arXiv subjects

Jeong-Yeol Han

Publications and source records attributed to Jeong-Yeol Han.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

3.5-meter Segmented-Mirror Robotic Space Telescope Mission White Paper I. Overall Architecture and Scientific Mission

We present the preliminary science concept and mission architecture of a 3.5-meter segmented-mirror robotic space telescope currently under study. The observatory is conceived as a versatile platform supporting wide-field cosmology and galaxy evolution, direct imaging and characterization of nearby planetary systems, time-domain and multi-messenger observations, compact-object studies, and Solar-System small-body science. These programs share requirements for angular resolution, photometric stability, rapid target acquisition, spectroscopy, and long-term observing efficiency. The telescope employs an 18-segment 3.5-meter primary mirror for high-angular-resolution imaging from the near-ultraviolet through the optical and near-infrared. The current baseline covers 0.2--1.5 $μ$m, with the wavelength for diffraction-limited performance to be set by the final wavefront-error budget. Wide-field imaging is intended for deep surveys, precision photometry, and repeated monitoring over approximately 10' $\times$ 10' to 30' $\times$ 30'. Spectroscopic modes with $R \sim 1000$ and higher-resolution options approaching $R \sim 5000$ are being considered for galaxy surveys, transient classification, compact-object spectroscopy, and targeted studies. A dedicated coronagraph is also being studied for direct observations of nearby exoplanetary systems, with a current raw-contrast goal of order $10^{-8}$ and further gains expected from calibration and post-processing. Candidate mission configurations include the Sun--Earth L2 region and alternative Earth orbits, with the final choice driven by science performance, thermal stability, communications, operations, and mission cost. This paper defines the current science requirements, baseline technical configuration, and engineering trade space for further development of the 3.5mST concept.

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arXiv2026

3.5-meter Segmented-Mirror Robotic Space Telescope Mission White Paper II. Key Scientific Mission: Wide-Field Cosmology and Galaxy Evolution

The 3.5-meter Segmented-Mirror Robotic Space Telescope uses an image slicer for all spectroscopic observations. The planning baseline uses $R \simeq 1000$ for the wide survey and retains selectable $R \simeq 5000$ bands for precision line measurements. The central science case is a dense emission-line galaxy redshift survey for baryon acoustic oscillations and redshift-space distortions. Supernova and quasar programs exploit the stability, multiplexing, and repeatability of space operations. The supernova tier measures rest-frame U and near-ultraviolet magnitudes that separate optical twins at subgroup precision to $z \simeq 0.9$--$1.1$ in standard visits and to $z \simeq 1.3$--$1.5$ in ten-hour stacks. Every wide-survey tile receives three spectroscopic orientations, and a joint scene reconstruction uses their different overlap geometries to recover the spectra. The flagship survey covers 100--300 deg$^2$ and targets $10^6$--$3 \times 10^6$ emission-line galaxies. A deep pencil-beam tier and a supernova time-domain tier complement the wide survey. The same observations provide a census of ultra-diffuse and low-surface-brightness galaxies, map intracluster light, and test cold, self-interacting, and fuzzy dark matter through dwarf-galaxy structure and low-mass halo abundance.

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arXiv2026

3.5-meter Segmented-Mirror Robotic Space Telescope Mission White Paper III. Key Scientific Mission: Exoplanet Science with a Coronagraph

This volume defines the exoplanet science program enabled by the dedicated high-contrast coronagraph in the baseline science payload of the 3.5-meter Segmented-Mirror Robotic Space Telescope. The observatory architecture incorporates the optical interfaces, wavefront sensing and control, pointing stability, and operations software required for coronagraphic observations from the outset. The observing strategy gives priority to the nearest stellar systems because they provide the most accessible laboratories for planetary exploration and the most likely destinations of future interstellar missions. The diffraction limit sets a reflected-light horizon of roughly 10--15 pc for planets at 1 AU and roughly 50--80 pc for Jupiter analogs. Within those horizons, the telescope can image nearby giant planets, obtain reflected-light spectra of their atmospheres, survey young systems and circumstellar disks, and support the habitability and biosignature programs that larger future missions will pursue. The wide-field imager complements the coronagraph through transit photometry, occurrence-rate statistics, and long-term monitoring of stellar magnetic activity. A systematic census of the nearest stellar neighbors provides a lasting reference for exoplanet science and future space exploration.

