Science capabilities of the Robert Stobie Spectrograph near infrared arm on SALT

Andrew I. Sheinis; Marsha J. Wolf; Matthew A. Bershady; Kenneth H. Nordsieck; Ryan L. Doering; Theodore B. Williams

doi:10.1117/12.858171

20 July 2010 Science capabilities of the Robert Stobie Spectrograph near infrared arm on SALT

Andrew I. Sheinis, Marsha J. Wolf, Matthew A. Bershady, Kenneth H. Nordsieck, Ryan L. Doering, Theodore B. Williams

Proceedings Volume 7735, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy III; 77354U (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.858171
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2010, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The Robert Stobie Spectrograph Near Infrared Arm (RSS-NIR) is a new instrument on the 11-meter Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), scheduled to begin commissioning in 2012. This versatile instrument will add capabilities that are unique to large telescopes. The main instrument modes include NIR imaging, medium resolution long slit spectroscopy over an 8 arcminute field of view (FOV), multi-object spectroscopy with custom slit masks over an 8x8 arcminute FOV, Fabry-Perot narrowband imaging over an 8 arcminute diameter FOV, and polarimetry and spectropolarimetry over a 4x8 arcminute FOV. Limiting magnitude predictions are 21.1 and 20.1 for J and H band for S/N = 10 per spectral resolution element in 1 hour for 1 arcsec²at an R=7000. All instrument modes can be operated simultaneously with the RSS visible arm, providing spectral coverage from 0.32-1.7 microns. We list the science drivers and describe the way in which they have guided the design for this instrument. We also present a more detailed description of some several planned science programs that will take advantage of the unique capabilities of RSS-VISNIR and the queue-scheduled SALT telescope. Lastly we give a brief description of predicted instrumental performance, along with a comparison to several other NIR instruments at other observatories.

Citation Download Citation

Andrew I. Sheinis, Marsha J. Wolf, Matthew A. Bershady, Kenneth H. Nordsieck, Ryan L. Doering, and Theodore B. Williams "Science capabilities of the Robert Stobie Spectrograph near infrared arm on SALT", Proc. SPIE 7735, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy III, 77354U (20 July 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.858171

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KEYWORDS

Near infrared

Galactic astronomy

Stars

Fabry–Perot interferometers

Telescopes

Spectral resolution

Received signal strength

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