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The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph

The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph. James C. Green University of Colorado. COS Core Team Cynthia Froning Project Scientist Steven Osterman Instrument Scientist J. Michael Shull John Stocke Theodore Snow Jeffrey Linsky Dennis Ebbets Oswald Siegmund Barry Welsh Jason McPhate

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The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph

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  1. The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph James C. Green University of Colorado

  2. COS Core Team Cynthia Froning Project Scientist Steven Osterman Instrument Scientist J. Michael Shull John Stocke Theodore Snow Jeffrey Linsky Dennis Ebbets Oswald Siegmund Barry Welsh Jason McPhate Stephane Beland Steven Penton Kevin France Eric Burgh Charles Danforth Brian Keeney Lisa Winter Yangsen Yao David Sahnow Government and Industry Hsiao Smith Francis Cepollina Dave Leckrone Preston Burch Malcolm Needner Don Hood Rick Higgins Brian Osborne Tom Delker Mark Erikson Mark LaPole Ed Shade Jean Flammand Francis Bonne-Mason Bruno Touzet Special Thanks to: Jon Morse Erik Wilkinson John Andrews Ken Brownsberger With a little help from:

  3. COS Performance Philosophy • Maximum sensitivity with adequate spectral resolution • Sensitivity depends on both: • Large signal (large effective area) • Low noise (low scatter gratings, low background detectors )

  4. COS Optical Layout NUV MAMA Detector (STIS spare) Calibration Platform OSM2: G185M, G225M, G285M, G230L, TA1 • COS has 2 channels to provide low and medium resolution UV spectroscopy • FUV: 1150-1775Å, NUV: 1700-3200Å • FUV gratings: G130M, G160M, G140L • NUV gratings: G185M, G225M, G285M, G230L • M gratings have spectral resolution of R ~ 20,000 FUV XDL Detector Aperture Mechanism: Primary Science Aperture, Bright Object Aperture OSM1: G130M, G160M, G140L, NCM1 Optical bench (not shown): re-use of GHRS bench

  5. COS Sensitivity Advantages • Effective Area gains: 10-20 X STIS (more signal) • Background signal ~ 10% of STIS (depends on source brightness) • Bandpass comparison: • STIS Echelle: 600 Å | COS FUV: 300 Å • Net Sensitivity Gain – 10 -100 X • Note: STIS Echelle Modes have much higher spectral resolution

  6. The Power of COS for IGM Studies • As of mid-July: • 87 IGM sightlines observed, 300+ hrs (GO, GTO, ERO) • Total Ly pathlength • z = 22.93 • COS has already 10x the pathlength and 15x the number of absorbers of all previous GHRS+STIS studies.

  7. He II Reionization: Shull, et al, 2010

  8. COS has performance below 1150 Å • Effective area comparable to one channel of FUSE at lower spectral resolution • See poster by Osterman

  9. NUV Imaging

  10. Time Resolved Spectroscopy • A flare occurred during the observation of a late type (naked) T Tauri Star

  11. Sufficient S/N to see changes in spectral shape and strength of emission features during event and during “low state”

  12. Data Analysis Issues • Pulse Height Screening • Each photon carries pulse gain information (5 bit) • Never pas through pulse height 0 data. Typical screening value is 4 (varies with position) • Grid wire shadows – locations are well known and easily removed • Co-adding of spectra from different wavelength positions • Software tool available from CU website cos.colorado.edu

  13. On-Orbit Performance Issues • Spectral resolution: • The spectral resolution of the FUV channel drops to 18,000 at 1150 Å due to the convolution of the HST OTA point spread function with the COS line spread function. The wide aperture of COS allows the wings of the OTA PSF to enter the instrument. (This effect is also seen in the 2” slit on STIS). The effect mitigates slightly as the wavelength increases.

  14. On-Orbit Performance Issues • This results in a non-Gaussian LSF. The 18,000 resolution is a calculation based on the modulation transfer function with an imposed Rayleigh criterion, as opposed to a FWHM calculation based on a Gaussian fit to a known non-Gaussian function (which yields R = 16,000)

  15. On-Orbit Performance Issues • Loss of effective area: • The FUV channels are losing effective area at approximately 5% /year at all wavelengths. (This result is based on a limited number of samplings. The stability and long term trends of the degradation rate are currently unknown.) • The physical cause of the drop is unknown but atomic oxygen attack on the photocathode is the current leading candidate. If true, this effect may accelerate during solar maximum.

  16. Conclusions • Despite the unexpected drop in effective area and resolution, COS remains a stunningly effective scientific instrument that is enabling previously impossible observations of multiple phenomena. • Please look over the many COS posters to appreciate the significant diagnostic capability that has been provided to the community with COS.

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