KEOPS: Kiloparsec Explorer for Optical Planet Search, a direct-imaging optical array at Dome C of Antarctica

• Published in: SPIE Proceedings, New Frontiers in Stellar Interferometry
• Main Authors: Vakili, Farrokh, Belu, Adrian, Aristidi, Eric, Fossat, Eric, Maillard, A., Abe, Lyu, Agabi, Karim, Vernin, Jean, Daban, Jean Baptiste, B, Hertmanni, Wilfried, Schmider, François-Xavier, X, Assus, Pierre, Coudé Du Foresto, Vincent, Swain, Mark, G.
• Other Authors: Laboratoire Hippolyte Fizeau (FIZEAU), Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) (UNS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Université Côte d'Azur (UniCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UniCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire Universitaire d'Astrophysique de Nice (LUAN), Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) (UNS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Joseph Louis LAGRANGE (LAGRANGE), Laboratoire de Cosmologie, Astrophysique Stellaire & Solaire, de Planétologie et de Mécanique des Fluides (CASSIOPEE), Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), University of Calgary
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2004
• Subjects: [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-02480089; https://hal.science/hal-02480089/document; https://hal.science/hal-02480089/file/keops_spie.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1117/12.561498

International audience Recent site seeing testing campaigns conducted by our team from University of Nice1 show that Dome C represents the best site on Earth for astronomical high angular resolution (HAR) observations at optical and IR wavelengths. The dramatic gain over relevant HAR parameters r0, L0, θ0 and τ0, added to very low temperatures during the polar winter nights (-70°C), the dry atmosphere and the possibility of continuous observations during several nights make Dome C the ideal site for deploying a kilometric optical interferometer before the 2015 horizon. Here we describe the concept of Kiloparsec Explorer for Optical Planet Search (KEOPS) that is studied by our group at LUAN. KEOPS is an interferometric array of 36 off-axis telescopes, each 1.5m in diameter. Its kilometric baselines open sub-mas snap-shot imaging possibilities to detect and characterize extra-solar planetary systems, especially exo-Earths out to 300 parsecs from the visible to the thermal IR. KEOPS can be considered as a DARWIN/TPF challenger but at a much lower cost.