arXiv subjects

A. Kelz

Publications and source records attributed to A. Kelz.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2021

Mode expansion theory and application in step-index multimode fibres for astronomical spectroscopy

In astronomical spectroscopy, optical fibres are abundantly used for multiplexing and decoupling the spectrograph from the telescope to provide stability in a controlled environment. However, fibres are less than perfect optical components and introduce complex effects that diminish the overall throughput, efficiency, and stability of the instrument. We present a novel numerical field propagation model that emulates the effects of modal noise, scrambling, and focal ratio degradation with a rigorous treatment of wave optics. We demonstrate that the simulation of the near- and far-field output of a fiber, injected into a ray-tracing model of the spectrograph, allows to assess performance at the detector level.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2021

MOSAIC on the ELT: high-multiplex spectroscopy to unravel the physics of stars and galaxies from the dark ages to the present-day

The powerful combination of the cutting-edge multi-object spectrograph MOSAIC with the world largest telescope, the ELT, will allow us to probe deeper into the Universe than was possible. MOSAIC is an extremely efficient instrument in providing spectra for the numerous faint sources in the Universe, including the very first galaxies and sources of cosmic reionization. MOSAIC has a high multiplex in the NIR and in the VIS, in addition to multi-Integral Field Units (Multi-IFUs) in NIR. As such it is perfectly suited to carry out an inventory of dark matter (from rotation curves) and baryons in the cool-warm gas phases in galactic haloes at z=3-4. MOSAIC will enable detailed maps of the intergalactic medium at z=3, the evolutionary history of dwarf galaxies during a Hubble time, the chemistry directly measured from stars up to several Mpc. Finally, it will measure all faint features seen in cluster gravitational lenses or in streams surrounding nearby galactic halos, providing MOSAIC to be a powerful instrument with an extremely large space of discoveries. The preliminary design of MOSAIC is expected to begin next year, and its level of readiness is already high, given the instrumental studies made by the team.

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arXiv2021

Mapping the youngest and most massive stars in the Tarantula nebula with MUSE-NFM

The evolution of the most massive stars is a puzzle with many missing pieces. Statistical analyses are the key to provide anchors to calibrate theory, however performing these studies is an arduous job. The state-of-the-art integral field spectrograph MUSE has stirred up stellar astrophysicists who are excited about the capability to take spectra of up to a thousand stars in a single exposure. The excitement was even higher with the commissioning of the MUSE narrow-field-mode (NFM) that has demonstrated angular resolutions akin to the Hubble Space Telescope. We present the first mapping of the dense stellar core R136 in the Tarantula nebula based on a MUSE-NFM mosaic. We aim to deliver the first homogeneous analysis of the most massive stars in the local Universe and to explore the impact of these peculiar objects to the interstellar medium.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2018

MUSE crowded field 3D spectroscopy in NGC300 I. First results from central fields

Aims. As a new approach to the study of resolved stellar populations in nearby galaxies, our goal is to demonstrate in NGC300 that integral field spectroscopy with high spatial resolution and excellent seeing conditions reaches an unprecedented depth in severely crowded fields. Methods. MUSE observations with seven pointings in NGC300 have resulted in datacubes that are analyzed in four ways: (1) PSF-fitting 3D spectroscopy with PampelMUSE yields deblended spectra of individually distinguishable stars. The technique also provides samples of planetary nebulae that are complete down to m5007=28. (2) pseudo-monochromatic images, created at the wavelengths of the most important emission lines and corrected for continuum light by using the P3D visualization tool, provide maps of HII regions, SNR, and the diffuse ISM at a high level of sensitivity, allowing for the discovery of planetary nebulae, WR stars etc. (3) The use of the P3D line-fitting tool yields emission line fluxes, surface brightness, and kinematic information for gaseous objects, corrected for absorption line profiles of the underlying stellar population. (4) Visual inspection of the datacubes is demonstrated to be effcient for data mining and the discovery of background galaxies and unusual objects. Results. We present a catalogue of luminous stars, rare stars such as WR and other emission line stars, carbon stars, symbiotic star candidates, planetary nebulae, HII regions, supernova remnants, giant shells, peculiar diffuse and filamentary emission line objects, and background galaxies, along with their spectra. Conclusions. The technique of crowded-field 3D spectroscopy is capable of deblending individual bright stars, the unresolved background of faint stars, gaseous nebulae, and the diffuse component of the interstellar medium, resulting in unprecedented legacy value for observations of nearby galaxies with MUSE.

