A Tunable Filter for Deep Wide-Field Emission-Line Surveys with Magellan

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

The Maryland-Magellan Tunable Filter (MMTF) will combine wide field of view (10' - 27') with outstanding narrow-band imaging capabilities over a broad (5000 - 9200 Angstrom) bandwidth. The instrument will be installed in IMACS, the wide-field imaging spectrograph on the 6.5 m Magellan I Telescope at Las Campanas. Frequency switching with the tunable filter, synchronized with movement of the charge on the CCD array, will allow wide-field emission line surveys down to unprecedented flux limits by averaging out temporal variations due to atmospheric and instrumental effects. The MMTF will be the first instrument of its kind on a large telescope, and will benefit a significant fraction of the U.S. astronomical community, including several PhD students.