Precision Photometry to Study the Nature of Dark Energy
Over the past decade scientists have collected convincing evidence that the expansion of the universe is accelerating, leading to the conclusion that the content of our universe is dominated by a mysterious 'dark energy'. The fact that present theory cannot account for the dark energy has made the determination of the nature of dark energy central to the field of high energy physics. It is expected that nothing short of a revolution in our understanding of the fundamental laws of physics is required to fully understand the accelerating universe. Discovering the nature of dark energy is a very difficult task, and requires experiments that employ a combination of different observational techniques, such as type-Ia supernovae, gravitational weak lensing surveys, galaxy and galaxy cluster surveys, and baryon acoustic oscillations. A critical component of any approach to understanding the nature of dark energy is precision photometry. This report addresses just that. Most dark energy missions will require photometric calibration over a wide range of intensities using standardized stars and internal reference sources. All of the techniques proposed for these missions rely on a complete understanding of the linearity of the detectors. The technical report focuses on the investigation and characterization of 'reciprocity failure', a newly discovered count-rate dependent nonlinearity in the NICMOS cameras on the Hubble Space Telescope. In order to quantify reciprocity failure for modern astronomical detectors, we built a dedicated reciprocity test setup that produced a known amount of light on a detector, and to measured its response as a function of light intensity and wavelength.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG02-08ER41566
- OSTI ID:
- 1004171
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/ER/41566; TRN: US1202643
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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