The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) on the Mayall 4-m telescope has begun an ambitious survey of spectroscopic measurements of 40 million galaxies and quasars over an area of 14,000 deg2 . DESI is a wide field, multi-object, fiber-fed spectrograph, operating in the wavelength range of 360 - 980 nm. In this paper we present an overview of the DESI instrument focusing on key components including the prime-focus corrector, the focal plane with 5,020 remotely controlled fiber positioners, the procedures to position the fibers on selected targets and the spectrograph system. We then discuss the performance of the instrument during the first year of the DESI survey.
The recently commissioned Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) will measure the expansion history of the universe using the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation technique. The spectra of 35 million galaxies and quasars over 14000 sq deg will be measured during the life of the experiment. A new prime focus corrector for the KPNO Mayall telescope delivers light to 5000 fiber optic positioners. The fibers in turn feed ten broad-band spectrographs. We describe key aspects and lessons learned from the development, delivery and installation of the fiber system at the Mayall telescope.
The recently commissioned Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) will measure the expansion history of the Universe using the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation technique. The spectra of 35 million galaxies and quasars over 14,000 sq deg will be measured during the life of the experiment. A new prime focus corrector for the KPNO Mayall telescope delivers light to 5,000 fiber optic positioners which in turn feed ten broad-band spectro- graphs. The DESI focal plane subsystem contains the fiber optic positioners and guide and focus cameras, which enable the alignment of fibers with astronomical targets. This paper describes the performance of the installed instrument.
The recently commissioned Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) will measure the expansion history of the Universe using the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation technique. The spectra of 35 million galaxies and quasars over 14000 sqdeg will be measured during the life of the experiment. A new prime focus corrector for the KPNO Mayall telescope delivers light to 5000 fiber optic positioners. The fibers in turn feed ten broad-band spectrographs. A consortium of Aix-Marseille University (AMU) and CNRS laboratories (LAM, OHP and CPPM) together with LPNHE (CNRS, IN2P3, Sorbonne Université and Université de Paris) and the WINLIGHT Systems company based in Pertuis (France), were in charge of integrating and validating the performance requirements of the ten full spectrographs, equipped with their cryostats, shutters and other mechanisms. We present a summary of our activity which allowed an efficient validation of the systems in a short-time schedule. We detail the main results. We emphasize the benefits of our approach and also its limitations.
The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is a Stage IV ground-based dark energy experiment that will measure the expansion history of the Universe using the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation technique. The spectra of 35 million galaxies and quasars over 14000 square degrees will be measured during the life of the experiment. We describe the installation of the major elements of the instrument at the Mayall 4m telescope, completed in late 2019. The previous prime focus corrector, spider vanes, and upper rings were removed from the Mayall’s Serrurier truss and replaced with the newlyconstructed DESI ring, vanes, cage, hexapod, and optical corrector. The new corrector was optically aligned with the primary mirror using a laser tracker system. The DESI focal plane system was integrated to the corrector, with each of its ten 500-fiber-positioner petal segments installed using custom installation hardware and the laser tracker. Ten DESI spectrographs with 30 cryostats were installed in a newly assembled clean room in the Large Coude Room. The ten cables carrying 5000 optical fibers from the positioners in the focal plane were routed down the telescope through cable wraps at the declination and hour angle axes, and their integral slitheads were integrated with the ten spectrographs. The fiber view camera assembly was installed to the Mayall’s primary mirror cell. Servers for the instrument control system replaced existing computer equipment. The fully integrated instrument has been commissioned and is ready to start its operations phase.
In preparation for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), a new top end was installed on the Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. The refurbished telescope and the DESI instrument were successfully commissioned on sky between 2019 October and 2020 March. Here we describe the pointing, tracking and imaging performance of the Mayall telescope equipped with its new DESI prime focus corrector, as measured by six guider cameras sampling the outer edge of DESI’s focal plane. Analyzing ~500,000 guider images acquired during commissioning, we find a median delivered image FWHM of 1.1 arcseconds (in the r-band at 650 nm), with the distribution extending to a best-case value of ~0.6 arcseconds. The point spread function is well characterized by a Moffat profile with a power-law index of β ≈ 3.5 and little dependence of β on FWHM. The shape and size of the PSF delivered by the new corrector at a field angle of 1.57 degrees are very similar to those measured with the old Mayall corrector on axis. We also find that the Mayall achieves excellent pointing accuracy (several arcseconds RMS) and minimal open-loop tracking drift (< 1 milliarcsecond per second), improvements on the telecope’s pre-DESI performance. In the future, employing DESI’s active focus adjustment capabilities will likely further improve the Mayall/DESI delivered image quality.
