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Register a new userThe Wavelength Calibration of the WFC grism
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We present the wavelength solution derived for the G800L grism with the Wide Field Channel from the spectra of two Galactic Wolf-Rayet stars, WR 45 and WR 96. The data were acquired in-orbit during the SMOV tests and the early INTERIM calibration program. We have obtained an average dispersion of 39.2 A/pix in the first order, 20.5 A/pix in the second and -42.5 A/pix in the negative first order. We show that the wavelength solution is strongly field-dependent, with an amplitude of the variation of about 11% from the center of the WFC aperture to the corners. The direction of the field-dependence is the diagonal from the image left top corner (amplifier A) to the bottom right corner (amplifier D). These trends are observed for all grism orders. We also describe the calibration files derived from the SMOV and INTERIM data which are used by the ST-ECF slitless extraction code aXe.
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We present the calibration of the Swift UVOT grisms, of which there are two, providing low-resolution field spectroscopy in the ultraviolet and optical bands respectively. The UV grism covers the range 1700-5000 Angstrom with a spectral resolution of 75 at 2600 Angstrom for source magnitudes of u=10-16 mag, while the visible grism covers the range 2850-6600 Angstrom with a spectral resolution of 100 at 4000 Angstrom for source magnitudes of b=12-17 mag. This calibration extends over all detector positions, for all modes used during operations. The wavelength accuracy (1-sigma) is 9 Angstrom in the UV grism clocked mode, 17 Angstrom in the UV grism nominal mode and 22 Angstrom in the visible grism. The range below 2740 Angstrom in the UV grism and 5200 Angstrom in the visible grism never suffers from overlapping by higher spectral orders. The flux calibration of the grisms includes a correction we developed for coincidence loss in the detector. The error in the coincidence loss correction is less than 20%. The position of the spectrum on the detector only affects the effective area (sensitivity) by a few percent in the nominal modes, but varies substantially in the clocked modes. The error in the effective area is from 9% in the UV grism clocked mode to 15% in the visible grism clocked mode .
We present complimentary techniques to find emission-line targets and measure their properties in a semi-automated fashion from grism observations obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. The first technique is to find all likely sources in a direct image, extract their spectra and search them for emission lines. The second method is to look for emission-line sources as compact structures in an unsharp masked version of the grism image. Using these methods we identify 46 emission-line targets in the Hubble Deep Field North using a modest (3 orbit) expenditure of HST observing time. Grism spectroscopy is a powerful tool for efficiently identifying interesting low luminosity, moderate redshift emission-line field galaxies. The sources found here have a median i band flux 1.5 mag fainter than the spectroscopic redshift catalog of Cohen et al. They have redshift z <= 1.42, high equivalent widths (typically EW > 100{AA}), and are usually less luminous than the characteristic luminosity at the same redshift. The chief obstacle in interpreting the results is line identification, since the majority of sources have a single emission line and the spectral resolution is low. Photometric redshifts are useful for providing a first guess redshift. However, even at the depth of the state-of-the-art data used here, photometric errors can result in uncertainties in line identifications, especially for sources with i > ~24.5 ABmag. Reliable line identification for the faintest emission-line galaxies requires additional ground-based spectroscopy for confirmation. Of particular concern are the faint high EW [OII] emitters which could represent a strongly evolving galaxy population if the possibility that they are mis-identified lower redshift interlopers can be ruled out. (Slightly abridged)
We review the results obtained with the Galactic center campaigns of the BeppoSAX Wide Field X-ray Cameras (WFCs). This pertains to the study of luminous low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). When pointed at the Galactic center, the WFC field of view contains more than half of the Galactic LMXB population. The results exemplify the excellent WFC capability to detect brief X-ray transients. Firstly, the WFCs expanded the known population of Galactic thermonuclear X-ray bursters by 50%. At least half of all LMXBs are now established to burst and, thus, to contain a neutron star as compact accretor rather than a black hole candidate. We provide a complete list of all 76 currently known bursters, including the new case 1RXS J170854.4-321857. Secondly, the WFCs have uncovered a population of weak transients with peak luminosities up to ~10^37 erg/s and durations from days to weeks. One is the first accretion-powered millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658. Thirdly, the WFCs contributed considerably towards establishing that nearly all (12 out of 13) luminous low-mass X-ray binaries in Galactic globular clusters contain neutron stars rather than black holes. Thus, the neutron star to black hole ratio in clusters differs from that in the Galactic disk at a marginal confidence level of 97%.
SPIRou is a near-infrared (nIR) spectropolarimeter at the CFHT, covering the YJHK nIR spectral bands ($980-2350,mathrm{nm}$). We describe the development and current status of the SPIRou wavelength calibration in order to obtain precise radial velocities (RVs) in the nIR. We make use of a UNe hollow-cathode lamp and a Fabry-Perot etalon to calibrate the pixel-wavelength correspondence for SPIRou. Different methods are developed for identifying the hollow-cathode lines, for calibrating the wavelength dependence of the Fabry-Perot cavity width, and for combining the two calibrators. The hollow-cathode spectra alone do not provide a sufficiently accurate wavelength solution to meet the design requirements of an internal error of $mathrm{<0.45,m,s^{-1}}$, for an overall RV precision of $mathrm{1,m,s^{-1}}$. However, the combination with the Fabry-Perot spectra allows for significant improvements, leading to an internal error of $mathrm{sim 0.15,m,s^{-1}}$. We examine the inter-night stability, intra-night stability, and impact on the stellar RVs of the wavelength solution.
The Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) on-board JWST will provide imaging, coronagraphy, low-resolution spectroscopy and medium-resolution spectroscopy at unprecedented sensitivity levels in the mid-infrared wavelength range. The Medium-Resolution Spectrometer (MRS) of MIRI is an integral field spectrograph that provides diffraction-limited spectroscopy between 4.9 and 28.3 um, within a FOV varying from 13 to 56 square. From ground testing, we calculate the physical parameters essential to general observers and calibrating the wavelength solution and resolving power of the MRS is critical for maximising the scientific performance of the instrument. We have used ground-based observations of discrete spectral features in combination with Fabry-Perot etalon spectra to characterize the wavelength solution and spectral resolving power of the MRS. We present the methodology used to derive the MRS spectral characterisation, which includes the precise wavelength coverage of each MRS sub-band, computation of the resolving power as a function of wavelength, and measuring slice-dependent spectral distortions. The resolving power varies from R3500 in channel 1 to R1500 in channel 4. Based on the ground test data, the wavelength calibration accuracy is estimated to be below one tenth of a pixel, with small systematic shifts due to the target position within a slice for unresolved sources, that have a maximum amplitude of about 0.25 spectral resolution elements. Based on ground test data, the MRS complies with the spectral requirements for both the R and wavelength accuracy for which it was designed. We also present the commissioning strategies and targets that will be followed to update the spectral characterisation of the MRS.
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