AAOmicron: a wide-field near-infrared multi-object spectrograph concept for the AAT

Abstract

AAOmicron is a wide-field, fiber-fed, multi-object, near-infrared spectrograph concept for the Anglo Australian Telescope (AAT). It is one of a number of instruments concepts (primarily for bright time use) recently considered to complement the existing instrumentation and in particular the highly popular AAOmega system (primarily dark and grey time usage). AAOmicron has a two-degree field of view, 240 robotically configured fibers and operates between 0.98 and 1.75μm at a resolution of R~3500. AAOmicron offers a broad suite of applications from the study of low-mass stars, to determining the structure of the high-redshift Universe. We present an overview of the instrument concept, which is based heavily on the highly successful AAOmega system, and describe how the AAOmega spectrograph design could be adapted for near-infrared observations to provide a highly cost effective and scientifically compelling instrument.