The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is an ongoing spectroscopic survey to measure the dark energy equation of state to unprecedented precision. We describe the DESI Sky Continuum Monitor System, which tracks the night sky brightness as part of a system that dynamically adjusts the spectroscopic exposure time to produce more uniform data quality and to maximize observing efficiency. The DESI dynamic exposure time calculator (ETC) will combine sky brightness measurements from the Sky Monitor with data from the guider system to calculate the exposure time to achieve uniform signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the spectra under various observing conditions. The DESI design includes 20 sky fibers, and these are split between two identical Sky Monitor units to provide redundancy. Each Sky Monitor unit uses an SBIG STXL-6303e CCD camera and supports an eight-position filter wheel. Both units have been completed and delivered to the Mayall Telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory. Commissioning results show that the Sky Monitor delivers the required performance necessary for the ETC.
The recently commissioned Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) will measure the expansion history of the Universe using the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation technique. The spectra of 35 million galaxies and quasars over 14000 sq deg will be measured during the life of the experiment. A new prime focus corrector for the KPNO Mayall telescope delivers light to 5000 fiber optic positioners. The fibers in turn feed ten broad-band spectrographs. We describe the use of a Faro Laser Tracker with custom hardware and software tools for alignment during integration of DESI’s focal plane. The focal plane is approximately one meter in diameter and consists primarily of ten radially symmetrical focal plane segments (“petals”) which were individually installed into the telescope. The nominal clearance between petals is 600 microns, and an alignment accuracy of 100 microns and 0.01 degrees was targeted. Alignment of the petals to their targeted locations on the telescope was accomplished by adjusting a purpose-built alignment structure with 14 degrees of freedom using feedback from the laser tracker, which measured the locations of retroreflectors attached to both the petal and the telescope and whose positions relative to key features were precisely known. These measurements were used to infer the locations of aligning features in both structures, which were in turn used to calculate the adjustments necessary to bring the system into alignment. Once alignment was achieved to within acceptable tolerances, each petal was installed while monitoring building movement due to wind and thermal variations.
The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is under construction to measure the expansion history of the Universe using the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation technique. The spectra of 35 million galaxies and quasars over 14000 sq deg will be measured during the life of the experiment. A new prime focus corrector for the KPNO Mayall telescope will deliver light to 5000 fiber optic positioners. The fibers in turn feed ten broad-band spectrographs. We will describe the extensive preparations of the Mayall telescope and its environs for DESI, and will report on progress-to-date of the installation of DESI itself.
The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is under construction to measure the expansion history of the Universe using the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation technique. The spectra of 35 million galaxies and quasars over 14000 sq deg will be measured during the life of the experiment. A new prime focus corrector for the KPNO Mayall telescope will deliver light to 5000 fiber optic positioners. The fibers in turn feed ten broad-band spectrographs. We will describe the methods and results for the commissioning instrument metrology program. The primary goals of this program are to calculate the transformations and further develop the systems that will place fibers within 5μm RMS of the target positions. We will use the commissioning instrument metrology program to measure the absolute three axis Cartesian coordinates of the five CCDs and 22 illuminated fiducials on the commissioning instrument.
We describe the design of the Commissioning Instrument for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). DESI will obtain spectra over a 3 degree field of view using the 4-meter Mayall Telescope at Kitt Peak, AZ. In order to achieve the required image quality over this field of view, a new optical corrector is being installed at the Mayall Telescope. The Commissioning Instrument is designed to characterize the image quality of the new optical system. The Commissioning Instrument has five commercial cameras; one at the center of the focal surface and four near the periphery of the field and at the cardinal directions. There are also 22 illuminated fiducials, distributed throughout the focal surface, that will be used to test the system that will map between the DESI fiber positioners and celestial coordinates. We describe how the commissioning instrument will perform commissioning tasks for the DESI project and thereby eliminate risks.
