Gemini-South + FLAMINGOS Demonstration Science: Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of the z=5.77 Quasar SDSS J083643.85+005453.3

We report an infrared 1-1.8 micron (J+H-bands), low-resolution (R=450) spectrogram of the highest-redshift radio-loud quasar currently known, SDSS J083643.85+005453.3, obtained during the spectroscopic commissioning run of the FLAMINGOS multi-object, near-infrared spectrograph at the 8m Gemini-South Observatory. These data show broad emission from both CIV 1549 and CIII] 1909, with strengths comparable to lower-redshift quasar composite spectra. The implication is that there is substantial enrichment of the quasar environment, even at times less than a billion years after the Big Bang. The redshift derived from these features is z = 5.774 +/- 0.003, more accurate and slightly lower than the z = 5.82 reported in the discovery paper based on the partially-absorbed Lyman-alpha emission line. The infrared continuum is significantly redder than lower-redshift quasar composites. Fitting the spectrum from 1.0 to 1.7 microns with a power law f(nu) ~ nu^(-alpha), the derived power law index is alpha = 1.55 compared to the average continuum spectral index = 0.44 derived from the first SDSS composite quasar. Assuming an SMC-like extinction curve, we infer a color excess of E(B-V) = 0.09 +/- 0.01 at the quasar redshift. Only approximately 6% of quasars in the optically-selected Sloan Digital Sky Survey show comparable levels of dust reddening.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure; to appear in the Astrophysical Journal Letter

The Initial Configuration of Young Stellar Clusters: A K-band Number Counts Analysis of the Surface Density of Stars

We present an analysis of K-band stellar distributions for the young stellar clusters GGD 12-15, IRAS 20050+2720, and NGC 7129. We find that the two deeply embedded clusters, GGD 12-15 and IRAS 20050+2720, are not azimuthally symmetric and show a high degree of structure which traces filamentary structure observed in 850 micron emission maps. In contrast, the NGC 7129 cluster is circularly symmetric, less dense, and anti-correlated to 850 micron emission, suggesting recent gas expulsion and dynamical expansion have occured. We estimate stellar volume densities from nearest neighbor distances, and discuss the impact of these densities on the evolution of circumstellar disks and protostellar envelopes in these regions.Comment: 44 pages, 26 figures, Accepted to ApJ. Changes include extinction mapping, Monte Carlo field star modeling, and Nyquist sampled azimuthal stellar distributions. A version with full resolution figures is available at http://astro.pas.rochester.edu/~rguter/preprints/gutermuth_sd.tar.g

FLAMINGOS-2: The Facility Near-Infrared Wide-field Imager & Multi-Object Spectrograph for Gemini

We report on the design and status of the FLAMINGOS-2 instrument - a fully-cryogenic facility near-infrared imager and multi-object spectrograph for the Gemini 8-meter telescopes. FLAMINGOS-2 has a refractive all-spherical optical system providing 0.18-arcsecond pixels and a 6.2-arcminute circular field-of-view on a 2048x2048-pixel HAWAII-2 0.9-2.4 mm detector array. A slit/decker wheel mechanism allows the selection of up to 9 multi-object laser-machined plates or 3 long slits for spectroscopy over a 6x2-arcminute field of view, and selectable grisms provide resolutions from $\sim$ 1300 to $\sim$3000 over the entire spectrograph bandpass. FLAMINGOS-2 is also compatible with the Gemini Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics system, providing multi-object spectroscopic capabilities over a 3x1-arcminute field with high spatial resolution (0.09-arcsec/pixel). We review the designs of optical, mechanical, electronics, software, and On-Instrument WaveFront Sensor subsystems. We also present the current status of the project, currently in final testing in mid-2006.Comment: Submitted to SPIE Astronomical Telescopes & Instrumentation; 12 pages, incl. color figure

The British Army, information management and the First World War revolution in military affairs

Information Management (IM) – the systematic ordering, processing and channelling of information within organisations – forms a critical component of modern military command and control systems. As a subject of scholarly enquiry, however, the history of military IM has been relatively poorly served. Employing new and under-utilised archival sources, this article takes the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) of the First World War as its case study and assesses the extent to which its IM system contributed to the emergence of the modern battlefield in 1918. It argues that the demands of fighting a modern war resulted in a general, but not universal, improvement in the BEF’s IM techniques, which in turn laid the groundwork, albeit in embryonic form, for the IM systems of modern armies. KEY WORDS: British Army, Information Management, First World War, Revolution in Military Affairs, Adaptatio

Fisica: The Florida Image Slicer For Infrared Cosmology And Astrophysics

We report on the design and status of the Florida Image Slicer for Infrared Cosmology and Astrophysics (FISICA) - a fully-cryogenic all-reflective image-slicing integral field unit for the FLAMINGOS near-infrared spectrograph. Designed to accept input beams near f/15, FISICA with FLAMINGOS provides R ∼ 1300 spectra over a 16 × 33″ field-of-view on the Cassegrain f/15 focus of the KPNO 4-m telescope, or a 6 × 12″ field-of-view on the Nasmyth or Bent Cassegrain foci of the Gran Telescopio Canarias 10.4-m telescope. FISICA accomplishes this using three sets of monolithic powered mirror arrays, each with 22 mirrored surfaces cut into a single piece of aluminum. We review the optical and opto-mechanical design, fabrication, laboratory test results, and on-telescope performance for FISICA. © 2006

Fisica: The Florida Image Slicer For Infrared Cosmology &Amp; Astrophysics

We report on the design and status of the Florida Image Slicer for Infrared Cosmology and Astrophysics (FISICA) - a fully-cryogenic all-reflective image-slicing integral field unit for the FLAMINGOS near-infrared spectrograph. Designed to accept input beams near f/15, FISICA with FLAMINGOS provides R∼1300 spectra over a 16x33-arcsec field-of-view on the Cassegrain f/15 focus of the KPNO 4-meter telescope, or a 6x12-arcsec field-of-view on the Nasmyth or Bent Cassegrain foci of the Gran Telescopio Canarias 10.4-meter telescope. FISICA accomplishes this using three sets of monolithic powered mirror arrays, each with 22 mirrored surfaces cut into a single piece of aluminum. We review the optical and opto-mechanical design and fabrication of FISICA, as well as laboratory test results for FISICA integrated with the FLAMINGOS instrument. We also discuss plans for first-light observations on the KPNO 4-meter telescope in July 2004

Fisica: The Florida Image Slicer For Infrared Cosmology &Amp; Astrophysics

We report on the design, fabrication, and on-sky performance of the Florida Image Slicer for Infrared Cosmology and Astrophysics (FISICA) - a fully-cryogenic all-reflective image-slicing integral field unit for the FLAMINGOS nearinfrared spectrograph. Designed to accept input beams near f/15, FISICA with FLAMINGOS provides R∼1300 spectra over a 16×33-arcsec field-of-view on the Cassegrain f/15 focus of the KPNO 4-meter telescope, or a 6×12-arcsec field-of-view on the Nasmyth or Bent Cassegrain foci of the Gran Telescopio Canarias 10.4-meter telescope, FISICA accomplishes this using three sets of monolithic powered mirror arrays, each with 22 mirrored surfaces cut into a single piece of aluminum. We review the optical and opto-mechanical design and fabrication of FISICA, as well as laboratory test results for FISICA integrated with the FLAMINGOS instrument, Finally, we present performance results from observations with FISICA at the KPNO 4-m telescope and comparisons of FISICA performance to other available IFUs on 4-m to 8-m-class telescopes