The SAURON project - I. The panoramic integral-field spectrograph

Journal article

A new integral-field spectrograph, SAURON, is described. It is based on the TIGER principle, and uses a lenslet array. SAURON has a large field of view and high throughput, and allows simultaneous sky subtraction. Its design is optimized for studies of the stellar kinematics, gas kinematics, and line-strength distributions of nearby early-type galaxies. The instrument design and specifications are described, as well as the extensive analysis software which was developed to obtain fully calibrated spectra, and the associated kinematic and line-strength measurements. A companion paper will report on the first results obtained with SAURON on the William Herschel Telescope.

Authors: Bacon, R; Copin, Y; Monnet, G; Miller, B; Allington-Smith, JR

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
• Volume: 326
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 23-35
• Publication date: 2001-09-01
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-8711.2001.04612.x
• EISSN: 1365-2966
• ISSN: 0035-8711
• Language: English
• Keywords: galaxies : elliptical and lenticular, cD galaxies : individual : NGC 3377; instrumentation : spectrographs; galaxies : spiral; galaxies : kinematics and dynamics; galaxies : stellar content