The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is under construction to measure the expansion history of the Universe using the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation technique. The spectra of 35 million galaxies and quasars over 14000 square degrees will be measured during the life of the experiment. A new prime focus corrector for the KPNO Mayall telescope will deliver light to 5000 fiber optic positioners. The fibers in turn feed ten broad-band spectrographs. We present an overview of the instrumentation, the main technical requirements and challenges, and the current status of the project.
The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is under construction to measure the expansion history of the Universe using the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation technique. The spectra of 40 million galaxies over 14,000 sq deg will be measured during the life of the experiment. A new prime focus corrector for the KPNO Mayall telescope will deliver light to 5,000 fiber optic positioners. The fibers in turn feed ten broad-band spectrographs. We present the design details of the instrument mechanism control systems for the spectrographs. Each spectrograph has a stand-alone mechanism control box that operates the unit's four remotely-operated mechanisms (two shutters and two Hartmannn doors), and provides a suite of temperature and humidity sensors. Each control box is highly modular, and is operated by a dedicated on-board Linux computer to provide all of the control and monitoring functions. We describe our solution for integrating a number of network-connected devices within each unit spectrograph, and describe the basic software architecture.
The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is under construction to measure the expansion history of the Universe using the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation technique. The spectra of 40 million galaxies over 14,000 sq deg will be measured during the life of the experiment. A new prime focus corrector for the KPNO Mayall telescope will deliver light to 5000 fiber optic positioners. The fibers in turn feed ten broad-band spectrographs. We describe the unique shutter design that incorporates a fiber illumination system into the shutter blade. When activated, the fiber illumination system directs intense 430-480nm wavelength light at the instrument’s fiber slit in order to back-illuminate the telescope’s focal plane and verify the location of the robotic fiber positioners. The back-illumination is typically active during science exposure read-outs and therefore requires the shutter to attenuate light by a factor of at least 107. This paper describes how we have integrated the fiber illumination system into the shutter blade, as well as incorporated an inflatable seal around the shutter aperture to achieve the light attenuation requirement. We also present lab results that characterize the fiber illumination and shutter attenuation. Finally, we discuss the control scheme that executes exposure and fiber illumination modes, and meets the shutter timing requirements.
H. Diehl, T. M. Abbott, J. Annis, R. Armstrong, L. Baruah, A. Bermeo, G. Bernstein, E. Beynon, C. Bruderer, E. Buckley-Geer, H. Campbell, D. Capozzi, M. Carter, R. Casas, L. Clerkin, R. Covarrubias, C. Cuhna, C. D'Andrea, L. da Costa, R. Das, D. DePoy, J. Dietrich, A. Drlica-Wagner, A. Elliott, T. Eifler, J. Estrada, J. Etherington, B. Flaugher, J. Frieman, A. Fausti Neto, M. Gelman, D. Gerdes, D. Gruen, R. Gruendl, J. Hao, H. Head, J. Helsby, K. Hoffman, K. Honscheid, D. James, M. Johnson, T. Kacprzac, J. Katsaros, R. Kennedy, S. Kent, R. Kessler, A. Kim, E. Krause, R. Kron, S. Kuhlmann, A. Kunder, T. Li, H. Lin, N. Maccrann, M. March, J. Marshall, E. Neilsen, P. Nugent, P. Martini, P. Melchior, F. Menanteau, R. Nichol, B. Nord, R. Ogando, L. Old, A. Papadopoulos, K. Patton, D. Petravick, A. Plazas, R. Poulton, A. Pujol, K. Reil, T. Rigby, A. Romer, A. Roodman, P. Rooney, E. Sanchez Alvaro, S. Serrano, E. Sheldon, A. Smith, R. Smith, M. Soares-Santos, M. Soumagnac, H. Spinka, E. Suchyta, D. Tucker, A. Walker, W. Wester, M. Wiesner, H. Wilcox, R. Williams, B. Yanny, Y. Zhang
The Dark Energy Survey (DES) is a next generation optical survey aimed at understanding the accelerating expansion of the universe using four complementary methods: weak gravitational lensing, galaxy cluster counts, baryon acoustic oscillations, and Type Ia supernovae. To perform the 5000 sq-degree wide field and 30 sq-degree supernova surveys, the DES Collaboration built the Dark Energy Camera (DECam), a 3 square-degree, 570-Megapixel CCD camera that was installed at the prime focus of the Blanco 4-meter telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO). DES started its first observing season on August 31, 2013 and observed for 105 nights through mid-February 2014. This paper describes DES “Year 1” (Y1), the strategy and goals for the first year's data, provides an outline of the operations procedures, lists the efficiency of survey operations and the causes of lost observing time, provides details about the quality of the first year's data, and hints at the “Year 2” plan and outlook.
