학술논문
The Science Case for Multi-Object Spectroscopy on the European ELT
Document Type
Working Paper
Author
Evans, Chris; Puech, Mathieu; Afonso, Jose; Almaini, Omar; Amram, Philippe; Aussel, Hervé; Barbuy, Beatriz; Basden, Alistair; Bastian, Nate; Battaglia, Giuseppina; Biller, Beth; Bonifacio, Piercarlo; Bouché, Nicholas; Bunker, Andy; Caffau, Elisabetta; Charlot, Stephane; Cirasuolo, Michele; Clenet, Yann; Combes, Francoise; Conselice, Chris; Contini, Thierry; Cuby, Jean-Gabriel; Dalton, Gavin; Davies, Ben; de Koter, Alex; Disseau, Karen; Dunlop, Jim; Epinat, Benoît; Fiore, Fabrizio; Feltzing, Sofia; Ferguson, Annette; Flores, Hector; Fontana, Adriano; Fusco, Thierry; Gadotti, Dimitri; Gallazzi, Anna; Gallego, Jesus; Giallongo, Emanuele; Gonçalves, Thiago; Gratadour, Damien; Guenther, Eike; Hammer, Francois; Hill, Vanessa; Huertas-Company, Marc; Ibata, Roridgo; Kaper, Lex; Korn, Andreas; Larsen, Søren; Fèvre, Olivier Le; Lemasle, Bertrand; Maraston, Claudia; Mei, Simona; Mellier, Yannick; Morris, Simon; Östlin, Göran; Paumard, Thibaut; Pello, Roser; Pentericci, Laura; Peroux, Celine; Petitjean, Patrick; Rodrigues, Myriam; Rodríguez-Muñoz, Lucía; Rouan, Daniel; Sana, Hugues; Schaerer, Daniel; Telles, Eduardo; Trager, Scott; Tresse, Laurence; Welikala, Niraj; Zibetti, Stefano; Ziegler, Bodo
Source
Subject
Language
Abstract
This White Paper presents the scientific motivations for a multi-object spectrograph (MOS) on the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). The MOS case draws on all fields of contemporary astronomy, from extra-solar planets, to the study of the halo of the Milky Way and its satellites, and from resolved stellar populations in nearby galaxies out to observations of the earliest 'first-light' structures in the partially-reionised Universe. The material presented here results from thorough discussions within the community over the past four years, building on the past competitive studies to agree a common strategy toward realising a MOS capability on the E-ELT. The cases have been distilled to a set of common requirements which will be used to define the MOSAIC instrument, entailing two observational modes ('high multiplex' and 'high definition'). When combined with the unprecedented sensitivity of the E-ELT, MOSAIC will be the world's leading MOS facility. In analysing the requirements we also identify a high-multiplex MOS for the longer-term plans for the E-ELT, with an even greater multiplex (>1000 targets) to enable studies of large-scale structures in the high-redshift Universe. Following the green light for the construction of the E-ELT the MOS community, structured through the MOSAIC consortium, is eager to realise a MOS on the E-ELT as soon as possible. We argue that several of the most compelling cases for ELT science, in highly competitive areas of modern astronomy, demand such a capability. For example, MOS observations in the early stages of E-ELT operations will be essential for follow-up of sources identified by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). In particular, multi-object adaptive optics and accurate sky subtraction with fibres have both recently been demonstrated on sky, making fast-track development of MOSAIC feasible.
Comment: Significantly expanded and updated version of previous ELT-MOS White Paper, so there is some textual overlap with arXiv:1303.0029
Comment: Significantly expanded and updated version of previous ELT-MOS White Paper, so there is some textual overlap with arXiv:1303.0029