Design and development of SWIMS: a near-infrared multi-object spectrograph for the University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory

摘要

SWIMS (Simultaneous-color Wide-field Infrared Multi-object Spectrograph) is one of the first-generation instrumentsfor the University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory (TAO; P.I.: Yuzuru Yoshii) 6.5-m telescope which isplanned to be constructed at the world's highest site, the summit of Cerro Chajnantor (an altitude of 5,640m or 18,500 ft) in northern Chile. By placing a dichroic mirror into the collimated beam, SWIMS is capableof wide-field (φ 9sup'/sup.6 with 0sup"/sup.126 pixelsup-1/sup) two-color simultaneous imaging as well as multi-object spectroscopy(MOS) using cooled multi-slit masks covering the entire near-infrared spectra between 0.9 and 2.5 μm in a singleexposure with low-to-medium spectral resolutions. Up to 20 user-defined slit masks as well as long slit masks areavailable. The field of view is covered with four 2048 x 2048 pixel HgCdTe focal plane arrays (HAWAII-2RG).Tests of the MOS slit mask exchanger motions have been completed successfully without any trouble undercryogenic environment. Further MOS tests will be performed at various tilt and rotation angles of the instrumentusing a telescope simulator. Also, a conceptual study of a compact and cryogenic wide-field integral fieldspectroscopy unit handled by the slit mask exchanger is now being carried out. The part of the current designs isoptimized for installation on the Subaru Telescope for performance verification and early scientific observationsprior to the construction of the TAO 6.5-m telescope. In this paper, we present the design and developmentstatus of the instrument.© (2012) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.