VIRMOS: visible and infrared multiobject spectrographs for the VLT

Oliver LeFevre; Gianpaolo Vettolani; Dario Maccagni; Dario Mancini; Jean Pierre Picat; Yannick Mellier; Alain Mazure; Michel Saisse; Jean Gabriel Cuby; Bernard Delabre; Bianca Garilli; L. Hill; Eric Prieto; Luc Arnold; Paolo Conconi; Enrico Cascone; E. Mattaini; Clothaire Voet

doi:10.1117/12.316772

9 July 1998 VIRMOS: visible and infrared multiobject spectrographs for the VLT

Oliver LeFevre, Gianpaolo Vettolani, Dario Maccagni, Dario Mancini, Jean Pierre Picat, Yannick Mellier, Alain Mazure, Michel Saisse, Jean Gabriel Cuby, Bernard Delabre, Bianca Garilli, L. Hill, Eric Prieto, Luc Arnold, Paolo Conconi, Enrico Cascone, E. Mattaini, Clothaire Voet

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 3355, Optical Astronomical Instrumentation; (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.316772
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 1998, Kona, HI, United States

Abstract

We present the current design of the VIsible Multi-Object Spectrograph (VIMOS) and the Near InfraRed Multi-Object Spectrograph (NIRMOS) for the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope. The basic scientific requirement is to conduct very deep redshift surveys of large quantities of objects, in a minimum number of nights. The technical specifications are to allow for a large multiplex gain over a wide field, and a high efficiency of the optical train, over the 0.37 to 1.8 micrometer domain. The baseline technical concept is built around 4 channels, covering 4 X 7 X 8 arcmin² for VIMOS and 4 X 7 X 7 arcmin² for NIRMOS. Each channel is an imaging spectrograph with a large field adaptation lens, a collimator, grisms or filters, and a F/1.8 camera, coupled to a 2048 X 4096 pixels CCD for VIMOS, and a 2048² HgCdTe Rockwell array for NIRMOS. The unique multiplex gain allows to obtain spectra of up to 840 object simultaneously with VIMOS, and up to 170 with NIRMOS (10 arcsec slits). An integral field spectroscopy mode with more than 6400 fibers coupled to micro-lenses will be available for VIMOS, covering a 1 X 1 arcmin² field. The VLT-VIRMOS survey of more than 150,000 galaxies is planned down to magnitudes I_AB equals 24, coupled to an ultra deep probe to I_AB equals 26.

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Oliver LeFevre, Gianpaolo Vettolani, Dario Maccagni, Dario Mancini, Jean Pierre Picat, Yannick Mellier, Alain Mazure, Michel Saisse, Jean Gabriel Cuby, Bernard Delabre, Bianca Garilli, L. Hill, Eric Prieto, Luc Arnold, Paolo Conconi, Enrico Cascone, E. Mattaini, and Clothaire Voet "VIRMOS: visible and infrared multiobject spectrographs for the VLT", Proc. SPIE 3355, Optical Astronomical Instrumentation, (9 July 1998); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.316772

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