Bibliographic Details
| Title: |
The Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) on the James Webb Space Telescope III. Integral-field spectroscopy |
| Authors: |
Böker, T., Arribas, S., Lützgendorf, N., de Oliveira, C. Alves, Beck, T. L., Birkmann, S., Bunker, A. J., Charlot, S., de Marchi, G., Ferruit, P., Giardino, G., Jakobsen, P., Kumari, N., López-Caniego, M., Maiolino, R., Manjavacas, E., Marston, A., Moseley, S. H., Muzerolle, J., Ogle, P., Pirzkal, N., Rauscher, B., Rawle, T., Rix, H. W., Sabbi, E., Sargent, B., Sirianni, M., Plate, M. te, Valenti, J., Willott, C. J., Zeidler, P. |
| Source: |
A&A 661, A82 (2022) |
| Publication Year: |
2022 |
| Collection: |
Astrophysics |
| Subject Terms: |
Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics |
| More Details: |
The Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) offers the first opportunity to use integral-field spectroscopy from space at near-infrared wavelengths. More specifically, NIRSpec's integral-field unit can obtain spectra covering the wavelength range $0.6 - 5.3~\mu$m for a contiguous 3.1 arcsec $\times$ 3.2 arcsec sky area at spectral resolutions of $R \approx 100$, 1000, and 2700. In this paper we describe the optical and mechanical design of the NIRSpec integral-field spectroscopy mode, together with its expected performance. We also discuss a few recommended observing strategies, some of which are driven by the fact that NIRSpec is a multipurpose instrument with a number of different observing modes, which are discussed in companion papers. We briefly discuss the data processing steps required to produce wavelength- and flux-calibrated data cubes that contain the spatial and spectral information. Lastly, we mention a few scientific topics that are bound to benefit from this highly innovative capability offered by JWST/NIRSpec.
Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. 13 pages, 14 figures |
| Document Type: |
Working Paper |
| DOI: |
10.1051/0004-6361/202142589 |
| Access URL: |
http://arxiv.org/abs/2202.03308 |
| Accession Number: |
edsarx.2202.03308 |
| Database: |
arXiv |
