Strategies for spectroscopy on Extremely Large Telescopes – II. Diverse-field spectroscopy

The fields of view of Extremely Large Telescopes will contain vast numbers of spatial sampling elements (spaxels) as their adaptive optics systems approach the diffraction limit over wide fields. Since this will exceed the detection capabilities of any realistic instrument, the field must be dilutely sampled to extract spectroscopic data from selected regions of interest. The scientific return will be maximized if the sampling pattern provides an adaptable combination of separated independent spaxels and larger contiguous subfields, seamlessly combining integral-field and multiple-object spectroscopy. We illustrate the utility of this diverse-field spectroscopy (DFS) to cosmological studies of galaxy assembly. We show how to implement DFS with an instrument concept: the Celestial Selector. This integrates highly multiplexed monolithic fibre systems and switching networks of the type currently available in the telecommunications industry. It avoids bulky moving parts, whose limitations were noted in Paper I. In Paper III, we will investigate the optimization of such systems by varying the input–output mapping.     

A fully automated data reduction pipeline for the FRODOSpec integral field spectrograph

A fully autonomous data reduction pipeline has been developed for FRODOSpec, an optical fibre‐fed integral field spectrograph currently in use at the Liverpool Telescope. This paper details the process required for the reduction of data taken using an integral field spectrograph and presents an overview of the computational methods implemented to create the pipeline. Analysis of errors and possible future enhancements are also discussed (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Techniques for reducing fiber‐fed and integral‐field spectroscopy data: An implementation on R3D

This paper describes the general characteristics of raw data from fiber‐fed spectrographs in general and fiber‐fed IFUs in particular. The different steps of the data reduction are presented, and the techniques used to address the unusual characteristics of these data are described in detail. These techniques have been implemented in a specialized software package, R3D, developed to reduce fiber‐based integral field spectroscopy (IFS) data. The package comprises a set of command‐line routines adapted for each of these steps, suitable for creating pipelines. The routines have been tested against simulations, and against real data from various integral field spectrographs (PMAS, PPAK, GMOS, VIMOS and INTEGRAL). Particular attention is paid to the treatment of cross‐talk. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

HERMES at Mercator,competitive high‐resolution spectroscopy with a small telescope

HERMES, a fibre‐fed high‐resolution (R = 85000) échelle spectrograph with good stability and excellent throughput, is the work‐horse instrument of the 1.2‐m Mercator telescope on La Palma. HERMES targets building up time series of high‐quality data of variable stellar phenomena, mainly for asteroseismology and binary‐evolution research. In this paper we present the HERMES project and discuss the instrument design, performance, and a future upgrade. We also present some results of the first four years of HERMES observations. We illustrate the value of small telescopes, equipped with efficient instrumentation, for high‐resolution spectroscopy. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Optimizing CCDs for spectrographs

For a spectrograph giving a fixed format spectrum,the quantum efficiency (QE) can be optimized for the different wavelengthsacross the CCD. It is shown that a slight modification of the conventionalsingle layer anti-reflection coating can give major improvements in QE forsuch instruments, while at the same time minimizing problems with fringingand stray light from the CCD.     

Strategies for spectroscopy on extremely large telescopes – III. Remapping switched fibre systems

We explore the use of remapping techniques to improve the efficiency of highly multiplexed fibre systems for astronomical spectroscopy. This is particularly important for the implementation of diverse field spectroscopy (DFS) using highly multiplexed monolithic fibre systems (MFS). DFS allows arbitrary distributions of target regions to be addressed to optimize observing efficiency when observing complex, clumpy structures such as protoclusters which will be increasingly accessible to extremely large telescopes. We show how the adoption of various types of remapping between the input and output of an MFS can allow contiguous regions of spatial elements to be selected using only simple switch arrays. Finally, we show how this compares in efficiency with integral-field and multi-object spectroscopy by simulations using artificial and real catalogues of objects. With the adoption of these mapping strategies, DFS outperforms other techniques when addressing a range of realistic target distributions. These techniques are also applicable to biomedical science and were in fact inspired by it.     