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arXiv2026

3.5-meter Segmented-Mirror Robotic Space Telescope Mission White Paper IV. Key Scientific Mission: Solar-System Small Bodies and Planetary Defense

The baseline 0.2--1.5 $μ$m observatory provides rapid-response astrometry, visible and near-infrared taxonomy, rotation and phase curves, recovery, and long-arc orbit improvement for near-Earth objects and other small bodies. The instrument study also evaluates calibrated throughput to 2.70 $μ$m with a 3.0 $μ$m operational band-edge goal. A reduction to 2.5 $μ$m remains the formal engineering off-ramp if thermal, detector, cooling, mass, power, or cost constraints require it. The 3.5-meter Segmented-Mirror Robotic Space Telescope does not carry a mid-infrared channel. Coordinated ground-based mid-infrared telescopes provide the thermal fluxes required to infer diameter and albedo, while the space mission supplies contemporaneous reflected-light measurements and observing geometry. The program combines recovery, physical characterization, orbit refinement, and covariance-based hazard assessment. Its CODES dynamics system and OGFinder-to-OpenOrb processing path connect measured astrometry to reproducible orbit solutions and close-approach predictions.

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arXiv2026

3.5-meter Segmented-Mirror Robotic Space Telescope Mission White Paper V. Key Scientific Mission: Compact-Object Time-Domain Science

An isolated compact object retains the point-source resolving power of the space-based slitless spectrograph. The baseline wavelength range is 0.2--1.5 $μ$m. The planning baseline uses $R \simeq 1000$ for broad and faint transient spectra and reserves selectable bands at $R \simeq 5000$ for accretion-disk profiles, velocity structure, and precision line ratios. Broad features can be measured after binning the native $R \simeq 5000$ data to lower resolution. Rapid-response spectroscopy follows gravitational-wave counterparts and kilonovae from hours to days. Repeated spectra of dwarf novae and compact binaries trace accretion state and orbital phase, while uninterrupted imaging of white dwarfs measures pulsation frequencies. The program combines mission-based monitoring with external alerts, including KGMT transient detections. The instrument study must preserve calibrated throughput to 2.70 $μ$m and evaluate a 3.0 $μ$m operational band edge, with 2.5 $μ$m retained as the formal engineering off-ramp. Mid-infrared imaging is not part of the adopted compact-object baseline.

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arXiv2026

The Capella Program: Toward A Space-only High-frequency Radio VLBI Network Formed by Small Satellites in Low Earth Orbits

Very long baseline radio interferometry (VLBI) with ground-based observatories is limited by the size of Earth, the geographic distribution of antennas, and the transparency of the atmosphere. In this whitepaper, we present a design for a space-to-space VLBI program composed of two missions: Mimosa, a pathfinder, and Capella, a science-grade VLBI observatory. Mimosa is a two-element space-to-space radio interferometer composed of two small (250 kg) satellites on co-planar polar circular low Earth orbits. Using single-band, single-circular polarization heterodyne HEMT receivers operating at frequencies around 100 GHz, the interferometer is able to achieve a near-perfect visibility plane coverage and an angular resolution of approximately 35 microarcsec. Capella comprises four small (500 kg) satellites in two orthogonal polar low-Earth orbit planes. With single-band heterodyne receivers operating at frequencies around 690 GHz, the interferometer is able to achieve angular resolutions of approximately 7 microarcsec. Within a total observing time of three days, a near-complete uv plane coverage can be reached. The technology for all key components required - radio telescope, receiver, sampler, recorder, frequency standard, positioning system, data downlink, and pointing control system - is already available, partially off-the-shelf. Capella will be able to address a range of science cases, including: the shadows of supermassive black holes; the acceleration and collimation zones of plasma jets emitted from the vicinity of supermassive black holes; the chemical composition of accretion flows into active galactic nuclei through observations of molecular absorption lines; mapping supermassive binary black holes; the magnetic activity of stars; and nova eruptions of symbiotic binary stars -- and, like any substantially new observing technique, has the potential for unexpected discoveries.

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