The Visible Integral-field Spectrograph eXtreme (VIS-X): high-resolution spectroscopy with MagAO-X

TL;DR

VIS-X is a high-resolution integral-field spectrograph designed for MagAO-X, enabling detailed observations of accreting protoplanets with unprecedented sensitivity and spectral-spatial resolution in the visible spectrum.

Contribution

The paper introduces VIS-X, a novel high-resolution spectrograph optimized for MagAO-X, enhancing capabilities for observing and analyzing protoplanetary accretion processes.

Findings

Simulations show 100x sensitivity improvement over existing instruments.

VIS-X can resolve planetary accretion lines.

Instrument characterization and performance are demonstrated.

Abstract

MagAO-X system is a new adaptive optics for the Magellan Clay 6.5m telescope. MagAO-X has been designed to provide extreme adaptive optics (ExAO) performance in the visible. VIS-X is an integral-field spectrograph specifically designed for MagAO-X, and it will cover the optical spectral range (450 - 900 nm) at high-spectral (R=15.000) and high-spatial resolution (7 mas spaxels) over a 0.525 arsecond field of view. VIS-X will be used to observe accreting protoplanets such as PDS70 b and c. End-to-end simulations show that the combination of MagAO-X with VIS-X is 100 times more sensitive to accreting protoplanets than any other instrument to date. VIS-X can resolve the planetary accretion lines, and therefore constrain the accretion process. The instrument is scheduled to have its first light in Fall 2021. We will show the lab measurements to characterize the spectrograph and its post-processing performance.