SHARK-VIS
the new high-contrast optical imager of the LBT
Overview
SHARK-VIS is the upcoming optical (400-900 nm) high-contrast and coronagraphic instrument of the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). Mounted on one of the 8.2m telescopes of LBT, it will provide unprecedented high-angular-resolution and high-contrast capabilities in the visible band, thanks to both its innovative fast-cadence-imaging approach and the brand new LBT extreme Adaptive Optics system SOUL.
As successfully demonstrated by its precursor instrument (the Forerunner), SHARK-VIS will deliver diffraction-limited images with angular resolutions of 16 mas in the R band, working in synergy with its near-infrared counterpart SHARK-NIR at LBT, to investigate many scientific cases at the forefront of the current astrophysical research.
SHARK-VIS is a PI-instrument designed and built at INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma. The installation at LBT is foreseen in 2022.
SHARK-VIS in a nutshell
Wavelength coverage: 400-900 nm
Field of View: (maximum) 10"x10"
Angular resolution: 16 mas in the R band
Pixel scale: 6.5 mas/pixel
Observing modes: broad-band and narrow-band imaging, spectral differential imaging (SDI), coronagraphy
Filters: B, V, R, I, z (>700 nm), Hα, [OI], [OIII]
Coronagraphs: Lyot (IWA 50, 100, 200 mas), Gauss (IWA 50, 100, 200 mas)
Cadence: 1kHz on 1".2 field of view, 260 Hz on 5'', and 65 Hz on 10''.
A detailed description of the instrument and its components is presented in the instrument pages.
Detection and characterization of young gas giant exoplanets and brown dwarfs
Disks and jets around young stellar objects
Characterization of minor bodies of the Solar System
Feeding and feedback mechanism of AGNs
Envelopes around evolved stars
Close binary systems
Volcanic activity on Io
The main SHARK-VIS scientific aims are presented in the science page.
SHARK-VIS has been designed, developed, and built by the ADONI (ADaptive Optics National Italian laboratory) group of the INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, which is led by the instrument P.I. Fernando Pedichini.
Several papers have already been published based on the preparatory work for SHARK-VIS and on the observations carried out with the precursor instrument, the Forerunner.
SHARK-VIS will be not only a unique instrument capable of exploring the realm of angular resolutions around 15 mas, but also a pioneering experiment for investigating, testing, and developing algorithms that are required to further push the high-contrast techniques in the optical bands, which definitely represents the next challenge for near-future astronomical observations.