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arXiv · 0806.1884

The Observatory for Multi-Epoch Gravitational Lens Astrophysics (OMEGA)

Leonidas A Moustakas·Adam J Bolton·Jeffrey T Booth·James S Bullock·Edward Cheng·Dan Coe·Christopher D Fassnacht·Varoujan Gorjian·Cate Heneghan·Charles R Keeton·Christopher S Kochanek·Charles R Lawrence·Philip J Marshall·R Benton Metcalf·Priyamvada Natarajan·Shouleh Nikzad·Bradley M Peterson·Joachim Wambsganss
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Abstract

(abridged) The Observatory for Multi-Epoch Gravitational Lens Astrophysics (OMEGA) is a mission concept for a 1.5-m near-UV through near-IR space observatory that will be dedicated to frequent imaging and spectroscopic monitoring of ~100 multiply-imaged active galactic nuclei over the whole sky. Using wavelength-tailored dichroics with extremely high transmittance, efficient imaging in six channels will be done simultaneously during each visit to each target. The separate spectroscopic mode, engaged through a flip-in mirror, uses an image slicer spectrograph. After a period of many visits to all targets, the resulting multidimensional movies can then be analyzed to a) measure the mass function of dark matter substructure; b) measure precise masses of the accreting black holes as well as the structure of their accretion disks and their environments over several decades of physical scale; and c) measure a combination of the local Hubble expansion and cosmological distances to unprecedented precision.

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Leonidas A Moustakas, Adam J Bolton, Jeffrey T Booth, James S Bullock, Edward Cheng, Dan Coe, Christopher D Fassnacht, Varoujan Gorjian, Cate Heneghan, Charles R Keeton, Christopher S Kochanek, Charles R Lawrence, Philip J Marshall, R Benton Metcalf, Priyamvada Natarajan, Shouleh Nikzad, Bradley M Peterson, Joachim Wambsganss. 2008-06-11. The Observatory for Multi-Epoch Gravitational Lens Astrophysics (OMEGA). https://doi.org/10.1117/12.789987

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