Near-Infrared Spectrograph

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Giant Magellan Telescope Near-IR Spectrograph (GMTNIRS)

The Near-Infrared Spectrograph is best for imaging bright celestial objects over a narrow field of view. It was designed to study the formation of planetary systems, debris disks, small stars, Jupiter-mass planets, and other near-infrared objects in deep space. The Near-Infrared Spectrograph is a single-object near-infrared to mid-infrared echelle spectrograph that provides an extraordinary spectral multiplex advantage through simultaneous coverage of the full JHKLM bands. The instrument operates when the Giant Magellan Telescope is using adaptive optics viewing modes.

Designer

The GMTNIRS is being developed by astronomer Dan Jaffe from the University of Texas at Austin

Science Goals

Exoplanets: atmospheric chemistry, internal structure
Stars: formation of stars, disks, and planets, abundances
Nearby galaxies: chemical evolution history and current stellar composition
Distant galaxies: composition of universe in Lyα systems, abundances and evolution

Technical Specifications

Spectral resolutions:

65,000 (JHK), 85,000 (LM)

Wavelength range:

1.1 – 5.4 μm

Slit length:

1.2 arcsec

For a full list of technical specifications, refer to our Science Book

Additional Resources

More detailed information can be found on University of Texas at Austin GMTNIRS webpage

GMTNIRS (Giant Magellan telescope near-infrared spectrograph): optimizing the design for maximum science productivity and minimum risk Jaffe, D. T., Barnes, S. I., Brooks, C. B., Gully-Santiago, M., Pak, S., Park, C., Yuk, I.-S. | Proc. SPIE, 9147-74, (2014)

Science instrument development for the Giant Magellan Telescope Jaffe, D. T. et al. | Author(s): Proc. SPIE 7735, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy III, 773525 (15 July 2010)

Design and early performance of IGRINS (immersion grating infrared spectrometer Park, C. P., et al. | Proc. SPIE, 9147-48, (2014)