Abstract 321

Submitted by Jerry NELSON

Authors

J. Nelson

Affiliations

University of California

Abstract

We describe the overall design of the TMT with emphasis on those parts of the design that impact AO performance. Optimal performance in the near IR ( K band) is achieved by having only 3 ambient temperature mirrors (M1, M2, M3) in the optical path. The actual AO system is cold ( -30°C). Some of the key science drivers will be described, with emphasis on diffraction -limited angular resolution and point source sensitivity. The initial complement of science instruments will be summarized along with their science drivers. The two initial AO instruments will provide diffraction-limited imaging and integral field spectroscopy (IRIS) and multiobject spectroscopy at nearly diffraction-limited quality (IRMS).