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arXiv2016

CALIFA, the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area survey: IV. Third Public data release

This paper describes the Third Public Data Release (DR3) of the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area (CALIFA) survey. Science-grade quality data for 667 galaxies are made public, including the 200 galaxies of the Second Public Data Release (DR2). Data were obtained with the integral-field spectrograph PMAS/PPak mounted on the 3.5m telescope at the Calar Alto Observatory. Three different spectral setups are available, i) a low-resolution V500 setup covering the wavelength range 3749-7500 AA (4240-7140 AA unvignetted) with a spectral resolution of 6.0 AA (FWHM), for 646 galaxies, ii) a medium-resolution V1200 setup covering the wavelength range 3650-4840 AA (3650-4620 AA unvignetted) with a spectral resolution of 2.3 AA (FWHM), for 484 galaxies, and iii) the combination of the cubes from both setups (called COMBO), with a spectral resolution of 6.0 AA and a wavelength range between 3700-7500 AA (3700-7140 AA unvignetted), for 446 galaxies. The Main Sample, selected and observed according to the CALIFA survey strategy covers a redshift range between 0.005 and 0.03, spans the color-magnitude diagram and probes a wide range of stellar mass, ionization conditions, and morphological types. The Extension Sample covers several types of galaxies that are rare in the overall galaxy population and therefore not numerous or absent in the CALIFA Main Sample. All the cubes in the data release were processed using the latest pipeline, which includes improved versions of the calibration frames and an even further improved im- age reconstruction quality. In total, the third data release contains 1576 datacubes, including ~1.5 million independent spectra. It is available at http://califa.caha.es/DR3.

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arXiv2012

Mapping Luminous Blue Compact Galaxies with VIRUS-P: morphology, line ratios and kinematics

[abridged] We carry out an integral field spectroscopy (IFS) study of a sample of luminous BCGs, with the aim to probe the morphology, kinematics, dust extinction and excitation mechanisms of their warm interstellar medium (ISM). IFS data for five luminous BCGs were obtained using VIRUS-P, the prototype instrument for the Visible Integral Field Replicable Unit Spectrograph, attached to the 2.7m Harlan J. Smith Telescope at the McDonald Observatory. VIRUS-P consists of a square array of 247 optical fibers, which covers a 109"x109" field of view, with a spatial sampling of 4.2" and a 0.3 filling factor. We observed in the 3550-5850 Angstrom spectral range, with a resolution of 5 A FWHM. From these data we built two-dimensional maps of the continuum and the most prominent emission-lines ([OII]3727, Hgamma, Hbeta and [OIII]5007), and investigate the morphology of diagnostic emission-line ratios and the extinction patterns in the ISM as well as stellar and gas kinematics. Additionally, from integrated spectra we infer total line fluxes and luminosity-weighted extinction coefficients and gas-phase metallicities. All galaxies exhibit an overall regular morphology in the stellar continuum, while their warm ISM morphology is more complex: in II Zw 33 and Mrk 314, the star-forming regions are aligned along a chain-structure; Haro 1, NGC 4670 and III Zw 102 display several salient features, such as extended gaseous filaments and bubbles. A significant intrinsic absorption by dust is present in all galaxies, the most extreme case being III Zw 102. Our data reveal a manifold of kinematical patterns, from overall regular gas and stellar rotation to complex velocity fields produced by structurally and kinematically distinct components.

