CaltechAUTHORS
Published March 2018 | Version Submitted
Journal Article Open

The SED Machine: A Robotic Spectrograph for Fast Transient Classification

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon California Institute of Technology
  • 2. ROR icon Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
  • 3. ROR icon Carnegie Observatories
  • 4. ROR icon National Central University
  • 5. ROR icon Weizmann Institute of Science
  • 6. ROR icon San Diego State University
  • 7. ROR icon University of Tokyo
  • 8. ROR icon Princeton University

Abstract

Current time domain facilities are finding several hundreds of transient astronomical events a year. The discovery rate is expected to increase in the future as soon as new surveys such as the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) and the Large Synoptic Sky Survey (LSST) come online. Presently, the rate at which transients are classified is approximately one order or magnitude lower than the discovery rate, leading to an increasing "follow-up drought". Existing telescopes with moderate aperture can help address this deficit when equipped with spectrographs optimized for spectral classification. Here, we provide an overview of the design, operations and first results of the Spectral Energy Distribution Machine (SEDM), operating on the Palomar 60-inch telescope (P60). The instrument is optimized for classification and high observing efficiency. It combines a low-resolution (R ~ 100) integral field unit (IFU) spectrograph with "Rainbow Camera" (RC), a multi-band field acquisition camera which also serves as multi-band (ugri) photometer. The SEDM was commissioned during the operation of the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF) and has already lived up to its promise. The success of the SEDM demonstrates the value of spectrographs optimized for spectral classification.

Additional Information

© 2018 Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Received 2017 October 11. Accepted 2018 January 4. Published 2018 February 12. The SEDM was funded via NSF 1106171. This work was supported by the GROWTH project funded by the National Science Foundation under grant No 1545949. Facilities: PO:1.2 m - , PO:1.5 m - .

Attached Files

Submitted - 1710.02917.pdf

Files

1710.02917.pdf

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Additional details

Identifiers

Eprint ID
84808
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20180213-093625443

Related works

Describes
https://arxiv.org/abs/1710.02917 (URL)

Funding

NSF
AST-1106171
NSF
OISE-1545949

Dates

Created
2018-02-13
Created from EPrint's datestamp field
Updated
2023-03-16
Created from EPrint's last_modified field

Caltech Custom Metadata

Caltech groups
Astronomy Department , Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences (GPS)