4GREAT -- a four-color receiver for high-resolution airborne terahertz spectroscopy

Abstract

4GREAT is an extension of the German Receiver for Astronomy at Terahertz frequencies (GREAT) operated aboard the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). The spectrometer comprises four different detector bands and their associated subsystems for simultaneous and fully independent science operation. All detector beams are co-aligned on the sky. The frequency bands of 4GREAT cover 491-635, 890-1090, 1240-1525 and 2490-2590 GHz, respectively. This paper presents the design and characterization of the instrument, and its in-flight performance. 4GREAT saw first light in June 2018, and has been offered to the interested SOFIA communities starting with observing cycle 6.

Accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology

References in corpus (6)

• Early Science with SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy
• GREAT: the SOFIA high-frequency heterodyne instrument
• The upGREAT 1.9 THz multi-pixel high resolution spectrometer for the SOFIA Observatory
• The upGREAT dual frequency heterodyne arrays for SOFIA
• Terahertz hot electron bolometer waveguide mixers for GREAT
• The stability of spectroscopic instruments: A unified Allan variance computation scheme

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• Terahertz Water Masers: II. Further SOFIA/GREAT Detections toward Circumstellar Outflows, and a Multitransition Analysis
• Velocity-resolved high-J CO emission from massive star-forming clumps
• Revisiting rotationally excited CH at radio wavelengths: A case study towards W51
• First detection of deuterated methylidyne (CD) in the interstellar medium
• New submillimetre HCN lasers in carbon-rich evolved stars