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arXiv2011

A 2D multiwavelength study of the ionized gas and stellar population in the Giant HII Region NGC 588

(ABRIDGED) We present an analysis of NGC588 based on IFS data with PMAS, together with Spitzer images at 8 mi and 24 mi. The extinction distribution in the optical shows complex structure, with maxima correlating in position with those of the emission at 24 mi and 8 mi. The Ha luminosity absorbed by the dust within the GHIIR reproduces the structure observed in the 24 mi image, supporting the use of this band as a tracer of recent star formation. A velocity difference of ~50 km/s was measured between the areas of high and low surface brightness, which would be expected if NGC588 were an evolved GHIIR. Line ratios used in the BPT diagnostic diagrams show a larger range of variation in the low surface brightness areas. The ranges are ~0.5 to 1.2 dex for [NII]/Ha, 0.7 to 1.7 dex for [SII]/Ha, and 0.3 to 0.5 dex for [OIII]/Hb. Ratios corresponding to large ionization parameter (U) are found between the peak of the emission in Hb and the main ionizing source decreasing radially outwards within the region. Differences between the integrated and local values of the U tracers can be as high as ~0.8 dex. [OII]/Hb and [OIII]/[OII] yield similar local values for U and consistent with those expected from the integrated spectrum of an HII region ionized by a single star. The ratio [SII]/Ha departs significantly from the range predicted by this scenario, indicating the complex ionization structure in GHIIRs. There is a significant scatter in derivations of Z using strong line tracers as a function of position, caused by variations in the degree of ionization. The scatter is smaller for N2O3 which points to this tracer as a better Z tracer than N2. The comparison between integrated and local line ratio values indicates that measurements of the line ratios of GHIIR in galaxies at distances >~25 Mpc may be dominated by the ionization conditions in their low surface brightness areas.

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arXiv2008

The Radial Velocity Experiment (RAVE): second data release

We present the second data release of the Radial Velocity Experiment (RAVE), an ambitious spectroscopic survey to measure radial velocities (RVs) and stellar atmosphere parameters of up to one million stars using the 6dF multi-object spectrograph on the 1.2-m UK Schmidt Telescope of the Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO). It is obtaining medium resolution spectra (median R=7,500) in the Ca-triplet region (8,410--8,795 Å) for southern hemisphere stars in the magnitude range 9<I<12. Following the first data release (Steinmetz et al. 2006) the current release doubles the sample of published RVs, now containing 51,829 RVs for 49,327 individual stars observed on 141 nights between April 11 2003 and March 31 2005. Comparison with external data sets shows that the new data collected since April 3 2004 show a standard deviation of 1.3 km/s, about twice better than for the first data release. For the first time this data release contains values of stellar parameters from 22,407 spectra of 21,121 individual stars. They were derived by a penalized χ^2 method using an extensive grid of synthetic spectra calculated from the latest version of Kurucz models. From comparison with external data sets, our conservative estimates of errors of the stellar parameters (for a spectrum with S/N=40) are 400 K in temperature, 0.5 dex in gravity, and 0.2 dex in metallicity. We note however that the internal errors estimated from repeat RAVE observations of 822 stars are at least a factor 2 smaller. We demonstrate that the results show no systematic offsets if compared to values derived from photometry or complementary spectroscopic analyses. The data release includes proper motion and photometric measurements. It can be accessed via the RAVE webpage: http://www.rave-survey.org and through CDS.

