The UV multi-object slit-spectrograph FIREBall-2 simulator

P. Mège; S. Pascal; S. Quiret; L. Corlies; D. Vibert; R. Grange; B. Milliard

doi:10.1117/12.2206160

24 August 2015 The UV multi-object slit-spectrograph FIREBall-2 simulator

P. Mège, S. Pascal, S. Quiret, L. Corlies, D. Vibert, R. Grange, B. Milliard

Proceedings Volume 9601, UV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XIX; 960110 (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2206160
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2015, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The FIREBall-2 Instrument Model (FIREBallIMO) is a piece of software simulating the optical behaviour of the Multi-Object Two-Curved Schmidt Slit Spectograph of FIREBall-2 (Faint Intergalactic Redshifted Emission BALLoon), a balloon-borne telescope (40 km in alt.) designed to perform a direct detection of the faint Circum Galactic Medium (CGM) in emission around low-z galaxies. The spectrograph has been optimized to operate in a narrow UV band [195-225] nanometers, the so-called atmospheric sweet spot, where the sky background presents no emission lines and can be considered approximately at, a value of 500 continnum units, seen through an optical transmission of 50% at an atmospheric pressure of 3 millibars. This paper gives an overview of the software current modular architecture after a year of productive effort (in terms of parametric model space definition, associated data cubes generation and digital processing) starting from the instrument initial optical model designed under Zemax software to the final 2D-detected image. A special emphasis is put on the design of a cython-wrapped driver able to retrieve dense ray-sampled PSFs out of the Zemax box efficiently. The optical mappings and distortions from the sky to the spectrograph's entrance slit plane and from the sky to the detection plane are presented, as well as some end-to-end simulations leading to Signal-to-Noise Ratio estimates computed on artificial point-like or extended test sources.

Citation Download Citation

P. Mège, S. Pascal, S. Quiret, L. Corlies, D. Vibert, R. Grange, and B. Milliard "The UV multi-object slit-spectrograph FIREBall-2 simulator", Proc. SPIE 9601, UV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XIX, 960110 (24 August 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2206160

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available