Answering the big questions in astronomy with astrophotonic spectroscopy

Astrophotonics offers the means to answer some of the most outstanding questions in astronomy by improving the versatility and therefore the scientific productivity of highly-multiplexed and precision spectroscopic systems. Together with the increased collecting aperture of the next generation of telescopes and wide-field Adaptive Optics, large, high-precision surveys of faint objects, selected primarily by mass content rather than luminous output, will be possible. Tight control over the instrument characteristics will also permit recovery of the most subtle spectral features. This requires the imaginative use of photonic devices and principles. Key questions for astronomy are: the composition of the universe, following the discovery of dark energy, requiring a revision to our knowledge of the equation of state of the universe and its evolution over cosmic timescales; the process by which the universe was re-ionised and the identity of the first luminous emitters and their interaction with the blanketing material in which they were born; the process of galactic construction inferred directly from observations of the faintest galaxies and by the chemical and kinematic imprint on stars in our neighbourhood; the mechanisms powering the active galactic nuclei which control galaxy evolution´ and the detection and characterisation of life-bearing planets. These are big questions which require highly-multiplexed spectroscopy to generate statistically-valid samples of targets and precision spectroscopy to measure tiny signals to great accuracy.