Hector: a new massively multiplexed IFU instrument for the Anglo-Australian Telescope

Julia J. Bryant; Joss Bland-Hawthorn; Jon Lawrence; Scott Croom; David Brown; Sudharshan Venkatesan; Peter R. Gillingham; Ross Zhelem; Robert Content; Will Saunders; Nicholas F. Staszak; Jesse van de Sande; Warrick Couch; Sergio Leon-Saval; Julia Tims; Richard McDermid; Adam Schaefer

doi:10.1117/12.2230740

4 August 2016 Hector: a new massively multiplexed IFU instrument for the Anglo-Australian Telescope

Julia J. Bryant, Joss Bland-Hawthorn, Jon Lawrence, Scott Croom, David Brown, Sudharshan Venkatesan, Peter R. Gillingham, Ross Zhelem, Robert Content, Will Saunders, Nicholas F. Staszak, Jesse van de Sande, Warrick Couch, Sergio Leon-Saval, Julia Tims, Richard McDermid, Adam Schaefer

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9908, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VI; 99081F (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2230740
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2016, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Abstract

Hector^[1,2,3] will be the new massively-multiplexed integral field spectroscopy (IFS) instrument for the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) in Australia and the next main dark-time instrument for the observatory. Based on the success of the SAMI instrument, which is undertaking a 3400-galaxy survey, the integral field unit (IFU) imaging fibre bundle (hexabundle) technology under-pinning SAMI is being improved to a new innovative design for Hector. The distribution of hexabundle angular sizes is matched to the galaxy survey properties in order to image 90% of galaxies out to 2 effective radii. 50-100 of these IFU imaging bundles will be positioned by ‘starbug’ robots across a new 3-degree field corrector top end to be purpose-built for the AAT. Many thousand fibres will then be fed into new replicable spectrographs. Fundamentally new science will be achieved compared to existing instruments due to Hector's wider field of view (3 degrees), high positioning efficiency using starbugs, higher spectroscopic resolution (R=3000-5500 from 3727-7761Å, with a possible redder extension later) and large IFUs (up to 30 arcsec diameter with 61-217 fibre cores). A 100,000 galaxy IFS survey with Hector will decrypt how the accretion and merger history and large-scale environment made every galaxy different in its morphology and star formation history. The high resolution, particularly in the blue, will make Hector the only instrument to be able to measure higher-order kinematics for galaxies down to much lower velocity dispersion than in current large IFS galaxy surveys, opening up a wealth of new nearby galaxy science.

Citation Download Citation

Julia J. Bryant, Joss Bland-Hawthorn, Jon Lawrence, Scott Croom, David Brown, Sudharshan Venkatesan, Peter R. Gillingham, Ross Zhelem, Robert Content, Will Saunders, Nicholas F. Staszak, Jesse van de Sande, Warrick Couch, Sergio Leon-Saval, Julia Tims, Richard McDermid, and Adam Schaefer "Hector: a new massively multiplexed IFU instrument for the Anglo-Australian Telescope", Proc. SPIE 9908, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VI, 99081F (4 August 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2230740

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