We present the design details of oil-coupled lens groups used in the KOSMOS spectrograph camera. The oil-coupled
groups use silicone rubber O-rings in a unique way to accurately center lens elements with high radial and axial stiffness
while also allowing easy assembly. The O-rings robustly seal the oil within the lens gaps to prevent oil migration. The
design of an expansion diaphragm to compensate for differential expansion due to temperature changes is described.
The issues of lens assembly, lens gap shimming, oil filling and draining, bubble mitigation, material compatibility,
mechanical inspection, and optical testing are discussed.
We describe the design, construction and measured performance of the Kitt Peak Ohio State Multi-Object Spectrograph
(KOSMOS) for the 4-m Mayall telescope and the Cerro Tololo Ohio State Multi-Object Spectrograph (COSMOS) for
the 4-m Blanco telescope. These nearly identical imaging spectrographs are modified versions of the OSMOS
instrument; they provide a pair of new, high-efficiency instruments to the NOAO user community. KOSMOS and
COSMOS may be used for imaging, long-slit, and multi-slit spectroscopy over a 100 square arcminute field of view with
a pixel scale of 0.29 arcseconds. Each contains two VPH grisms that provide R~2500 with a one arcsecond slit and their
wavelengths of peak diffraction efficiency are approximately 510nm and 750nm. Both may also be used with either a
thin, blue-optimized CCD from e2v or a thick, fully depleted, red-optimized CCD from LBNL. These instruments were
developed in response to the ReSTAR process. KOSMOS was commissioned in 2013B and COSMOS was
commissioned in 2014A.
The Multi-Object Double Spectrographs (MODS) are two identical high-throughput optical dichroic-split double-beam
low- to medium-dispersion CCD spectrometers being deployed at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). They operate in
the 3200-10500Å range at a nominal resolution of λ/δλ≈2000. MODS1 saw first-light at the LBT in September 2010,
finished primary commissioning in May 2011, and began regular partner science operations in September 2011. MODS2
is being readied for delivery and installation at the end of 2012. This paper describes the on-sky performance of MODS1
and presents highlights from the first year of science operations.
The Ohio State Multi-Object Spectrograph (OSMOS) is a new facility imager and spectrograph for the 2.4m
Hiltner telescope at the MDM Observatory. We present a detailed description of the mechanical and electronic
solutions employed in OSMOS, many of which have been developed and extensively tested in a large number
of instruments built at Ohio State over the past ten years. These solutions include robust aperture wheel and
linear stage designs, mechanism control with MicroLYNX programmable logic controllers, and WAGO fieldbus
I/O modules.
The Multi-Object Double Spectrographs (MODS) are two identical high-throughput optical low- to medium-resolution
CCD spectrometers being deployed at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). Operating in the 340-1000nm range, they
use a large dichroic to split light into separately-optimized red and blue channels that feature reflective collimators and
decentered Maksutov-Schmidt cameras with monolithic 8×3K CCD detectors. A parallel infrared laser closed-loop
image motion compensation system nulls spectrograph flexure giving it high calibration stability. The two MODS
instruments may be operated together with digital data combination as a single instrument giving the LBT an effective
aperture of 11.8-meter, or separately configured to flexibly use the twin 8.4-meter apertures. This paper describes the
properties and performance of the completed MODS1 instrument. MODS1 was delivered to LBT in May 2010 and is
being prepared for first-light in September 2010.
