Bibliographic Details
| Title: |
WEAVE-StePS. A stellar population survey using WEAVE at WHT |
| Authors: |
Iovino, A., Poggianti, B. M., Mercurio, A., Longhetti, M., Bolzonella, M., Busarello, G., Gullieuszik, M., LaBarbera, F., Merluzzi, P., Morelli, L., Tortora, C., Vergani, D., Zibetti, S., Haines, C. P., Costantin, L., Ditrani, F. R., Pozzetti, L., Angthopo, J., Balcells, M., Bardelli, S., Benn, C. R., Bianconi, M., Cassarà, L. P., Corsini, E. M., Cucciati, O., Dalton, G., Ferré-Mateu, A., Fossati, M., Gallazzi, A., García-Benito, R., Granett, B., Delgado, R. M. González, Ikhsanova, A., Iodice, E., Jin, S., Knapen, J. H., McGee, S., Moretti, A., Murphy, D. N. A., de Arriba, L. Peralta, Pizzella, A., Sánchez-Blázquez, P., Spiniello, C., Talia, M., Trager, S., Vazdekis, A., Vulcani, B. |
| Source: |
A&A 672, A87 (2023) |
| Publication Year: |
2023 |
| Collection: |
Astrophysics |
| Subject Terms: |
Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies |
| More Details: |
The upcoming new generation of optical spectrographs on four-meter-class telescopes will provide valuable opportunities for forthcoming galaxy surveys through their huge multiplexing capabilities, excellent spectral resolution, and unprecedented wavelength coverage. WEAVE is a new wide-field spectroscopic facility mounted on the 4.2 m William Herschel Telescope in La Palma. WEAVE-StePS is one of the five extragalactic surveys that will use WEAVE during its first five years of operations. It will observe galaxies using WEAVE MOS (~950 fibres across a field of view of ~3 deg2 on the sky) in low-resolution mode (R~5000, spanning the wavelength range 3660-9590 AA). WEAVE-StePS will obtain high-quality spectra (S/N ~ 10 per AA at R~5000) for a magnitude-limited (I_AB = 20.5) sample of ~25,000 galaxies, the majority selected at z>=0.3. The survey goal is to provide precise spectral measurements in the crucial interval that bridges the gap between LEGA-C and SDSS data. The wide area coverage of ~25 deg2 will enable us to observe galaxies in a variety of environments. The ancillary data available in each observed field (including X-ray coverage, multi-narrow-band photometry and spectroscopic redshift information) will provide an environmental characterisation for each observed galaxy. This paper presents the science case of WEAVE-StePS, the fields to be observed, the parent catalogues used to define the target sample, and the observing strategy chosen after a forecast of the expected performance of the instrument for our typical targets. WEAVE-StePS will go back further in cosmic time than SDSS, extending its reach to encompass more than ~6 Gyr, nearly half of the age of the Universe. The spectral and redshift range covered by WEAVE-StePS will open a new observational window by continuously tracing the evolutionary path of galaxies in the largely unexplored intermediate-redshift range.
Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, A&A in press |
| Document Type: |
Working Paper |
| DOI: |
10.1051/0004-6361/202245361 |
| Access URL: |
http://arxiv.org/abs/2302.07366 |
| Accession Number: |
edsarx.2302.07366 |
| Database: |
arXiv |