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arXiv2008

The Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX): Description and Early Pilot Survey Results

The Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) will outfit the 10 m HET with a new wide field and an array of 150 integral-field spectrographs to survey a 420 sq. deg. area in the north Galactic cap. Each fiber-coupled unit spectrograph will cover 350-550 nm, simultaneously. This instrument, called VIRUS, will produce ~34,000 spectra per exposure, and will open up the emission-line universe to large surveys for the first time. The survey will detect 0.8 million Lyman-alpha emitting (LAE) galaxies with 1.9<z<3.5 and more than a million [OII] emitting galaxies with z<0.5. The 3-D map of LAE galaxies in 9 cubic Gpc volume will be used to measure the expansion history at this early epoch using baryonic acoustic oscillations and the shape of the power spectrum. The aim of HETDEX is to provide a direct detection of dark energy at z~3. The measurement will constrain the evolution of dark energy and will also provide 0.1%-level accuracy on the curvature of the Universe, ten times better than current. The prototype of the VIRUS unit spectrograph (VIRUS-P) is a powerful instrument in its own right. Used on the McDonald 2.7 m, it covers the largest area of any integral field spectrograph, and reaches wavelengths down to 340 nm. VIRUS-P is being used for a pilot survey to better measure the properties of LAE galaxies in support of HETDEX. We report initial results from this survey.

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arXiv2007

An integral field spectroscopic survey for high redshift damped Lyman-alpha galaxies

We search for galaxy counterparts to damped Lyman-alpha absorbers (DLAs) at z>2 towards nine quasars, which have 14 DLAs and 8 sub-DLAs in their spectra. We use integral field spectroscopy to search for Ly-alpha emission line objects at the redshifts of the absorption systems. Besides recovering two previously confirmed objects, we find six statistically significant candidate Ly-alpha emission line objects. The candidates are identified as having wavelengths close to the DLA line where the background quasar emission is absorbed. In comparison with the six currently known Ly-alpha emitting DLA galaxies the candidates have similar line fluxes and line widths, while velocity offsets between the emission lines and systemic DLA redshifts are larger. The impact parameters are larger than 10 kpc, and lower column density systems are found at larger impact parameters. Assuming that a single gas cloud extends from the QSO line of sight to the location of the candidate emission line, we find that the average candidate DLA galaxy is surrounded by neutral gas with an exponential scale length of ~5 kpc.

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arXiv2006

Probing unexplored territories with MUSE: a second generation instrument for the VLT

The Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) is a second-generation VLT panoramic integral-field spectrograph under preliminary design study. MUSE has a field of 1x1 arcmin**2 sampled at 0.2x0.2 arcsec**2 and is assisted by the VLT ground layer adaptive optics ESO facility using four laser guide stars. The simultaneous spectral range is 465-930 nm, at a resolution of R~3000. MUSE couples the discovery potential of a large imaging device to the measuring capabilities of a high-quality spectrograph, while taking advantage of the increased spatial resolution provided by adaptive optics. This makes MUSE a unique and tremendously powerful instrument for discovering and characterizing objects that lie beyond the reach of even the deepest imaging surveys. MUSE has also a high spatial resolution mode with 7.5x7.5 arcsec**2 field of view sampled at 25 milli-arcsec. In this mode MUSE should be able to obtain diffraction limited data-cubes in the 600-930 nm wavelength range. Although the MUSE design has been optimized for the study of galaxy formation and evolution, it has a wide range of possible applications; e.g. monitoring of outer planets atmosphere, environment of young stellar objects, super massive black holes and active nuclei in nearby galaxies or massive spectroscopic surveys of stellar fields in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