Age‐dating a star‐burst with GEMINI/CIRPASS observations of the core of M83

We present preliminary results from a set of near‐IR integral field spectroscopic observations of the central, star‐burst, regions of the barred spiral galaxy M83, obtained with CIRPASS on Gemini‐S. We present maps in the Paβ and [FeII] 1.257 μm emission lines which appear surprisingly different. We outline the procedure in which we will use Paβ emission line strengths and measures of CO absorption to determine the relative and absolute ages of individual star‐forming knots in the central kpc region of M83. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

X‐shooter: What stands behind the good performance

One year of operations demonstrated the high level of scientific performance of the X‐shooter spectrograph. The excellent science opened by this instrument is described in various papers within this volume. The purpose of this contribution is to briefly describe the novel technical solution adopted in the design and construction phase of X‐shooter that made it a successful instrument and the aforementioned science possible (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

An experimental investigation of immersed gratings

A generic problem with spectrographs equipped with conventional diffraction gratings is that the maximum attainable spectral resolution scales inversely with the telescope aperture for a fixed grating dimension and angular slit width. It has long been realized that immersed gratings, where a prism is attached to the surface of a reflection grating, offer a means to bypass this limit. We show how, for the case of the Gemini Multiobject Spectrographs, the maximum spectral resolution may be approximately doubled, or, equivalently, how the same spectral resolution may be obtained with a wider slit, resulting in improved throughput when observing extended objects.
After reviewing the theory of immersed gratings, we present experimental verification of the theory and experimentally quantify two potential drawbacks: reduced throughput at blaze, and ghost images . We show that these effects are small and conclude that the benefits greatly outweigh the disadvantages.     

Properties of optical fibres at cryogenic temperatures

A perhaps surprising property of optical fibres is that they remain flexible at cryogenic temperatures. This implies that they may be used for multiple-object and integral field spectroscopy in the thermal infrared in cryogenic instrumentation. In this paper the results of performance tests of optical fibres (silica and zirconium fluoride) at cryogenic temperatures are presented. By mounting the fibres in glass tubes with the appropriate adhesive, it was found that only negligible focal ratio degradation occurs when the fibre is cooled to 77 K.     

High‐fidelity spectroscopy at the highest resolutions

High‐fidelity spectroscopy presents challenges for both observations and in designing instruments. High‐resolution and high‐accuracy spectra are required for verifying hydrodynamic stellar atmospheres and for resolving intergalactic absorption‐line structures in quasars. Even with great photon fluxes from large telescopes with matching spectrometers, precise measurements of line profiles and wavelength positions encounter various physical, observational, and instrumental limits. The analysis may be limited by astrophysical and telluric blends, lack of suitable lines, imprecise laboratory wavelengths, or instrumental imperfections. To some extent, such limits can be pushed by forming averages over many similar spectral lines, thus averaging away small random blends and wavelength errors. In situations where theoretical predictions of lineshapes and shifts can be accurately made (e.g., hydrodynamic models of solar‐type stars), the consistency between noisy observations and theoretical predictions may be verified; however this is not feasible for, e.g., the complex of intergalactic metal lines in spectra of distant quasars, where the primary data must come from observations. To more fully resolve lineshapes and interpret wavelength shifts in stars and quasars alike, spectral resolutions on order R = 300 000 or more are required; a level that is becoming (but is not yet) available. A grand challenge remains to design efficient spectrometers with resolutions approaching R = 1 000 000 for the forthcoming generation of extremely large telescopes (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Exact optics – V. Null tests for the mirrors of Schwarzschild's spectrograph camera

Null tests are described for the strongly curved and highly aspheric mirrors of a set of 'exact optics' spectrograph cameras based on the design of Schwarzschild. For f /1.0 and f /1.333 cameras having a focal length of 100 mm the tests of each mirror are well within the Rayleigh limit and would permit construction on a larger scale. The ray-theoretical image diameters at the edge of the field of view of these two cameras are under 10 μm unless they are scaled up to an aperture greater than 450 mm.     

FIES: The high‐resolution Fiber‐fed Echelle Spectrograph at the Nordic Optical Telescope

FIES is a cross‐dispersed high‐resolution echelle spectrograph at the 2.56 m Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT), and was optimised for throughput and stability in 2006. The major 2006 upgrade involved the relocation of FIES to a stable environment and development of a fiber bundle that offers 3 different resolution modes, and made FIES an attractive tool for the user community of the NOT. Radial‐velocity stability is achieved through double‐chamber active temperature control. A dedicated data reduction tool, FIEStool, was developed. As a result of these upgrades, FIES is now one of the work‐horse instruments at the NOT. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)