Hector: a high-multiplex survey instrument for spatially resolved galaxy spectroscopy

Jon Lawrence; Joss Bland-Hawthorn; Julia Bryant; Jurek Brzeski; Matthew Colless; Scott Croom; Luke Gers; James Gilbert; Peter Gillingham; Michael Goodwin; Jeroen Heijmans; Anthony Horton; Mike Ireland; Stan Miziarski; Will Saunders; Greg Smith

doi:10.1117/12.925260

24 September 2012 Hector: a high-multiplex survey instrument for spatially resolved galaxy spectroscopy

Jon Lawrence, Joss Bland-Hawthorn, Julia Bryant, Jurek Brzeski, Matthew Colless, Scott Croom, Luke Gers, James Gilbert, Peter Gillingham, Michael Goodwin, Jeroen Heijmans, Anthony Horton, Mike Ireland, Stan Miziarski, Will Saunders, Greg Smith

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8446, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV; 844653 (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.925260
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2012, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Abstract

First light from the SAMI (Sydney-AAO Multi-object IFS) instrument at the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) has recently proven the viability of fibre hexabundles for multi-IFU spectroscopy. SAMI, which comprises 13 hexabundle IFUs deployable over a 1 degree field-of-view, has recently begun science observations, and will target a survey of several thousand galaxies. The scientific outputs from such galaxy surveys are strongly linked to survey size, leading the push towards instruments with higher multiplex capability. We have begun work on a new instrument concept, called Hector, which will target a spatially-resolved spectroscopic survey of up to one hundred thousand galaxies. The key science questions for this instrument concept include how do galaxies get their gas, how is star formation and nuclear activity affected by environment, what is the role of feedback, and what processes can be linked to galaxy groups and clusters. One design option for Hector uses the existing 2 degree field-of view top end at the AAT, with 50 individual robotically deployable 61-core hexabundle IFUs, and 3 fixed format spectrographs covering the visible wavelength range with a spectral resolution of approximately 4000. A more ambitious option incorporates a modified top end at the AAT with a new 3 degree field-of-view wide-field-corrector and 100 hexabundle IFUs feeding 6 spectrographs.

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Jon Lawrence, Joss Bland-Hawthorn, Julia Bryant, Jurek Brzeski, Matthew Colless, Scott Croom, Luke Gers, James Gilbert, Peter Gillingham, Michael Goodwin, Jeroen Heijmans, Anthony Horton, Mike Ireland, Stan Miziarski, Will Saunders, and Greg Smith "Hector: a high-multiplex survey instrument for spatially resolved galaxy spectroscopy", Proc. SPIE 8446, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV, 844653 (24 September 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.925260

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