AAOmega is the new spectrograph for the 2dF fibre-positioning system on the
Anglo-Australian Telescope. It is a bench-mounted, double-beamed design, using
volume phase holographic (VPH) gratings and articulating cameras. It is fed by
392 fibres from either of the two 2dF field plates, or by the 512 fibre SPIRAL
integral field unit (IFU) at Cassegrain focus. Wavelength coverage is 370 to
950nm and spectral resolution 1,000-8,000 in multi-Object mode, or 1,500-10,000
in IFU mode. Multi-object mode was commissioned in January 2006 and the IFU
system will be commissioned in June 2006.
The spectrograph is located off the telescope in a thermally isolated room
and the 2dF fibres have been replaced by new 38m broadband fibres. Despite the
increased fibre length, we have achieved a large increase in throughput by use
of VPH gratings, more efficient coatings and new detectors - amounting to a
factor of at least 2 in the red. The number of spectral resolution elements and
the maximum resolution are both more than doubled, and the stability is an
order of magnitude better.
The spectrograph comprises: an f/3.15 Schmidt collimator, incorporating a
dichroic beam-splitter; interchangeable VPH gratings; and articulating red and
blue f/1.3 Schmidt cameras. Pupil size is 190mm, determined by the competing
demands of cost, obstruction losses, and maximum resolution. A full suite of
VPH gratings has been provided to cover resolutions 1,000 to 7,500, and up to
10,000 at particular wavelengths.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures; presented at SPIE, Astronomical Telescopes and
Instrumentation, 24 - 31 May 2006, Orlando, Florida US