CHESS: an Innovative Concept for High-Resolution, Far-UV Spectroscopy

Abstract

The space ultraviolet (UV) is a critical astronomical observing window, where a multitude of atomic, ionic, and molecular signatures provide crucial insight into planetary, interstellar, stellar, intergalactic, and extragalactic objects. The next generation of large space telescopes require highly sensitive, moderate-to-high resolution UV spectrograph. However, sensitive observations in the UV are difficult, as UV optical performance and imaging efficiencies have lagged behind counterparts in the visible and infrared regimes. This has historically resulted in simple, low-bounce instruments to increase sensitivity. In this study, we present the design, fabrication, and calibration of a simple, high resolution, high throughput far-UV spectrograph - the Colorado High-resolution Echelle Stellar Spectrograph (CHESS). CHESS is a sounding rocket payload to demonstrate the instrument design for the next-generation UV space telescopes. We present tests and results on the performance of several state-of-the-art diffraction grating and detector technologies for far-UV astronomical applications that were flown aboard the first two iterations of CHESS. The CHESS spectrograph was used to study the atomic-to-molecular transitions within translucent cloud regions in the interstellar medium (ISM) through absorption spectroscopy. The first two flights looked at the sightlines towards alpha Virgo and epsilon Persei, and flight results are presented.

arXiv commentpre-print; accepted for publication in Experimental Astronomy; 44 pages, 14 figures

References in corpus (24)

• emcee: The MCMC Hammer
• Dust Grain Size Distributions and Extinction in the Milky Way, LMC, and SMC
• The Galaxy Evolution Explorer: A Space Ultraviolet Survey Mission
• The Circumgalactic Medium
• Structure of Stationary Photodissociation Fronts
• The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph
• The Distribution of Thermal Pressures in the Interstellar Medium from a Survey of C I Fine-Structure Excitation
• Direct Measurement of the Ratio of Carbon Monoxide to Molecular Hydrogen in the Diffuse Interstellar Medium
• H2 formation and excitation in the diffuse interstellar medium
• FUSE Survey of the Local Interstellar Medium within 200 Parsec
• Molecular Hydrogen Optical Depth Templates for FUSE Data Analysis
• The Astrosphere of the Asymptotic Giant Branch Star Irc+10216
• Spitzer IRS Detection of Molecular Hydrogen Rotational Emission Towards Translucent Clouds
• Atomic and Molecular Carbon as a Tracer of Translucent Clouds
• Velocity Dispersion of Excited H2
• The Diffuse Galactic Far-Ultraviolet Sky
• Observational Evidence Linking Interstellar UV Absorption to PAH Molecules
• A "blue ring nebula" surrounding a thousands of years old stellar merger
• Toward understanding physical origin of 2175Å extinction bump in interstellar medium
• Finding the UV-Visible Path Forward: Proceedings of the Community Workshop to Plan the Future of UV/Visible Space Astrophysics
• The re-flight of the Colorado high-resolution Echelle stellar spectrograph (CHESS): improvements, calibrations, and post-flight results
• Signatures of Hot Molecular Hydrogen Absorption from Protoplanetary Disks: I. Non-thermal Populations
• H2 Excitation Structure on the Sightlines to delta Scorpius and zeta Ophiucus - First Results from the Sub-orbital Local Interstellar Cloud Experiment
• Revisiting the Temperature of the Diffuse ISM with CHESS Sounding Rocket Observations