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The Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) on the James Webb Space Telescope: III. Integral-field spectroscopy

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Abstract

The Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) offers the first opportunity to use integral-field spectroscopy from space at near-infrared wavelengths. More specifically, NIRSpec's integral-field unit can obtain spectra covering the wavelength range 0.6−5.3 μm for a contiguous 3.1 arcsec × 3.2 arcsec sky area at spectral resolutions of R≈100, 1000, and 2700. In this paper we describe the optical and mechanical design of the NIRSpec integral-field spectroscopy mode, together with its expected performance. We also discuss a few recommended observing strategies, some of which are driven by the fact that NIRSpec is a multipurpose instrument with a number of different observing modes, which are discussed in companion papers. We briefly discuss the data processing steps required to produce wavelength- and flux-calibrated data cubes that contain the spatial and spectral information. Lastly, we mention a few scientific topics that are bound to benefit from this highly innovative capability offered by JWST/NIRSpec.

Description

Keywords

space vehicles: instruments, instrumentation: spectrographs, techniques: imaging spectroscopy, methods: observational

Journal Title

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0004-6361
1432-0746

Volume Title

Publisher

EDP Sciences
Sponsorship
STFC (ST/V000918/1)