Science with SHARK-VIS

SHARK-VIS: Adaptive Optics science in the visible bAND

Despite being more difficult to achieve, AO-assisted observations at visible wavelengths on ground-based 8m telescopes allow us to attain angular resolutions of the order of 15 mas (λ/D), which are comparable to the resolution of the future ELTs in the K-band. Such spatial resolutions, especially when coupled with high-contrast capabilities, are going to open new observational frontiers for many astrophysical topics, like the search and characterization of exoplanets, the study of the structures around both young and evolved stars, the analysis of the innermost regions of AGNs, and the surface characterization of moons and minor bodies of the Solar System. Indeed, an angular resolution of 15 mas corresponds to about 55 km at the distance of Jupiter, to separations below 0.1 AU for stars within 5 pc from the Sun, to 2 AU at the distance of the nearest young stellar objects (150 pc), to 30 pc for nearby AGNs at z=0.1 . 

SHARK-VIS and its twin instrument SHARK-NIR will enable us to take full advantage of the outstanding SOUL AO system of LBT by observing in the so-called "binocular mode", to perform a simultaneous investigation of the targets at high-resolution and high-contrast in both the optical and the near-IR. Furthermore, the additional synergy with LBTI/LMIRCAM will turn LBT into a unique facility for diffraction-limited observations from 5 microns down to 400 nm: an unprecedented observational approach that promises to provide breakthrough results for many astrophysical cases.

A summary for some of the main scientific programs for SHARK-VIS is given in the following sections:

• EXOPLANETS

• PROTOPLANETARY AND DEBRIS DISKS

• VOLCANIC ACTIVITY ON IO

• JETS from YSOs

• MINOR BODIES OF SOLAR SYSTEM

• AGN