Abstract

Advanced Data Reduction Schemes for MUSE

Peter Weilbacher (Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam)

Joris Gerssen (AIP)Martin Roth (AIP)Arlette Pécontal-Rousset (CRAL)

MUSE, a 2nd generation VLT instrument, will be the world's largest integral field spectrograph. It will be an AO assisted instrument which, in a single exposure, covers the wavelength range from 465 to 930nm with an average resolution of 3000 over a field of view of 1'x1' with 0.2'' spatial sampling. Both the complexity and the rate of the data are a challenge for the data reduction of this instrument.

In this presentation we will give an overview of the data reduction scheme that is being designed for MUSE. Specifically, we will use only a single resampling step from the raw data to the reduced data product. This allows us to improve data quality using accurate propagation of errors and minimizing the spreading of artifacts and correlated noise. This scheme necessitates changes to the standard way in which reduction steps like wavelength calibration and sky subtraction are carried out, but can be expanded to include combination of multiple exposures.

Mode of presentation: oral