arXiv subjects

Dimitri Buffat

Publications and source records attributed to Dimitri Buffat.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

WST, the Wide-field Spectroscopic Telescope: dispersing elements

The Wide-field Spectroscopic Telescope (WST) is a proposed 12-m class facility entirely dedicated to spectroscopic surveys, combining a high-multiplex multi-object spectrograph operating at low (MOS-LR) and high (MOS-HR) spectral resolution with a giant panoramic integral-field spectrograph (IFS), all three operating in parallel. Diffraction gratings are the key dispersing elements of all three instruments and, given the very large number and size of the units required, drive critical trade-offs in throughput, feasibility and production cost. This paper reviews the two grating technologies under consideration for WST, Volume Phase Holographic Gratings (VPHG) and binary (lithographic, surface-relief) gratings, summarizing their working principles and the parameters that control their diffraction efficiency. We then present the current baseline grating parameters and vendor results for each instrument: low-dispersion, VPHGs for the IFS; a four-arm GRISM layout for MOS-LR; and two competing high-resolution disperser architectures (8M16D and 16M4D) for MOS-HR, where binary gratings show a promising path to diffraction efficiencies beyond what is achievable with VPHGs. We conclude with the main open challenges, chiefly the mass production of hundreds of grating units within cost and schedule and the next steps foreseen to consolidate the disperser baseline for WST.

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arXiv2026

The Wide-field Spectroscopic Telescope (WST): design trade-offs for the low-resolution multi-object spectrograph instrument

The Wide-field Spectroscopic Telescope (WST) is a planned 12-meter-class dedicated spectroscopic facility designed to address key scientific challenges through large spectroscopic surveys. This paper presents design and performance trade-offs for the Low-Resolution Multi-Object Spectrograph (MOS-LR) instrument. With a multiplex of 30,000 covering a field of view of 3.1 square degrees, this instrument will provide unprecedented survey efficiency, an order of magnitude beyond those of current facilities. Covering the 370 to 930 nm range at a resolving power of 3,000 with a sky-projected fiber diameter of 1 arcsec, this instrument faces extreme challenges in design, manufacturing, and maintenance. We present a systematic approach to trading off optical and mechanical design options, taking into account constraints such as volume and mass, but also projected availability of detectors and gratings etc.

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arXiv2026

The Wide-field Spectroscopic Telescope: optical designs for the low-resolution multi-object spectrographs

In MOS Low-Resolution mode, WST has a 'spectral etendue' per fiber (etendue x spectral resolution elements) twice as large as any existing MOS instrument, and a total spectral etendue ~20 times larger. Combined, these present enormous challenges for the spectrograph design. Initial designs were based on (a) a novel F/0.775 Folded Solid Schmidt camera with 6cm detectors, (b) an F/1.15 dioptric camera with 6cm detectors, and (c) an F/1.31 dioptric camera with 9cm detectors, all with YAG field-flatteners. However, the imperative of fast camera speed has greatly diminished, as the projected cost and read-noise of large format CMOS detectors is projected to decrease greatly. The adopted baseline solution has 4 dioptric F/1.64 cameras, each with two doublets, a YAG field lens and 9cm x 9cm detector. Theoretical image quality is 8 microns rms radius. The design seems readily athermalised, potentially allowing passive temperature control. Each spectrograph accepts 500+ fibers. Expected RoM costs (scaled from earlier designs) suggest a total cost <4M Euro per spectrograph.

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arXiv2026

WST, the wide-field spectroscopic telescope: progress on the design of the instruments

WST, the Wide-field Spectroscopic Telescope is a proposed new facility that will provide a transformational gain in spectroscopic survey capability over existing facilities. The WST is a 12 metre class telescope equipped with instrumentation to provide simultaneous observations in both multiple-object spectroscopy and integral field spectroscopy modes. This paper will describe the status of the instruments being designed for the WST, the fibre positioner module, the low and high-resolution multiple object spectrographs, the integral field spectrograph, disperser technology, sustainable detector and cryostat technology, and the calibration system. An overview of the overall layout of the instruments within the WST facility will be provided.

