The attainment of diffraction limited imaging is the most important challenge in ground based astronomical instrumentation. It will allow the investigation of qualitatively new astronomy and extend the sensitivity for detecting point objects by more than 3 magnitudes using existing telescopes. The essential requirements of astronomers are met, at least in the infrared, by an adaptive optics system using a laser beam to produce an artificial star in the upper atmosphere (LASTAR). This system will be able to access much of the sky and carry out photometry over the 256 X 256 pixel areas of the new infrared arrays. This award will support development of such a system for use on the 3.5 m Astrophysical Research Consortium telescope on Apache Point. The telescope will be modified to incorporate the laser, and the system can be mounted permanently as a common-user instrument. Once the system is developed a vigorous scientific program will be carried out to exploit its enormous potential which includes the investigation of the kinematics of the cores of Active Galactic Nuclei and normal galaxies, circumstellar disks, the morphology of distant galaxies, the detection of brown dwarfs, and the detection of distant supernovae. The development of this system is essential to maintain the U.S. lead in this field and is a key technology driver both for the next generation of large telescopes and, in the future, for interferometric arrays necessary for milliarcsecond imaging.
