Optimizing astrophotonic spatial reformatters using simulated on-sky performance

TL;DR

This paper evaluates and optimizes astrophotonic spatial reformatters through simulations to improve astronomical spectrograph design, aiming to enhance resolution and throughput in realistic observing conditions.

Contribution

It introduces an end-to-end simulation framework for assessing and optimizing astrophotonic components like photonic lanterns and reformatters for astronomical use.

Findings

Optimized device configurations for better on-sky performance

Quantitative estimates of component efficiencies under realistic conditions

Guidelines for designing future astrophotonic instruments

Abstract

One of the most useful techniques in astronomical instrumentation is image slicing. It enables a spectrograph to have a more compact angular slit, whilst retaining throughput and increasing resolving power. Astrophotonic components like the photonic lanterns and photonic reformatters can be used to replace bulk optics used so far. This study investigates the performance of such devices using end-to-end simulations to approximate realistic on-sky conditions. It investigates existing components, tries to optimize their performance and aims to understand better how best to design instruments to maximize their performance. This work complements the recent work in the field and provides an estimation for the performance of the new components.