Steven N. Raines

Performance of the FLAMINGOS Near-IR Multi-object Spectrometer and Imager and Plans for FLAMINGOS-2: a Fully Cryogenic Near-IR MOS for Gemini South

We report on the performance of FLAMINGOS, the worlds first fully cryogenic near-IR multi-object spectrometer. FLAMINGOS has a fast all refractive optical system, which can be used at telescopes slower than f/7.5. This makes FLAMINGOS a very efficient wide-field imager when used on fast small aperture telescopes and a high AW spectrometer using laser machined aperture masks for MOS spectroscopy. FLAMINGOS uses a 2048x2048 HgCdTe HAWAII-2 array by the Rockwell Science Center. The array is readout through 32 amplifiers, which results in low overheads for observations. We describe both the operating characteristics of the HAWAII-2 array and of the array controller and data acquisition system. FLAMINGOS has been in operation for about 1.5 years and is now in routine use on four telescopes: The Kitt Peak 4-m and 2.1-m, The 6.5-m MMT and the 8-m Gemini South Telescope. We will describe the operating characteristics of FLAMINGOS on each of these telescopes that deliver fields-of-view from 21x21 arcminutes to 2.7x2.7 arcminutes and pixels from 0.6 arcseconds to 0.08 arcseconds. While providing a large AW product for fast telescopes (i.e. f/8), FLAMINGOS becomes progressively less efficient on slower telescopes. Since nearly all large telescopes have fairly slow optical systems (f/12 or slower) the combination of large aperture and slow optical systems makes FLAMINGOS ill suited for optimal performance on current large aperture telescopes. Thus, we are beginning construction of FLAMINGOS-2, which will be optimized for performance on the f/16 Gemini South 8-m telescope. Similar to FLAMINGOS, FLAMINGOS-2 will be fully refractive using grisms, laser machined aperture masks and a 2048x2048 HgCdTe HAWAII-2 array. FLAMINGOS-2 will provide a 6.1 arcminute field-of-view with 0.18 arcsecond pixels. FLAMINGOS-2 will also be designed to except an f/32 beam from the Gemini South MCAO system.

The development of WIFIS: a wide integral field infraredspectrograph

We present the current results from the development of a wide integral field infrared spectrograph (WIFIS). WIFIS offers an unprecedented combination of etendue and spectral resolving power for seeing-limited, integral field observations in the 0.9 - 1.8 μm range and is most sensitive in the 0.9 - 1.35 μ,m range. Its optical design consists of front-end re-imaging optics, an all-reflective image slicer-type, integral field unit (IFU) called FISICA, and a long-slit grating spectrograph back-end that is coupled with a HAWAII 2RG focal plane array. The full wavelength range is achieved by selecting between two different gratings. By virtue of its re-imaging optics, the spectrograph is quite versatile and can be used at multiple telescopes. The size of its field-of-view is unrivalled by other similar spectrographs, offering a 4.511x 1211 integral field at a 10-meter class telescope (or 2011 x 5011 at a 2.3-meter telescope). The use of WIFIS will be crucial in astronomical problems which require wide-field, two-dimensional spectroscopy such as the study of merging galaxies at moderate redshift and nearby star/planet-forming regions and supernova remnants. We discuss the final optical design of WIFIS, and its predicted on-sky performance on two reference telescope platforms: the 2.3-m Steward Bok telescope and the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias. We also present the results from our laboratory characterization of FISICA. IFU properties such as magnification, field-mapping, and slit width along the entire slit length were measured by our tests. The construction and testing of WIFIS is expected to be completed by early 2013. We plan to commission the instrument at the 2.3-m Steward Bok telescope at Kitt Peak, USA in Spring 2013.

Probing the super star cluster environment of NGC 1569 using FISICA

We present near-IR JH spectra of the central regions of the dwarf starburst galaxy NGC 1569 using the Florida Image Slicer for Infrared Cosmology and Astrophysics (FISICA). The dust-penetrating properties and available spectral features of the near-IR, combined with the integral field unit (IFU) capability to take spectra of a field, make FISICA an ideal tool for this work. We use the prominent [He I] (1.083 μm) and Paβ (1.282 μm) lines to probe the dense star-forming regions as well as characterize the general star-forming environment around the super star clusters (SSCs) in NGC 1569. We find [He I] coincident with CO clouds to the north and west of the SSCs, which provides the first, conclusive evidence for embedded star clusters

The mid-resolution InfRAreD Astronomical Spectrograph (MIRADAS) for the Gran Telescopio Canarias

In response to an Announcement of Opportunity for new instrumentation for the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) issued on October 2009, an international team led by the University of Florida and composed of scientists and engineers from 8 institutions in 3 countries submitted a proposal for building a highly powerful instrument within the required envelope and budget. The MIRADAS instrument will be a common user NIR multi object spectrograph equipped with a sophisticated multiplexing system (MXS) able to deliver spectral resolutions of R~20,000 in the wavelength range from 1 to 2.5 microns for up to 20 objects simultaneously sparsely distributed over a field of regard of 5 arcmin in diameter. In this paper, we summarize the main instrumental features of the proposed instrument which is under review by the GTC Project Office.

