The Science Case for the Next Generation AO System at W. M. Keck Observatory

摘要

The W. M. Keck Observatory is designing a new adaptive optics system providing precision AO correction in the nearinfrared, good correction at visible wavelengths, and multiplexed spatially resolved spectroscopy. We discuss sciencecases for this Next Generation AO (NGAO), and show how the system requirements were derived from these sciencecases. Key science drivers include asteroid companions, planets around low-mass stars, general relativistic effectsaround the Galactic Center black hole, nearby active galactic nuclei, and high-redshift galaxies (including galaxieslensed by intervening galaxies or clusters). The multi-object AO-corrected integral field spectrograph will be optimizedfor high-redshift galaxy science.