGB Stars TMT IRIS: Red Giant Branch Stars

MDickinson/TMT

THE SCIENCE OF GSMTS

NEARBY GALAXIES: ANDROMEDA

MDickinson/TMT

THE SCIENCE OF GSMTS

SCIENCE WITH GSMTS

CLOSING THOUGHTS: THE ROLE OF SIMULATIONS, OBSERVATIONS AND THEORY

▸ Understanding how galaxy evolution happens requires watching the circumgalactic medium

▸ In simulations, the CGM varies wildly from one feedback prescription to the next, while getting the same solution for the stars

▸ Infall, outflow, AND recycling are features.

▸ Production, delivery and mixing of energy & metals are open questions in the simulations and in observations