Demonstration of high-performance cryogenic probe arms for deployable IFUs

We describe the design, development, and laboratory test results of cryogenic probe arms feeding deployable integral field units (IFUs) for the Mid-resolution InfRAreD Astronomical Spectrograph (MIRADAS) - a near-infrared multi-object echelle spectrograph for the 10.4-meter Gran Telescopio Canarias. MIRADAS selects targets using 20 positionable pickoff mirror optics on cryogenic probe arms, each feeding a 3.7x1.2-arcsec field of view to the spectrograph integral field units, while maintaining excellent diffraction-limited image quality. The probe arms are based on a concept developed for the ACES instrument for Gemini and IRMOS for TMT. We report on the detailed design and opto-mechanical testing of MIRADAS prototype probe arms, including positioning accuracy, repeatability, and reliability under fully cryogenic operation, and their performance for MIRADAS. We also discuss potential applications of this technology to future instruments.

Kinematic modeling and path planning for MIRADAS arms

The Mid-resolution InfRAreD Astronomical Spectrograph (MIRADAS) is a near-infrared (NIR) multi-object spectrograph for the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC). It can simultaneously observe multiple targets selected by 20 identical deployable probe arms with pickoff mirror optics. The bases of the arms are fixed to the multiplexing system (MXS) plate, a circular platform, and arranged in a circular layout with minimum separation between elements of the arms. This document presents the MXS prototype P2a, a full-scale, fully operational prototype of a MIRADAS probe arm. This planar closed-loop mechanism compared to other previous designs offers some advantages specially in terms of stability and from the point of view of optics. Unfortunately, these benefits come at the expense of a more complicated kinematics and an unintuitive arm motion. Furthermore, the cryogenic motor controllers used in prototyping impose severe restrictions in path planing. They negatively impact in the slice of pie approach, a collision-avoidance patrolling strategy that can gives good results in other scenarios. This study is a starting point to define collision-free trajectory algorithms for the 20 probe arms of MIRADAS.

Status and first results of the Canarias infrared camera experiment (CIRCE) for the Gran Telescopio Canarias

CIRCE is a near-infrared (1-2.5 micron) imager, polarimeter and low-resolution spectrograph intended as a visitor instrument for the Gran Telescopio Canarias 10.-4m telescope. It was built largely by graduate students and postdocs, with help from the UF astronomy engineering group, and is funded by the University of Florida and the U.S. National Science Foundation. CIRCE is intended to help fill the gap in time between GTC first light and the arrival of EMIR, and will also provide the following scientific capabilities to compliment EMIR after its arrival: high- resolution imaging, narrowband imaging, high-time-resolution photometry, imaging- and spectro- polarimetry, low-resolution spectroscopy. In this poster, we review the lab testing results for CIRCE from 2013 and describe the instrument status (currently in shipment to GTC).

The Canarias InfraRed Camera Experiment (CIRCE): Progress of the Opto- and Cryo- mechanical Design and Manufacture

We present the current status of the Canarias InfraRed Camera Experiment (CIRCE) an all-reflective near-IR, imager, spectrograph, and polarimeter for the 10.4-meter Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC). In particular, we review the progress of the opto- and cryo- mechanical design and manufacture, focusing on the custom filter, lyot, and grism wheels, lightweight optics, and mirror brackets. We also outline our progress with the optical bench. Finally, we discuss a number of CIRCEs features that both complement and augment the planned suite of GTC facility instruments.

The University of Florida's next-generation cryogenic infrared focal plane array controller system

The Infrared Instrumentation Group at the University of Florida has substantial experience building IR focal plane array (FPA) controllers and seamlessly integrating them into the instruments that it builds for 8-meter class observatories, including writing device drivers for UNIX-based computer systems. We report on a design study to investigate implementing an ASIC from Teledyne Imaging Systems (TIS) into our IR FPA controller while simultaneously replacing TISs interface card with one that eliminates the requirement for a Windows-OS computer within the instruments control system.

Characterization and testing of FLAMINGOS-2: the Gemini facility near-infrared multi-object spectrometer and wide-field imager

FLAMINGOS-2 is a near-infrared wide-field imager and fully cryogenic multi-object spectrometer for Gemini Observatory being built by the University of Florida. FLAMINGOS-2 can simultaneously carry 9 custom cryogenic multi-object slit masks exchangeable without thermally cycling the entire instrument. Three selectable grisms provide resolving powers which are ~1300 to ~3000 over the entire spectrograph bandpass of 0.9-2.5 microns. We present and discuss characterization data for FLAMINGOS-2 including imaging throughput, image quality, spectral performance, and noise performance. After a lengthy integration process, we expect that FLAMINGOS-2 will be in the midst of commissioning at Gemini South by the fall of 2008.