SHARP

SHARP

The ultimate spectrograph

SHORT DESCRIPTION

SHARP is a concept study for a near-infrared spectrograph intended for MORFEO adaptive optics system of the ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope(ELT),

The ELT will provide unique data, comparable in depth to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), but with six times greater clarity. These capabilities are the result of the synergy between the largest mirror in the world (39 m in diameter), and the most advanced adaptive optics system ever, MORFEO, designed to correct a wide field of view from the distortion of light due to atmospheric turbulence. This combination will allow the instruments supported by Morfeo to explore the Universe at unprecedented depths and with unprecedented clarity.

MORFEO will initially work with the MICADO instrument capable of providing near-infrared images but will also be able to support a second instrument. SHARP is proposed as a second instrument for MORFEO and will be the most powerful spectrograph of the JWST era, the only one capable of seeing what other instruments cannot.

The concept of SHARP and its design originally arose from the need for a spectrograph capable of answering questions about the formation and evolution of galaxies, black holes and supermassive structures, and thus capable of exploring the early Universe, galaxies in their early stages of formation. However, the characteristics of SHARP also allow it to probe the near Universe at a level never achieved before, allowing it to penetrate the dust surrounding star-forming regions and gather unique information on the first instants of star formation. SHARP will open new avenues in the space of astrophysical parameters, and we expect it to be decisive in a wide range of research fields.

The capabilities of SHARP will allow to study both the nearby and the early Universe at an unprecedented level of detail. The Morfeo-SHARP system will resolve the physical properties of the first galaxies and star-forming regions within galaxies at remote times, will be able to reveal the first stars born in the Universe and will provide the spectra of individual stars forming in the nearby Universe. MORFEO-SHARP will take up the baton left by JWST at the end of its mission.

Timing
First light for the ELT is currently planned for 2028. By then, the first-generation ELT instruments will all (or almost all) be ready and the progress check (planned for 2025) of the second generation of instruments will be completed.

Given the above timeline, we consider early 2026 as the time when a conceptual study of SHARP should be completed and an international consortium of institutes should be formed (at least partially). This short-term activity aims to prepare to respond to a possible ESO call for new ELT instrumentation that could be announced before the ELT is commissioned.

ROLE OF THE OBSERVATORY

The SHARP project headquarters are located at the Brera Observatory in Milan and the Principal Investigator is our researcher Paolo Saracco.

The team is currently composed of about 60 people affiliated with 10 INAF institutes and 4 universities. The team includes scientists, engineers, optical designers and software developers. This core team was initially assembled to define the main features of SHARP and its optimal positioning, and to manage the concept study phase. The project is now ready to establish a larger internationally structured team to cover all the necessary skills.

The SHARP science team currently comprises about 40 scientists. The team, composed of experts covering a wide range of astrophysical topics, is organized into four Working Groups (WG): WG1 – Early Universe and Cosmology; WG2 – Galaxies and AGN; WG3 – Interstellar Medium, Young Stellar Objects, Planetary Systems; WG4 – Resolved Stellar Populations.

OBSERVATORY STAFF INVOLVED

Paolo Saracco – Principal Investigator – paolo.saracco AT inaf.it
Paolo Conconi
Laura Barbalini – laura.barbalini AT inaf.it
Ilaria Arosio – ilaria.arosio AT inaf.it
Andrea Bianco – andrea.bianco AT inaf.it
Marcella Longhetti – marcella.longhetti AT inaf.it
Emilio Molinari (PM) – emilio.molinari AT inaf.it
Hossein Mahmoodzadeh (PhD) – hossein.mahmoodzadeh AT inaf.it
Marco Riva (Advisor) – marco.riva AT inaf.it
Marcello Scalera (PhD) – marcello.scalera AT inaf.it
GOLEM – Gruppo Ottiche e Lenti a Merate

TIMELINE

2023 –

WEBSITE

SHARP

CONTACT

CREDITS

Web page content: P. Saracco, I. Arosio, L. Barbalini, G. Lops