The Radial Velocity Experiment (RAVE): first data release

We present the first data release of the Radial Velocity Experiment (RAVE), an ambitious spectroscopic survey to measure radial velocities and stellar atmosphere parameters (temperature, metallicity, surface gravity) of up to one million stars using the 6dF multi-object spectrograph on the 1.2-m UK Schmidt Telescope of the Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO). The RAVE program started in 2003, obtaining medium resolution spectra (median R=7,500) in the Ca-triplet region ($λλ$ 8,410--8,795 Å) for southern hemisphere stars drawn from the Tycho-2 and SuperCOSMOS catalogs, in the magnitude range 9<I<12. The first data release is described in this paper and contains radial velocities for 24,748 individual stars (25,274 measurements when including re-observations). Those data were obtained on 67 nights between 11 April 2003 to 03 April 2004. The total sky coverage within this data release is $\sim$4,760 square degrees. The average signal to noise ratio of the observed spectra is 29.5, and 80% of the radial velocities have uncertainties better than 3.4 km/s. Combining internal errors and zero-point errors, the mode is found to be 2 km/s. Repeat observations are used to assess the stability of our radial velocity solution, resulting in a variance of 2.8 km/s. We demonstrate that the radial velocities derived for the first data set do not show any systematic trend with color or signal to noise. The RAVE radial velocities are complemented in the data release with proper motions from Starnet 2.0, Tycho-2 and SuperCOSMOS, in addition to photometric data from the major optical and infrared catalogs (Tycho-2, USNO-B, DENIS and 2MASS). The data release can be accessed via the RAVE webpage: http://www.rave-survey.org.

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arXiv2005

PMAS, the Potsdam Multi-Aperture Spectrophotometer. I. Design, Manufacture, and Performance

We describe the design, manufacture, commissioning, and performance of PMAS, the Potsdam Multi-Aperture Spectrophotometer. PMAS is a dedicated integral field spectrophotometer, optimized to cover the optical wavelength regime of 0.35--1um. It is based on the lens array -- fiber bundle principle of operation. The instrument employs an all-refractive fiber spectrograph, built with CaF2 optics, to provide good transmission and high image quality over the entire nominal wavelength range. A set of user-selectable reflective gratings provides low to medium spectral resolution in first order of approx. 1.5, 3.2, and 7 A, depending on the groove density (1200, 600, 300 gr/mm). While the standard integral field unit (IFU) uses a 16x16 element lens array, which provides seeing-limited sampling in a relatively small field-of-view (FOV) in one of three magnifications (8x8, 12x12, or 16x16 arcsec^2, respectively), a recently retrofitted bare fiber bundle IFU (PPak) expands the FOV to a hexagonal area with a footprint of 65x74 arcsec^2. Other special features include a cryogenic CCD camera for field acquisition and guiding, a nod-shuffle mode for beam switching and improved sky background subtraction, and a scanning Fabry-Perot etalon in combination with the standard IFU (PYTHEAS mode). PMAS was initially designed and built as an experimental traveling instrument with optical interfaces to various telescopes (Calar Alto 3.5m, ESO-VLT, LBT). It is offered as a common user instrument at Calar Alto under contract with MPIA Heidelberg since 2002.

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arXiv2004

The merging/AGN connection II. Ionization of the circumnuclear regions

We report the first results of a study of a sample of 20 galaxy mergers/interacting systems, using the VIMOS and PMAS integral field spectrographs. For each object, we extracted the integrated spectrum of the central regions and analyzed the ionization state using classical diagnostic diagrams (Veilleux & Osterbrock 1987). There is evidence of AGN ionization in 4 of the objects, i.e. 20% of the sample, a considerably higher fraction than found in previous studies ~4%

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arXiv2004

Abundances and kinematics of a candidate sub-damped Lyman-alpha galaxy toward PHL 1226

The spectrum of the quasar PHL 1226 is known to have a strong Mg II and sub-damped Lyman-alpha (sub-DLA) absorption line system with N(HI)=(5+/-2)*10^19 cm^-2 at z=0.1602. Using integral field spectra from the Potsdam Multi Aperture Spectrophotometer (PMAS) we investigate a galaxy at an impact parameter of 6".4 which is most probably responsible for the absorption lines. A fainter galaxy at a similar redshift and a slightly larger distance from the QSO is known to exist, but we assume that the absorption is caused by the more nearby galaxy. From optical Balmer lines we estimate an intrinsic reddening consistent with 0, and a moderate star formation rate of 0.5 M_sun yr^-1, is inferred from the Halpha luminosity. Using nebular emission line ratios we find a solar oxygen abundance 12+log(O/H)=8.7+/-0.1 and a solar nitrogen to oxygen abundance ratio log(N/O)=-1.0+/-0.2. This abundance is larger than those of all known sub-DLA systems derived from analyses of metal absorption lines in quasar spectra. On the other hand, the properties are compatible with the most metal rich galaxies responsible for strong Mg II absorption systems. These two categories can be reconciled if we assume an abundance gradient similar to local galaxies. Under that assumption we predict abundances 12+log(O/H)=7.1 and log(N/O)=-1.9 for the sub-DLA cloud, which is similar to high redshift DLA and sub-DLA systems. We find evidence for a rotational velocity of ~200 km s^-1 over a length of ~7 kpc. From the geometry and kinematics of the galaxy we estimate that the absorbing cloud does not belong to a rotating disk, but could originate in a rotating halo.

