The near-infrared imager and slitless spectrograph for the James Webb Space Telescope : II. Wide field slitless spectroscopy
Abstract
We present the wide field slitless spectroscopy mode of the NIRISS instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope. This mode employs two orthogonal low-resolution (resolving power ≈150) grisms in combination with a set of six blocking filters in the wavelength range 0.8–2.3 μm to provide a spectrum of almost every source across the field-of-view. When combined with the low background, high sensitivity and high spatial resolution afforded by the telescope, this mode will enable unprecedented studies of the structure and evolution of distant galaxies. We describe the performance of the as-built hardware relevant to this mode and expected imaging and spectroscopic sensitivity. We discuss operational and calibration procedures to obtain the highest quality data. As examples of the observing mode usage, we present details of two planned Guaranteed Time Observations programs: The Canadian NIRISS Unbiased Cluster Survey and The NIRISS Survey for Young Brown Dwarfs and Rogue Planets.
Citation
Willott , C J , Doyon , R , Albert , L , Brammer , G B , Dixon , W V , Muzic , K , Ravindranath , S , Scholz , A , Abraham , R , Artigau , É , Bradač , M , Goudfrooij , P , Hutchings , J B , Iyer , K G , Jayawardhana , R , LaMassa , S , Martis , N , Meyer , M R , Morishita , T , Mowla , L , Muzzin , A , Noirot , G , Pacifici , C , Rowlands , N , Sarrouh , G , Sawicki , M , Taylor , J M , Volk , K & Zabl , J 2022 , ' The near-infrared imager and slitless spectrograph for the James Webb Space Telescope : II. Wide field slitless spectroscopy ' , Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific , vol. 134 , no. 1032 , 025002 . https://doi.org/10.1088/1538-3873/ac5158
Publication
Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0004-6280Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2022. The Author(s). Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence.
Description
We acknowledge support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) through a variety of its funding programs. This work is in part supported by Canadian Space Agency grant 18JWSTGTO1. C.P., S.R. and K.V. are supported by the Canadian Space Agency under a contract with NRC Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics. K.M. acknowledges funding by the Science and Technology Foundation of Portugal (FCT), grants No. IF/00194/2015, PTDC/FIS-AST/28731/2017, UIDB/00099/2020.Collections
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