Design and construction progress of LRS2-B: a new low resolution integral-field spectrograph for the Hobby-Eberly Telescope

Taylor S. Chonis; Hanshin Lee; Gary J. Hill; Mark E. Cornell; Sarah E. Tuttle; Brian L. Vattiat

doi:10.1117/12.926173

24 September 2012 Design and construction progress of LRS2-B: a new low resolution integral-field spectrograph for the Hobby-Eberly Telescope

Taylor S. Chonis, Hanshin Lee, Gary J. Hill, Mark E. Cornell, Sarah E. Tuttle, Brian L. Vattiat

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8446, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV; 84462T (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.926173
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2012, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Abstract

The upcoming Wide-Field Upgrade (WFU) has ushered in a new era of instrumentation for the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET). Here, we present the design, construction progress, and lab tests completed to date of the blue-optimized second generation Low Resolution Spectrograph (LRS2-B). LRS2-B is a dual-channel, fiber fed instrument that is based on the design of the Visible Integral Field Replicable Unit Spectrograph (VIRUS), which is the new flagship instrument for carrying out the HET Dark Energy eXperiment (HETDEX). LRS2-B utilizes a microlens-coupled integral field unit (IFU) that covers a 7”x12” area on the sky having unity fill-factor with ~300 spatial elements that subsample the median HET image quality. The fiber feed assembly includes an optimized dichroic beam splitter that allows LRS2-B to simultaneously observe 370 <λ(nm) < 470 and 460 < λ(nm) < 700 at fixed resolving powers of R ≈ λ/Δλ ≈ 1900 and 1200, respectively. We discuss the departures from the nominal VIRUS design, which includes the IFU, fiber feed, camera correcting optics, and volume phase holographic grisms. Additionally, the motivation for the selection of the wavelength coverage and spectral resolution of the two channels is briefly discussed. One such motivation is the follow-up study of spectrally and (or) spatially resolved Lyα emission from z ≈ 2.5 star-forming galaxies in the HETDEX survey. LRS2-B is planned to be a commissioning instrument for the HET WFU and should be on-sky during quarter 4 of 2013. Finally, we mention the current state of LRS2-R, the red optimized sister instrument of LRS2-B.

Citation Download Citation

Taylor S. Chonis, Hanshin Lee, Gary J. Hill, Mark E. Cornell, Sarah E. Tuttle, and Brian L. Vattiat "Design and construction progress of LRS2-B: a new low resolution integral-field spectrograph for the Hobby-Eberly Telescope", Proc. SPIE 8446, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV, 84462T (24 September 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.926173

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available