Ohio State is building two identical Multi-Object Double Spectrographs (MODS), one for each of the f/15 Gregorian foci of the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). Each MODS is a high-throughput optical low- to medium-resolution CCD spectrometer operating in the 320-1000nm range with a 6.5-arcminute field-of-view. A dichroic distributes the science beam into separately-optimized red and blue channels that provide for direct imaging and up to 3 spectroscopic modes per channel. The identical MODS instruments may be operated together with digital data combination as a single instrument giving the LBT an effective aperture of 11.8-meter, or separately configured to flexibly use the twin 8.4-meter apertures. This paper describes progress on the integration and testing of MODS1, and plans for the deployment of MODS2 by the end of 2008 at the LBT.
We present the preliminary design for the MMT and Magellan Infrared
Spectrograph (MMIRS). MMIRS is a fully refractive imager and multi-object spectrograph that uses a 2048x2048 pixel Hawaii2 HgCdTe array. It offers a 7'x7' imaging field of view and a 4'x7' field of view for multi-object spectroscopy. Dispersion is provided by a set of 5 grisms providing R=3000 at J, H, or K, or R=1300 in J+H or H+K.
PANIC (Persson's Auxiliary Nasmyth Infrared Camera) is a near-infrared
camera designed to operate at any one of the f/11 folded ports of the 6.5m Magellan telescopes at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile. The instrument is built around a simple, all-refractive design that reimages the Magellan focal plane to a plate scale of 0.125"/pixel onto a Rockwell 1024x1024 HgCdTe detector. The design goals for PANIC included excellent image quality to sample the superb seeing measured with the Magellan telescopes, high throughput, a relatively short construction time, and low cost. PANIC has now been in regular operation for over one year and has proved to be highly reliable and produce excellent images. The best recorded image quality has been ~0.2" FWHM.
The OH airglow emission lines are the dominant source of background emission in the near-IR J and H bandpasses. In principle, these emission lines can be avoided by observing at sufficiently high spectral resolution, rejecting pixels contaminated by OH lines, and rebinning to the desired resolution. Two trade-offs to this approach are non- negligible detector noise per pixel and the added expense of instrumentation with higher resolution. In this contribution, we simulate various observed and desired resolutions as a function of detector noise and target brightness to develop a set of guidelines for the optimal resolution in a variety of observing programs. As a general rule, observing at a 2-pixel resolution of 2000-4000 provides optimal OH rejection for a wide range of detector noise and source signal.
ABU is a NOAO IR imaging camera designed for evaluating the performance of the 1024x1024 Aladdth InSb array. For this experiment, it was outfitted with five filters (see Figure 9) m the 3-5 micron range to exploit the low water vapor and lower air temperatures at the South Pole. At the South Pole it was integrated with the CARA SPIREX (South Pole Infrared Explorer) telescope. Figure 1 is a picture of the telescope showing the environmental box (the white box by the author). which protected ABU and its electronics from ambient environmental conditions.
The ISL is a successful astronomical instrumentation program that has completed three major instruments and many smaller projects since 1987. We have developed the capabilities to perform all aspects of instrument design and construction and a range of unique skills and methods. We maintain a permanent staff that currently consists of two scientists specializing in optical design and detector systems, a seniors mechanical engineer, a programmer, an electronic engineer, a mechanical designer, two machinists, and a lab assistant. Instrumentation projects also draw upon faculty and graduate student effort.
The MDM/Ohio State/ALADDIN IR Camera (MOSAIC) is a general purpose near IR imaging camera and medium-resolution long- slit spectrometer in use on the MDM 1.3-m and 2.4-m telescopes and the Kitt Peak 2.1-m and 4-m telescopes. In cooperation with NOAO and USNO, MOSAIC is one of the first general-purpose near-IR instruments available to the astronomical community that uses a first-generation 1024 X 512 ALADDIN InSb array, with the capability to use a full 1024 X 1024 array once one becomes available. MOSAIC provides tow imaging plate scales, and a variety of long- slit grism spectroscopic modes. This paper describes the general instrument design and capabilities, and presents representative scientific results.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
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.