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arXiv2026

An overview of stray light findings and interpretation during on-sky commissioning of LSSTCam

Wide-field telescopes are intrinsically difficult to shield from unwanted stray and scattered light, while the search to identify sources of contaminating light is frequently a challenging task. The Vera C.~Rubin Observatory, which achieved its first photon with the LSST Camera (LSSTCam) on April 15, 2025, will initiate a revolutionary era for the study of dark matter, dark energy, the transient sky, the Solar System, and the Milky Way. LSSTCam will provide near seeing-limited images of the sky in six bands ($u,g,r,i,z,y$) over a $3.^\circ 5$-diameter field of view, and over the course of a decade, it will execute the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). This work provides an overview of the dedicated stray and scattered light test campaign that has been undertaken since the start of Rubin commissioning. In particular, we highlight the processes used to characterize, model, and mitigate stray light present in LSSTCam images. The Rubin commissioning team created a series of testing and analysis tools to track stray light artifacts from their initial discovery through reproduction with timely observations, simulation using ray tracing to identify opto-mechanical origins, and finally devising corrective actions. The complex stray light features encountered by Rubin provide a wealth of experience for the future wide-field and extremely wide-field observatories. This work covers the many stages of a long journey that started with conceiving an innovative and challenging optical design, followed by the engineering and system engineering efforts to build it, to finally delivering an optimized and revolutionary cutting-edge facility.

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arXiv2026

WST -- Wide-field Spectroscopic Telescope: The Next Leap in Wide-field Spectroscopy

The Wide-field Spectroscopic Telescope (WST) is a concept for a dedicated 12-m spectroscopic survey facility designed to address some of the most important questions in astrophysics in the 2040s. The WST will provide unprecedented spectroscopic survey capabilities by operating simultaneously over a 2-degree diameter field of view with 54 low-resolution spectrographs fed by 30,000 fibres, 8-16 high-resolution spectrographs fed by 2,000 fibres, and a large panoramic low-resolution integral-field spectrograph. Supported by Horizon Europe, the concept study has refined the science cases, facility architecture, operations model, sustainability strategy, and technology roadmap. The resulting reference design demonstrates that the WST is both scientifically transformative and technically feasible, while identifying the developments required to mitigate the remaining risks. The WST is designed as an ESO flagship facility for the post-ELT construction era and a key spectroscopic complement to the major imaging, time-domain, and multi-messenger facilities of the coming decades.

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arXiv2026

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory Data Preview 1

We present Rubin Data Preview 1 DP1, the first data from the NSF DOE Vera C Rubin Observatory, comprising raw and calibrated single epoch images, coadds, difference images, detection catalogs, and ancillary data products. DP1 is based on 1792 optical near infrared exposures acquired over 48 distinct nights by the Rubin Commissioning Camera LSSTComCam on the Simonyi Survey Telescope at the Summit Facility on Cerro Pach\'on Chile in late 2024. DP1 covers $\sim$15 deg$^2$ distributed across seven roughly equal-sized non-contiguous fields, each independently observed in six broad photometric bands $ugrizy$. The median FWHM of the point spread function across all bands is approximately 1.14 arcseconds, with the sharpest images reaching about 0.58 arcseconds. The 5$\sigma$ point source depths for coadded images in the deepest field the Extended Chandra Deep Field South are $u$ = 24.55, $g$ = 26.18, $r$ = 25.96, $i$ = 25.71, $z$ = 25.07, $y$ = 23.1. Other fields are no more than 2.2 magnitudes shallower in any band where they have nonzero coverage. DP1 contains approximately 2.3 million distinct astrophysical objects, of which 1.6 million are extended in at least one band in coadds and 431 solar system objects of which 93 are new discoveries. DP1 is approximately 3.5 TB in size and is available to Rubin data rights holders via the Rubin Science Platform a cloud based environment for the analysis of petascale astronomical data. While small compared to future LSST releases its high quality and diversity of data support a broad range of early science investigations ahead of full operations in 2026.

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