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arXiv2004

Integral field observations of DLA galaxies

We report preliminary results from a targeted investigation on quasars containing damped Lyman-alpha absorption (DLA) lines as well strong metal absorption lines, carried out with the Potsdam Multi Aperture Spectrophotometer (PMAS). We search for line-emitting objects at the same redshift as the absorption lines and close to the line of sight of the QSOs. We have observed and detected the already confirmed absorbing galaxies in Q2233+131 (z_abs=3.15) and Q0151+045 (z_abs=0.160), while failing to find spectral signatures for the z=0.091 absorber in Q0738+313. From the Q2233+131 DLA galaxy, we have detected extended Ly-alpha emission from an area of 3"*5".

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arXiv2004

Integral Field Spectroscopy of Extended Lyman-alpha Emission from the DLA Galaxy in Q2233+131

This paper presents observations of an extended Lyman-alpha emission nebula surrounding the galaxy responsible for the Damped Lyman-alpha Absorption (DLA) line in the spectrum of the quasar Q2233+131. With the Potsdam Multi Aperture Spectrophotometer (PMAS) we measure the properties of the extended Ly-alpha emission in an area of 3"* 5" having a total line flux of (2.8+/-0.3)*10^{-16} erg cm-2 s-1, which at redshift z=3.15 corresponds to a luminosity of (2.4 -0.2/+0.3)*10^{43} erg s-1 and a size of 23 times 38 kpc. The location of the emission is spatially coincident with the previously detected DLA galaxy, but extends significantly beyond its limb. We argue that the Ly-alpha emission is likely to be caused by an outflow from the DLA galaxy, presumably powered by star formation. In the case of negligible dust extinction, the Ly-alpha luminosity indicates a star-formation rate of 19+/-10 solar masses per year consistent with that derived from the UV continuum flux from the parent galaxy. The wind velocity indicated by the integral field spectra is of the order of several hundred km s-1. We find no indication of emission originating in a rotating disk.

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arXiv2003

3D Spectrophotometry of Planetary Nebulae in the Bulge of M31

We introduce crowded field integral field (3D) spectrophotometry as a useful technique for the study of resolved stellar populations in nearby galaxies. As a methodological test, we present a pilot study with selected extragalactic planetary nebulae (XPN) in the bulge of M31, demonstrating how 3D spectroscopy is able to improve the limited accuracy of background subtraction which one would normally obtain with classical slit spectroscopy. It is shown that due to the absence of slit effects, 3D is a most suitable technique for spectrophometry. We present spectra and line intensities for 5 XPN in M31, obtained with the MPFS instrument at the Russian 6m BTA, INTEGRAL at the WHT, and with PMAS at the Calar Alto 3.5m Telescope. Using 3D spectra of bright standard stars, we demonstrate that the PSF is sampled with high accuracy, providing a centroiding precision at the milli-arcsec level. Crowded field 3D spectrophotometry and the use of PSF fitting techniques is suggested as the method of choice for a number of similar observational problems, including luminous stars in nearby galaxies, supernovae, QSO host galaxies, gravitationally lensed QSOs, and others.

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