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Magellan Infrared Multi-object Spectrograph (MIRMOS)

Presentation #244.07 in the session New Approaches — iPoster Session.

Published onJun 29, 2022
Magellan Infrared Multi-object Spectrograph (MIRMOS)

The Magellan Infrared Multi-object Spectrograph (MIRMOS) is a next-generation near-infrared (NIR) multi-object spectrograph (MOS) and integral field unit (IFU) to be deployed at the Magellan 6.5-meter telescopes at Las Campanas Observatory. MIRMOS is designed to address frontier scientific questions in extragalactic, cosmological, and exoplanetary science including: (1) mapping the topology of late reionization by detecting Lya and metal line emission from z ≥ 6.5 galaxies, (2) delineating the connection between galaxies and the cosmic web by measuring galaxy properties and large-scale environments at cosmic noon (z ~ 1.5-3), (3) tracking gas flows in and out of galaxies by imaging the circumgalactic medium in rest-frame optical emission lines, (4) characterizing sources discovered in next-generation wide-area surveys, including strong lenses and distant galaxy clusters for cosmological studies, and (5) surveying the molecular content of exoplanet atmospheres by achieving very high spectrophotometric precision. MIRMOS will be the only MOS optimized for faint object spectroscopy to observe the full NIR spectrum from 0.89-2.4 micron simultaneously on a large telescope. The R~3700 spectrograph can be fed by a mechanical slit mask capable of deploying ~100 slits over a 13’×3’ field, or by an image slicer IFU with a wide field of 26”×20”. MIRMOS meets these objectives by integrating a set of novel technologies: a dichroic tree design to enable the wide simultaneous wavelength coverage; fast f/1.5 cameras to obtain the large field of view and wide slit length; low-scatter volume-phase holographic (VPH) gratings to minimize contributions to the interline background; a removable diffuser to realize high spectrophotometric precision. Designed as a wide-field, ground-based complement to JWST’s exquisite sensitivity, MIRMOS’s wide FOV and unprecedented simultaneous wavelength coverage make it ~5x faster for galaxy surveys than existing instruments. MIRMOS is currently in the designated development phase at the Carnegie Observatories.

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