Abstract
The far-infrared imager and polarimeter (FIP) for the Origins Space Telescope (Origins) is a basic far-infrared imager and polarimeter. The camera will deliver continuum images and polarization measurements at 50 and 250 μm. Currently available detector technologies provide sufficient sensitivity for background limited observations from space, at least on a single pixel basis. FIP incorporates large next-generation superconducting detector arrays and our technology development plan will push the pixel numbers for the arrays to the required size of 8000. Two superconducting detector technologies are currently candidates for the instrument: transition edge sensors or microwave kinetic inductance devices. Using these detectors and taking advantage of the cryogenic telescope that is provided by Origins, FIP will achieve mapping speeds of up to eight orders of magnitude faster than what has been achieved by existing observatories. The science drivers for FIP include observations of solar system objects, dust properties, and magnetic field studies of the nearby interstellar medium, and large scale galaxy surveys to better constrain the star formation history of the universe to address one of the main themes of Origins: “How does the Universe work?” In addition to the science, the FIP instrument plays a critical functional role in aligning the mirrors during on orbit observatory commissioning.
Highlights
The far-infrared (FIR) foreground level in space is very low,[1] leaving significant room for future space-based missions to achieve more than three orders of magnitude improvement in sensitivity over former missions, such as AKARI,[2] Infrared Space Observatory,[3] Spitzer,[4] and Herschel.[5]
The far-infrared imager and polarimeter (FIP) wide survey at 50 μm can detect more than 99% of the galaxies detected by the Nancy Roman Space telescope-HLS and provide star formation rates (SFRs) and dust masses to complement the stellar mass measurements from the near-infrared
There are currently two potential technologies considered for the detectors: transition edge sensors (TES) or microwave kinetic inductance devices (KIDs), see Ref. 18
Summary
The far-infrared (FIR) foreground level in space is very low,[1] leaving significant room for future space-based missions to achieve more than three orders of magnitude improvement in sensitivity over former missions, such as AKARI,[2] Infrared Space Observatory,[3] Spitzer,[4] and Herschel.[5]. To be sky-noise limited, space-based FIR telescopes need to be cooled to cryogenic power (NEP). Staguhn et al.: Far-infrared imager and polarimeter for the origins space telescope photon noise limited.[1] The Origins Space Telescope (Origins) consists of a 5.9-m on-axis telescope cooled to 4.5 degrees Kelvin. This feeds an instrument suite consisting of a mid-infrared spectrometer, specialized for the characterization of transiting exoplanets around M-stars [MidInfrared Spectrometer (Camera) Transit Spectrometer6], the far-infrared survey spectrometer OSS,[7] and the Far-IR imager/polarimeter (FIP), described here. A combination of deep and wide unbiased spectroscopic surveys obtained with the onboard FIR spectrometer OSS with wide-area FIP continuum surveys will enable Origins to measure star formation and AGN growth, the rise of metals, and feedback in galaxies over cosmic time and across the cosmic web.[11]
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