M. Velázquez

Early Science with the Large Millimeter Telescope: COOL BUDHIES I - a pilot study of molecular and atomic gas at z ≃ 0.2

An understanding of the mass build-up in galaxies over time necessitates tracing the evolution of cold gas (molecular and atomic) in galaxies. To that end, we have conducted a pilot study called CO Observations with the LMT of the Blind Ultra-Deep H I Environment Survey (COOL BUDHIES). We have observed 23 galaxies in and around the two clusters Abell 2192 (z = 0.188) and Abell 963 (z = 0.206), where 12 are cluster members and 11 are slightly in the foreground or background, using about 28 total hours on the Redshift Search Receiver on the Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT) to measure the 12CO J = 1 → 0 emission line and obtain molecular gas masses. These new observations provide a unique opportunity to probe both the molecular and atomic components of galaxies as a function of environment beyond the local Universe. For our sample of 23 galaxies, nine have reliable detections (S/N ≥ 3.6) of the 12CO line, and another six have marginal detections (2.0 CO line, and another six have marginal detections (2.0 CO line, and another six have marginal detections (2.0 9 and 1010 M⊙. Comparing our results to other studies of molecular gas, we find that our sample is significantly more abundant in molecular gas overall, when compared to the stellar and the atomic gas component, and our median molecular gas fraction lies about 1σ above the upper limits of proposed redshift evolution in earlier studies. We discuss possible reasons for this discrepancy, with the most likely conclusion being target selection and Eddington bias.

MEGARA, the new intermediate-resolution optical IFU and MOS for GTC: getting ready for the telescope

MEGARA (Multi-Espectrógrafo en GTC de Alta Resolución para Astronomía) is an optical Integral-Field Unit (IFU) and Multi-Object Spectrograph (MOS) designed for the GTC 10.4m telescope in La Palma that is being built by a Consortium led by UCM (Spain) that also includes INAOE (Mexico), IAA-CSIC (Spain), and UPM (Spain). The instrument is currently finishing AIV and will be sent to GTC on November 2016 for its on-sky commissioning on April 2017. The MEGARA IFU fiber bundle (LCB) covers 12.5x11.3 arcsec2 with a spaxel size of 0.62 arcsec while the MEGARA MOS mode allows observing up to 92 objects in a region of 3.5x3.5 arcmin2 around the IFU. The IFU and MOS modes of MEGARA will provide identical intermediate-to-high spectral resolutions (RFWHM~6,000, 12,000 and 18,700, respectively for the low-, mid- and high-resolution Volume Phase Holographic gratings) in the range 3700-9800ÅÅ. An x-y mechanism placed at the pseudo-slit position allows (1) exchanging between the two observing modes and (2) focusing the spectrograph for each VPH setup. The spectrograph is a collimator-camera system that has a total of 11 VPHs simultaneously available (out of the 18 VPHs designed and being built) that are placed in the pupil by means of a wheel and an insertion mechanism. The custom-made cryostat hosts a 4kx4k 15-μm CCD. The unique characteristics of MEGARA in terms of throughput and versatility and the unsurpassed collecting are of GTC make of this instrument the most efficient tool to date to analyze astrophysical objects at intermediate spectral resolutions. In these proceedings we present a summary of the instrument characteristics and the results from the AIV phase. All subsystems have been successfully integrated and the system-level AIV phase is progressing as expected.

MEGARA cryostat advanced design

MEGARA (Multi-Espectrógrafo en GTC de Alta Resolución para Astronomía) is an optical Integral-Field Unit and Multi-Object Spectrograph designed for the GTC (Gran Telescopio de Canarias) 10.4m telescope in La Palma. MEGARA project has already passed preliminary design review and the optics critical design review, first-light it is expected to take place at the end of 2016. MEGARA is a development under a GRANTECAN contract. In this paper we summarize the current status of the LN2 open-cycle cryostat which has been designed by the “Astronomical Instrumentation Lab for Millimeter Wavelengths” at the Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica (INAOE) and emphasize the key parts of the system that have updated since the Preliminary Design, the main activities related to acceptance, integration, fabrication and maintenance plans which fit into the overall structure of the management plan of MEGARA are also described. The cryogenic work package of MEGARA has completed all the design stages and is ready for its Critical Design Review and then proceed to fabrication.

The Large Millimeter telescope Alfonso Serrano: scientific operation of the LMT 50-m, first results and next steps (Conference Presentation)

The Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT) Alfonso Serrano is a bi-national (Mexico and USA) telescope facility operated by the Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica, Optica y Electronica (INAOE) and the University of Massachusetts. The LMT is designed as a 50-m diameter single-dish millimeter-wavelength telescope that is optimized to conduct scientific observations at frequencies between ~70 and 350 GHz. The LMT is constructed on the summit of Sierra Negra at an altitude of 4600m in the Mexican state of Puebla. The site offers excellent mm-wavelength atmospheric transparency all-year round, and the opportunity to conduct submillimeter wavelength observations during the winter months. Following first-light observations in mid-2011, the LMT began regular scientific operations in 2014 with a shared-risk Early Science observing program using the inner 32-m diameter of the primary reflector with an active surface control system. The LMT has already performed successful VLBI observations at 3mm with the High Sensitivity Array and also at 1.3mm as part of the Event Horizon Telescope. Since early 2018 the LMT has begun full scientific operations as a 50-m diameter telescope, making the LMT 50-m the world´s largest single-dish telescope operating at 1.1mm. I will describe the current status of the telescope project, including the early scientific results from the LMT 50-m, as well the instrumentation development program, the plan to improve the overall performance of the telescope, and the on-going transition towards the formation of the LMT Observatory to support the scientific community in their use of the LMT to study the formation and evolution of structure at all cosmic epochs.

Integration and characterization of the cryogenic system of MEGARA

MEGARA (Multi-Espectrógrafo en GTC de Alta Resolución para Astronomía) is an optical Integral-Field Unit and Multi-Object Spectrograph designed for the GTC (Gran Telescopio de Canarias) 10.4m telescope in La Palma, it is expected that the spectrograph will be delivered to GTC towards the end of 2016. MEGARA includes an open cycle cryostat which harbors the scientific CCD of the instrument at an operating temperature of 153 K, this cryogenic system has been designed and integrated by the “Astronomical Instrumentation Lab for Millimeter Wavelengths” at the Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica (INAOE) in Mexico. Early this year the cryostat has finished its fabrication and now it is on AIV phases, in this paper we report the cryostat CCD-head and dewar back integration, vacuum and cryogenic test results are also reported. The final integration of the cryostat with the other components of the instrument is taking place at LICA lab at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

A Fast Fourier Transform Spectrometer design for submillimeter site testing.

We report the design of a sub-millimeter Fourier Transform Spectrometer of the Martin Puplett type (FTS-MP here after). The instrument will be installed on Sierra La Negra, and will operate from ~215 GHz to 1 THz approximately with a moderate resolution of 500 MHz. The main motivations of the work are the development of basic instrumentation for characterizing the LMT site (Large Millimeter Telescope) as well as optical components and to provide a portable broadband system for site testing. The collected data will be used for transmission model validation. The data also will influence the design of the new generation of sub-millimeter and millimeter cameras for the LMT. In the present work we emphasize cryogenic detector system design (bolometer detector and coupling optics) and the optical system layout for the FTS-MP. Test measurements in the laboratory are reported in this work.